Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
    Last week I told you of all the wonderful things our shelter director does for the animals and this week I wanted to be sure to remind you that just like in a good marriage or business, no business or marriage can run without the wonderful support of our spouses or staff. The Houlton Humane Society is no exception.
    In order to be available to the public, as is required since we do provide a service to a number of towns, we are open six days a week and animals are all in one building where you can come see if your pet is there if he is missing, or come help re-home a pet that has been lost, abandoned, or perhaps given up because of illness or other family emergencies.
    Those animals are cared for daily by the loving staff of Caleb, Luanne and Marsha and I can’t say enough about how hard they work or how much they care. I’ve never walked in the door to find any of them sitting down. They are always cleaning, feeding, giving baths to, or loving our animals. They come in early, they stay late and someone has to be there seven days a week and holidays too.
    When you are sitting down to your Thanksgiving dinner, someone is at the Shelter with the animals. When you are opening up your Christmas gifts with your children, Caleb, Luanne, Marsha and Heather are at the shelter with the animals. When an animal control officer comes in with an injured pet, the entire staff swings into action to make sure the animal is secure, safe, gently handled, and given medical treatment.
    As well as our awesome staff, the best we’ve ever had I might add, we also have a large number of volunteers who come in to help clean cages, mop floors, do laundry, and then of course our Bob, who is more than a volunteer, he is an angel, who fixes everything broken, plows, does landscaping, walks dogs, you name it, if it needs to be done, Bob does it. 
    Heather is our quarterback, Caleb, Luanne, Marsha, Bob and all the others are our team. A quarterback on the field can do nothing without a receiver. I truly feel our team is a Super Bowl team, winners every one of them, and I am so proud to know each and every one of them and I thank them for their hard work.
    They don’t do it for the money, they are paid very little, they do it for the love of the animals and this week we have a number of animals in need of adoption.
    There is Thelma, six months old and she has been with us since she was five weeks old. Please don’t let her grow old in the shelter. Smokey is seven months old and has been at the shelter three months already. She is very shy and needs a quiet home, but she is a beautiful gray kitty, very small.
    Emily came in as a stray two months ago, very sick, had to have emergency surgery. She is a little over 2 years old, already spayed. She is a very pretty kitty and she gets along with other cats very well so long as there aren’t a lot of them.
    Michelle and Emma are our “golden girls”, about 7 years old, came in together, one is outgoing and loves attention, the other is shy and quiet. We would love to see them go together as Emma would be lost without her sister (and they are true sisters).
    Daisy is a 7 months old, long-haired black kitty, very affectionate. We honestly can’t understand why she hasn’t been adopted yet, she is such a love.
    On the dog side we have two Aussie mix dogs that came up from Georgia, very handsome and laid back, very loving, great with other dogs, cats, and kids, love to be walked. They are 3 years old, neutered and microchipped and have all their shots. Great family dogs.
    If you love pets and just can’t adopt right now, perhaps you would like to help the shelter by participating in our annual dog walk. This year we are scheduled to hold this event May 19 at the River Front Park. Pledge forms are available at the shelter, at the Varney Agency, or through any board member. There will be a free lunch, many exciting events throughout the day, prizes for the walkers bringing in the most pledges, and prizes for your dogs.  You don’t need to bring a dog to participate in the walk.  More information on the walk will be available as details come together. 
    In the meantime, thank you for all you do to help and support the Houlton Humane Society and we hope to see you at the shelter soon, looking for a new kitty or dog to make a part of your family.