Pet Talk

    Well, that was a bit of a storm over the weekend wasn’t it?  The forecasters had it pegged this time!  Might have started an hour or two early but otherwise, they were pretty impressive in their accuracy!  
    I got up late Sunday morning and knew Scruffy would have to go out right away, but even with his urgent need, he stepped out into the entry way, looked at the mountain of snow ahead of him, looked back at me as if to say “no way” and just sat there. I had to go shovel him a path so he could at least turn around.
    I watched the neighbor across the street as she tried to walk her dog. Her dog is tall, probably twice the height of my Scruffy, and he was barely making it through the snow banks.
    From the warmth of my home I watched people digging out from the storm, walking their dogs, shoveling their driveways, and all morning long the one thing that kept going through my mind is that the animal shelter staff didn’t have the luxury of sitting home on Sunday morning.  They had to be at the Shelter. The dogs needed to be walked, the animals fed, the cages cleaned, and no matter how bad the roads, the staff would find a way to get in and take care of our pets.
    We thank God every day for Bob McGuire. Knowing Bob he was at the shelter at 5 a.m., plowing the yard. It’s a big yard and it’s an all-day job to plow, especially when there is so much snow, and yet I knew Bob was there. Bob is always there for us. Bob has even picked up staff and taken them to work when the roads are too bad for them to drive.  He’s there to fix things, help wherever he can, but his biggest job is the yard.
    In the winter he plows, in the summer he mows, landscapes, helps build housing, repairs leaky faucets or broken hinges or whatever needs tending to. 
    So today, after a massive storm, I have to say thank you to the staff who goes to work no matter what the weather, thank you to Bob for being there to clear the yard so the employees can get into the parking lot, and thank you to everybody in town who spent the night out plowing instead of sleeping.
    If you have a hero, someone who has gone above and beyond to help animals in some way, we’d love to hear your story.  Join us on facebook and upload a brief description of your friend or neighbor who has rescued an animal, fostered, donated,  or organized a fund raiser. Tell us about the folks who work behind the scenes to make sure all the animals of the area are safe.
    If you have adopted from the Shelter, you’re a hero too, and we would love to have you post a photo of your shelter pet on facebook. There are already some beautiful animals that owners have shared with us, we just love these success stories, and we’d like to hear yours.
    There is a home for every pet, and every home should have a pet.  If you are not interested in a dog or a cat, have you ever considered a bunny?  We had some beautiful baby bunnies come into the shelter recently and all have been adopted except one.  Bunnies are very easy to care for, very loving, clean, quiet animals.  
    Adoption is easy, quick, painless, and brings you a lifetime of companionship and unconditional love. 
    If you would like to help the animal shelter, mark your calendar for February 19th.  We will be selling home made baked beans, chili, bread and sweets, everything you need for a Saturday night meal.  You can spend the day outdoors enjoying the Moosestompers events, then stop to pick up your supper, and then go home and put your feet up and enjoy a nice meal without any fuss or mess.  Stay tuned for the location.  And if you would like to contribute sweets, beans, baked goods of any kind, please call the shelter at 532-2862 and let Heather or Courtney know what you’ll be bringing and they’ll tell you where to drop it off.
    We look forward to seeing you on Facebook, at our bake sale and don’t forget that we’ll need 2400 cookies and squares for our St Patrick’s Day Box lunch so please mark your calendar  to do a little baking for us for that event.   Thank you!  Stay warm!