August, 2006

Dear friends,

I hope this letter finds you in good health! I don’t think I need to ask you how you are enjoying this summer – I am checking my feet daily to see if I have webbed feet yet, or maybe even grow mushrooms between my toes. We have had lots and lots of rain here in Maine. At least the temperatures are not in the 100s like in many places of the US. The animals are not too thrilled about the constant thunder, lightning and downpours either, but we all have to live with it.

It is much harder trying to live with and understand the human race. This month we ended up with six more dogs and four kittens – Mary will tell you all about the felines. The dogs, well, all I can say is HELP!!!!! We are busting out of our seams, and we are turning people away left and right who are trying to get rid of their once so much loved companions. A couple dropped off two basset hounds because of their pending divorce – one dog has some vaccinations, the other nothing – vet bills ahead.  Another “pair” the man reeking of alcohol- dragged a beautiful nine month old Shepard on a chain into our yard. It took Mike a half hour to bring the dog to a run, because the poor animal was so scared that he would walk one step, then crouch down on the ground, walk one step, crouch on the ground again. The only time I ever saw something like this was last year in New Orleans, where a big pitbull, rescued from God knows what situation, did the same thing. I tried to walk this dog, and that was one time I thought an animal should be put down, even though he was physically healthy. Whatever he had been through must have been pure hell. Anyway, this new Shepard is a beautiful dog, and hopefully will trust humans again enough someday to be placed.

One of our long time donors, Mary Jane Gorton, who used to have an animal rescue in New Hampshire and now lives in Florida, also talked to me about the horrible things going on in the deep south where her local Shelter is killing 5,000 animals every year.

So rescuing three more dogs is just a drop in the ocean, but it’s also three more lives saved, and since she was coming up to Massachusetts on a trip anyway, we agreed to take these three Floridians. Mary Jane has helped us out in the past by placing several of our dogs, so now we return the favor. BUT six dogs, winter coming, not enough space, and more and more telephone calls from people kicking their pets out. Sometimes it is getting really hard to handle. As long as we have your financial support, we will keep going, somehow.

With summer vacation the donations are down, which we are used to it. With all the animals needing vet care and the regular bills not disappearing either, we need your help very badly! As to the space situation, well, unless we win the Megabucks or a nice sized inheritance, it will go step-by-step, and may take several years. As you know, this year's fundraiser money will be used to construct more outside runs, which will be connected to the barn. After that the barn will be converted inside, which will take lots of material to do. It may be cheaper to tear the barn down and build a new kennel, but since we are on protected wetland, we would never get a building permit for another building, so the barn will have to do. Jim is doing the building, no cost, but all the materials have to be bought. So, I imagine it will be a couple of years before we can add, hopefully, another eight runs to our shelter. Which reminds me, someone said not too long ago that ours is not a Shelter anymore, it should be called “Sanctuary” ! How’s that for a compliment? 

CAT REPORT – August 2006

The bad news first: we lost Speedo, a.k.a. Hidey, this month.  She developed a breathing problem that sent her hastily to the vet; turned out she had encapsulated infections, of unknown cause, in both lungs, leaving her too little capacity to get enough oxygen. Putting her on oxygen at the vet’s helped, so I tried medication and rest, but after a week or so of alternate comfort and crisis, it was time to give up.

The good news is at the top of this column: BabyJay’s five kittens, born July 28, 23 days old when Brian Parent took their picture. They all seem to be thriving, though for the first month or more I’m careful about predictions. Rachel, the only girl in the lot, started walking when she was 15 days old, a week ahead of the average kitten, according to my cat medical book.  By the time I moved the family from the big dog crate in the living room to the intake/quarantine room when the kittens were 18 days old, all five were wobbling around on their feet, with frequent tumbles.

I named the kittens Rachel (tri-color), George (orange tiger with a white chin), John (orange tiger), Phineas (orange and white) and Simeon (tan). I keep asking BabyJay what their names really are, but she just purrs and looks wise.  The first five people who correctly identify the novel I chose the names from will get a free kitten. J Just kidding; we don’t give them away that casually. Seriously, though, they’ll be ready for adoption by mid-October, and applications will be entertained starting in September.

