I had to get my calculator out because I didn’t believe my fingers after counting several times. Yes, it’s been 32 years that I’ve been talking to you about animal welfare and rescue, and for the one or two of you still reading, thank you so much!
My mom used to keep all of the Pet Talk articles, and after she passed, I received a full book of them, never knowing they were preserved. Over the years I have shared shelter life, rescue stories, happy and sad both, I’ve been able to bring you into a small part of my life as I tell you stories about my own rescue pets, and I feel like I’m just talking to family when I sit down to bring you another story.
One constant has been the Christmas season, when every year for 32 years I have given you a Christmas wish list from Houlton Humane. It doesn’t matter what rescue you support, if you are an animal lover and you give to American Humane, a specific breed rescue, your local rescue or shelter, all have needs year round, but the holidays are especially trying as folks focus on home and hearth and funds and donations sometimes slow down.
All shelters and rescues need help, and all work tirelessly to earn their operating funds and the cash needed to purchase food, litter, pay the light bill or the heat bill, so please remember your favorite animal welfare cause this holiday season and remember that your donations are tax deductible.
Houlton Humane is in need of the following items, the next time you are Christmas shopping, perhaps you can pick up just one of these and drop them off, either at the rescue of your choice, or the office where I work, Varney Agency, 76 North St., and I’ll deliver them.
Here is our list for this season:
Bleach, dish and laundry detergent, paper towels and toilet paper, canned cat food, wood pellets (we use this instead of litter, works great and is less expensive than litter), perhaps you would like to go to Houlton Water Company and put a cash donation toward the light bill, and of course any donation will go a long way to helping us care for the dozens upon dozens of animals that come through the doors week in and week out.
And don’t forget the staff — while you are opening one eye and stretching and getting all excited about what Santa might have left under your tree, shelter staff are at the shelter, feeding and cleaning the animals. Yes, even Christmas morning, as these sweet creatures need our care and attention every day. They don’t sit in their own mess because it’s a holiday, or go a day without love and care. There are people who give up their holidays to make sure that all our Fluffys get the love they need. You might want to just thank a shelter workers or volunteer, maybe take them a plate of cookies, or drop them a Christmas card, and tell them how much you appreciate how hard they work.
From the staff and Board of Directors of Houlton Humane Society, we wish you a very warm and happy holiday and we thank you for sticking with us, through the ups and downs, the good times and the bad, you have been our rock, each and every one of you, you know who you are, the sweet lady who shows up with a trunk full of cleaning supplies, the child who has her friends bring shelter supplies instead of birthday presents, the soon to be retiree who sponsors a pet so it will be adopted quickly, the limited income shut in who sends us $5 a month. You are precious to us and we thank you all!
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.
