Canine Romeo’s Fight With Cancer

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Romeo, a Cane Corso, has been a much-loved member of the Condor family since 2012. He’s a highly social dog, quick to make friends and gentle with kids. He’s become a vital part of Condor’s Team and participated in some of the social commitment programs — particularly in terms of raising awareness of cancer.

You see, Romeo was recently diagnosed with bone cancer in May 2020. His battle began with a slight limp from his left leg that quickly developed into intense pain and inability to put any pressure on it. Throughout his battle he held his own and managed to function despite the pain. For most dogs euthanasia is the most common alternative, for Romoe this was the likelist option but he fought hard to survive. The day before his was scheduled to be put to rest, sensing the imminent end, he made a choice and demonstrated a new energy to live. He became happy and fought through the pain that he still had lots to live for. We cancelled his appointment and decided to amputate the whole leg. Romeo is now recovering from the amputation and to everyone’s surprise was able to walk, climb stairs, and function a day after. His battle is not over and his fight continues. He  has lived by example and ran two consecutive Terry Fox runs with the rest of the Condor team — and did better than many of the rest of us!

We at Condor Want to honor him and at the same time bring awareness to this very aggressive cancer, Osteosarcoma.

Cancer that grows from bone-forming cells, or osteosarcoma, can  afflict humans, dogs, and cats. While relatively rare in humans compared to cancers that form in other areas of the body, osteosarcoma makes up the vast majority of the bone cancers found in dogs. It’s especially common in larger breed dogs.

In larger breeds, limbs are by far the body parts most affected — common areas are above the front knee or front paw or, less often, behind the hind knee. Smaller breeds often develop osteosarcoma in areas like the spine, ribs, skull, or hips. In Romeo’s case it formed on his left upper leg/shoulder (Proximal Humerus)

Amputation is a typical method of tumour control. Fortunately, many dogs thrive after amputation, adapting to new ways of moving and usually regaining their old playfulness and energy! Romeo is still the same well-trained, fun-loving, emotionally intelligent dog that he was before his amputation.

Vets often recommend chemotherapy and/or radiation post-surgery, in order to prevent further tumour growth or spread. Pain control is also important, and your vet will be able to walk you through all available options and make the best recommendation for your furry friend.

When should you start worrying about osteosarcoma in your family pet? While a small number of dogs are diagnosed below the age of 3, most cases don’t develop until years later. 

Warning Signs to Watch Out For:

  • Lameness
  • Swelling 
  • Warmth in swollen area (due to inflammation)
  • Loss of appetite
  • Lethargy or disinterest in playing and exercise

If your dog shows any of these warning signs, please seek veterinary help immediately. Osteosarcoma can be treated, but early detection is key!

 

 

Condor exercise series with Cory Myles

After all the positive feedback we received on our previous workout series, we had to come back with another! This time, Cory Myles, personal online trainer and health coach has created a customized two-part series, just for us.

To ensure the constant well being of our employees and community, we are continuing to develop programs to contribute to their success.

Please enjoy these Condor Security videos from the safety of your homes. Stay safe, healthy and active!

 

Condor exercise series

We’re back and ready to share the last video in this exercise series by Chris Brown from CGBFitness who has once again created a customized routine that you can do from the comfort of your home, with no equipment. This time focused on your lower body!

Although this is the last video of this series, we’re excited to share that we’ll be back with a brand new series tomorrow. We can’t wait to share it with you and encourage you to continue to use these videos to stay healthy and active!

Condor exercise series

We’re excited to share the second video in our exercise series. We’re back with Chris Brown from CGBFitness who has once again created a customized routine that you can do from the comfort and safety of your home, with no equipment. This time focused on your upper body!

As we continue to stay safe at home and practice social distancing, we encourage you to take advantage of and use these videos to stay healthy and active.

Condor exercise series

We’re back with a new series, continuing our focus on health and wellness.

As we’ve mentioned before we are constantly looking for ways to engage our employees by developing new programs to progress, support, and contribute to our team’s health and career.

Today, we’d like to introduce our new Exercise Series with Chris Brown from CGBFitness who has created a customized routine that you can do from the comfort and safety of your home, with no equipment!

Maintaining your health and staying active is important, now more than ever as we are dealing with these challenging times.

Please enjoy the first video, we hope this helps!

Mindfulness Series - Condor Security

Please enjoy the third and final video of our Mindfulness Series. We hope you enjoyed the series and that watching these videos has given you moments of clarity.

Our employees and their well-being are of utmost importance to us. We are constantly developing programs to progress,  support and contribute to our team’s health and career. 

We have invited Sarah Kinsley, a Registered Clinical Counsellor, BA (Hons.), Bed (Primary) Med (counseling), to create a short series of Mindful Consultation videos for our staff and community. 

We know that these times can be challenging both on the personal and professional end. Practicing mindfulness can help reduce anxiety and we hope that this series of videos will equip you with more tools for your life. 

Condor mindfulness video

Please enjoy the second video of three to be shared over the next few weeks:

Our employees and their well-being are of utmost importance to us. We are constantly developing programs to progress,  support and contribute to our team’s health and career. 

We have invited Sarah Kinsley, a Registered Clinical Counsellor, BA (Hons.), Bed (Primary) Med (counseling), to create a short series of Mindful Consultation videos for our staff and community. 

We know that these times can be challenging both on the personal and professional end. Practicing mindfulness can help reduce anxiety and we hope that this series of videos will equip you with more tools for your life. 

Mindfulness - Condor

Our employees and their well-being are of utmost importance to us. We are constantly developing programs to progress,  support and contribute to our team’s health and career. 

