Pet Talk

    It’s been a long hard road, no doubt about it, I can’t remember another time that we’ve faced  so many challenges, but thanks to the dedication of our staff and volunteers the task is complete, the battle is won, and the Houlton Humane Society Animal Shelter is ready to re-open.  We are so excited to bring our animals back out of foster care and into the Shelter where you can come visit them and adopt them into new loving homes.
    On Saturday, July 17th, from 11 am to 4 pm the Houlton Humane Society will be celebrating with a grand re-opening.   All adoption fees will be waived.  Pets are certified healthy, and we have some really beautiful animals needing new homes, refreshments will be served and if you bring a bag of kitty litter with you, your name will be entered into a raffle for many great prizes. 
    Come take a tour of the building, if you have never been to visit us, or if you’re a regular visitor but haven’t been by in the last couple of months, you will love the changes made in the building and will enjoy sharing some special time with the animals.
    For those who have not followed the progress, the Shelter was under quarantine due to ringworm.  Ringworm is a tiny little spore, you can’t see it, but it’s everywhere, outside on the trees, in the grass, you are exposed to it every day.  But you don’t have over 200 animals at home so if you bring it in on your shoes, chances are it just stays there or dies there, never causing a problem. 
    In our situation, we can’t even guess which animal might have brought it in because ringworm carried on the fur of an outdoor cat could go undetected if there were no symptoms like open sores.  Once in the shelter, all a cat has to do is rub up against the door of the cage and a visitor could reach in to pet it, and then pet the cat in the next cage, and BAM, there it goes, now two cats have it.   That same visitor walks out of the building and opens the door and BAM, now it’s on the door knob.   Someone else comes in to visit and they touch the door knob, then go into community and pet six or seven cats and BAM again, now you have a dozen animals with spores on their fur.   They rub up against the wall, another cat walks by and then she has it and before you even know it’s in the building, it’s in the entire building.
    It’s not a matter of cleaning, you can clean all day long and it won’t kill ringworm.  The only effective cleaning for ringworm is a one to ten solution of bleach which is way too toxic to use in the Shelter every single day.  It would burn the lungs of the animals and the staff to use that strong of a solution, it’s not a healthy situation for anybody. 
    The solution is detection and in checking with Shelters all over the state I’ll tell you that most Shelters don’t test for ringworm unless there are symptoms on an animal.  We are now experts on ringworm symptoms but we are also now paranoid so EVERY animal coming into the shelter will be tested from now on.   We do NOT want to go through this again.  
    Our Shelter has been quarantined for four months.   Quarantine is necessary because ringworm is “zoonotic” which means people can catch it.   The staff and volunteers have bleached, dipped in sulfur, bombed, hired an outside firm to clean the inside of the air exchange system, we have repainted every wall, every window casing, replaced all the door trim, taken down every light fixture and bleached every light bulb.  We have  sent away test after test after test to UMO, we have kept every stray that has come in out of the building and put them in foster to keep them from being exposed, we have followed every piece of advice, read every word available on the internet, and we have done everything we have been told in order to assure that this building is 100% free of ringworm spores.
    I would just like to personally thank the staff.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to the shelter and seen them up on ladders, down on their knees, bleeding from the animals who bit and scratched during the dipping process.  I’ve seen them tired, exhausted, sweaty, and in tears.  I have seen them discouraged but determined.  Nobody has worked harder.   Every single day they found a way to turn something very negative into an opportunity to learn and grow and start fresh.
    This is a new beginning and we invite you to join us, visit with us this Saturday, help us place all these animals in new homes.  And thank you for  your support and patience and most of all, thank you so much to all of you who have fostered these past months, for all the lives you have saved, and all your hard work, we really appreciate the help.