Pet Talk

    Every once in a while you have to step out of your comfort zone. Life would be very boring if you didn’t, and it seems that lately, all of us involved with the animal shelter are living outside of our comfort zone on a day-to-day basis.
    Last week, it turned out that we learned something new and had a lot of fun in the process. As you may know, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians holds bingo games at the Maliseet Recreation Center with many of these games benefitting local non-profit groups. Houlton Humane Society was invited to participate in one of these games last week and I have to tell you we had a blast.
    We had never done this before, and to say that we felt like fish out of water would be an understatement.  We are used to doing dinners, walks, concerts, yard sales, and a variety of other fund-raisers and we’ve gotten those down pretty much to a science, but we’ve never done a Bingo game before. Many of us had never even been to a Bingo game let alone know how to set up for one.
    Everybody at the Recreation Center was so patient, explaining over and over again how to run the cards, what they cost, how fast the games go, and so forth, so when people started to arrive, we all thought we had it pretty much figured out.
    We served sandwiches and pizza slices, sweets and soda, and we found out what sells and what doesn’t, and we realized that when the Bingo game is going on, it’s serious business. It was so much fun and we want to thank all the members of the Maliseet Recreation Center for their help, their patience, and for inviting us to participate. We hope to be invited again!
    The timing could not have been more perfect as we have quickly depleted our funds. Going through a self-imposed quarantine means there are no adoptions right now so no income whatsoever from Shelter operations. Folks have been extremely generous with their moral support and their donations and we want to thank you from the bottoms of our collective hearts for all the cards and letters you sent us, letting the staff know how much you appreciate their hard work, and for the donations.
    But right now we have just enough money in the bank for one more week of payroll so having this Bingo game benefit was very helpful. Next weekend is our walk-a-thon, so hopefully that will help with finances a little also.
    If you haven’t yet signed up, I think you’re really going to enjoy this event, so we would encourage you to pick up a pledge sheet at the town office, Walmart, or the Varney Agency and come spend some time hanging out with other animal lovers and their pets. If you don’t want to walk, just come have a carriage ride at Mike Carpenter’s Farm (first farm on the left after the State Police Barracks), have a farm tour, grab a free lunch, and show your support. We should have some kittens available for adoption, these kittens have been in foster care and have not been exposed to ringworm at all, and they need homes.
    We will begin registration at 10 am, the walk is at 11 am and free lunch will be served immediately after the lunch. There will be prizes for various doggie categories, (oldest, youngest, biggest, smallest, best dressed, ugliest, etc) and door prizes throughout the day for participants. Perhaps you belong to a group or organization that is into walking or running for fitness and would like to include this event on your calendar. Perhaps you just love horses and would like to have a chance to see Mike’s working farm in action. Whatever the reason to come out, please join us on May 1, we can’t wait to see you.