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Dear friends,
It
seems like I just wrote my last newsletter the day before yesterday. It really
is odd how I am losing time. I wonder if that’s a personal problem or old age?
Anyway, here we go again, another newsletter in the making. We are right smack
in the middle of summer, and a nice one it is, for a change. Lots of sunshine,
very humid, lots of mosquitoes to help us remember that Maine is NOT paradise,
even if the sign coming into the State of Maine claims “Maine - The way life
should be." I could do without those little bloodsuckers, and so could our
animals. And what’s really bad this year are the horseflies and deer flies.
Some of our dogs at the Shelter have lots of bumps on their noses where
they've been bitten. And poor Oliver is really catching hell. While Jim and I
were at the Shelter I tried to spray some “Off” on him, but he would have none
of that. And trying to chase a bull weighing at least a ton through the
pasture with the “Off” can, well, I decided not to go for that. At least this
way we parted as friends.
As I already
mentioned, Jim and I spent a week including the 4th of July weekend
at the Shelter. The new lady, Ruthann, started her job on the 4th
also. I felt a little bad about that, since most people like to spend this day
with their friends and families, but the dogs still need their care, and they
could care less if it’s a holiday or not. Ruthann brought her |
fiancé,
Mike, along who helped Jim, while she and I did the dog part.
Surprisingly for me she caught on very fast, I did not have to repeat a
single instruction. I think she had more problems with my German accent,
but she will have to get used to that, right?! After all, you can’t
teach an old dog new tricks, and I can understand myself pretty well
J.
Anyway, Ruthann and I did the feeding, watering and cleaning, and by the
end of the week she was ready to take over. Besides training her, I had
to cut the knee-high so called lawn, which really looked more like a
pasture. Bruce had not done anything for the past 3-4 weeks, so
everything was totally overgrown. Our push-lawnmower of course couldn’t
handle it, so it took me 3 days with the weed-whacker to cut everything,
strips of 10” at the time. By the end of the week I was exhausted, but
had also lost 4 pounds from walking 100 miles or so, which was a nice
side-effect. In the meantime Jim put the extension of the outside roof
in place, one of those jobs where one has to be on the knees. And Jim’s
knees have been in lousy shape for several years. So since we came back
home he has been taking lots of pain pills to be able to walk. Yes, the
golden years. Yesterday when I got a message from Ted with lots of
praise for Ruthann and Mike I was so happy! It looks like we may have
hit the jackpot. |
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From
what Ted said everything is very clean, the dogs act very happy. The
grass-lawn-pasture part is cut and Mike and Ruthann are lowering gates
where needed. In winter the cold always pushes everything up, so in
spring most of the gates have to be let down, or the posts have to be
hammered back into the ground, something Jim always had to tend too. If
they keep up their good work, a lot of the maintenance problems, which
are really small when attended to right off, won’t turn into big
money-gobbling problems. Jim will not have to drive 500 miles to tighten
a screw. From what I can tell about Ruthann, all of us volunteers will
be able to feel better about the dogs, not wondering if the person who
gets paid for doing the job is actually doing it.
More Shelter news
One
of our supporters, Beulah Fortier, called me with the good news that a
friend of hers was looking for a dog. She sent him to our Shelter, and
he and his wife found a very well behaved beagle, our Shiloh, who really
played up to them. He normally is more of a brat, but showed his best
side to the couple. So he got to go home with them. We had placed him
before with a family and another dog, but he did not work out there,
started to mess in the house after he was there a few weeks. Since he’s
going to be the only “child” with this family, maybe he won’t pick up
his old bad manners. I sure hope so.
Before we left the Shelter, I had put our Davy, the “biter”, in an
inside run, so that Ruthann could feed and water him without getting
close to him. That can be done by closing the little door, which leads
into an outside run. When we get a dog that acts mean or is vicious we
always do that, in order to prevent getting bitten. Anyway, Davy was not
a happy fellow; he is used to being outside during the summer months
with his female companion, Holly. So Ruthann felt bad for him and
decided to take the bull by his horns. She went inside his run, with him
being there, figured she may as well get the biting done and over with.
