Feet. Most of us have them, some of us have one, many have two. I can remember when my son was little, I was fascinated by his tiny little feet and tiny little toes. I sit at home at night and state, regularly, “Scruffy, stop chewing your feet”. (Scruffy is my dog, not my husband before his shower).
If you live in Maine, you “dress your feet” which is a phrase I was not accustomed to some 40 plus years ago when I moved here from New Jersey. In the south, you “put your shoes on” and in New England you “dress your feet.”
If you live in Maine you have at least five pairs of foot dressings — the winter boot, the sneaker, the hiking shoe, the dress shoe, and the sandal or flip flop. If you live in Maine you likely have at least two pairs of sneakers, the good walking pair and the lawn mowing pair, and you have at least two pairs of boots, the snowblowing, shoveling boots and the wear to work boots.
Your dress shoes may consist of church dress shoes and work dress shoes. You may have light colors for summer and dark colors for winter. You may have enough shoes to match every outfit.
Where the heck am I going with this? I’m sure you’re asking yourself by now. Well based on my calculations above, right now a family of five likely has 30 pairs of shoes, most of which are in good condition because the older shoes have found their way to the back of a closet or into a box.
Right now, Houlton has a population of around 6,000 people, each having, by my estimate at least 5 pairs of shoes, so that’s 30,000 pairs of shoes that you are in love with, but I bet there are 30,000 old dusty shoes tucked away that you haven’t worn in years.
We want those shoes. Houlton Humane Society has joined the nationwide program sponsored by WoofTrax called “Shoes for Shelters.” Our goal is to collect 2,500 pairs of shoes by Nov. 6 and turn those in for cold hard cash. We can earn up to $1,000 to help pay medical bills for the animals in our care, and for spay/neuter surgeries.
Please help us by dropping off your shoes to one of the following collection sites: Hannaford Store, Machias Savings Bank, Hogan Tire, Houlton Town Office, Varney Agency and the Houlton Animal Shelter. More collection locations will be announced as folks get on board to walk with us to the victory circle. Let’s show these big city girls with the fancy shoes that County folks have what it takes to compete head to head with them.
It is a little known state law that all animals must be spayed or neutered before being adopted from an animal shelter. Houlton Humane currently has a veterinary bill of over $1,000 for the spay/neuter surgeries for the animals in our care. This project will help us pay that bill and others to come.
Eventually adoption fees will refund that revolving account, but right now we are relying on fundraisers to help us pay these bills and other medical bills for the animals in our care. Join us, drop off your shoes, tell your friends, have them bring them in from all over the County. Thank you!
Cathy Davis is the president of the Houlton Humane Society.
