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September 2009

Dear Friends,

No, above dogs are not at our Shelter, if they were, I would adopt all three of them. You just got to love something what looks like THAT!  Of course the pictures are fake, someone did a good job with their computer. I thought you might get a grin out of them, as I have. It beats the newsletters I receive from various rescue-outfits, which only show, half-starved, sad looking pups. There are some happy ones around, and Charley’s Strays is proof for that. Jim and I spent a week at the Shelter and with the exception of the new dog, Slick aka Jinx, everybody looked very happy and content. Slick hated me at first sight and growled and barked at me until the last day, than he seemed to at least accept me. Oh well, you just can’t win them all! Rebecca is doing a very good job taking care of our canines. Would you believe she has been there for one year already? We still have not gotten over our last caretaker; every time Jim looked for a tool, or a piece of wire, I heard him swearing. Every single nut and bolt is gone, stolen by that person. Imagine repairing things and every time you need something, being sure it was there last time you looked, it’s gone! It means, a 20-mile trip to the building supply store, and spending money. I hope Jim never meets the man in a dark alley.

I just received a call from Rebecca telling me that a new dog is on its way to the Shelter: His people are kicking out this 9-month old St. Bernard. I don’t know anything about him yet, but should you be looking for an oversized-dog, we have one! Of course he is not neutered, so that’s another huge vet-bill to deal with, since neutering goes by weight. I am just glad we don’t accept elephants, imagine what it would cost to neuter them!

 

But the good news is that this St. Bernard who hopefully will be called “Beethoven,” is replacing our black Lab Leroy. Leroy found a home on a lake with a retired gentleman. Hopefully Leroy will have enough sense in his head to behave and with all the strength he has not to throw his new companion in the lake and drown him accidentally.

 

Our German shepherd “King” may have another chance at a home too. King had been placed last year, but was not safe enough around strangers. Right now a man is coming to see King every week, talks to him and plays with him, to see if they will make good companions. We hope this will work out.

 

Then there was a lady very interested in Boomer- but if I told you the details, I would be writing a 700-page book. It was terrible and very strenuous for all of us including Boomer:  Just enough to almost send us over the edge.

 

Which reminds me: just so you have a small inkling what we are dealing with, day after day, here is a copy of an email I received:

 

Hi, My name is XXX and I live in Augusta.

I am married and have 2 kids, ages 3 and 7 and a 7 year old house cat.(adopted 1 1/2 years ago)
I am looking for a good family dog.  We tried adopting a hound mix puppy this summer and it did not work out.  He was too rough with my 3 year old daughter and barked way too much for the development that we live in. In addition it was too much to potty train the dog and the 3rd old at the same time.
So, I am looking to try again.  I am thinking about 2 or 3 year old dog that maybe had its owners move and was not able to keep them.  Hopefully no behavioral issues.

I would rather have a smaller than larger dog. I am open to gender.
We would like a more laid back dog that would be happy watching tv with the kids but was still active enough to pay outdoors with them.

Low to no barking is a must. We have 1 acre with a private yard for the dog, but it is an upscale neighborhood that does not like barking dogs.

Have I been describing the perfect dog or what???

Do you have him or her lying around?

Thanks XXX

 

After reading his mail, I was tempted to send him the following answer:

 

Hmmm - Have you thought about getting a remote-control-one at Wal-Mart’s? All our dogs are barkers, not potty trained, don't like kids or adults, are very rough, bite, are all huge, and have no gender in particular. They have been neutered. None lying around which would fit your description - sorry!

 

But then I did not bother; most likely he would not get the meaning of it anyway.

 
   

CAT REPORT SEPTEMBER 2009

 

I thought I had no news to report this month, as all our cats have been healthy and well-behaved (reasonably well-behaved…uh, mostly well-behaved?...come to think of it, let’s just say behaving no worse than usual).  Then I opened this morning’s email and I have news, and an urgent plea for funds.

