Pet Talk

By Cathy Davis
    This past weekend was a very busy and exciting time for Houlton Humane. On Saturday afternoon, many people were mesmerized by the talent of Chuck Loucka on piano at the Performing Arts Center. We would like to thank Chuck for the months of hard work he puts into these concerts, preparing and memorizing the music, practicing day and night, so that there is not a flaw in his presentation. There are people who play piano and then there are musicians, and Chuck is a musician. He feels his music right down to his bones and that translates onto the stage and into his performances.
HUGS — Jolynn Stevens hugs a duck at the Houlton Humane Society’s “Petober Fest” Sunday.
    His standing ovation said it all. A huge thank you and a ton of appreciation for a magical evening enjoyed by all. Refreshments followed the performance and most everybody stayed for coffee and donuts and some lively conversation.
    Then Sunday it seemed as if the entire town was at the shelter at noon for a very fun afternoon. Our first ever “Petober Fest” was in part the result of having to postpone Rockin’ the Doghouse because of the weather. Sometimes we are disappointed when our plans have to change at the last minute and sometimes things work out for the best and in this case I think the event was better and more fun right at the shelter.
    Cars were lined up the street on both sides with people walking half a mile to get to the shelter. There were a number of animals in our “petting zoo” including little goats, big bunnies and a 45-pound snake (which my grandson Landon actually touched, to the amazement of all). There were donkey rides, pigs and chickens and a cow. There were games and a ton of food.
    An assortment of puppies and kittens were available for adoption and we were pleased to have a visit from one of the ladies from Georgia who helps us rescue dogs that would otherwise be put down. She never deals with any shelter or rescue that she does not visit so she spent time with us at our event and told us that ours was one of the best facilities she ever visited.
    We adopted out eleven animals on Sunday.
    In the food prep room, I found four children sitting on the floor visiting with the puppies. The puppies were curled up in their arms, fast asleep, worn out from the day’s activities. What a smile it brings to your face — kids and dogs!
    There was a cruise-in with several really awesome cars on display, music DJ’d by Jonathan Miller and all kinds of food. There were so many people that we actually ran out of hamburgers and hot dogs, but there was still plenty to eat with salads, nachos, popcorn, cotton candy and more.
    Executive Director Heather Miller must have been exhausted by the end of the day because she was constantly on the move. This person wanted to adopt a kitten, that one needed an application for a spay/neuter loan, another needed to adopt a puppy. Paperwork flying everywhere, questions coming at her non-stop, I bet at the end of the day she was tired of hearing “hey Heather!”
    It takes a lot of people to put on an event like this, and we really appreciate all the volunteers, everybody who brought animals, cars, food to sell, everybody who came to visit, everybody who left with an arm load of treats. I bought apples, homemade stewed tomatoes, salsa, had pictures of my grandsons riding the donkey, and enjoyed myself tremendously. This was one of the first events in over 20 years where there were enough volunteers, so I didn’t actually have to work and I had an absolute blast just wandering around, talking to people, enjoying the atmosphere and watching the excitement as kids hurried from one place to another to see this animal or that.
    What a great job by all who worked on this. The planning and organization; the execution, all nicely done and I heard wonderful comments from everyone there.
    These events are necessary to help us raise money to keep the shelter going. Our expenses continue to go up with fuel oil at an all time high, but God bless the staff for all they do to cut costs wherever they can. The building has to be heated and insured, and the staff has to be insured in case they’re hurt, and we still have a mortgage. Almost $1,000 a month goes into paying down the mortgage, but still, considering we have a $350,000 building and a $90,000 mortgage, not as bad as it could have been. So fundraisers go a long way to help us and your generous donations at the concert and the festival are very greatly appreciated.
    Why do we keep doing this? For over 60 years the Houlton Humane Society has invested its time and resources into saving just one more dog, one more kitty, one more bunny, whatever the need, large or small, we work just a little harder, just a little longer, for just one more animal we can save. It matters to them, and it matters to us. Thank you for helping us!