Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
    We’re getting so excited as we gear up for our walk-a-thon on May 7. This is a week later than usual, and we’ll walk whether it rains or shines. We always have such a good time at these events and over the years we have hosted the walk at a variety of locations.
    It’s been 10 years since Melanie Greaves volunteered to host a walk for us. Every year she’s willing and able to organize the event, bring friends, family, and students to participate, and donate door prizes and various treats. Melanie’s dog Nick is a rescue dog and he has been the life of the party every year.
    After 10 years, Nick is getting a little slower, but I think in the last 10 years we’ve all slowed down a little! I know I have! But this year I am more excited than ever because I am going to bring my Scruffy to the walk and he is going to have a blast. He is such a social butterfly, he loves other dogs, loves people, he is just going to be grinning from ear to ear all day long! Maybe he’ll even win a prize, you never know! He may not be the oldest, or youngest, or smallest, or tallest, or the most brave, or the most intelligent, but I think he has the most personality so hopefully there is a category for personality!
    Over the years, we have had several walks at the Grange, which was incorporated with a large yard sale and a lunch. We’ve also been blessed to walk the trails at Mike Carpenter’s farm, we’ve walked at the community park, and this year, for the first time, we are going to assemble at the library and walk down across the Gateway Bridge.
    The morning of May 7, the Houlton Regional Hospital Auxiliary is having a duck race at Riverfront Park and I encourage you to go there and purchase a duck and participate in this very worthy cause. The ducks will begin their journey down the river to the boat ramp at approximately 10 a.m. and will hopefully have a winner within an hour or so, depending on how fast the river is running on that day. The race could be over quickly or could take half a day! But I’m guessing that by 11:30 the race should be pretty much over.
    From the Ducky race, walk on over to the library with your favorite pet, or without a pet, and join us for our walk. The first 30 walkers will receive free t-shirts. The library will be hosting a story time for the kids so they can go in and listen to stories about rescue dogs and hero dogs while you register for the walk. There is a $10 registration fee to walk your dog but if you have $100 or more in collected pledges, the fee is waived.  
    We are very excited to have Karen Folsom, owner of Karen’s K-9, join us this year. She will be offering nail clips and if you would like to see her mobile grooming unit I’m sure she’d love to give you a tour. She can give you very good advice if you have any questions at all about grooming or bathing your pet and maybe, just maybe, she might give you a few tips that will useful throughout the season. Karen is a welcome addition to our event and it’s worth coming to join us just to visit with her!
    We have an on-going fund-raising project through Nature’s Vision and there will be a table set up with catalogs that you can peruse. Items for sale include t-shirts, jewelry, flowers (what a perfect time to buy your summer flower seeds and kits) mugs and water bottles, totes and hats and beach and shower towels. I’ve always wanted to try one of those magnetic bracelets and there is one in the catalog so now’s the time to see if it works! And I’m anxious to try the flowers! There are “tree rings” in the catalog for just $10.00 promising a bounty of shade loving flowers.
    So if you come around 11:30 and sign in for the walk (make sure to get your friends to sponsor you because there is a prize for the walker with the most collected pledges), bring your kids for story time, shop our catalog, have your photo taken with your pet, then at noon we are going to do group photos. An “alumni” photo of all those who have walked with us more than just this year, and a 2011 group photo, and then off we go!
    This is not a race, this is a leisurely stroll, time for your pet to really enjoy the spring air, sniff a few trees, and just relax. It should take no more than half an hour to walk from the park down Military Street to Court Street, over to Market Square, down across the bridge and up the path to the Highland Avenue stairs. Up the stairs to Highland, back down Water Street to Court and back up Military. It sounds like a long walk, but I’ve done it dozens of times with Scruffy and it takes no time at all.
    When we return to the park, lunch will be waiting for you. You might want to bring a blanket or a beach towel and stretch it out in the park and just sit and relax while you eat your lunch. We’ll be sure to have plenty of water on hand for our four legged friends, and soft drinks for you to go along with your lunch. 
    This is just a really fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Forget the chores, forget the housework, forget raking the yard, just spend an hour or two with us, help us raise a little money to allow us to continue our work with stray and abandoned animals, and just feel the healing power of a nature walk with Rover. There’s nothing like it. The stress of the world can be on my shoulders and a half hour walk with my dog and I am in another zone.
    Come join us, we can’t wait to see you!