Davy must have felt sorry for her too, or admired her being “gutsy”,
because he never bit. She sat down with him, he licked her face, they
became friends and he was allowed to go back out to
Holly. I had been very
worried about the
“Davy-situation”, so I was really happy to hear that good news. |
But not
all is sunshine; we had some bad news too. When Jim ordered hay for
Oliver, the farmer who has been delivering the hay had a talk with Jim.
He said he had been watching Ollie, and noticed that Olli is in a lot of
pain, partly caused by his arthritis, which we knew he had, and partly
caused by his hoofs, which we didn’t know were a problem. Mr. Richards,
the farmer, said we were being very cruel to Oliver, and we should put
him down. Now that’s the last thing we want to have on our conscience,
the knowledge that an animal suffers because of us. So sometime this
month, when Jim and I go back to the Shelter, we will have to deal with
that. Olli has been there since being a calf, and my guess is that he is
somewhere between 14 and 15 years old. I have asked many people, farmers
and others, how old a cow/bull can get, but nobody seems to know. I
guess no one ever keeps one that long. There is nothing we can do about
his hoofs, or his arthritis, so we may have do the humane thing and put
him out of his misery.
Ted and Gizmo. Gizmo is looking for a good
home – but he has a health problem, diabetes. He needs to get an insulin
shot twice a day. Giving this shot is easy – right under the skin. So if
you are looking for a very small dog, please consider our Gizmo! |
CAT
REPORT – July 2005
The
good news is, Peaches has a new home. He’s the super-friendly golden
guy who always helped the vet on the house calls, unless we shut him out
of the room. A local woman met several cats and preferred him. I
called her today, after he’d been with her about a week, and it sounds
as though everyone’s happy. She said he follows her around like a
puppy, especially when she’s near the refrigerator, and helps her and
her husband with everything they do, likes their dog and seems to enjoy
having a whole house to race around in.
The
problem of company for Tess is solved, too. I moved both Purina/Meg,
the all-white cat who’s the other remaining Charley’s Original, and
Evita, Kennebec’s, still mostly wild, black-and-white mother, from
the back room upstairs to the small room that Tess and Snooks shared.
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Tess is all black, except for the five white
hairs that come and go on her chest and the single white whisker she
sometimes grows on her left cheek, so it’s a good color combination.
Tess doesn’t yet act as though she likes the other two, but they don’t
fight, and she does seem happier not being alone. Evita, who’s always
been thin, is gaining weight at last, because with no special-diet cats
in the group I can leave dry food down between meals. However, I can’t
do that all the time, because Meg, too, is gaining weight, and she
doesn’t need to gain any more.
Gray Cat is still on medication and doing
all right, though he doesn’t appreciate being dosed several times a
day. I’m so glad I got that air conditioner. It’s been hot and humid
most of the time since I wrote the June report, and I’m sure Gray would
feel worse if he were too hot. I set the thermostat at 74 degrees and
the back room feels cold compared to the rest of the house. Some of the
cool air seeps under the door into the Tess/Meg/Evita room, too, keeping
them comfortable.
When
Dottie adopted Peaches, she was generous enough to bring some food for
the rest of the cats plus a cash donation. Linda, one of the Save Our
Strays people, also brought me food, and some hand-knitted,
easily-washable small blankets, perfect for cat beds. The Parent family
continues to supply coupons, blankets, toys and help when needed, and
Olivia Charles sends food every week. And of course without all of you
who contribute, this whole operation would be impossible to maintain.
Many thanks, and I hope you’ve enjoyed or will enjoy your summer
vacations.
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A dog story with a happy
ending:
Abby is
one lucky dog. Recently she was rescued by the waste-water plant manager
for a small northern Maine town in the St. John Valley. For her first few
weeks of rescue she was housed in a building next to the water treatment
plant. Realizing this wasn’t a permanent solution and the poor dog needed
a home, the plant manager contacted Ruth and Charley who are friends of
Charley’s Strays.
Ruth and
Charley contacted Jim and Gabi Brewer. They were ready to take Abby into
Charley’s Strays. The Shelter was full, and some juggling was needed to be
done to accommodate the new dog, even on a temporary basis. After many
telephone calls between several people, and a visit to see this poor
pooch, a new “forever” home was found with Tammy, Karl and their daughter
Erika Searles in Van Buren, Maine.
