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Again,
this is not dry food, but pouches and cans of moist food. If
you do have some of these products and don’t want to throw them
away without checking first to see if they are part of the
contaminated foods, you can go on line, check under
www.menufoods.com/recall/product. Click onto the type of
food you have, and it will tell you exactly the batch number and
so on. If you have no computer, call me, I will check for you!
Thank God we
had none of it at the Shelter, and even though we had some of
the brands in our own cupboard, the cans had been produced
before the bad batch. What really gets me is that vets and
everybody else preach not to give your pets table leftovers,
human food is a big NO NO. Well, thinking back – my parents, way
back, and everybody else I knew gave their pets only leftovers.
I remember our German Shepherds always reached a nice old age,
like 14 or 15. No one died of cancer, or malnutrition. |
I think
table scraps will have a big come back: After all, it seems they
are not any worse for your pet’s health than the junk you buy in
bags or cans. My own dogs always got some goodies from the
table, and none of them died of cancer. One was a couple of
months short of 18, my last one only made it to 14, because of a
stroke.
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Not all news is bad this month; here is some of the good news:
I mentioned last month
that our volunteer Karen had taken “Sparky”, a newcomer, home with her
to foster him. She found a great home for him, so there is another happy
ending.
J
We also interviewed
several people about other dogs, but nothing positive came out of those
interviews. Too many “red flags” popped up. We consider these animals our children,
and who gives their child away to someone who does not seem to be
capable of doing a good job raising this child, but there will be
others, somewhere in the future.
Not much happened at
the Shelter with the animals, but the long hard cold presented us with
many problems. The fuel line froze, because the door to the small
building which houses the fuel tank, had been left open a crack. Mike
dealt with that problem on his own. He put a heater in front of the line
and managed to thaw it out.
The old truck we
have with a snow blade attached to move the snow, also gave out. It
looks like the transmission finally had enough of the hard work. So Mike
had to shovel snow by hand. We did have a little walk-behind snowblower,
but that died last month, and the replacement parts to fix it have not come in
yet.
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In Mike’s mobile
home the waterline also froze.
There was a small
opening next to the pipe underneath the sink, and with the bitter cold
the air was frigid enough to freeze the pipe. But he also got that
thawed out.
So many small
emergencies. On top of that, poor Mike got very ill with a head cold.
With the help of a couple of new volunteers he managed to do the chores.
Last month we had a big
surprise in the form of a $300 check from PETCO Foundation, San Diego,
CA. It seems they have something called “Tree of Hope” which represents
donations collected from “your” local Petco partners to assist in humane
work. Anyway, to return their favor to us, you may consider buying your
pet needs from them, which eventually will help other animal
organizations (and maybe us) again. Thanks to PETCO, and thanks
to all of you for helping our four legged friends!
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Cat Report March 2007
Another of our wild
ones has died – we lost Evita early in March. She was sick only a few
days and died at home – as with Kimmie last fall, I knew taking her to
the vet would be too stressful. Evita was the pregnant stray who came
to me when the woman who’d been feeding her fell ill. She never groomed
herself like a proper cat and always looked as though she were still
living rough. She finally learned to trust me, and in the last couple
weeks would actually snuggle when I picked her up. I think she was
happy, she seemed to like her roommates, Tippy and Purina/Meg, and to
appreciate having soft places to sleep and regular meals.
Emery, the big male who
came with Evita, is still too wild to be handled. I can pet him only
when he’s nose-first in a bowl of canned food. He’ll flick me an annoyed
glance and keep on eating. He went off his food for almost a week, for
unknown reasons; sometimes I could tempt him with a special meal, but if
I got too pushy offering the dish, he’d go hide under the bed.
Kennebec, the only survivor of Evita’s three kittens, is thriving
(knock on wood) as one of my two kitchen cats. He purrs, plays, gets
into one thing after another, and generally acts like a proper house
cat. Him I can pick up, carry around and sometimes even turn upside down
for a belly-rub without getting scratched, if he’s in the mood.
He does still bite,
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he’s annoyed and
recently when he’s impatient or just when he feels like it.
I’ll be standing at the shelf getting food ready and feel a
tug on the hem of my sweatshirt and here’s Kenn, sitting on top of the
food bin with his teeth in the shirt. Sometimes he walks up to my Otis,
the other kitchen cat, and bites at his fur. Otis, as I wrote last
month, is on medication for a tumor; he seems to be holding his own.
