There is so much going on, where do I start? I guess the best approach is chronological, so let’s start with two weeks ago. Heather Miller, shelter director, and her husband Jon go to the Shelter every night to walk the dogs. This is above and beyond the job description, but Jon and Heather have been doing this religiously night after night so the dogs don’t have to stay in so long without a bathroom break. This is really important to a dog that is housebroken, and to those we are trying to housebreak, so that when they go into a new home they have a routine.
Two weeks ago or so Heather and Jon went out to walk the dogs and there was a leash attached to the front door of the shelter and the leash was broken so we are assuming that someone came to the shelter, tied a dog to the door and then left. The dog must have broken free and run away. We have searched high and low for a dog in the area, but other than an occasional footprint, haven’t seen a thing.
We are asking that if you were the person who dropped off this dog, would you please drop us an anonymous note in the mail or make an anonymous call and just tell us what we’re looking for. Is it a big dog, small dog, what kind of temperament, does it bite, etc. In order for us to find this dog, and to help us when and if we do find this dog, we really need more information. This is not about finding you and punishing you for what you did, we are sure you had your reasons and we are not here to judge, we are here to help your animal, so any information you can get to us would be helpful. Also please know that animals will attempt to find their way home so if you live right in Houlton and poor Rover shows back up at your door all skinny and dirty and scared to death, don’t be surprised. The instinct of an animal is to return to it’s own environment where it’s comfortable with the neighborhood and feels safe.
Moving on to the next item, the board of directors, advisors, and many friends and guests attended our monthly meeting at the shelter last Tuesday night, thank you all for taking the time to come share your ideas with us. We were pleased to be able to share with the group that the Houlton Humane Society was recently notified that we have been named in the will of Elizabeth Putnam and will be receiving a substantial sum in the near future. For once we had to discuss how to appropriately handle a generous gift, instead of how to cover next week’s bills.
Any non-profit organization has to be extremely careful in carrying out its fiduciary responsibilities especially when funded by public donations. When you receive a large gift it is appealing to use that money to pay all the bills and pay down the mortgage, but the fact is, when you do that, those same bills will appear next month and the money is gone so the unanimous decision was made to use this money to generate additional income for the Shelter.
We will, for instance, be purchasing t-shirts for re-sale, and equipment to allow us to offer concessions at all of our fundraisers. Equipment we have had to rent in the past, but is relatively inexpensive to purchase will save us money in the long run and earn us even more money.
Before making these small investments we will, of course, catch up on bills that have been piling up. As anybody knows, when you own a building, you have to heat it, insure it, maintain it, plow it out, and turn on the lights and some of these bills have gotten a bit behind especially with the cost of oil going up and up. For once, instead of having a list of $5,000 in bills and just $3,000 in the bank, for once we’ll be able to get caught up and then hopefully use upcoming fundraisers, adoption fees, etc., to stay caught up.
At the meeting we also discussed the next fundraiser which is our Pup Parade in May. We are so excited to be able to have Melanie Greaves once more hosting this event and we will be offering some incentives to come out and walk with your best friend, so stay tuned for location and details.
A new friend proposed an idea for us and has offered to host a “Dog Days” afternoon and we are looking forward to this event in June, and of course it won’t be long (hate to say it) and we’ll be planning our “Rockin the Doghouse” event in September!
At the meeting we made last minute plans for our first of the year indoor yard sale which was held this past Saturday and what a success that was! We earned almost $800 total, $100 of which will go to spaying and neutering shelter animals to help them be adopted more quickly. Many thanks to all those who donated items, who bought, who set up and cleaned up, to the Congregational Church for allowing us the use of their building, and to those who baked for the bake sale!
During the set up for the yard sale we had a young woman drop off a cat that she found at her home in Littleton. A male tuxedo kitty, probably 6 months old from the looks of him, we named him Bernie and Bernie helped us set up for the yard sale, proudly strutting around the hall like he owned it. What a friendly little fella, he must belong to someone, so if you are missing a black and white kitty from the Littleton area, please call the Shelter and come take Bernie home.
If Bernie isn’t reclaimed, I would highly recommend him to any home, he is such a love bug and everybody setting up for the yard sale had their turn giving Bernie some hugs and kisses. He purred and purred and rubbed and was just as gentle as he could be. He is going to make someone a really great pet.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 7, that is the date of the dog walk-a-thon – and next week we’ll give you the time and location. Remember there will be prizes, food, and some other new and exciting events, so plan to spend an hour or two with us, and ask your friends to sponsor you. I know my Scruffy will be there, wouldn’t you love to meet him?
