Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
    I am a homebody. No doubt about it. When I go away I cry when I cross the bridge in Kittery and when I come home I cry when I cross the bridge in Kittery – tears of joy, glad to be back where life is lived as it’s meant to be, back to less traffic, prettier scenery, and the best people you’d ever want to meet. Back to our children and grandchildren, our home, our jobs, and yes, I admit it, you saw it coming, back to my critters.
    We were gone for a week, a quick trip south to visit family, nothing exciting, just a few days sitting around hugging brothers and nieces and nephews and their children and enjoying what’s most important in life, family.  And then before you know it, it’s over and it’s back on the road. 
    I am extremely fortunate that my dad lives with us and he is able to look after the critters when we go away. Scruffy spends all his time in dad’s lap,  more than a little bit upset that his mommy is gone, and being comforted by his buddy. Scruffy is good company for dad and vice versa. The cats are cats, you know how they are, we are their staff, we are there to serve them, and as long as there is food in their bowl they’re pretty happy, at least so I thought.
    Imagine my surprise and amazement when Scruffy turned inside out and upside down when we walked in the door – no, not really, that didn’t surprise me at all – but what did surprise me was Holly, our Maine Coon, she would not leave me alone all night. I made a few phone calls to let everybody know we were home and Holly was climbing all over me, nuzzling my face, purring at me, kneading me, driving me absolutely up a wall with her delight in our return home.  
    By this time Scruffy had settled into the philosophy of “good, Mommy and Daddy are home, my life is back to normal, I think I’ll go take a nap” and Holly was still walking all over me every time I sat down. Cats aren’t usually like this so this was quite the surprise!
    Animals are such good company. I can’t imagine returning from a trip to the grocery store, let alone a trip out of state, and not having the little four legged family to greet me when I walk in the door. To me a house is a little cold without some fur if you know what I mean. Yes, I had to vacuum up a week’s worth of shedding, and yes, I had to “put up with” some extra loving when I walked in the door, but all worth it.
    If you are interested in adopting a pet for your home, call Heather at the animal shelter, 532-2862 and ask her what is available for adoption. From day to day there are changes, a new puppy comes in or a new cat, and several are adopted out, so if I gave you a list today of what was available for adoption, by the time you read the paper there would be a whole new list.
    Or check our Facebook page  which is always up to date with photos and narratives and other information on our animals, or if you are not in the immediate southern Aroostook area, go on Petfinder.com and type in what kind of companion you are looking for and your zip code and you will see an entire list of animals needing new homes.
    For every family that would like a new dog or cat, there are 10 animals that  need homes.   And one thing I will say is that we do allow people to bring an animal back if it’s not working out. You can fall in love with Fido at the shelter, take him home, and find out that he eats cats for breakfast and you have four cats. It might be something we were unaware of at the shelter as so many animals come in as strays with no history at all, and even though they are temperament tested some personality quirks aren’t evident right away. Please don’t hesitate to call the shelter and ask if you can bring Fido back in. We will work with you.
    Yes, we want to adopt animals into forever homes, but we want them in homes where they are safe and healthy and if Fido is eating your cats you might decide to just tie him outdoors and leave him there and we don’t want that. We want him in a home where he is loved and cherished.
    Call or stop by the shelter, bring home a new friend!