We have invited Sarah Kinsley, a Registered Clinical Counsellor, BA (Hons.), Bed (Primary) Med (counseling), to create a short series of Mindful Consultation videos for our staff and community. 

We know that these times can be challenging both on the personal and professional end. Practicing mindfulness can help reduce anxiety and we hope that this series of videos will equip you with more tools for your life. 

Please enjoy the first video of three to be shared over the next few weeks:

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From all of us at Condor Security Canada, we’d like to thank the amazing Canadian Healthcare workers and community and all those on the frontline in the battle against COVID-19.

As we are typically used to our freedom of movement, socialization and group activities we know the importance of social distancing and doing our part to support the fight against COVID-19.

While physically apart, we are strongest together and we can and will overcome with better days ahead.

Thank you again to all of the Healthcare workers who are working around the clock. You are truly our heroes out every day in the battlefield and we wish you much strength.

Together we can and we will win this fight!

condor security - Bill C-51

Bill C-51, the Anti-Terrorism Act

June 16, 2015 by Benjamin Tabesh, CPP, PSP and Rob Bayley, PSP

Bill C-51, is “an act to enact the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act and the Secure Air Travel Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts.”

This bill basically reinforces the rights of the Canadian federal government to conduct investigations through CSIS (Canadian Security and Intelligence Service), and is contained in approximately 60 pages of documentation. Just like any official regulation, the contents are a heavy read, but some of the most important points can be interpreted quite easily as briefly outlined below.

What does Bill C-51 change?

In its broadest terms, Bill C-51 will make it easier for CSIS officers and basically all law enforcement officers in Canada to conduct surveillance or monitor any Canadian’s activity and arrest individuals who pose potential threats.  This new law allows officials to conduct a thorough inspection of anyone seeking to leave the country. According to Steve Banley, Minister of Public Safety Canada, Bill C-51 is properly in line with the government’s commitments to protect Canadian from any possible terrorism activity.

While terrorism certainly makes the headline, the bill is not only focused on this issue. The most fundamental change that the bill brings is that police authorities now have greater powers to target any activity which possibly undermine the security of the country including anything that is considered detrimental to Canada’s interest. Thanks to the bill, security officials are granted the permission to conduct surveillance on any Canadian for a wider variety of reasons.

How does Bill C-51 affect Canadians?

Based on the bill, federal institutions are now allowed to access any information about any Canadian, even when the information was previously designated as confidential. For example, tax information is held and accessible only by the Canada Revenue Agency, but this protected information will now be made available to any government security official under the bill.  It allows the government to identify literally all potential threats, even the minor ones, more easily than ever. From the perspective of national security, this method of investigation makes sure that nothing or no one can hide from the government. However, the bill also makes sweeping changes to the privacy of Canadians.

The definition of what is considered “private information” will change as the bill becomes an active law. For many broad reasons – one of them is the terrorism issue – Canadians’ confidential information can be shared between security institutions for the sake of national security. Bill C-51 allows not only security institutions, but actually quite a number of federal institutions to use, distribute, and receive this information under the law. CSE (Communication Security Establishment), one of Canada’s intelligence agencies, is also given access.

When did the bill pass and when will changes take effect?

By a vote of 44 to 28, Bill C-51 passed through the Senate on Tuesday June 9, 2015. The bill is now on the final process of becoming a law, awaiting royal assent from the Governor General.

Who will be affected by the law and what has been the public reaction?

The law is applicable to just about every Canadian and everyone else who is currently in Canada. Based on the vote result last Tuesday, most Liberal senators and all independent senators voted against the bill. All the Conservative senators and 2 Liberal senators voted for Bill C-51.

Canadians are reacting differently, but there is a massive opposition of hundreds of thousands of Canadians. One of the most notable reactions comes from one of the largest security-oriented organizations in the world, the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). The organization suggests that the anti-terrorism bill actually violates at least two Canada-ratified declarations including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

What are the most noticeable impacts on Canadians’ everyday lives?

There are several aspects of Canadians’ everyday lives that will be affected by the bill, and most of them are concerning privacy. In term of security, however, Bill C-51 promises better controls over any activity which may lead to terrorism. At least three ordinary activities will be affected, including:

  • Restricted travel: because the bill also reinforces the Passenger Protect Program, the government can now add anyone to the already existing no-fly list. In case the government finds any deemed-suspicious personal information, it is possible to add someone to the list. People who are added to the list may not easily acquire boarding passes and can be subject to more in-detail investigations.
  • Strict online censor: ISP and telecom providers are required to remove any content that can be considered terrorism propaganda. This also includes the contents that slightly indicates or relates to terrorist propaganda. Anonymity, as one of the advantages of the Internet, is simply no longer guaranteed. The government allows for greater online surveillance so anyone can be located and identified.
  • Material possessions: under the bill, Canadian customs officers are granted greater power to search and seize anything that they consider related to terrorist propaganda. Anything means everything including signs, audio recording, pictures, photos, and even written notes. Phone and computer searches are also allowed.

How can Bill C-51 help us?

In the past few months in Canada, threats of terrorism have increased, indicated by at least two incidents, including the killing of two Canadian soldiers and the highly concerning forcible entry to Parliament Hill in which Canada’s federal politicians were at serious risk of harm.

From the perspective of security, Bill C-51 addresses any possibility of terrorism threats very seriously.  In other parts of the world, many anti-terror measures have not been authorized specifically, and Canada is one of the first countries to implement the anti-terrorism act. For the vast majority of Canadians, Bill C-51 endeavours to ensure everything is under control, and reduce the threat of terrorism lower than ever before.

With the government and other law enforcement institutions in the country taking part in the bill, any potential threat can be more easily identified and prevented.