Dear friends,

I hope you had a very pleasant month of March, with all its snow, sunshine, rain and cold. I thought only April is the month which can’t make up its mind how to be. I also hope that you had a very nice Easter, with your friends and family, and that the Easter bunny laid plenty of eggs around the house, or in the snow for you. Nobody ever has explained the story of the egg-laying bunny to me J. It was still very cold at the Shelter and up here. The cost of keeping the Shelter warm is just about at the point where I don’t know how to keep on going. Which brings me right to the  . . .

Shelter News:

When Ted, Mary, Karen, Jim and I took over in 1996, at the time of Charley’s death, we had a nice group of supporters, about 230 families, or singles in all. At least I mailed out 230 newsletters each month. Now it has dwindled down to 130. These 130 supporters don’t necessarily send us a donation every month. As long as I receive at least $5 in a year’s time I will keep them on our mailing list. Of course that also means the money coming in is only half as much, especially since the cost of living has going up sky high and naturally many of you had to cut donations back too. Some of the people we lost have died, and hardly any “new” ones have come along to fill the void. Many others lost interest in our cause. In a way I can understand that too, it’s a never ending story; new animals, new vet bills, more need for money. It never stops. For the last three months our heating bill at the Shelter was over $500 per month, plus the electric bill which runs between $250 and $300 due to lots of washing and drying of blankets. The utilities alone used up over half of the monthly donations. The vet bill continues to get higher. If it was not for our credit card, we could not take animals to see the veterinarian any more.

As it is, we only do the very necessary things right now, like neuter/spaying and shots. If a dog had a lump on his body we used to take him right in to have it checked, now we more or less hope it goes away. We also used to spend money on vitamins, or things like glucosamine for our old ones to ease their arthritis pain. Those days are gone. The only thing we are still able to do for their comfort is clean warm blankets and a warm kennel. No more treats, just their dry food mixed with some canned food. Because of this I need to ask you not to dig deeper in your own pockets, I know the majority of you are giving the animals all you can afford, but talk to your friends and relatives and convince them to help us. I have heard from many other charities that donations are at an all time low, but at this point, unless we get more help from “newcomers” I fear that it is only a matter of time when we will have to close our doors to new animals. Then it would come down to taking care of the ones we have now until they die. With all the money you have given us, all the work our volunteers have put into this Shelter, the nice comfortable buildings and runs for our animals, this would be a crying shame. So please – become an “Ambassador” for Charley's many critters. With that of my chest, I will get right to the . . .

Critters-News

Last month we had placed our dog “Kate”. Well, that didn’t work out. It is not surprising to me that every 3^rd marriage ends up in a divorce; nobody seems to take time or have the patience to work out things when they are not right. No, it’s a lot easier to throw the gun down and say, “forget it”, why bother. That’s pretty much what happened to Kate too. Instead of trying to train, letting her know that there are certain laws people and animals have to abide by, the short-term owners didn’t want to be bothered and returned her.

Mary was at the Shelter when she came back, she will write a couple of words about it. I always compare things in my mind, for instance, I used to have to iron cotton blouses, now I buy “wash and wear”, so much easier. Maybe some day dog poop will come in a powdered form in order to use the vacuum cleaner, the dog itself can be set into a corner and told just to move when it’s time to eat, going for a walk is too much hassle anyway because then I may miss my TV show. God forbid if the animal may snap at someone because he gets dragged by his neck off the couch.

This must have been the reason also for dropping another dog off at our Shelter. A beautiful young female Shepherd, scared to death of everybody. “Raven” doesn’t show any physical signs of abuse. Ted says he has never seen a dog as petrified as Raven. Digging around in her past revealed her wetting in the house; every time she did she was beaten with a broom handle, which of course made her automatically pee again as soon as she saw these so-called “humans”. And you can figure out the results for yourself. Anyway, it will take a while to put some trust back into this poor beautiful dog, and lots of TLC. She still has to be spayed, but we don’t dare take her right now because we don’t want to traumatize her anymore. So yes, I am utterly disgusted and discouraged, once again.

The Fund Raiser:

As I already explained in last month’s letter, we will not have it in June this year, but in October. Cindy Houston, the lady who plays the hostess every year and also pays for the room at the Radisson in Woburn, has a definite go for October 15^th. Lots of handcrafted things will be there for sale. Maybe you can find all the Christmas gifts you need for your friends and family at our fundraiser. So please help yourself and our animals by shopping with us. And of course there will be lots of prizes, but more about that in the months to come.

And with this I will close my part of this newsletter and give the pen, or typewriter, over to our cat mom, Mary:
 

I don’t usually write about dogs, having enough to keep me busy with cats; but I happened to be at the kennel when Kate came back and when Bandit left, so here goes.

Kate came back on a Saturday when Ted and I were working.  Apparently she’s just too stubborn and headstrong to fit into an already busy family.  From what the woman who tried to adopt her told Karen, Kate knows how to act but won’t, and sometimes shows temper when she’s corrected.  She seems quite content to be back at the kennel.  She checked out the grounds while we put down clean blankets and filled the water bucket in her pen, and was waiting at the door when we were ready for her.  Since then, as far as I know, she’s been her usual lively self.

