To the editor:
First I would like to state I am not a volunteer, employee, or a board member of the Animal Shelter, just an animal advocate. Having said that, it is my perception the last couple of papers I have read, Cathy Davis from the Animal Shelter, has been defending why the animal shelter is in need of funds. It is always easier to blame others than take responsibility for actions we as a community could take to help the animal shelter. Before pointing a finger at those in charge of our unwanted population of animals, consider the rest of my letter. I think our community should look at the whole picture and be accountable for what part they play in why there are so many animals (majority are cats at this time) at the shelter. It is called population control. People who have pets are obligated to do their part. It is important to have your animals spayed or neutered to eliminate the funding problem at the shelter. Yes, kittens are cuddly, cute and sweet. They also grow up and people think they are less cuddly, cute and sweet.
If every household spayed or neutered their animals, it would eliminate the financial burden placed on an already over populated animal shelter.
If you have established your child or your household needs to have a furry friend, consider adoption. There are lots of animals to choose from and a lot of them just want to be loved. I advocate whenever I can about adopting a pet instead of spending X amount of dollars for a pure bred in another state.
I have three animals of my own. My dog, Michelyn is a shelter dog, adopted three years ago when she was about 4 months old; she had been abandoned and walking in the Hillview Avenue area. My cat, Rat, also a shelter pet, was rescued from a home in Ludlow where 17 cats had been neglected, abused, and left for dead. My last and oldest animal is Garfield (of course a cat) who is the only one who is not a shelter animal. He was rescued by me. Garfield is my special kitty who has grand maul seizures and is allergic to everything under the sun.
Hopefully I have stated what I wanted to say without sounding like I am preaching. I hope everyone who reads this will take an active part in helping the shelter. Assisting the shelter does not always mean shelling out money. By advocating adoption and population control methods such as spayed and neutered, you will have done your part to help.
Houlton
