Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
    A standing ovation, wonderful positive comments, a time to be whisked off to another world, even if just for a little over an hour – what an afternoon we had Saturday. The audience included 11-week-old babies and 90-year-old Saints and everybody there walked out amazed and stunned at the performance they had just witnessed. I overheard so many wonderful comments and I just can’t even begin to thank our performing artist, Chuck Loucka, for all the time and effort he put into this event. From the months it takes to memorize so many pieces of beautiful classical music to the time to meet with the sound and light people, transport his piano and set it up, we are just so fortunate to have someone who is so dedicated to doing anything he can to help the animals.
    Chuck’s family did not even know what he was playing for this performance, it was a huge secret for months, because with his piano, he can practice for hours but the only one who can hear it is him, through his headphones, so his family could see his fingers flying but had no idea what pieces he would play. Chris tells me she woke up in the wee hours of the morning one morning and Chuck was humming along to the music and tapping his foot to the rhythm, but of course Chris could not hear the music, just the hum and tap.
    Many thanks to Chris Loucka for agreeing, last minute I might add, to introduce Chuck, and to Jonathan Maples for doing the sound and the closing message.
    A very special thank you to Joe Fagnant who worked the lights, and coordinated the event with the school and his music students and introduced the two very talented students who performed opening pieces, Courtney Bragan on saxophone and Dustin Fitzpatrick on marimba. Both were a pleasure and delight to listen to and we were so pleased to have them join us.
    A thank you also goes out to Tim Horton’s for donating the coffee and McDonald’s for donating the punch, all the board members and volunteers who baked and cooked for the free refreshments and all those who helped set up and clean up.
    Events like this are necessary to keep the shelter going. Our budget for this year is about $20,000 in the red. In other words, even with all the fundraisers that we do, we still will need $20,000 more to pay all the bills.
    This past month we had an unexpected bill when our dryer quit. If you’ve never been involved in animal rescue, you might not know how important a washer and dryer are but the animals are housed in stainless cages and in order to provide them with soft warm bedding, each cage has a blanket or towel or sometimes even a specially made bed provided by volunteers. These need to be washed as part of the cleaning protocol, to prevent spread of disease, and of course they need to be dried. Our washer and dryer run about five hours a day.
    Shortly after our dryer quit, I had a call from a sweet young lady who had recently lost her beloved kitty Alex. Alex was adopted in the spring of 1993, the runt of the litter. He was so tiny it was questionable whether he would make the ride home, but Alex just seemed to know he was safe and he relaxed in the loving arms of his new mother and thrived in her care. Over the next 18 years Alex and his mom developed a tremendous bond, one that I can relate to totally, because I had that same connection with my beloved kitty Elizabeth Ann Cat. Unless you’ve been there, you will never understand what it is – some invisible energy, silent communication, a thread between you and a pet that is so strong you can feel it tug at your soul. 
    Alex was one of the lucky ones. He had a home, he had a family, he had a warm bed and plenty of food but most of all, he had love. 
    Alex passed away this December and his mom was looking for a way to honor his memory so she contacted the shelter to see if we had any special need. When I told her about our dryer, she offered to pay for a new one. Today, our brand new dryer is in service, providing warm dry bedding for the animals in our care. Many thanks to Heidi Stewart for her love and compassion, for giving Alex a home, taking such good care of him, and remembering those animals who are not so fortunate as a way to honor Alex. Many animals will benefit from Heidi’s gift.
    It seems like every week there is a new story, a new hero who steps forward to help save the life of one or more animals that have no way to speak for themselves or fend for themselves. We domesticated them and then we treated them like property, disposable property, and there are some of us who believe we are responsible for making sure all of these animals have a fair chance at a healthy life in a loving home.  Thank you for being there to help us along the way.
    Cathy Davis is a longtime volunteer for the Houlton Humane Society. She can be reached at houltonanimalshelter@gmail.com or 532-2345.