Pet Talk

By Cathy Davis
    The phone rings off the hook at the shelter. It starts at 8 a.m. and never stops all night long. We’ve been there at 7 p.m. having a meeting and the phone rings. There is always a question about a cat not using the litter box, or someone missing a pet or a poor critter that was hit by a car. Calls are answered after 11 a.m. when the crew is done cleaning, but monitored regularly. This day, the call was a little different from usual.
    “I need help” the caller sobbed; she had rescued a chicken from a neighbor, yes, a chicken, a blind chicken, and she wondered if the shelter could help.
    Chickens are not in the area of our expertise, but that never stopped Heather. She quickly agreed to take the little clucker and started making phone calls. She found a sanctuary for special needs chickens (can you believe it) and on Monday Heather is driving Missy Chicky to Waterville to meet a transport volunteer who will take her to Rhode Island.
    Okay, some of you are rolling your eyes, but for me, there are tears in my eyes, because this is what we do, and this is especially what Heather does. Her passion is for all animals, but very especially those with special needs. If a feral kitten comes in from an unattended colony and it has two good legs, one half leg, and one missing leg, Heather not only takes it in, she fosters it, and eventually adopts it. Her home is a haven for one eyed, three legged critters who would have little hope of adoption if it wasn’t for her big heart, welcoming home, and understanding husband.
    So hats off to Heather, and to the neighbor who cared enough to rescue this little chicken in distress, and thanks to the rescue groups who are assisting with the transportation. It’s just one more success story in a long line of successes.
    Can we win them all?  No. Nobody can. But do we try our best. Yes, yes we do. We know our limits, there are some programs we just don’t have the funds or staff to run, so we stick to what we do best and we work hard to continue to improve. 
    We are gearing up for a busy couple of weeks at the shelter because statistically, lost pet calls increase almost 70 percent during the end of June and first of July. People who are traveling with pets who become separated from their owners, animals who bolt during thunder storms or parades or fireworks because they are terrified of the noise. There is always a lot of excitement at the shelter during this time of year.
    If you leave your pet home alone during this season, make sure the doors and windows are firmly closed.  If there is a thunder storm and your windows are open and your little Scruffy can’t get in behind the toilet or hide under the bed, he just might jump out a window, and trust me, I’ve known of a 150 pound dog who jumped through a window and ran down the road to try to outrun a thunder storm.
    If you are entertaining, keep your pets sequestered in a quiet, low activity room, you cannot trust your friends, as conscientious as they are, to always remember to firmly close a door when coming in and out from the back yard, and it takes only a split second for your dog to be next door visiting the neighbor.
    You might consider having your pet microchipped. This is a relatively inexpensive procedure, and assures that your pet will be returned to you promptly if he arrives at a shelter. Shelters all have microchip readers and if you do have your pet chipped, make sure to keep your information up to date. A microchip is only as good as the information on file. If you had it done five years ago and moved three times, you are about as good as invisible.
    As much as we love seeing dogs downtown during Midnight Madness I am going to say the unpopular thing here, please leave them home. This is an extremely stressful environment for a dog, a lot of noise, strange smells, other animals, and of course the fireworks, and your pet would be much better off home, safe, in his own bed, eagerly awaiting your return. 
    If you do bring Rover to town, then don’t forget your poopie bags. There is nothing more disgusting than watching someone’s dog use the sidewalk as a bathroom and then have the owner walk away to let someone else step in it. Please clean it up. You may feel embarrassed to walk down the road with a bag of poo in your hand, but personally I regard this as a badge of honor.
    So there you go, from blind chickens to doggie poo, I think we’ve covered it all this week. Please join us at the Shelter this Saturday, June 23, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a day of fun, a petting zoo, snacks, adoptions (yes we have babies), and just plain fun. If you have any spare blankets, dish towels or dish cloths, and would like to donate them, please bring them with you.  And thank you for all you do for the animals!