Pet Talk

    A lot of you have been asking about our annual Morgan Renee Cowett walk-a-thon for the animals so I’m pleased to tell you that the event is scheduled for May 1 at Mike Carpenter’s farm on the North Road.  I am very excited about this event for a number of reasons.  Thank you Melanie Greaves for once again chairing this event!
    First of all, the location – we are so thrilled to be able to use Mike’s farm and he has promised us that he will be offering some carriage rides, and we’ll be offering some small farm tours and possibly even some opportunities to get “up close and personal” with a variety of farm animals and pets.  Our deepest appreciation to Mike and his family for opening up their home to us and our walkers.
    If you are not familiar with the location, it’s the first farm on the left after the State Police Barracks.
    Registration will be 10 a.m., the walk will be at 11 and will take you across beautiful walking trails at the farm.  We will be there rain or shine so if it does rain, remember to bring your boots and umbrellas!
    After the walk we will be serving lunch to all the walkers and volunteers and having our door prize give-aways and awarding prizes for the dogs in the walk – youngest, oldest, smallest, best dressed, ugliest, you name it, there’s a prize for it.
    If you have never done a walk before, this is how it works: You pick up a pledge sheet from one of a number of locations. This year pledge sheets will be available at the Town Office, Varney Agency at 9 Katahdin Lane, Northern Musical Supply on the Calais Road, or if you want, just call me at 532-2345 from 8 to 5 daily and I’ll fax, email or mail you a pledge sheet.   We might possibly be able to put some pledge sheets at Walmart in the pet aisle, so watch there for those, we’ll see what we can do.
    Next,  go to your friends and you let them know you are participating in a walk to raise funds to help animals.  We are calling this “strutting for strays” this year and your friends can pledge $5 or $20 or $100, whatever they feel is fair.  The more pledges you have, the more chances you have at winning some fabulous prizes.  In years past we have had walkers with pledges in the hundreds of dollars each.   You might set yourself a goal, maybe $200 to raise, and then contact your friends and family, co-workers, etc.
    I’m doing a walk this coming Saturday in Brewer for MS, and I found that just sending out emails and letting people know what the cause is and asking for a small pledge is very effective.  
    When you have a commitment from someone, collect your money before the walk and bring your pledge sheet and the donations with you when you come to register for the walk.   That way you are signed up for the door prizes and the grand prize for the highest number of pledges collected.
    It doesn’t take a lot of time, effort, or even a lot of people to make a difference in the lives of animals.  If just 10 people walked and each of those 10 people raised $200, that’s $2000 that can go to paying for veterinary bills or other vital care for the critters.  Please join us, it’s a fun event, a great day out, an awesome opportunity to meet with other pet lovers and their friends, and a chance to change a life.
    This event also gives us an opportunity to remember Morgan Renee Cowett.  Morgan and her family have volunteered at the shelter for years, walking dogs, socializing cats, helping whenever and wherever they can help.  Morgan’s life was tragically cut short but in her short life she did more to help the animals, she did more to make people smile, she touched more lives and more hearts than many people do in all their lives.  God Bless Morgan’s family for allowing us to  honor her in this way and for their continued support of all animal welfare issues.