HOULTON, Maine — A local business owner said Monday that a fundraising event to benefit a local animal shelter and honor a veterinarian who died earlier this month garnered approximately $2,800 for the organization.
Lorraine Monfils, executive director of the Ark Animal Sanctuary, said that around 15 couples took part in the annual Strut Your Mutt dog walk on Saturday. Participants walked from downtown Houlton to the sanctuary, located at 102 Old Woodstock Road.
The event, which served as a fundraiser for the facility, this year also honored Dr. Laurel Pinales. The veterinarian, who operated the Aroostook Animal Hospital in Houlton for nearly 30 years, died in early October.
“I believe we raised approximately $2,800 from both pledges and the auction,” said Monfils. “We did not have many walkers this year due to the weather, but we had a steady crowd at the open house for the animal shelter.”
The open house featured live music, a bake sale and cookout, a silent auction and a children’s costume party.
She said that residents flocked to a small chapel for both a blessing of the animals and a service to honor Pinales during the open house. Monfils said that the veterinarian donated a great deal of her time to assist animals. After she retired from the Houlton area, Pinales donated much of the contents from her veterinary clinic to the Ark to be used in the organization’s new building. Because of her efforts, the shelter now has a full surgical suite.
Monfils said that much of the money generated by the event has “already been spoken for.”
“We just had to pay our $740 insurance premium, plus some veterinarian bills last month,” she explained. “Those amounted to about $1,000. At the same time, we need to buy oil for the winter, so that will cost about another $1,000. Any money we raise goes right back into our organization pretty quickly.”
She said that much of the expenses are centered on the more than 30 cats that are now staying at the shelter.
“All of those cats needed to be spayed or neutered and a number of them needed surgery,” she said Monday. “We have spent more than $6,000 for their care thus far. We have a few more fundraisers coming up, so hopefully that will generate enough money to carry us through the winter.”
