Pet Talk

By Cathy Davis
    We have been so fortunate to have good weather for our fundraising events that we really can’t complain about being rained out this past Saturday. We were going to have a yard sale at the shelter but as you know, it poured all day so there was really no point in setting up and sitting in the rain. We’ll schedule another just as soon as we can but this coming Saturday there is another event, an adopt-a-thon right in front of Reimagined on Bangor Street.
    Have you ever been in that store? Oh my! If you are into country or primitive, this is the place to go. She has some really beautiful items, you must stop in. This Saturday we’ll have a shelter team right in front of her store, again, weather permitting, showcasing some of the beautiful animals currently available for adoption. This is not a fundraising event, this is simply an opportunity for us to bring some of our critters to you, instead of you having to drive all the way out to the shelter. It’s a chance for us to have folks who are not bustling around cleaning and answering phones, but simply dedicated to answering your questions about these and other pets, helping you with any questions you may have about your pets, and networking with you on any pet issue you wish to discuss.
    So stop by this Saturday at Reimagined from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you’re out around town to pick up a lunch that would be a great time to take a few minutes to visit, and share your stories with shelter staff, visit with our shelter kitties, and maybe you’ll see just the right kitten for your home.
    Now, just because this isn’t a fundraiser doesn’t mean we don’t need funds. The fact of the matter is, we always do. Even when we don’t ask for help we need help. Bills don’t stop coming in and being a non-profit that depends on over 50 percent of our budget being covered by donations, your support continues to be what keeps us going. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to hold checks because there was no money in the bank to cover them or how many times shelter staff has taken money out of their own pockets to replace a worn out piece of equipment or buy a few bags of cat litter to get us by.
    So any help you can give is greatly appreciated. Several folks routinely stop by with laundry detergent, bleach, paper towels, toilet paper, and other essentials and this is a huge help. Some of you put a dollar or two in a collection can at the various stores. Many of you purchase raffle tickets for the wonderful prizes we are raffling off. Right now we have tickets available for a huge flat screen TV, a $600 mountain bike, and a limited edition painting from Esther Orr Faulkner. Those tickets will be on sale throughout the summer, at Midnight Madness, at the Craft Fair in the park, at all our yard sales and adopt-a-thons, and any time at the shelter. The tickets are selling fast and there are only a limited number being sold so your chances of winning are very good.
    My dog Scruffy is one of the hundreds of animals helped by Houlton Humane. He was found running on the Ridge Road in Littleton last year. It took folks a week to catch him and when he came into the shelter nobody came looking for him. Not a single call asking if we’d found a scruffy little dog, not one. 
    Scruffy was tended to, combed out, bathed, hugged, treated with much love and given all his shots. And then the phone call came, “you have to see this dog” Heather says to me. “I don’t need a dog” was my answer. The rest is history. Scruffy is coming up on his one year “birthday” as a member of our household. He is glued to me every second that I am home, he sleeps at my feet or on my lap, he follows me everywhere, he’s curled up next to me in bed at night and waiting outside the bathroom door while I shower. He watches out the downstairs window for me to come home every night and will stay in that window for hours if I am late or have a meeting. 
    My dad takes wonderful  care of Scruffy when I’m not home and they are great buddies, but Scruffy is a momma’s boy and he  turns inside out when I come home.
    It’s for every Scruffy out there that Houlton Humane exists, the dogs and the cats, the bunnies and the guinea pigs, all the critters who find themselves without a home. Help us continue our work, help us take care of them, or come and adopt. We appreciate it and they certainly do!