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Dear Friends:
The above photo is not one of
Charley’s Strays, but he could be? I believe he is the only dog from Ted, our
volunteer, who has come from a shelter other than Charley’s. I wanted to share
with you, how often do you see a dog in a wheelchair? Here is Fluffy Duke’s
story: Several month’s ago he started limping; he’s hind legs didn’t act
right. Ted took him from one vet to another and was told Duke needed spinal
surgery or he would die in a short time. So Duke had his surgery, but he
didn’t improve. Ted started taking him for acupuncture, that seemed to help a
bit, but not for long. Duke’s hind legs started to show signs of paralyzation.
Ted went to a different vet who told him one of their customers just lost his
dog, and had a “dog-cart” he was going to donate to a needy dog. So it came
about that Fluffy Duke had this cart fitted to match his body, and Ted now
takes long walks with Duke who loves his wheelchair. He can run so fast that
Ted can’t keep up with him many times. Duke has now lost all his feeling in
his hind legs, but that does not seem to bother him. They are in a loop so
that they don’t drag the ground. In above Photo Duke is by no means tired,
he’s just waiting for Ted to catch
up. Ted told me that he was very skeptical about these dogcarts, but now he is
totally convinced on how great they are. It takes him about one minute to
“snap” Duke into the three different support-straps on the cart, and off they
go. If any of you are interested in something like that, give me a call, Ted
will be more than happy to talk to you about his experience with it, and he
can give you the name of the company who custom makes them for the type of dog
you have. The cost is around $400, not a bad investment if you want to give
your furry companion awhile longer to enjoy life.
From sick
critters to
sick supporters of Charley’s Strays: I had a very disturbing call a few weeks
ago from a dear friend and supporter, Linda Merriam. She thought it would be a
good idea to share this with you: After months of terrible pain in her legs
and many unsupportive doctors she finally was diagnosed with “Lyme Disease."
It seems to start in many people in the legs first, so if you have leg
problems nobody can figure out, have your
blood tested for this very painful illness. There are some good medications on
the market now, even though there is no cure yet from this nasty tick-bite.
Best of luck and speedy recovery to Linda. |
Not quite as serious but
just as painful is what happened to another donor of ours: Lorena Clark
who some of you have met at the fundraiser, decided to clean her
basement. She went up the stairs, down the stairs, up the stairs, and so
on. The last time she didn’t walk, but fell down the stairs, and broke
her leg. I am sure it will mend again. Lorena is a tough little lady,
but in the meantime she is a very unhappy little lady, being in a rehab
center. I know all about broken bones, I've had several myself, so I
know how aggravating it can be when you have to sit around and really
have nothing else on your mind but run, run and run. Patience, Lorena,
and you will be just fine.
So much
for the sick people, now to the Shelter News: May was a very busy month.
There are two big events every year; the fundraiser and the vaccination
of our dogs. Once again as in the previous years our Caribou
veterinarian Terry McQuade and her husband Jim took the 250 mile one-way
trip to come to our Shelter and vaccinate all the dogs, free of cost for
us. The Weather Gods were generous for us; I believe this particular day
was the only one it didn’t rain in weeks. Our dogs were on their best
behavior, Terry complimented us on how healthy and good they looked, and
on how friendly they were. Our problem dog, Davy, who is known for his
“I have to bite every new person one time to show who the boss is” gave
Terry’s husband a lick in the face. Now that was a shock! I checked him
out after it to see if he had lost his teeth unknown to us, but he still
has a very healthy and dangerous looking set right there where they
should be. Miracles do happen, this proves it. Anyway, a big THANK YOU
VERY MUCH to Terry and Jim McQuade for being such caring people. We do
appreciate their help so much. People like Terry and Jim are few
and far between.
Also a thank you to our local vet, Dr.
Slack, who is true to his name and does give us “slack” many
times helping our Shelter guys and girls.
Then
there is our Debbie Schreiber who once again did the taxes for us. As
far as I know she has been doing the Shelter’s papers for the IRS since
Charley’s Strays came into existence. She spends a lot of time on our
taxes, and we appreciate her help very very much.
Thank you Debbie! |
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Back to the
second big yearly event: The Fundraiser. This month you will find three
tickets included with your newsletter, as always we would like to have
$5.00 each for them. You can buy them, get someone else to buy them, or
throw them away – whatever you prefer. The fundraiser will be on
Saturday, October 15, 2005, lots of wonderful items for sale, and as
prizes to give away. If you can convince friends or relatives to buy
some of our tickets and you need more, please let me know, I will gladly
send you up to a million more tickets. Maybe you will be the lucky
winner of the $300, a nice sweater, or one of our many other prizes.
