Executive director Gord Hunter had been looking for a way to celebrate the Kingston Humane Society’s 140th anniversary and say thank you to the Kingston community for its ongoing support when he heard that the Limestone City Blues Festival had been cancelled. “I knew that the stage would be available, so I jumped at the first opportunity to talk to Downtown Kingston (Business Improvement Area) and say, ‘Here’s my idea. It’s our 140th anniversary.
I want to do something kind of special. If the stage is available, I can find some performers, and we can do a big 140th-anniversary concert,’ ” Hunter recalled of the start of “Tunes 4 Tails,” which takes place Friday evening in Market Square. Not only did the DBIA give KHS use of the stage, they also offered to produce “Tunes 4 Tails” on KHS’ behalf.
They also suggested making it about more than just music, with pet-centred events and vendors in the square starting at 4 p.m. Friday.
“We couldn’t have done this without their help,” said Hunter, who noted that DocuPet stepped in to cover the rest of the related costs. Friday’s free concert will be headlined by Kingston’s own Miss Emily. The Juno award nominee and multiple Maple Blues Award winner has been doing “Adopt a Pet with Miss Emily” segments for KHS for a while now and is a “huge supporter” of their work, said Hunter, who is also her manager.
Also on the bill is Kingston’s the Wilderness, who are home from touring the release of their newest record, “Strangers I Used to Love.” Not only is Hunter a big fan of the band, but Wilderness singer Jonas Lewis-Anthony recently adopted a dog from the humane society, he said. Opening the evening at 7 p.
m. will be Evan Rotella, a performer from the Niagara Falls area that Hunter first heard back when Rotella was just 12 years old. Hunter believes that musicians are a natural fit as they, like humane society staff and supporters, are compassionate and understanding in their work.
“I’ve spent most of my life as a musician, working in the music industry and working in other charities that successfully use music to communicate the message of the organization,” explained Hunter, who for years organized concerts on behalf of charity Light of Day Canada. “And I just thought this was a perfect opportunity.” While the KHS has had its share of challenges over its 140 years, the biggest challenge since he took over as executive director in 2019 has been the COVID-19 pandemic.
While it has since receded, its impact lingers as the humane society has more animals in its care than they have room for. At its peak, in October 2022, the KHS had 324 animals under their care with a capacity for just 144. That number has since shrunk to 258, but that’s still 114 more animals than their aging facility on Binnington Court can accommodate.
“The one good thing that happened in COVID is we developed a really robust foster program, and that happened by accident. When COVID first happened in March of 2020, we didn’t know how long we were going to be shut down for, but we knew we had to get as many animals as we could into foster homes,” Hunter recalled. “So, within 48 hours, we got 75 animals in foster care.
We’ve maintained that number — we’re usually at between 130 and 200 animals in foster care.” Although foster care offers a better environment for those animals until they can be adopted, there are still costs involved, and those costs have risen dramatically. “It means that there are more animals in our care, and it’s costing us more,” said Hunter.
“And we’re not the only ones —every animal welfare organization is in the same boat, and pretty much every rescue that we talk to is really full or over (capacity).” Hunter recently calculated the cost per animal, and it’s gone from $657 to more than $800 this year. He also thinks money is behind more people surrendering their pets as they can no longer afford the price of veterinary care.
The Kingston Humane Society is doing what it can, he said, introducing a low-cost spay/neuter clinic a few years ago. It was one of Hunter’s top priorities when he became executive director five years ago. He is thankful to the city for stepping in and helping fund the equipment to open it.
The clinic has made an impact in trying to curb the city’s “overpopulation of cats,” he believes. And the clinic remains as busy as it was when it started two years ago. “We open the applications the first Tuesday of every month, and it’s like trying to get (Bruce) Springsteen tickets,” said music fan Hunter.
“They’re gone in a heartbeat and we’re fully booked within the first hour.” While donations remain a constant need — there’ll be a chance to make one at Friday’s event — residents have always been ready to step up when a crisis arises. “I give Kingston so much credit, because whenever we need their help, whenever we reach out, they’re there,” Hunter said.
“The most recent example is a dog that required surgeries on both legs. Her name was Chloe, a beautiful two-year-old dog who, other than the surgery, was quite healthy. The quote was for $12,000 — $6,000 a leg.
We couldn’t justify that, but we didn’t want to lose Chloe, so we went on to the public and said, ‘Here’s the situation. Can you help us?’ Within 48 hours, we had more than $12,000.” That transparency with the public is something Hunter aspired to have when he started his job, writing a blog and newsletter, and improving their social media presence.
“We’ve been able to communicate what our challenges and struggles are and what our successes are,” he said. “And I think it’s really changed the perspective in the community about what we do and how we do it, and the things that we have to face on a day-to-day basis.” That improved connection to the Kingston community is another reason to celebrate, Hunter believes.
“We want anybody who’s adopted, donated, volunteered, fostered, we want all those folks to come and hang out with us on Friday and celebrate the fact that we’ve been around for 140 years,” he said. “We’ve made a big difference in the lives of people, and certainly in the lives of animals in this community.” “Tunes 4 Tails,” the 140th anniversary party for the Kingston Humane Society, takes place Friday.
The free concert starts at 7 p.m. with Evan Rotella, followed by the Wilderness (8) and Miss Emily (9).
It is free to attend. There’s another free anniversary concert taking place outdoors this weekend. The Little Cat Conservation Area has been celebrating its 60th year this summer with a series of shows, and Sunday’s concert (1 to 4 p.
m . ) will see Sticky Henderson and Christopher Jackson perform. Go to cataraquiconservation.
ca to reserve a free ticket. And if the great indoors is more your style, there are a couple of comedy shows that might be to your liking. On Monday evening, Steven Hofstetter, who made his name on YouTube, brings his “Kill the Butterflies” tour to the Spire.
It starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $36.
48. On Tuesday, down at BluMartini, it’ll be Daniel Simonsen – who has performed on Stephen Colbert’s and Seth Meyers’ late-night shows —headlining with Paul Kasner and Chad Noonan also on the bill. It starts at 7:30 p.
m. (doors at 7). Advance tickets are $20 plus fees, or $25 at the door.
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