To the editor:
It is our pleasure at Halfway Home Pet Rescue (HHPR) to be working closely together with so many animal shelters, the Animal Welfare Department in Augusta, and with Susan Hall of SPAY Maine. It is, after all, all about saving lives through sterilization of animals, not euthanizing. I recently sent a number of spay/neuter requests to Susan for her to then call and work personally with the families to see that the job gets done. Make the call to Help Fix ME of Maine at 1-800-367-1317. They have recently received an influx of funding and are prepared to help low-income families with spaying and neutering.
No one shelter can do it all. There is no competition. We need more shelters as the current ones are always full and too often cannot accept new arrivals. An animal life saved is an animal’s life saved whether it is in Fort Kent, Van Buren, Caribou, Presque Isle, Houlton or way down in Otisfield.
I urge people to contact Help Fix ME at 1-800-367-1317 if you are low-income and need help for spaying and neutering. HHPR helps when we have funds, but first priority for us is that all of our adult cats are spayed/neutered, leukemia test, distemper and rabies shots and cleared of all parasites. We do the same for our kittens although they leave us with a HHPR spay/neuter voucher for when they are old enough for the surgery.
These occasionally warm days mean that the unneutered male dogs and cats are out courting. Approximately 62 days later, each unsprayed female cat will produce maybe four to sic unwanted kittens and the unsprayed female dog might produce another three to 12 unwanted puppies. This does not need to happen. The Help Fix ME and Spay Maine are willing and able to help you. Reach out! Call HHPR if you are having trouble making the connection and we will pitch in for you as well. The answer to the problem of shelter overpopulation is spay, spay, spay.
Spay Maine is a volunteer organization like Halfway Home Pet Rescue so it is important that you be very clear with your message and leave clear information on how you can be reached by telephone. Each volunteer needs only to hear those concise facts of your need and how to get back to you. Please don’t call every day and cause confusion – if your information is short and factual, they will get back to you within a week.
The Animal Welfare Department is horribly understaffed and needs for you to be concise with your facts as well. Just answering the telephone is be costly and deplete their work time if the caller rambles on and on about their problems. Just tell the problem and they will help you fix it.
I am pleased to report that our HHPR Building Fund $1 for $1,000 Challenge has now reached slightly over $3,700 toward our new future building goal. Thank you for all those beautiful $1 bills still coming in our mailbox. It keeps adding up to a house full of love for our cats.
Norma Milton, president
Halfway Home Pet Rescue