Erika
named their new dog, “Abby.” After an initial visit to their local vet,
they discovered she was only about four months old. She made herself right
at home. She has a doggie bed at the foot of Erika’s bed where she sleeps
at night. Abby is no slouch either; her days are full of work. |
She’s the navigator on
Karl’s garbage truck. She now spends her days driving with Karl on the
many back roads of northern Maine, making sure he doesn’t get lost. And
Abby’s day is still not done when she comes home: She accompanies Erika’s
mom, Tammy, on her fitness walks. Lucky isn’t the word for Abby, lucky is
the word is for the Searles family who adopted this wonderful dog. |
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J
. . . and a little smile for you . . .
A
couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a
word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of
them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard
of mules, goats and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically,
“Relatives of yours?”
“Yep," the wife replied, “in-laws." |
Thank
you very much!
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And there is a
lot more to smile about: Your support of our critters. Again,
without your help Charley's Strays would not and could not
survive. A huge “Thank
you” to the following people: |
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Inge Maiellano, Marblehead
Nancy Capone, Wakefield
Christine Cardello, Melrose
Robert Hull, Lawrence
Dorothy Eckstein, Medford
Pat Thain, N. Billerica
John Caswel, Newport
Marie O’Brien, Pawtucket
Paula Wisniowsky, Tyngsboro
Marlene Kaplan, Melrose
Ruth Giusti, Green Mt.
Dorothy Watkins, Amesbury
Linda Merriam, Dresden
Jon & Barb Anderson, Augusta
Viola McDonald, Woburn
Dorothy D’Alessandro, Ossipee
Mildred Walker, Presque Isle
Grace Kiley, W. Roxbury
Dante Bartolomeo, Temple
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Naomi Teixeira, Jay
Joe D’Alessandro, Tuftonboro
Michael Kane, Greenwood
Jean Catignani, Conway
Judy & Al Smith, Bemont
Sandra Nicholson, Beverly
Gail Allen, Lewiston
Elizabeth Johnson, Sanford
Jackie Lowney, New Bedford
Alice Winston, Swampscott
Kathrine Collins, E. Boston
Beverly Maheu, China Village
Cindy Houston, Woburn
Enid Hayes, Halifax
Josephine Ford, Holden
Judy Rohweder, Northport
Irma Simon, S. China
Linda Clish, Bangor
Donna Bering, Lynn
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Josephine Smith, Woburn
Doris Lary, Hartland
Mary Klayda, Winchester
Merle Sideman, Burlington
Nancy Brown, Waltham
Dorothy Biron, Waterville
Harriet Snyder, Brockton
Lorena & Harry Clark, Beverly
Rust Pappathanasi, Swampscott
Marie Delarue, Woburn
Florence Mason, Lexington
Doris Babbitt, Westford
Joan Ryan, New Bedford
Carole Parker, Stoughton
Laureen Alden, Stoughton
Iris Martinello, Tewksbury
James Lavita, Dennis
R.D. Bournival, Nashua
Pat Thain, N. Billerica |
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Our dogs
received a Walmart gift card from Marie O’Brien and Linda Merriam which
lets us buy more goodies for them; the Ecksteins mailed a box of treats up
from Mass, and several of our supporters included stamps, much needed,
with their donations. Michael Kane sent a list with several potential
donors, keep your fingers crossed that one or the other will be interested
in our cause. Thanks to all of you!
Then we
received a letter with a large donation from Judy & Al Smith. They heard
about us from Dr. Bachrach in Petersham, who had been treating their dog
Molly. Judy wrote: “Molly has been a patient of Dr. Alan Bachrach for many
years and he graciously extended his caring and compassion to allow Molly
to pass with dignity. Again he refused |
any
compensation for his act of kindness, so in his honor and in memory of
Molly, please accept this donation”. A huge Thank You goes to both
Judy & Al Smith, and of course to Dr. Alan Bachrach and his wife Debbie.
Thanks for thinking so highly of our Shelter!
Each of
you donors is doing this little special thing for our animals. I wish I
could write about every one of those acts of kindness. But I don’t want to
write a book every month. I think you all know how much YOUR help
is appreciated! That wraps it up for this month. Please check out Mary’s
Cat Report, and a “Dog Success Story” from our webmaster Charley. Wishing
you a wonderful summer |
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