Animal shelter to change hours

To the editor:
    The Houlton Humane Society animal shelter will be closed the week of January 21st to allow for the completion of various projects in the new building and repairs to the old building. If you would like to  come view the animals for adoption, please call ahead at 532-2862 and we will make an appointment for you to come in. If you have any spare time to donate, we need folks who can paint, poly and patch, scrub, dust and organize. Please call the shelter to let them know what day you can volunteer some time.
    When the shelter re-opens, we will be experimenting with a new schedule. As of Jan. 27th, the shelter will be open Sundays from 11 to 4 p.m. and closed all day Monday. This will allow better access to those who work and can only come to the shelter to adopt on weekends. So keep us in mind if you are taking a ride on Sunday afternoons, stop by the shelter after 11, starting the 27th.
    There are over 160 cats in residence at the shelter who are in need of new homes. If you have no place in your home for one more animal, perhaps you can sponsor an adoption fee for someone who cannot afford it. We have calculated that our investment in each cat is $61 for shots, wormer, advantage and the spay/neuter surgery. We don’t even begin to try to calculate the cost for food, litter, staff, building, etc. The adoption fee is $60 so technically the pets are free, you are simply reimbursing for costs you would routinely have to pay yourself if you took a “free to a good home” kitten from somewhere.
    If you cannot afford to sponsor a pet, perhaps you would simply like to join the Humane Society to help support our work. Membership is $25 for family, $10 for individual, $5 for seniors and students and $50 for businesses. Checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 548, Houlton. We need to raise over $40,000 this year over and above our town contract fees, adoption fees and other income so watch for upcoming fund raisers as the hard working volunteers pull together to earn the money to keep the shelter going.
    If you wish to drop a donation off at the shelter, we need non clumping cat litter, high energy laundry detergent, 33-gallon garbage bags, paper towels, dish detergent and hand soap. We are all set for food.
    If you have never visited the shelter before, we are located on the Callaghan Road. You go out past Wal-Mart on the Ludlow Road, take your 2nd right and we are a mile in on the right. Thank you for all your support.
Cathy Davis, president
Houlton Humane Society