Bandit is the one-eyed dog we took in while Jeremy, his person, was on assignment on an aircraft carrier off the Middle East. We couldn’t remember how long we had him, at least 18 months, we think.  He made himself a favorite with all of us, so

when we learned that Jeremy was finally on shore duty and able to take him back, Ted and Karen and I joined Bruce on a Thursday morning to make sure everything was all right. It certainly was.  When Jeremy and his nephew arrived, Bandit was exuberant at first, jumping all over them, and then he was quietly content, lying beside Jeremy for an hour or more while we talked, prancing proudly to the car on his leash and smiling as they drove away.  Jeremy expects to be on shore in Seattle for two years, so he bought a condo, making sure there’s a nearby park where he and Bandit can walk.  He also found a doggy day care down the street for the nights he has to be on his ship.

Jeremy told us he worked for Charley for three years when he was a teenager, beginning in 1989, even before Ted knew Charley.  Back then, he said, Charley had about 50 dogs, including some Ted and I remembered, and about 20 cats.  There were only a couple small buildings and no electricity at all.  Charley slept in his car, which had no seats because the dogs had wrecked them, and the car too.

CAT REPORT – MARCH 2005

This had been a less hectic month than the beginning of the year, but the last week has been a bit crazy.  Partly my own fault, to be sure: I decided Emery and Evita, the two formerly-feral cats in the cage upstairs, had been confined long enough and let them out to join the other eight in the big double back room.  When I walk in now it feels as though there are at least 20 cats in there, with Evita scuttling away from me, Emery peering around corners and then retreating, Robin following Emery and Gray Cat swatting Black Peter.  Emery and Robin are very fond of each other, and they look so much alike that when they’re side by side I have to look twice to see who’s who.  Only Gray is upset at having the other two free, and with four black and white cats running around, he gets confused -- he intends to swat Emery and Evita, but frequently gets Petie instead.  Gray does seem to remember who Robin is and continues to treat him nicely.

Then I came home from an almost-all-day meeting and found Alison with a badly swollen eye.  The vet saw her immediately, and since he could find no sign of a scratch, he diagnosed an infection.  The medication he prescribed is working, and Alison likes the oral stuff and doesn’t give me too hard a time with the

eye drops.  But I’m keeping her separated from the rest of her group (it includes her wild son Kim, whom I could never treat if she infected him), which is complicating arrangements a bit.   Ali is living temporarily in the small room downstairs where she and Randall, from the front room, plus one of my cats from the dining room, usually take turns eating their special diets.  She stays in a carrier while my cat eats, and I have to remember to hide the food that’s stored in the room.  Luckily, I have enough litter boxes and water bowls to go around.

Otherwise, we’re doing well, especially now that the sun is warm enough to let cats enjoy the porch and south-facing windowsills.  Snooks is very lively and continues to regain the weight she shed while she was sick.  Black Bart I think is losing his eyesight (which has been doubtful for years; the whole time I’ve had him, his pupils have been quite wide open even in bright light).  He’s another cat that lives in a walk-in cage, so he doesn’t have a lot of territory to memorize or other cats to cope with.  I make sure he knows where his food dish is when I feed him, and he obviously remembers the water bowl and the litter box on his own.  As long as he eats and purrs, I’m satisfied.

A couple people approached me about adopting a cat this spring, but each has found one somewhere else.  As I told them, when they take in a stray or adopt from a humane society that hasn’t space to be no-kill, I’m glad – our cats are safe and cared for where they are.  Some of them – not Kimmie, for sure! -- would like more attention than I have time to give them, though, so if you know of people looking for an adult cat (or a dog), please mention Charley’s Strays.  I suspect many of you already do that, along with all the other help you give us – which we appreciate.

Robert Hull, Lawrence 

Joseph Blake, New Bedford

Irma Simon, China

Josephine Ford, Holden

Willa Rockett, Belmont

Cindy Houston, Woburn

Etta McConahay, Torrance

Dorothy D’Alessandro, C. Ossipee

Jennie Bering, Lynn

Linda Clish, Bangor

Mildred Walker, Presque Isle

Carole Parker, Stoughton

Joseph D’Alessandro, Tuftonboro

Naomi Teixeira, Jay

Harriet Snyder, Brockton

Christine Cardello, Melrose

Nancy Capone, Wakefield

Viola McDonald, Woburn

Inge Maiellano, Marblehead

Elizabeth Johnson, Sanford

Jackie Lowney, New Bedford

Joseph Arouca, Ormond Beach

Lisa Montmarquet, Raymond

Dante Bartolomeo, Temple

Rust Pappathanasi, Swampscott

Doris Lary, Hartland

R.D. Bournival, Palm Beach Gard.

Lorena & Harry Clark, Beverly

P.A. Lenk, China Village

Iris Martinello, Tewksbury

Jon & Barb Anderson, Augusta

Donna Bering, Lynn

Enid Hayes, Halifax

Betty Sawyer, Jonesport

Roger Ellis, Holden

Mary Klayda, Winchester

Marcia Smith, Bucksport

Jean Catignani, Conway

Beulah Fortier, Thorndike

Dorothy Biron, Waterville

Marian Delarue, Woburn

Doris Babbitt, Westford

Marlene Kaplan, Melrose

Elizabeth Fay, Northport