HOULTON, Maine — These past few weeks we’ve been having a little work done around the house. This entails pre-planning when it comes to the critters. The cats have their own little room where their litter boxes are and during times of construction or renovation, in order to protect them, we lure them into this room with promises of soft beds, wet food, and long naps. Once locked in, they attempt to dig a tunnel out and when that fails, they nap through the day.
The dog is then tricked into chasing a toy into mama’s room, where he whines uncontrollably when locked in. It sounds cruel, but nowhere near as scary as the summer work we had done when Scruffy was so afraid of the sound of a nail gun and skill saw that he snuck past the workmen, out the door, and down the road.
I mention this because all too often we forget about our furry friends and their sensitivities. Fourth of July is a good example, when there are fireworks everywhere, it’s not a good idea to take Rover for a walk in the park just at dark.
A badly frightened dog’s weight triples when he pulls on a leash in panic and you do not want to lose your best friend in a crowd of 6,000 merrymakers. It might be as simple as making sure your pet doesn’t sneak past the Schwans’ man or the UPS lady, when they deliver. It might be as complicated as choosing just the right doggie day care or play friend.
My dog gets along well with other dogs, but only if the other dogs don’t come near me, and then when they do, my jealous pup, all 25 pounds of him, will show his pearly whites as if he had a mean bone, and a 100 pounder will back off in fear.
I guess all I am saying is what I constantly preach to my grandchildren “be aware of your environment.” Don’t stand in the middle of an aisle at the store if someone is trying to walk by you, that sort of thing.
And when it comes to our pets, we must be aware of their environment, and adjust to protect them and maintain their sense of safety and security.
At Houlton Humane, the staff is constantly learning the quirks of our pets as they come in and reside with us, so that we can be aware of just what kind of environment they will thrive in, what suits them best, what they have for fears, what makes their tails wag. This helps us place these animals in just the very best situations that we can. The staff does a remarkable job in a short period of time, allowing them to focus on pet-to-person matches that are made for each other. Bear with them if you fall in love with an animal and they say “he really isn’t for you.” They will find you another that is, but being ever so cautious to fit just the right pet with just the right family. Being aware of your environment and theirs, that’s the first step to a happy forever home.
The Houlton Humane Society is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located on 263 Callaghan Road, Houlton, ME. Officials can be reached at 532-2862 or via email at HoultonAdoptsAPet@gmail.com.
