‘Shine on, Cass’ Day
PET BULLETIN
‘Mews and Yips’ from the Central Aroostook Humane Society
By Gail Wieder
What an inspiring morning I had at Central Aroostook Humane Society Saturday, Dec. 26.
Contributed photo
SHINE ON — Friends and family of Cassidy Charette, a 17-year-old with local ties who died in a tragic hayride accident in 2014, gather outside the Central Aroostook Humane Society shelter in Presque Isle recently. A banner featuring Charette and her dog is displayed in the back row. The group volunteered at the shelter the day after Christmas, putting away pet food, organizing supplies and tidying up the space in memory of Charette, who loved animals and volunteered often with her brother, Colby, at their home shelter in Oakland.
Shine on Cass Day, in memory of Cassidy Charette, a 17-year-old from Oakland who passed away Oct. 11, 2014 in a terrible hayride accident, was held that day at the Presque Isle shelter.
Cassidy’s mom and Presque Isle native, Monica Wilcox Charette, contacted me, hoping it might be possible to have a volunteer day at our shelter in her daughter’s memory. Cass loved all animals, most especially her dog Dante, who is a rescue dog from Presque Isle. Cassidy and her brother volunteered together on a regular basis at the local shelter where the family lives.
While numerous events have been held in central Maine to honor Cass, their northern Maine family and friends wanted to find a way to support them and honor Cassidy’s memory. Friends and family were invited to bring needed items and monetary donations to support our shelter. Colby, Cassidy’s brother, would bring his guitar and play music to honor his sister.
I was amazed at the number of people who turned out for this event. The outpouring of love for this family and the beautiful young girl that was lost to them was so overwhelming. Several times I just stood back in awe, watching, smiling and listening. The support from family and friends brought tears to my eyes. Colby’s music was wonderful. I was told his guitar was a gift to him. A laser printed photograph of Cassidy is on it with the words “Shine On Cass” and “Cass 4 Ever” and 6,250—the number of days she lived on Earth.
The lobby was loaded with lots of wonderful donations from all of our Christmas givers. Our initial goal was to just get all of the donations to their locations. The public was generous this year. We had dog and cat food, paper towels, fleece blankets, toys, treats and much more.
People went to work, moving bags of dog and cat food to our storage shed. But to our surprise, they did more than just put the food away. They organized all of the supplies, putting food in order of expiration dates, tidying up the entire space and making the space orderly and more functional.
I was amazed. We had volunteers helping with laundry, socializing with the cats, walking dogs, and children and teens playing with the kittens. The end result was the once full lobby of donations, Christmas decorations and supplies was cleaned out and put away in their places. Betsy was so grateful to have this all accomplished in just two hours. It’s true: many hands make lighter work!
Shine On Cass Day was a huge success, raising $700 for our shelter and bringing together the love of friends in our community to honor an amazing young woman.
I want to thank the Charette family and all of their friends and family who volunteered their time and resources. It was greatly appreciated. To everyone who brought much-needed items or a monetary donation in Cassidy’s memory, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. But most of all, thank you for letting me be a part of Cassidy’s shining light — through all of you, her spirit lives on.
Gail Wieder is a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Aroostook Humane Society.
