Pet Talk

    I can’t emphasize enough the value of the media when it comes to helping animals. Just look at the recent case of three dogs stolen from three separate shelters in a 24-hour period of time. Between the newspapers, television, radio, Facebook and other media, all the attention resulted in all three dogs being returned safely to the respective shelters.
    You might ask yourself what the big deal is – if someone wanted a dog so bad but could not afford to pay the fee, if shelters are so desperate for homes for their animals, what’s the big deal if one or two just “walk out the door” without paperwork.
    Well it is a big deal, it’s a huge deal. First of all, you have no idea what the motives are.  The people who stole these animals might have “just wanted a dog,” or they might have wanted to make a little extra money selling them for research, or perhaps they were on a “do not adopt” list and were not permitted to adopt for a very good reason, such as neglect or abuse. 
    Also, suppose they were just too poor to pay the adoption fee. That does not speak very well for their future ability to pay for food, shelter, Veterinary care and other expenses related to animal ownership.
    Shelters also take a lot of pride in trying to place the right animal in the right home. So what if one of the dogs that was stolen was just terrible with kids and the person who stole a dog had three kids at home and the dog bit one of them.
    Many animals in shelters have stories, and those stories help place them in just the right home. Often there will be three or four people who want to adopt the same animal and we tell everybody who applies that adoption is not on a “first come first serve” basis. Adoption is based on the best match between animal and family. If the dog hates cats and three out of the four families have cats, then the family without cats will be chosen.  
    This selection process is not personal. Never get upset if you go to a shelter, any shelter, and they advise that you can’t have this dog or that cat for some reason. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, it just means that there is a very compelling reason why this animal might not be the best match for your household.  Another pet might be perfect for you. I bet 100 dogs came and went at the shelter since my Shannon passed away and not one of them was right for my household until Scruffy came along. When it’s right, you know it, and choosing a lifetime companion is not a trip to Walmart, you don’t run in, grab what you need, and run out. Sometimes it takes weeks, months, or even years, to match your family with the right dog or cat.
    Anyway, back to the media. The media is extremely important in helping Shelters get the word out about issues such as funding, animals available for adoption, special events, fundraisers, and even issues such as an outbreak of a new strain of some disease, or the discovery of rabies in the area.
    We are blessed to have a long time partnership with the Houlton Pioneer Times. Jack Faulkner originally worked with us to put this column together and over the years we have been able to share with you everything from our successes to our failures. We hide nothing, we share everything, and you have been kind enough to join us in our journey. We really appreciate the Pioneer and all the staff for working with us over the years.
    In the past few years the media opportunities have expanded to allow us to have our own website, a Facebook page, a presence on PetFinder.com and a few appearances on state and local TV. We hope that you will friend us on Facebook, where you can find photos of our animals currently available for adoption, discussions about fund raisers or meetings, updates on someone’s lost pet, even an occasional request to help find a home for pets that are not in the shelter but are “at home fosters.”
    The media is powerful. You only need to watch 60 seconds of the ASPCA commercials and you want to dig out your wallet and send money to some far off country or state to save the animals. Willie Nelson singing in the background, the faces of all those neglected and abused animals looking at you through your big screen TV, big brown sad eyes just begging you to help. We can’t afford national commercials but in so many ways I feel the ASPCA commercials are for us too. Those are our animals, our stories, our need for funding. It’s our plea to help.
    I heard a story the other day, which I’m going to paraphrase and probably butcher. It’s about starfish and a big storm that washed millions of starfish up on the beach.  A man walking along the beach saw a little boy tossing a starfish back into the ocean, walked up to him and said “you know you can’t save them all, so what does it matter”, and the little boy looked up at him and said “it matters to this one” and threw another back into the ocean.
    Houlton Humane says, “it matters to this one” every time we save an animal, every adoption, every success, every injured animal treated and re-homed.  It matters to this one.
    Please join us.