To the editor:
It has been a busy year for Halfway Home Pet Rescue volunteers. There has clearly been increased demand for our services. Other shelters and towns are seeking help by referring callers to HHPR.
Perhaps the increased demand is because we do all age-appropriate medical care before adoption. Perhaps it’s because HHPR’s mission includes the rehabilitation for injured or emotionally damaged cats (abused and/or grossly neglected).
Rehabilitation can take many months of volunteer time. Patiently working with an abused cat can create true miracles in transforming defensive postures into a loving personality. We work on building trust – however long it takes. You will notice some cats have been with us for a long time. This either means that extended time was needed for the healing or that we had not yet met the right adoptive family.
Many times in 2014 we seized the opportunity to transport to three wonderful shelters in southern Maine, enabling HHPR to aid more than 400 neglected and abandoned cats in The County. That is a huge number for a small, all-volunteer rescue.
Without volunteers we could not do as much medically for the cats. In 2014, we transported 153 cats and kittens to Portland, Brunswick and Cumberland shelters. Without these transport agreements, overcrowding would have required that we refuse people who either wanted to surrender their cat or had found a cat in trouble and cared for their safety.
The weather at this time of year makes refusing anyone a heart-breaking decision. Hence our decision to reach out to the newly organized statewide transport of unwanted animals. I am always amused why people don’t understand why we foster the transport of homeless cats to other communities that have available shelter space. It’s simple: once a cage is empty, we are able to help the next cat in need.
People have said HHPR is strict about adoption applications. Our philosophy: if the cat was once unwanted then we, as a rescue, are obligated to make sure it is never unwanted again; and we make sure that the unwanted cat does not have unwanted litters. We have an adoption team of seven people who must unanimously vote that the home and cat are a good match. We don’t do same-day adoptions because it takes time to check references. We do not accept references from family members — is your mother going to tell us that you go through cats like toilet paper?
There are times when an adoption team member will actually drive out to the perspective home to see if the environment is safe. For instance, if the adopter lives on a very busy street or very close to the road, we wouldn’t want to adopt to the family who wants an inside/outside cat. If a person wants an inside only cat, we can match them to just the right cat.
Rescue and rehabilitation takes time. It takes patience and knowledge of feline behavior. It takes a willingness never to rush an adoption because someone else needs the cage. Only the cat can tell us when he is ready. The transport system allows us to give each animal all the time he needs. Our entire mission is about the cats, not the people. But if we happen to help the person at the same time, it’s a feel-good bonus.
Unfortunately, we were so busy with cats this fall that we were unable to get a Christmas newsletter in the mail. Please know that we appreciate all that you do to help these homeless animals. Your support and our volunteers’ dedication to their work is what make HHPR a success. Thank you.
Norma Milton
Caribou
