Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
www.houltonanimalshelter.com
    I go to the Shelter almost every day. I take out the mail, wander around and see what’s going on, answer any questions that might have come up that requires my input, but mostly I go out there because I enjoy it.  I love seeing the animals, interacting with the staff, and just absorbing the atmosphere. It is so cheerful in there.  Not the way you would picture an animal shelter.  
    I know that over the years I must have heard 1000 people say they could never go to our shelter (or any shelter for that matter) because they would feel so bad for the animals and want to take them all home.   Well, I have to agree about wanting to take them all home, we all feel that way, but I don’t feel sad when I’m at our Shelter. These animals are lounging on windowsills, curled up in cubby holes, stretched out on blankets, purring and playing and enjoying some social time.
    Granted, not all the cats are out all the time, we do have to rotate. The law requires that you have no more than so many animals in an area so big, so if we have 25 cats on the floor, there might be another 25 in cages in that same room, but they are rotated so everybody gets exercise time and play time.
    The Shelter is a cheerful place, tastefully decorated, with a friendly staff who are all there because they love animals.  Heaven knows they’re not there for the money, because we can’t afford to pay much, and many people come and work for us and don’t get paid at all! Someone asked me the other day how many volunteers we have and when I started to do a mental count, I was amazed at the numbers.  By the time you add up the families who come and walk dogs, those who foster kitties, those who come just to visit and play with the cats, those who spend hours cleaning for us, those who bake for our sales and deliver lunches for our box lunch, those who manage our website, collect donations from our donation cans, well the numbers are actually astounding.
    Then you have the residents from CLA who come out and help set up cages and put water and food in the bowls and help out, and the Board members who are also all volunteers, and pretty soon you have literally hundreds of names.  My new mission is to identify as many of these volunteers as I can so we can post a thank you on our website to all of them for their tremendous support, so if you stop by the Shelter to help out, please remember to sign our volunteer log so we have your name!
    This past week I stopped by the Shelter and there were 34 fourth graders from the Mill Pond School visiting the animals.  When I walked in, it was wall to wall little people, screeching and laughing and carrying kitties around.  The kitties tolerated this intrusion very well and really enjoyed the attention.  The children were actually very gentle with the animals and seemed to totally enjoy their visit.  I heard several of them asking why they had to leave so soon after they had been there over an hour and it was time to go.  We were able to obtain a few photos of the fun and excitement which we hope to share with you this week.  The class also brought in a generous donation for the Shelter which will help us continue our work.   We would just like to thank the class and teachers for their visit and their support and we hope other classes feel free to stop by and visit.  
    Why not make it your New Year’s resolution to become a volunteer in 2010 – you can choose who you volunteer for, it doesn’t have to be the Houlton Animal Shelter, it can be walking for breast cancer research, or doing a campaign for MS, or becoming a Girl Scout leader or cooking for an event at your Church.  
    Whatever it is, I guarantee that you will receive more than you give, for volunteering is good for the heart and soul.  There is nothing that can make you feel more alive than giving a part of yourself and your time to help some other person or organization who needs you.  
    If you do want to volunteer for the Houlton shelter, call Heather Miller, Shelter director at 532-2862 and she will schedule you in and give you a list of things that you can do to help us. Thank you and Happy New Year.