Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
    This is our last opportunity to encourage you to adopt a new pet before the holiday rolls around. I can’t believe how fast it got here. No, I haven’t done my shopping yet. No, I haven’t sent my cards, yet. This has been a bad year with sickness interfering with fun and the need to rest outweighing the need to shop. But there is still time for you to consider giving a pet a new home. Just stop by the shelter and speak with Heather, Luanne, Marsha or Caleb and they can tell you what you need to know about the pets that are available for adoption.
    One thing we don’t believe in, and that is adopting a pet for someone else and springing a big surprise on them. It’s one thing to bring a kitten home for your own kids, but a whole different set of issues to bring home a rottie for Gramma. 
    So if you think you know of someone who would love an animal, a shut-in perhaps, stop by the shelter and pick out a gift certificate for them and offer to pay the spay/neuter fee, so that they can pick out their own pet and won’t have a lot of expense when they do.
    Our Homes for the Holidays event was a huge success and we adopted out four cats that day with more going out in the days after.   Everybody had a great time, great food and lots of fun. Santa and the Elf were a hit and I’m just sorry I missed them all. I was away that weekend, but I saw the photos and you could tell everybody was having a good time.
    This is been a long year for our staff. They have worked so hard to find homes for our animals and in appreciation we are going to close the Shelter right down the week between Christmas and New Years and allow the staff to spend some much needed quality time with their families. 
    Shutting down to most businesses means you don’t have to go to work, but not so with the shelter. Shutting down still means you go to work in the morning and take care of the animals, but you get to leave early and then take turns going back to walk the dogs.
    In the meantime, you can use that time to make sure your pets are all up to date on their shots, that their licenses are renewed, that you have grooming appointments to get them started in the New Year right! We’re hoping to pick up brochures today that we had made and you will find these extremely educational – thank you to Shirley Oliver for the idea. These brochures give you a list of towns that use Houlton Humane, a list of their animal control officers, a list of local Veterinarians, some information on how to find Rover if he becomes lost, a list of items that could hurt your pet, and a list of items that all shelter and rescues could use to help keep them going. It is not a fund raising brochure, it is a brochure that we hope you keep right on your refrigerator door so that you have to refer to something it’s right there where you can find it. We think you’ll find it right full of useful information.
    It’s been a great year, many thanks to an outstanding board of directors for all your hard work all year long and all your unique ideas, many thanks to the best staff we’ve ever had, and a special thank you to our Shelter Director Heather Miller. Most of all, thank you, each of you, for your kind and generous support. We wish you a wonderful holiday! Merry Christmas!
Cathy Davis is a longtime volunteer for the Houlton Humane Society. She can be reached at houltonanimalshelter@gmail.com or 532-2345.