When you think of an animal shelter you think of cages, lots of barking, little paws reaching out between bars. You think of a certain atmosphere, even a certain scent. If that’s the mental image you have, then you haven’t been to the Houlton Humane Society animal shelter.
Yes, we are required to have cages, and we discovered over time that if you choose communal housing for your cats, you’re just asking for problems, but at any given time if you stop by the shelter, the dogs are in a huge outdoor recreation area where they are running and playing with each other, the cats are getting their daily exercise, and even the bunnies are socializing with the general population.
Bunnies? You didn’t think of bunnies when you thought of shelters? Wow, do we have a surprise for you. There seems to be an explosion of homeless bunnies and between Houlton Humane and Hoppity Haven Rabbit Rescue, owned and operated by Heather and Jon Miller, the greater Houlton area has seen a marked increase in the numbers of rabbit rescues in the last two years.
So well known for their excellent care, contacts, and knowledge, Heather and Jon are often the “go to” people in the state when there is a situation where animal control has to remove rabbits from a home. It’s so easy for people to get in over their head. Two cute little bunnies at Easter and by the 4th of July they have rabbits running over their house.
Bunnies require special care, special food, special housing. You can’t just take an English Angora and throw it in your back yard with a bowl of water. If you’d like to put your bunny cage outdoors in the summer, did you know that some breeds cannot eat what we commonly refer to as “rabbit cabbage” – a weed that grows in your yard? Some small breeds will die if they eat this.
Bunnies are sweet, loving, and adorable. They can be trained to a litter box. They can be spayed and neutered, but they are not cats. They do have special needs, they are unique creatures and each specific breed of bunny comes with it’s own personality and characteristics, as well as color, length of ears, fur type, etc.
If you have ever considered bringing a bunny into your home as a pet, we would highly recommend that you do so after consultation with the bunny expert – give Heather a call. You can reach her at the shelter from 11 to 4 daily, 532-2862, or if you want, run out to the shelter to visit with all the shelter pets, including our resident bunnies.
The shelter is located on the Callaghan Road – you go out the Ludlow Road (past Walmart), and turn right on the second road and the shelter is 1.3 miles in on the right. Big sign out front, lots of flowers, big white building, cars in the yard, you can’t miss it.
Just remember, don’t come before 11 a.m. The staff is busy cleaning and caring for the animals, getting the facility in tip top shape for them, and for you, so the doors are locked until 11 to give them time to do that (that’s just three hours to hustle through a 3,000 square foot building, let’s give a shout out to the remarkable crew that does this day in and day out!)
Now is the perfect time to visit. We are full right now, especially full with cats, and if you can’t find just the right cat, or dog, or bunny, to fit into your family, then we also have a list of owners who need to re-home their pets and perhaps we could put you in touch with one of them.
If you do have a pet that you need to place, we apologize that we are unable to help at this time, being full, but we will take your information to pass along to others, or put you on hold till the next available opening.
