Excuses, not reasons

15 years ago

To the editor:
    The questions I raised regarding the Central Aroostook Humane Society could have been easily answered by any board member if you all weren’t as secretive as the Illuminati! I asked workers and managers at the shelter on several occasions for the time and whereabouts of your meetings so I could address these issues, but no help was forthcoming. Who are the members on the board? Again, no answer. So, Ms. Robinson, how could I easily address these issues to you who remain nameless?     Here’s a suggestion: post names and numbers of all board members at the shelter. Also, post the location and dates of upcoming meetings so those with issues, or those with an interest in the operations of the shelter may attend, instead of being patronized for asking a simple question in the local paper.
    Now to address the reasons given that an outdoor cat area is a bad idea, as stated by Ms. Robinson.
    1. If they’re a good idea, every shelter would have one. Well, not if they drag their feet like this shelter has; but many do have them and they work great. Why not contact those who currently utilize them, or is this too much trouble?
    2. Cats pass bodily fluids; and dogs don’t, in their beautiful outdoor area?
    3. Stray cats may be attracted; ever heard of stray dogs?
    4. Fleas and ticks (aren’t all animals de-fleaed there?); hmm, dogs can’t get fleas and ticks?
    5. Cats fighting; so all dogs get along? Solution, as with the dogs, do with the cats. Find out which get along first.
    This next excuse made me chuckle — no, actually laugh. She states some people don’t want to adopt “outside” cats. Are you kidding me? We’re talking cats allowed to experience “freedom” outside in a totally fenced-in enclosure for a couple of hours a day. Are you telling me people won’t adopt these cats simply because of this? Please. An excuse is “the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie” and I think all of these can be seen as excuses, not to do something for the cats.
    The last excuse is that such an enclosure would “invite people to abandon their unwanted cats.” First of all, there’s already a place at the shelter that invites people to do this if they’re so inclined. It’s called the dog enclosure. That enclosure is made of fencing only about five feet high. It’s much easier for people to put their cats, dogs, ferrets, rabbits, etc. in that one. The cat enclosure would be approximately 10 feet high with the top two to three feet slanted in at a 45-degree angle.
    As far as the “condo on wheels” mentioned, these are about triple the size of the small cages and flimsily made. Yes, they are on wheels and yet I’ve never seen them rolled outside. Even if they have been, they’re not what I’d call anything near freedom. I ask any objective person to compare the so-called “cat condo” to the beautiful, large run the dogs have enjoyed for years.
    To the remainder of the board, if Ms. Robinson speaks for all of you, I will not be supporting the shelter any longer. This is a sad day for me and those like myself who wish to see the cats treated in a much fairer and humane fashion. It’s also a sad day for our area for it means those in “power” over the shelter have decided the fate for felines presently there and the near future — and it’s not a good one.

Clare Kierstead
Presque Isle