Ark Animal Sanctuary – Week of August 14

5 years ago

About a week ago we received a phone call from a lady about a stray cat that had been hanging around her house. Unfortunately it was a Saturday and no one answered the phone at the place where her town contracted, and the animal control officer was unavailable.  

The next phone call she made was to The Ark and while the Ark wasn’t open I took the phone call. When she told me the situation I directed her to the people she needed to get in contact with, which she had already tried but to no avail. She was concerned that the cat was injured because it was low crawling and crying. Turns out the cat wasn’t injured but instead it was a female in heat.

 Now I know you are thinking a female in heat is not an emergency and can wait until Monday right? Well to me it was a big emergency and the lady at the end of the phone was thinking the same as me. We could leave this cat out there and let her get pregnant which was a pretty sure thing or we could take her in and prevent another unwanted litter from being born.

While The Ark was already beyond capacity we made arrangements to bring her in. The lady drove the cat to us and made a donation to help cover the cost of a spay for her. The sweet girl has since been spayed and we were able to catch her before she actually got pregnant. To us this was just the right thing to do.

Every day we receive phone calls and many times we have to say no. We are not miracle workers with an endless supply of money and space. Most of our money comes from fundraising and donations. 

Our volunteers work tirelessly to care for the animals and  to make a difference. While our hours of being open are limited because many of us work full time jobs, there is almost always someone at the end of the phone to try and help direct you or give you answers. We are  committed to making a difference.

 One thing we would like to tell everyone is make sure you know who the animal control officer is for your town and make sure you have their contact information. If you do not have this information contact your town office.  Also know who your town contracts with for a shelter. Each town contracts with a shelter, and that shelter gets paid an annual fee to take in the strays from that town. This is valuable information when you are trying to help an animal in need.

 Thank you for your continued support and as always, thank you for reading our column.

The Ark Animal Sanctuary is located on 101 Old Woodstock Road. To contact Lorraine Monfils call 532-7387 or check out their Facebook page.