Late April 2008

Dear Friends:

After a two-week visit to my brother in Germany, I am back home safe and sound. Thank God. Two weeks of spring weather in my home country with everything in full bloom left me once again wondering what I was doing up here in Maine. The only flowers I saw coming back were ice flowers. We still have at least one foot of snow on the ground – I tried to walk into the woods a couple of days ago, but gave up after I managed to get stuck in the snow up to my knees; so much for spring in Maine. The sun is shining, so it’s only a matter of days, weeks, or months?

While I was away, Gabriele, the dog who got stuck with my name, hit the jackpot in form of a very nice family, who adopted this little bundle of energy. The vacated run did not stay empty long; a new dog took up residency in it. It’s a fairly small Springer-Pekinese mix, 2-3 years old. Her companion was an older lady, very ill, who gave the dog to her daughter. The daughter has two small children, and of course no time for the dog. It’s the same old story, as these stories go: This poor fur ball ended up with us. After she is spayed, she will be ready for a good home.

Hopefully Mike will send me some pictures, or maybe I can convince Jim who will be driving to the Shelter next week to take some. He is afraid of cameras, I think.

Ben, the only dog we have left out of “Charley’s” time, became very ill – he had bloody stool, was hanging his head, and would not eat any more. We took him to see the vet, and spent a couple of days in intensive care. He was put on infusions, antibiotics, and had all kinds of tests done. $350 later he was released back into our care with the comment: “It’s hard to believe how much energy this old dog has and how well taken care of he is!” Ben must be around 15 years old now, but still, or rather again, going strong. Ben has spent most of those 15 years at our shelter, and he seemed very happy to be back home. I remember many years ago, when he was only 4-5 years old: A couple had come to adopt him. They had tied him to the doghouse out back, and Ben pulled the doghouse with him into the woods, chasing some animal. He was also so full of energy, that he knocked down the lady a couple of times. Needless to say, they brought him back to us. Poor Ben – the only home he really ever had was Charley’s Strays.

All our other 4-legged friends seem to be in fine health, but they all have cabin fever. They are ready to hit the summer residences, but with all the melting snow, everything is under water. We need some hot windy days to dry it all up. Hopefully this will happen soon! In the meantime they still get their daily playtime outside.

To take care of all their needs, we need money, of course. So I was very happy to receive some items already for sale at both the Pet Rock Festival this summer in Massachusetts and our fundraiser in fall. Fran Munday, a lady I met and became friends with in Florida, has mailed me a box full of custom jewelry and other small items, which should sell very well. Another couple from Maine, who do not want to be mentioned by name, mailed me a box full of mostly antique jewelry, some very unique and stylish pieces. Jim will have to build a display box for the jewelry in order to keep it in place.

On the right is a picture of some of the jewelry. If anyone is interested, let me know, I can send you some close-ups. There are many more pieces – and one is more beautiful then the other! If you need this special piece of jewelry for a gift, think about us. Your purchase will let us take care of some of the needs of our  dogs and cats.

We also received a donation in memory of Luke from Judy and Al Smith. Then there was a check in memory of Michael Zichelle, Sr. from Doug Robertson and Jim LaVita. Viola McDonald sent us a check from cans and bottles her friends had collected. Mary Klayda mailed us a donation in memory of her late husband Frank’s birthday.

Thank you very much to all of you!

CAT REPORT  –  April 2008

What an addition our Ozzie is! Superfriendly with people, and after some initial rude noises and occasional cuffs he’s getting along fine with a group of cats. He eats in a separate room part of the time, but when he joins the rest for a meal everyone still eats, though not in total peace. He’s very pleased to have more space than the quarantine room, because he’s a cat who likes to move fast, bad leg and all. When I hear a cat dash from the front hall door to the far end of the porch, it’s usually Ozzie. One day he was on his way somewhere in a hurry and another cat was in his path: Oz went right over him without even breaking stride. He also enjoys supervising as I scoop litter boxes, often from a perch on my shoulders.  Brian intends to take his picture soon so we can advertise him on the web and maybe find him a home of his own.

Heather looked him over when she was here for the house call and agreed with the previous vet: leave the leg alone as long as it doesn’t bother, but be prepared to have it amputated if anything goes wrong, like the elbow he walks on gets sore.

Buddy and Mr. Tom, two of my big FIV+ male roughnecks, were the only Charley’s Strays cats on this month’s house call list. Heather found them both healthy. She didn’t even comment on Buddy’s weight. In spite of a year on diet cat food spiced with a little t/d for his teeth and a dozen or so pieces of regular food for flavor, he’s still Buddy the Fat (though I wouldn’t insult him by calling him that to his face).

Not a lot of news otherwise. Robin and Agnes and I chatted this evening before supper about how silly people are not to want to adopt two such well-behaved, affectionate cats just because they’re “too old” – they’ll both be 11 this year, Agnes in May and Robin in August, and have been with me since they were teen-agers. And, as usual this time of year, I’m getting depressed thinking about the influx of unwanted kittens; peepers, dandelions and “Free Kittens” signs are typical evidences of spring in this area.  

However, I can always cheer myself up by thinking of my fellow rescuers and the rest of you out there who read this newsletter and give us a hand when you can. Thanks especially to Diane and Mike Rizzo, whose WalMart gift card Gabi passed on to me for cat food and supplies; as always, to Teresa and Brian and the rest of the family; to Karen, Olivia Charles and the mother of a patron at the library where I work for cat food; and, again as always, to all the people who help keep Charley’s Strays going.

Alan Bachrach, Petersham

Betsy Anderson, Framingham

Betty Sawyer, Jonesport

Carole Parker, Stoughton

Charlotte Travis, Saugus

Chickie Smith, Woburn

Cindy Houston, Woburn

Cristine Cardello, Melrose

Doris Lary, Hartland

Dorothy D’Alessandro, Ossipee

Dorothy Eckstein, Medford

Dorothy Watkins, Amesbury

Doug Robertson, Dennis

Emilie Jorgensen, Boston

FM Global Found. Johnston

Geatane Heath, Penobscot

Inge Maiellano, Marblehead

Iris Martinello, Tewksbury

Irma Simon, S. China

Jan & Barb Anderson, Augusta

Jean Catignani, Conway

Joseph Blake, New Bedford

Joe D’Alessandro, Tuftonboro

Joseph Kogut, Upton

Judith Rohweder, Northport

Judy & Al Smith, Belmont

Linda Merriam, Dresden

Lisa D’Alessandro, Raymond

Lorena & Harry Clark, Beverly

Marcia Smith, Bucksport

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