Shelter struggles to meet the needs
of homeless animals
By Christine Cowett Robinson
Special to the Star-Herald
Did you know that the Central Aroostook Humane Society has been serving the towns of central Aroostook County since 1966? That’s 45 years making a difference for animals in our area.
We have grown a lot since 1966; our practices and policies are always improving as well as our quality of pet care. I would even dare call our pet care exceptional! Our highly-trained staff works hard each and every day to ensure that the animals in our care are healthy and well taken care of — that they are given food, medical attention and love. The Central Aroostook Humane Society has taken pride for years in what we do and in helping the people we loyally serve. We really enjoy hearing all of the happy ending stories, some dating back years. These stories are what keep us going.
Each year seems to be more of a financial struggle than the last, with bill increases coming from every direction. It is very expensive to do what we do; to maintain staff, a building and a high standard of animal care. We are so pleased at the support we get from the towns and individuals.
Did you know that your town contracts with the Central Aroostook Humane Society to take your strays? Yes we do; every town in our area signs a contract with the Central Aroostook Humane Society, and we are the designated licensed shelter, as mandated by the state, to provide shelter for strays.
How often have we heard things like “I could never work at the shelter, it would break my heart,” and “I love animals too much.” When you say this, unfortunately to us it sounds like:
• We don’t also love animals, even though we work for a low wage (or no wage) in order to work with homeless animals. For many of us it is our life’s work;
• That we, somehow, don’t get our hearts broken; or
•That in order to do our job one has to be either cold-hearted or an animal hater.
If we don’t do this job, who will? Someone must. Is it going to be you? You already have enough pets? We understand, we do too. Our cages are over capacity. Do you have a solution? If so, please share that with us. Right now, there is a dog or cat in our shelter employee’s arms and there is nowhere on Earth for this poor creature to go. There is no cage space and no forever home. Nowhere. It is a heartbreaking feeling. What is the solution? Where will it go?
There is a really nice black lab mix named Maggie Mae in our kennel. She is 2 and a half years old, healthy, housebroken, loves kids, loves everyone! But she can’t find a home because she’s quite generic looking, she’s not real flashy and she’s not a puppy — doesn’t meet the “I want a dog to grow up with the kids.” We’ve had her here for over a month, and so far she is showing no signs of becoming permanently adopted. What would you do? There were 5 dogs left in our outside pens. We only have two open runs. Again, what is your answer?
Do you want to be the one to talk to the woman who wants to surrender her blind, 10-year-old peek-a-poo with bad skin and says “Don’t kill her! Find her a good home!”? Unfortunately, we struggle to find homes for the healthy 1-year-olds; who’s going to adopt a 10-year-old, unhealthy dog? You? Me neither. I already have eight dogs that were considered unadoptable. Because this owner won’t face reality and accept responsibility, we have to.
Ok. You can’t work at an animal shelter. Not everyone can. Can you help in other ways? Sure you can! Can you buy us a bag of food when you buy for your own pet? Can you come in and talk to the cats? Walk the dogs? We are so busy running the shelter that we often don’t have time. Could you go to your friend or neighbor and offer to get their pet spayed/neutered? Tell your friend about us and how we get our hearts broken every day.
Maybe you could send a small check to say “thank you.” Anything at all would help.
I know you mean well. I know you mean to say “I couldn’t work here because my own emotions get in the way of doing what has to be done for the animals; thank you for doing it.” Unfortunately, it is not reasonable to assume we can save them all. Some animals come to us old and sick, broken beyond repair or so emotionally scarred they are dangerous. We do the hard part and we make the responsible decisions that nobody else wants to make. Do we like it? No, it is never easy to make those decisions, but the Central Aroostook Humane Society assumes the responsibility.
We are striving to reach our goal of $5,000 by Feb. 22 which is “Spay Day”… and you are helping us get there! Do you want to help but aren’t sure how? You can now donate to the Central Aroostook Humane Society via PayPal right from the comfort of your home! Just go to http://centralaroostookhumanesociety.org/ and click on the ‘Donate’ button! All donations until Feb. 22 go to for spaying and neutering shelter animals.
Congratulations to our newly-elected officers: President Christine Cowett Robinson, Vice President Hollie Gowan, Treasurer Vi Belanger, and Secretary Gloria Towle.
Interested in helping out CAHS but not sure how much time you have to give? How about looking into joining our “Friends of CAHS” group? They meet quarterly and help with fundraisers and have some of their own to benefit the Central Aroostook Humane Society. Send an e-mail to FriendsofCAHS@yahoo.com for more information.
If you are looking for a friend for life, visit the Central Aroostook Humane Society. We are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday, or call 764-3441. Please have your pets spayed or neutered.