 

Some of you may remember our friends Laurie and Dave, rescuers in Corinna who’ve brought an occasional dog or cat to Charley’s Strays for a home.  Buddy, our FIV+ tiger with the pellet in his chest, came from them, after a vet somewhere up north said an FIV+ cat with a hole in his side and lead in his lungs wasn’t worth saving.  The second X-ray that our vet took showed the pellet

 had skimmed along outside his ribs and is barely under the skin, doing no harm, and Buddy is a handsome happy overweight cat.  Laurie and Dave support their rescue work by running a thrift shop in a big building that also houses the overflow of rescued cats from their house.  They now have until October 17 to raise $86,000 to buy the building; otherwise, their rent will double, putting them out of business. 

Laurie has appealed by email to a long list of friends, including Gabriele and me, to donate $1 apiece and forward the appeal to 10 more people, with a note saying it’s not a scam.  So I’m appealing to all of you: please, if you can, send $1 – or more – to Laurie Mountain, 195 Bolstridge Road, Corinna, ME  04928; and ask your animal-loving friends to do the same.  THIS IS NOT A SCAM!!  If you’d like more information, Gabriele has Laurie’s email appeal, or Laurie invites people to email her at mtnman04928@yahoo.com (she might not answer right away because she uses the public library computer).

 

This isn’t a very good month to ask you to send your money to someone else, because I just scheduled the fall house call for Oct. 21 and that’s going to send our vet bill skyrocketing.  However, I’ve been working on that, too, and I think maybe (cross your fingers, please) I’ve talked a friend into a donation to help cover it.

 

This month I’m grateful to Suzanne Belisle, Roberta Chaves, Arlene Hayes, Iris Martinello, Teresa Parent and Irma Simon for coupons; to Karen and the Charles’ cat for canned food (the price of the canned senior that several cats eat regularly, and that only one supermarket carries, just went up again); and to all of you who help keep the lights on and the vets happy.  I hope you realize how much your support means to us.

 

And the rest of the good news for the month of September is that once again, with your help, we could give the animals in our care everything they needed to be comfortable and happy. Besides the donation we received from Maureen Dowd in honor of her mom's birthday. We also received help from:

Betsy Anderson, Framingham

Betty Sawyer, Jonesport

Carole Parker, Stoughton

Ci ndy Houston, Woburn

Cristine Cardello, Melrose

Dorothy D’Alessandro, Oss.

Dorothy Watkins, Amesbury

Emile Jorgenson, E. Boston

Enid Hayes, Halifax

Florence Bournival, Nashua

George Hinds, Cambridge

Inge Maiellano, Marblehead

Iris Martinello, Tewksbury

Irma Simon, S. China

Jackie Lowney, N. Bedford

James Lavita, Dennis

 

Jean Catignani, Conway

Jennie Bering, Lynn

Joan Ryan, N. Bedford

Joann DeNapoli, Winchester

Joe D’Alessandro, Tuftonboro

Jon & Barb Anderson, Augusta

Joseph Blake, N. Bedford

Joseph Kogut, Upton

Josephine Ford, Holden

Josephine Smith, Woburn

Judy & Al Smith, Belmont

Judy Rohweder, Northport

Kathleen Hillmann, Chelmsford

Keelley Lowney, N. Bedford

Laureen Alden, Stoughton

Linda Merriam, Dresden

Lisa D’Alessandro, Raymond

Lorena & Harry Clark, Beverly

Lynn Frischman, Los Gatos

Manuel German, Reading

Marcia Smith, Bucksport

Marian Delarue, Woburn

Mariann Glover, N. Andover

Mary Klayda, Winchester

Maureen Dowd, Sargentville

Nancy Capone, Wakefield

Naomi Teixeira, Jay

Pat Thain, N. Billerica

Sandra Nicholson, Beverly

Viola McDonald, Woburn

Williams, Winslow

 

Thank you very much!
     

Now the only other thing I need to make me deliriously happy is for you to come to the fundraiser in Woburn on October 17th!

 

Gabriele, Mary, Karen, Ted and Jim

PS: Need stamps, rob the Post Office!