At the animal shelter, it’s the same thing, only different (don’t you love it when people say that?). At the shelter, summer is a very busy time because you have critters in love who pop out litters of babies who are unfortunately abandoned for lack of homes or whatever reason, and they end up at the Shelter. Population explosion in the spring and fall keeps the staff overly busy with simple day to day chores and you add on top of that the outdoor work, yard clean up, mowing, weed wacking, maintenance, and you have a full schedule.
We are very fortunate to have Jon Miller volunteer to mow and take care of our grounds for us, the staff would never have time to do all this without his help, but there is still a huge list, and growing, of things that “have to get done” from day to day in the summer.
Add on top of that the need to raise funds if we are going to continue beyond the first of the year and you have a very full schedule.
This doesn’t stop in the fall, it doesn’t slow down, we don’t have an opportunity to “curl up and relax” at the shelter any more than we do at home. Now, more than ever, we need to “gear up”.
For the next seven weeks, I have asked the staff to put on a major push and work harder than ever. What we need to do between now and the first of the year is knock on every door and look around every corner and find new homes for our animals. For too long these beautiful companions have languished in cages. A life behind bars is no life. I want to adopt out 100 animals between now and Christmas so I am going to ask you, what do you think it would take to talk you into adopting just one cat? What is holding you back? Is it the price of adoption? Is it some kind of concern that two cats is twice as much work as one? (It’s not)
Some people just don’t like animals, I get that, and I respect that. Just like some people don’t like kids, or old people, or corn on the cob. But if you are reading Pet Talk you like animals, and maybe you know people who like animals. If you are reading Pet Talk there is something you can do to help the animals.
I’m not asking for money, heaven knows we need it, but what I am asking for is to search your heart and ask yourself if you could make a huge sacrifice and save just one life. Just one.
I know that we have the right pet for you.
We have over 200 cats, and I know you think I must be a cat lover to constantly focus on cats, but the fact of the matter is, we have a very good success rate in placing dogs, we have only four dogs right now, and yes they need homes, but I am confident they will be curled up in front of someone’s fireplace before Christmas.
What we need is homes for our cats. Think about it, they are already spayed or neutered, had their shots, don’t need to be licensed, don’t need to be walked every morning or put out before you go to bed at night. A little kibble, a clean litter box, that’s all they need.
And what do they give in return? Comfort, love, companionship, loyalty. They curl up in your lap at night and keep you warm, they purr to comfort you when you are down, they never sass you, contradict you or interrupt you in the middle of a story.
These animals are desperate for homes, please don’t make them spend the holidays behind bars, please help us find homes for them before the holidays. Please.
Pet Talk
www.houltonanimalshelter.com
by Cathy Davis
I used to think that if I worked myself half to death all summer I could relax in the fall and winter, kind of hibernate you know, like a bear or something – curl up on the sofa on a cold winter day, watch it snow, read a book. Who the heck was I kidding? All summer long it’s work work work, get the lawn mowed, get the garden weeded, get the house painted, and then here we are, it’s fall, it’s chilly, and time to slow down. No sir, now the holidays are coming, and it’s more work to gear up for the holidays.
