Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
    Wow, what an awesome weekend! Haven’t you just been loving the weather?
    This past Saturday, the Houlton Humane Society set up a yard sale right at the Shelter and we were delighted when the entire yard filled with cars. It was a busy day, and we sold half of our items, but we still have a shed full of items that never even got put out. We apologize to the few who showed up a little after 1 p.m. and we were cleaning up. Our intent was to stay open till 2 p.m., but all that time in the heat, on our feet, and traffic was slowing way down, so we did close up just a tad early.
    We will be having another in August, and one last sale in September.
    A lot of people took a tour of the Shelter. It was a very busy day for the animals, and an adoptive family came out to have some social time with a dog that they will be taking home the middle of this week.
    Many thanks to all those who donated items to sell and all those who came to buy, and a special thank you to Bob for helping to set up, and to Cara and Heather, always there for the animals, no matter what.
    A lot of people wondered what they can do to help the shelter in the future and the one thing we are going to need a lot of volunteers for is our Sept. 10 event. This takes about 30 people to serve food, man the craft tables, help with the kid’s games, help with set up and clean up, so if you can help during this event, would you post a note on Facebook, or email me at houltonanimalshelter@gmail.com so we can put you on the list?
    This year is going to be the most fun ever and right now what I am asking for is artwork. We would like to have an art tent and display the work of local talent. The art should be animal related in some way – perhaps a photo of your pet, a painting or drawing. It could be animals in nature, like moose photos, or it could even be a frog taking a piggy back ride on a turtle, but somewhere in your art there should be a critter of some sort. We will have the audience vote on their favorite by casting ballots and there will be winners in various categories. 
    Maybe you’re not an artist and couldn’t take a good picture, but you could have a talented child or grandchild, or a talented dog or cat. Yes, there will be a category for pet art, created by your pets. It’s actually very popular nowadays to have creative animals who can put paw to canvas. Just make sure that you use pet friendly paints that will not harm your pet’s paws or make them sick if they lick it off.
    If you’re a teacher, love kids, love game shows, or are a kid at heart, we are going to have some really fun games for the children, and – are you ready for this – some exciting games for the adults! Have you ever seen “minute to win it”? Would you be brave enough to get up on stage and try to move an Oreo cookie from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands?
    We are going to have some very new and exciting events and we will still be offering at least four live bands during the day, an antique and classic car show, a food tent, a craft tent, and, well, I’m not going to tell you everything because you’ll just have to come see for yourself.
    Last year we charged an “admission” and gave tickets equal to the value of your admission that you could spend on food, games. We did this to avoid having so many people handle money and always running out of change, but to be honest, if you are a family with five kids, that just doesn’t work for you. So this year the entire event is free. If you want to buy something, enter a contest, have a lunch, then of course there will be a charge for the food and games, but the music is free if you want to just come sit in the park all day and listen. 
    I wish September wasn’t just around the corner but we all know it is, so let us know if you can help with this event so we’ll have a head count of volunteers. Thank you for all your loving support. We are constantly overwhelmed and grateful!