To the editor:
It was troubling to me to read the article in your Aug. 31 issue regarding Norma Milton being asked by the city of Caribou to relocate her shelter, Halfway Home Pet Rescue, into an area that is not zoned residential.It is troubling on many levels:
• First and foremost, Norma and her volunteers have worked tirelessly at great personal sacrifice to help their community by rescuing hundreds of cats each year. Caribou and the surrounding towns have benefited greatly from their efforts. They have spared no expense or effort to help these animals and have been duly certified by the State to operate a shelter.
• Northern Aroostook County is in desperate need of animal shelters. Central Aroostook Humane Society and Halfway Home Pet Rescue are the only shelters in an area that could easily use two or three more. Both shelters struggle to meet the unrelenting demand and both do an excellent job with the resources they have.
• The ordinance defining “kennels” does not pertain to shelters and is ambiguous according to the Caribou Code Enforcement Officer and, if enforced across the board, would result in many citizens having to move since a good percentage of households have more than three pets.
• The Halfway Home Pet Rescue Board recognizes that the shelter should be relocated to another area and is working to accomplish this; they just need the time to do it.
I truly hope that the City of Caribou officials will resolve this matter in a way that will be in the best interests of the communities that Halfway Home Pet Rescue benefits. To do otherwise would be no less than tragic.
Jean Cobb
St. Agatha
