Pet Talk

    It’s been a really busy week at the shelter. When I was out there Thursday I think I counted 17 people looking at dogs, cats, playing with the cats, some new folks who come to walk every single day, folks dropping off stuff for the September 11th event. We need a lot of items for this fund-raiser, right now they’re dropping off Coke and Pepsi products, water, etc., so if you feel you can help with this, you can drop your items off at the Shelter or at my office at 9 Katahdin Lane (across from Tim Hortons).
    This week we took in two kittens from a man who found them under his porch — no momma, just the kittens — they were barely alive but the staff is bottle feeding them, taking them home at night, and doing everything they can to give them a fair chance at survival.
    We took in a 17-year-old cat from a man all the way up in Madawaska. He is having some personal issues and at her age she would be a hard to place cat; many shelters were unable to  help so he called Houlton Humane. The Shelter director took her home with her, as the Shelter environment would be a lot of stress on a 17-year-old.
    We took in a dog that was found with a chain so tight around his neck it had to be cut to remove it; he’s being treated by a vet and the staff is nursing him back to health.
    We took in a chocolate lab mix a week ago, he stayed the mandatory holding period and was adopted the very first day he was available.
    A cat fell from a second story window three weeks ago, the owner could not find him so called the Shelter and the staff filled out paper work in case he came in. Everybody assumed he was badly injured and crawled off somewhere to die. A lady not too far away had been seeing a cat under their ramp for two weeks, finally caught it and brought it to the Shelter. Heather started calling the people on the lost cat list, the third call was the charm and this beautiful kitty has gone home.
    Another lady went to take her garbage out at night and found a cat giving birth in the dumpster, she brought her to the shelter and momma and babies are doing great.
    A family that adopted a dog six months ago wanted to bring it back as it just wasn’t working out; we took the dog back and we are doing a swap with another Shelter who has great success in adopting out this breed and we’ll take one of their dogs to help them out.
    This is just a little bit of what goes on in a week; a small portion of the stories — sad and happy— sad for the lost critters, happy for those who go back home or find new homes. I have a new dog that was found running along the road and taken to the shelter. I can’t believe nobody ever claimed him but when he was available, my husband adopted him for me for my birthday and he has been a real joyful addition to our family. I love my cats, you already know that, but like they say “dogs have owners, cats have staff” and my dog has bonded to me like he has been mine forever. He gets so excited when I come home, he keeps my dad company during the day, he’s a companion to walk with, he makes me laugh when I’m having a bad day. He’s not perfect, but he loves people, other dogs, loves my cats, and over time I’m sure he’ll learn a few manners. The biggest problem has been finding a name to suit him. I want to call him Wendell and everybody just snickers, they think Wendell is a very nice name for a human male but not quite appropriate for a dog. My husband wants to name him Mr. Scruffles and I feel just about the same about that name as he does about Wendell. The dog will come to anything I call him except Oliver, he won’t come to Oliver, so I’ve eliminated one name!
    If you love animals, be sure to mark your calendar to join us on September 11 in Monument Park for an all-day music festival, car show, kids games, concessions, dunking booth, Tatitudes, bouncy house, sno-cones, and more. All proceeds help the animals and what a fun way to raise a little money.