By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — In Lorraine Jellison Monfils’ ideal world, every pet would have a loving home. But the reality of the situation is there are far more animals needing a home than people who are willing to accommodate them.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
ANIMAL LOVER — Lorraine Jellison Monfils plays with one of the many kittens in need of a home at her Main Street business. Monfils, with the help of others, is raising money for an animal sanctuary.
Therefore, Monfils has set out to establish a sanctuary of sorts for pets both large and small.
The roots for forming the Ark Animal Sanctuary began back in 2004 when Monfils and her husband moved back to Houlton. She opened a pet grooming business – Hollywood Pet Salon – on Main Street and volunteered for a time with the Houlton Humane Society. But a desire to create a bigger, more open environment for pets in need soon began to grow for Monfils and the wheels for the Ark Animal Sanctuary were set in motion.
“There are just so many animals that need help,” Monfils said. “We want to do things a little differently. We’d like a big place in the country so we can provide a cageless enviroment.”
The mission of The Ark Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit organization, is to rescue and provide food, shelter, medical assistance, love and compassion to any animal in need, regardless of age and medical condition.
“We want to have room where animals can be free to roam and go outside if they choose,” Monfils said. “It’s a big dream, but I think we can get there.”
According to the group’s Web site, “We will take full responsibility of every animal placed with us until they find loving homes. The Ark is a no-kill organization. Euthanasia will only be considered when a veterinarian recommends it for the best interest of the animal.”
“The first step was to find a lawyer to help us become a non-profit entity,” Monfils said. “Sara LaClaire of Presque Isle donated her services to help. We are official in the state, but we’re waiting for the IRS.”
The group believes every animal’s life is meaningful and deserve loving homes and has a number of ambitious goals. First it hopes to better educate the public on the importance of spaying and neutering pets, to help eliminate the problem of unwanted pets and overbreeding.
Secondly, the group hopes to educate the public about the responsibilities of pet ownership.
Thirdly, the group hopes to identify feral cat colonies and implement a trap, neuter, release program that will help control the feral cat population.
The group’s vision for the Ark Animal Sanctuary is to acquire a piece of land large enough to accommodate pets both large (horses and farm animals) and small (cats and dogs) so that those animals can roam in a more open environment.
Thus far, the group has been organizing fund-raising events, and has collected about $7,500 to date. Much of the money, however, has been used on food and neutering and spaying of animals. A special benefit, “Miracle on Mechanic Street,” has been scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5. That fund-raising event will feature the sale of Christmas trees and wreaths, Christmas carols, pictures with Santa, and food and drink.
Members of the group’s board of directors include Ann Rairdon, Nancy Knights, Jen Hughes, Naomi Williams, Lori Weston, Melissa Berube and Monfils.
Other visions for the group are the creation of a gift shop on the premises with crafts, quilts, donated by various individuals with all proceeds to go to the animals’ care and the creation of an Ark Angel chapel to pay tribute to past companions.
“Last week, we adopted out three cats, but had nine more come in,” Monfils said. “People are calling us, but the best we can do is take their name and number. When we have cage space available, we call them back. Most people are willing to feed the animal and give it shelter until we can get to them.”
The group will not have paid employees. Instead, all support and maintenance will be on a voluntary basis.
“We’re hoping through fund raising to come up with enough money to buy a piece of land and put up a building, but we have a long way to go,” she said. “We could probably do it all comfortably for $70,000. We’re not looking to do anything elaborate, just functional and clean. You can always add on later.”
When doing fund-raising events, the group often runs into the question “Don’t we already have an animal shelter?”
“We are not here to compete with the Houlton Humane Society,” Monfils said. “All the money goes to the animals, whether it’s for them or us. Most people, once you put it in perspective understand. We just want to do something a little different.”
The group has also been helping households that are overextended with animals that keep reproducing.
“We went to one household where the lady had 19 cats, none of which were neutered or spayed so they just keep reproducing,” Monfils said. “So we had her bring all 19 to us and had them neutered and spayed. We gave one back to her and found homes for the other 18.”
That scenario has repeated itself in several households around the town, Monfils said. The group recently pulled 30 kittens from a home that also had 13 adult cats. The adult cats were neutered and spayed, while the kittens were adopted out.
“There are a lot of places here in Houlton that if we wait for them to come to us for help, we’re going to be looking at far more animals,” she said. “If we hear of a situation, we are knocking on their door offering our help. Eventually, it will cut down on the numbers out there.”
The average cost for spaying and neutering runs from $50 to $80. To that end, the group is seeking the assistance of a local veterinarian who would be willing to offer reduced prices for their services in spaying and neutering dogs and cats.
Between foster care families and those located inside Hollywood Salon, there are more than 100 cats in care. The Ark Animal Sanctuary has 30 cats in its custody. Individuals interested in serving as a foster family, or those looking to volunteer at Ark Animal Sanctuary can contact Monfils at 532-7387.
