Ark Animal Sanctuary

15 years ago

by Lorraine Monfils
    For those of you who have been fortunate enough to have the love of an animal, I invite you to read Grace’s story.
    In a perfect world kittens and puppies are born into loving families where they are given a name, food, shelter, medical attention and plenty of love. Grace was born into a world not knowing the human touch. She was born into a world with approximately 20 to 25 other cats, where shelter was where she could find it. Most of these cats never received any medical care, they had not been neutered or spayed. Grace’s diet consisted of left over human food such as lettuce, yogurt, ice cream and various other things which if weren’t eaten were just left to rot. The conditions were deplorable. Some days food was never left.
    The odds were against Grace from the beginning. Grace was just a kitten herself when she became pregnant. Not only was Grace pregnant, but she also had an upper respiratory infection and her belly was full of worms due to improper diet. Grace was finally rescued. She was given a name, shelter, proper diet and medical attention. Grace was taken immediately to the vet where emergency services were performed. Grace was not strong enough to overcome all of her medical problems and passed away two days later.
    For the person who rescued Grace, I say thank you! You are a wonderful and caring person. For the team of vets that tried to save Grace you are Angels and will always have a special place in my heart. Grace left this world warm and loved. Grace was only in our lives for a few short days but the impact she had on our lives will remain in our hearts forever. Grace had a purpose and a mission.
    For those of you who don’t believe in neuter and spay, please re-educate yourselves.
    For those of you who believe it is OK to drop pets off that you no longer want.  Think of the end result.
    For those of you who have situations that are out of your control, co-operate with the proper people to resolve the situation.
    Be responsible pet owners. Take care of your pets. Give them the love they deserve. Every pet should have clean shelter, proper diet and medical attention when it is sick.
    If there is a heaven, it’s certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own. It would take more than an archangel to disentangle them.
    Thank you for taking the time to read Grace’s story. I hope it has left an impression on your soul and that you will be reminded of her story if you see an animal that needs your help. You can make a difference.
    We want to report that in the month of January the AAS adopted 10 cats as well as two dogs. We currently have 60 cats and two dogs. All dogs are in foster care and the majority of cats are in foster care as well. Expenses for the Ark Animal Sanctuary were $1,697.87. A total of $600 was received in donations and adoptions fees.
    For those of you who were skeptical about another animal rescue in Houlton, here are some pretty amazing facts.  Since the Ark Animal Sanctuary has started we have adopted out 2 dogs and 100 cats, we have done 12 trap-neuter-and-release. There is no doubt we have made a difference. Please keep in mind we receive no town or state funding all of our money comes from a lot of hard work, fundraising and charitable donations.
    We have no facility to operate out of our animals are in foster care. Our foster homes are wonderful and our animals get the best of care. All of our workers are volunteers, we have no paid employees. The volunteers only compensation is knowing they are making a difference when it comes to the life of an animal.
    We do this with one goal in mind, the animals and their well being.  Everything we do comes from the heart. With all that we have accomplished, we want to do more, and that can only happen if we find a home.
    Right now our adoption success is mostly from our website.  Thanks to Darlene Kenney we have had people come from Machias, Ellsworth, Caribou and Limestone to adopt cats they have seen on our website.
    Every week we receive multiple phone calls referred to us by the animal shelter.  They are full and we are trying to help out where we can.
    But again we need a home.  The difficult part about finding a home is that we are a non-profit organization and we can’t afford a large mortgage.  Having a large mortgage would take away money from the care and well being of the animals.  We are hoping for the possibility of a house and land being donated or even just a piece of land.  The house doesn’t have to be in great shape we can fix it up.
    We know we are asking for a miracle, but miracles do happen we just have to believe.  As long as we believe the possibilities are endless. I am certain there is an angel out there waiting to help the animals.
    Thank you so much to those people who have come forward to give foster care for our animals. Thanks also to those who have volunteered to help me with the animals that I am currently housing. We do not like to ask for help or donations, but so appreciate your monetary gifts, small or otherwise. Thanks again for your support.
    If you would like to help us with a donation please contact Lorraine at the Hollywood Pet Salon  532-7387.