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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 7, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager From the cynic's chair Okay, hands up everyone who wouldn't like a holiday in February. Fine, that's settled. Most of us want a holiday in the middle of the winter. Now maybe if every Ontarian complained loud and long enough for an end to major snowstorms, Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal pals could make that happen -- if, of course, they're re-elected. While Progressive Conservative leader John Tory called Finance Minister Greg Sorbara's Labour Day announcement of a February holiday "cynical," we think he was being too kind. On the eve of a provincial election the Liberals said, if re-elected, they would create a new statutory holiday, likely on the third Monday, and call it Family Day. This cheap announcement was nothing but blatant pandering for votes. Sorbara acknowledged the idea of a February holiday has been kicked around for years at Queen's Park and that "it's probably something that should have been done some time ago." If so, why wasn't it? Why was this announcement made only days before an election campaign begins (although a cynic might suggest the campaign has been underway for most of this year)? Why, if this was such a pressing matter, didn't the Liberals push for the holiday during their past four years running the province? Sorbara's reasoning that Ontario's economy is now strong enough to handle another holiday is weak at best, considering the fact that when pressed for details on how another stat holiday would impact businesses and the economy, the finance minister had none -- other than to say the productivity could be "made up" later. There may definitely be merit in having a February holiday (hopefully something dubbed better than Family Day), but the impact such a decision would have on the business community and others should be wellresearched and thought out -- not tossed out casually in a shameless votebuying bid. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Pet owners and others beware dangers of moldy birdseed I killed my best friend ... Now that I have your attention, please read on, especially if you are a dog owner. Please allow me to take you back a year ago in time. After carefully selecting a reputable breeder, I brought home my beautiful yellow Lab puppy. Amber quickly stole my heart and my affection and grew to be a loyal companion and friend. She was everything I had hoped for in a dog. The day that she died began like any other. Routinely every morning before breakfast, she and I went outside to the backyard so she could relieve herself and I could feed the birds. My recently purchased cylinder-shaped birdfeeder was almost empty after having sustained the feathered creatures for over two weeks. Before filling the feeder with fresh seed, I removed the clump of seed stuck in the bottom. Amber, having eaten misplaced birdseed on a daily basis, was quick to gobble up the more solid version. Neither of us gave it a second thought until two hours later when she began vomiting. Her extreme vomiting and later, very lethargic behaviour, was the beginning of a horrific string of events that would lead to her tragic death just over 12 hours later. Despite receiving every veterinarian care and intervention available, her young body ceased to function. She was in acute liver failure and nothing worked to stabilize her. It was the most horrific experience my heart and my mind has ever endured. Despite my shock and obvious grief, I requested an autopsy; I had to know what had happened to my best friend. Why, at a very healthy 13 months, did she die? I was in shock and I needed answers. My answer came two weeks later; the autopsy results revealed her sudden death was the result of aflatoxin poisoning. Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring toxic chemical byproduct from the growth of fungus Aspergillus flavus on corn and other crops. Grains are particularly susceptible to this fungus following prolonged exposure to a high humidity environment. Crops frequently affected include corn, millet, rice, wheat, peanut, soybean, sunflower, spices, and tree nuts. The ingredients listed on my birdseed bag contain these grains. The seemingly innocent clump of seed infected with this poisonous fungus, ultimately proved to be lethal for my Amber. I cannot, no matter how many tears I shed, nor how big the hole in my heart is, bring her back to life. She is dead. I can, however, warn other loving dog owners and bird watchers alike the very real danger of moldy birdseed. ROBYN ROURKE SPECIAL THANKS TO DRS. MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN AND MATT CROSKERY Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981.Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, wil not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.