The rest seem to be
well, although I’m keeping an eye on Purina because she’s not eating dry
food with any enthusiasm. I think she just doesn’t like it, but she
might have a sore mouth again.
The FIV+ boys, Mr. Tom
and Buddy and their friends, have me on a perpetual guilt trip. I go
into their room with their food and am greeted by mewing, leaping cats
claiming I haven’t fed them for days; and then I look at how fat Mr. Tom
and Buddy and one other are and think yeah, I shouldn’t feed them for a
few more days, either! I’m trying to give them somewhat smaller meals
and to divert Tommy and Buddy by petting them when they try to finish
someone else’s dish. I think it’s helping; Tommy looks as though he has
the beginning of a waistline again. When I have time, and strength to
lift these big cats, I’ll weigh everyone, so I can keep better track.
Thanks, as always, to
the cats’ many friends: Karen and the Charles and Parent families for
food; my neighbor Janice, who lost her own cat and brought me the food
she no longer needs; and all of you who help pay the bills.
Did I mention that I’ve
heard a couple times recently from the people who adopted Baby, the nice
calico who lived with Nancy when Nancy worked at Charley’s? Baby’s being
treated for high blood pressure; the latest news is that she’s doing
well with medication and a special diet.
One more reminder, if
you haven’t finished your State of Maine income tax: please don’t forget
to make a donation to the Companion Animal Sterilization Fund on the
list of tax check-offs.
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Our supporters:
One of Charley’s long time supporters, Ruth Willis from
Braintree, Massachusetts died. She lost her husband and daughter in the
last few years. Ruth was a great lady, and we will miss her very much.
Another lady, Linda Sullivan, also died several months ago – we just
found out about it now. I met Linda once at the annual fundraiser, and
was very impressed by her love for animals.
Thank God we still do
have some “live” supporters. Where would our Shelter be if you guys all
died on us? So eat plenty bananas and apples, we need you around at
least another 50 years!
J
And here are
Charley’s faithful helpers who once again made sure that all of the
critters in our care had plenty of food, a warm home and proper
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Alice
Winston, Swampscott
Betty Sawyer, Jonesport
Beverly Maheu, China Village
Carole Parker, Stoughton
Cheryl Bardwell, Fairfield
Cindy Houston, Woburn
Doris Lary, Hartland
Dorothy D’Alessandro, Ossipee
Dorothy Eckstein, Medford
Dorothy Watkins, Amesbury
Elizabeth Fay, Northport
Enid
Hayes, Halifax
George Hinds, Cambridge
Harriet Snyder, Brockton
Iris
Martinello, Tewksbury
Irma
Simon, S. China
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Jean
Catignani, Conway
Jim
Lavita, Dennis
Jo
Ford, Holden
Joe
Arouca, Ormond Beach
Joe
Blake, New Bedford
Joe
D’Alessandro, Tuftonboro
Jon
& Barb Anderson, Augusta
Josephine Smith, Woburn
Judy
& Al Smith, Belmont
Judy
Rohweder, Northport
Lawrence Hayes, Reading
Linda Merriam, Dresden
Lisa
D’Alessandro, Raymond
Lorena Clark, Beverly
Marcia Post, Wakefield
Marcia Smith, Bucksport
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Marian
Delarue, Woburn
Marlene Kaplan, Melrose
Mary
Jane Gorton, Floral City
Mary
Klayda, Winchester
Mildred Walker, Presque Isle
Nancy Capone, Wakefield
Naomi Teixeira, Jay
Pat
Thain, N. Billerica
Petco Foundation, San Diego
R.D.
Bournival, Palm Beach
Roger Ellis, Holden
Ruth
& Charley Ames-McKinney
Sandra Nicholson, Beverly
Susan Hunt, Saco
Sylvia Cohen Bell, Newton
Viola McDonald, Woburn
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Odds and ends:
April and tax-time is
here again, which means we have to do all our filing again to keep big
brother happy. If you need tax receipts for your donations, please let
me know.
I am also in need of
more cards; the type you have been getting and collecting from various
organizations, to write my “thank you’s” and to answer notes and letters
from everyone. Of course, once again, it’s time to hold up your local
post office for much needed stamps. Thanks!
This brings me to the
end of this newsletter. Wishing you a Happy Easter with beautiful
weather and lots of chocolate bunnies.
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Thanks again for
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Happy Easter, |
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Gabriele,
Karen, Mary,
Mike, Ted and
Jim |
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