The house was a bit schizophrenic the last of July and beginning of August. In the living room, I had the space heater running to keep the kittens’ quarters above 80 degrees; while upstairs, the air conditioner was on to keep those cats comfortably cool and make it easier for Speedo to breathe (the humidity wasn’t good for her at all). If you’re wondering whether I was tempted to move BabyJay and family upstairs and let the upstairs mob trash the living room, the answer is no.

In another part of the house, Mr. Tom, our cat with FIV (feline HIV), now has five companions, including Buddy, who came to me as one I’d be responsible for fostering and got adopted as a Charley’s Strays cat. Buddy, caught after wandering the streets, is FIV-positive and also has a pellet in his chest where he’d been shot. The vet with whom his rescuer works advised euthanasia.  Instead, he joined my FIV+ room, and I’m very glad.  He’s a handsome cat, young (probably about two years old) and lively and super-friendly – lies by the back door waiting to purr a greeting as I come home. When our vet checked him over, it turned out the pellet went around the outside of his ribs and is nestled under his skin where it should do no harm. Mr. Tom, Buddy, Home Boy, Terrell and Arnold are loose in the room and getting along well, although they’re all big rugged ex-males. The newest one, Ben, still lives in one of the walk-in cages; he’s on antibiotics and in an e-collar while a long wound on his leg heals. 

The two rescuers responsible for these guys disagree with veterinarians who consider a positive AIDS test a death sentence. At this point, looking at these happy and (knock on wood) healthy cats, so do I. Except for Mr. Tom and Home Boy, the FIV+ cats haven’t been on the web site, but Buddy and Terrell will be soon, probably by the time you get this newsletter – Brian took their pictures while he was at the house to snap the kittens. The FIV+s are adoptable, by anyone with a good relationship with a caring vet. And if you know of someone who definitely wants just one cat, having an FIV+ cat is a valid reason to refuse to consider a second one.

Brian and the rest of his family continue to do all kinds of useful things for our cats; the Charles cat, Olivia, sends cat food every week; Karen is buying food for BabyJay and the kittens, and she and my friend P. A. Lenk are both shopping for the canned senior food I use a lot of and seldom find on sale. About half our cats are seniors now, including some that have been with me since they were adolescents – how time flies! My thanks to all of them and to all of you who help pay the vet bills and keep this organization running. We couldn’t take care of these cats and dogs without you.

Alice Winston, Swampscott

Betty Sawyer, Jonesport

Beulah Fortier, Thorndike

Beverly Maheu, China Village

Carole Parker, Stoughton

Cindy Houston, Woburn

Cristine Cardello, Melrose

Cynthia Herrick, Newton

Doris Lary, Hartland

Dorothy D’Alessandro, Ossipee

Dorothy Eckstein, Medford

Dorothy Watkins, Amesbury

Doug Robertson, Dennis

Enid Hayes, Halifax

Francis & Judy Archer, Canton

G & R. Welch, Stonington

Harriet Snyder, Brockton

Inge Maiellano, Marblehead

Iris Martinello, Tewksbury

Irma Simon, S. China

Jackie Lowney, New Bedford

Jean Catignani, Conway

Jim LaVita, Dennis

Joan Ryan, New Bedford

Joe D’Alessandro, Tuftonboro

John Caswell, Newport

Jon & Barb Anderson, Fram.h.

Joseph Arouca, Ormond Beach

Joseph Blake, New Bedford

Josephine Smith, Woburn

Judy & Al Smith, Belmont

Kathleen Hillman, Chelmsford

Kellee Lowney, New Bedford

Laureen Alden, Stoughton

Linda Merriam, Dresden

Lisa Montmarquet, Raymond

Lorena & Harry Clark, Beverly

Marcia Smith, Bucksport

Marian Delarue, Woburn

Marlene Kaplan, Melrose

Mary Klayda, Winchester

Maureen Murray, Brick

Michael Kane, Greenwood

Mildred Walker, Presque Isle

Nancy Brown, Waltham

Nancy Capone, Wakefield

Naomi Teixeira, Jay

Pat Thain, N. Billerica

R. D. Bournival, Nashua

Robert Hull, Lawrence

Roberta Chaves, Westport

Sandra Nicholson, Beverly

Susan Culver, Wayland

Viola McDonald, Woburn

Willa Rockett, Belmont

This brings me to the end of the newsletter. Have a great month of September, until next month . . .

Stay happy and healthy,

Gabriele, Mary, Karen, Ruthann, Cindy, Stan, Mike, Ted and Jim

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