To the editor:
$5,000! That is the goal the Central Aroostook Humane Society has set itself to raise by Feb. 22. We truly need the support of the local communities to help make this happen. Feb. 22 is Spay Day, a day established to call attention to and build awareness of the pet overpopulation problem in this country and the need for more pets to be spayed and neutered.
The Central Aroostook Humane Society has a fund for spaying and neutering the animals in our care, and we try to get as many fixed as possible before they are adopted. But the cost of the surgeries quickly adds up and our fund has dwindled. We have decided to celebrate Spay Day with this fundraiser targeted specifically to this need. $5,000 would allow us to spay/neuter anywhere from 75 to 140 cats. Spaying costs more than neutering, but a female can reproduce at 6 months of age and have two or three litters a year (of up to six kittens each time!), so it is very important to get them fixed.
There are a number of benefits to having pets fixed …. they are less likely to develop certain cancers, less likely to wander away in search of a mate and are better behaved and calmer. The surgery should reduce or eliminate urine marking, howling and fighting. If you have an unaltered pet, we urge you to get it fixed. And we would love for every animal we adopt out to already be spayed or neutered, but in order to do that, we need your help.
When you consider that we had more than 600 cats come through the shelter last year (the vast majority of which are not spayed and neutered), you can see how desperately this $5,000 is needed. Please consider making a donation. You can use the PayPal “Donate” button on our website: www.centralaroostookhumanesociety.org. All donations received via PayPal through Feb. 22 will be put into the spay/neuter fund. Or you can donate by sending a check or visiting The Central Aroostook Humane Society at 26 Cross Street, Presque Isle 04769. Please either write Spay Fund on the memo of your check or let us know another way that you want your donation applied to this specific fund-raising endeavor.
Thank you for helping us, help them!
Gloria J. Towle, Secretary
CAHS board of directors
