We ask if you have a vet. “What does it matter?” we hear, “I don’t have a dog now so why would I need a vet?” It matters that you either have a vet or establish a relationship with one immediately upon adoption because the first time you have an emergency and are not a current patient of a local veterinarian, your emergency may not be their priority if they have long-term clients with similar emergencies or previous appointments.
We ask if your other animals are spayed and neutered. “What does it matter?” one will ask. “All my cats are indoor cats.” It matters to us because spaying and neutering your pets has multiple benefits from a health perspective, temperament perspective, and trust me, a cat in heat will find her way outdoors if there is even a smidgen of an opportunity and still, in this day and age of enlightenment, we all know the consequences of allowing an unaltered animal to breed, there are still six million unwanted dogs and cats euthanized every year.
We ask about your schedule and eyebrows go up and people say “Why, what does it matter?” and we explain to you that the dog you are looking to adopt is high strung and has separation anxiety and should not go to a home where he is left alone all day long. It’s about what’s best for the dog, not what dog you think is cute, not what dog you just have to have, but what’s best for the animal, the perfect match, the perfect home.
We ask if you have ever given away any animals in the past and you ask again “What does it matter?” and it matters to us in placing a pet in a home because these are living breathing companions who feel the pain of neglect and abandonment.
If you are just going to keep this puppy for a year or two, then get two more and decide to rehome the older dog, that is not in the animal’s best interest. It never ceases to amaze me, I know there are circumstances beyond our control, a death in the family, a newborn infant child with severe allergies, your house burns down and you have nowhere to go but a place that doesn’t allow animals, a new pet adoption that just does not work out because of conflicts with existing companion animals. We get it. We understand that. But if you merely replaced a dog with a couple of new puppies and think that’s OK, we don’t.
“What does it matter?” you ask, as long as you put a cat in a new home, why do you care if we have other cats, have a vet, have a rotating door philosophy when it comes to pets, isn’t your job just to find homes? And we say “it matters”. It matters to these animals and it matters to us, that we find not just any home, but a good home, a forever home, a loving home, a safe home, a home where they are warm, fed, loved, given medical care when needed, where they are part of the family. It matters.
If you would like to help us take care of these pets who matter, please join us Saturday evening, Oct. 15 at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton, 5-7 p.m. for a spaghetti supper, silent auction and more. Admission is by donation and we promise an evening of shared joy and good food. If you think it matters that someone is the voice of the animals, stop by, we’d love to see you.
Cathy Davis is the treasurer for the Houlton Humane Society.
