Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
www.houltonanimalshelter.com
    For those of you who follow the Petfinder.com Web site to see what is new at the animal shelter, we apologize that the site was not updated for a few weeks. We have a new animal shelter management program which “automatically” updates the Web site but what we didn’t realize was that there was a process we needed to utilize to turn on this automatic update. We should be rolling now, although we don’t yet have a lot of photos, but the animals should be up to date and when one is adopted it should be taken off the site right away.
    This is a very valuable tool for shelters across the country. But this is not the only tool for finding the pet of your dreams. We receive many calls for “small dogs” and it’s rare that a small dog will come into the shelter and when it does, it gets adopted fast. If you have access to the Internet, check out the rescue sites. Let’s say you just always wanted a West Highland White Terrier – there are a dozen rescues that are looking for homes for pure bred Westies. You need to pass a rigorous application procedure, most rescues will even come to your home and check out your living conditions, interview you personally, and check your references before adopting, but it is all worth it to know that you have given a new home to a pet that is homeless and at the same time, you have exactly the breed of dog that you want.
    Our Web site is a very valuable tool and we invite you to visit. If you shop online you might want to try www.mypower mall.com/mall/152580 — if you buy from this site, a portion of your proceeds will go to the animal shelter.
    If you are a credit card user, there is a credit card called “my pet rewards” and you can sign up through this card to have a portion of your purchases go to an animal shelter of your choice. I’ve just signed up for one of these and I’ll let you know how it works. We have already received a donation from this company from another user of this card and I can’t think of an easier way to make a difference in the life of an animal.
    Now, I know I’m going to have to go into the witness protection program after I bring up this next topic, nobody wants to think about this, this early, but I have to ask you to mark your calendar for an upcoming Christmas event. (Sorry) The Houlton Animal Shelter will be selling Christmas trees, and we would like you to consider purchasing a tree from us to help the animals. What we will do is sell you a certificate so you can go either to a tree farm and pick out the perfect fresh tree, or to a location where there are cut trees, you give them the certificate and take home a tree. We will be selling these at various locations and hope that this will be a huge success. I know this is early but just put a little note on your calendar to keep us in mind.
    We hope to be having another fund-raising dinner soon so if you have a special recipe that you have always wanted to try for a potluck supper, dig it out, we may be calling on you. We’ll need cooks and kitchen staff, someone to decorate, and maybe even someone to entertain!
    We have to really hustle the next couple of weeks. By the end of this month the shelter will be out of money if we don’t find a couple of very fast and very successful fund-raisers. We can’t wait for November to sell Christmas trees or mid-October to have a supper. We have oil to purchase, payroll to cover, a mortgage to pay, a light bill to pay. So we will be doing a mailing shortly, directly soliciting donations and memberships from the general public.
    Houlton already went through this process last January and we are extremely appreciative of the support. The outlying towns should be hearing from us in the very near future.
    If you have a passion for animal welfare, if you feel that you can spare just $5, please consider sending your donation to the Houlton Humane Society, PO Box 548, Houlton, Me 04730. There are still over 140 animals in the shelter who need homes, so please consider adoption. Thank you for your continued support.