Guess who the lucky
winner is in the photo on the right? It could be Sadie, or it could be
her dad, Ned Culver, or maybe both of them. Our Sadie was adopted last
year by the Culvers, She now lives the GOOD LIFE in Wayland,
Massachusetts. What a lucky dog! ►
Sadie Culver knows her
luck, and so she wanted to share it with our critters at the Shelter and
had her human companion mail us a gift certificate to buy yummies. Thank
you to the Culver Family. |
Sadie & Ned |
CAT
REPORT – May 2005
Except for the scare
Speedo gave me 10 days ago, May has been an uneventful month for our
cats. We’ve had more rain than sun, making the porch and windowsills
less welcoming than usual, but at least there are birds and bugs around
to keep cats amused. There’s always the odd problem; an eye that runs
for a day or two, somebody who throws up for no apparent reason,
somebody else who refuses breakfast – but nothing that appears serious.
Bart, the old guy who’s lost most of his sight and hearing, seems
happy enough and has a good appetite.
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Speedo, also known
as Heidi, is a gray and white girl who lives upstairs, part of the group
Emery and Evita joined this spring (they’ve fitted in well, and Evita is
getting more friendly; Emery is still timid). When I came up to feed
that batch one evening, I found Speedo gasping for breath. A total
surprise! She’d been fine, eating her breakfast with everyone else, and
I’d probably been in during the day (I usually am) and had seen nothing
was amiss. I immediately called the vet and took her in; she went onto
oxygen and had X-rays, and Dr. MacMillan found she had a collapsed
lung. After two nights at the vet’s with treatments and more
examinations, the diagnosis was either tumors or pneumonia. Dr.
MacMillan sent her home with antibiotics, and apparently it was
pneumonia; she took her last pill this morning and seems to be doing
fine. Poor baby got next to no rest the first couple days she was home,
because I kept disturbing her every hour or so to see if she was
breathing properly.
Otherwise, we’re just enjoying what spring-like days we get, and being
glad it isn’t 90 degrees yet. Actually, after the series of dry summers
that stressed my water supply, I don’t mind a rainy one. It’s nice to be
able to wash lots of dishes and litter boxes without worrying about
whether we’ll have enough to drink. As always, I’d like to thank Olivia
Charles for canned food; Teresa and her family for coupons and help when
I needed it; and all of you for your support. I hope you and your
animals are getting more sun and fewer mosquitoes than we are. |
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Enid Hayes also
mailed us a much welcomed Wal-Mart-certificate. Jackie Lowney sent
us a gift certificate and mailed a box of treats to us, and Linda
Merriam brought blankets and detergent to the Shelter. Viola McDonald
had her friends and relatives make out checks to Charley’s Strays for
her birthday-gift.
Our Web Master
Charley, who put a beautiful website about us in existence, also had a
birthday this month and asked his wife Ruth not to buy him a present,
but to donate onate that money to us! Then we received a donation from
Roberta Chaves in memory of her late husband Richard, and one from Mary
Klayda in memory of her brother Charles’ birthday. Dorothy Eckstein
mailed us much needed stamps in memory of dog Buster. To all the people
above and all the following supporters of our animals, a very big . . .
Thank
you very much! |
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Nancy
Capone, Wakefield
Ruth
McKinney, Grand Isle
Enid
Hayes, Halifax
Inge
Maiellano, Marblehead
Sylvia
Cohen-Bell, Newton Highl.
Viola
McDonald, Woburn
Naomi
Teixeira, Jay
Judith
Rohweder, Northport
Irma
Simon, China
Dante
Bartolomeo, Temple
Elizabeth
Johnson, Sanford
Josephine
Smith, Woburn
Carole
Parker, Stoughton
Maureen
Murray, Brick
Linda
Merriam, Dresden
Josephine
Ford, Holden |
Cindy
Houston, Woburn
Marlene
Kaplan, Melrose
Rust
Pappathanasi, Swampscott
Pat Thain,
North Billerica
Robert
Hull, Lawrence
Mary
Klayda, Winchester
Roberta
Chaves, Westport
R.D.Bournival, Nashua
Lorena &
Harry Clark, Beverly
Jean
Catignani, Conway
Harriet
Snyder, Brockton
Merle
Sideman, Burlington
Doris
Babitt, Westford
Beulah
Fortier, Thorndike
Joseph
D’Alessandro, Tuftonboro
Doris
Lary, Hartland |
Marian
Delarue, Woburn
Dorothy
D’Alessandro, Center Ossipee
Marcia
Smith, Bucksport
Joseph
Blake, New Bedford
Joseph
Arouca, Ormond Beach
Mildred
Walker, Presque Isle
Jackie
Lowney, New Bedford
Iris
Martinello, Tewksbury
Jennie
Bering, Lynn
Sandra
Nicholson, Beverly
Robert
Hull, Lawrence
Lisa
Montmarquet, Raymond
Linda
Clish, Bangor
Florence
Mason, Lexington
Margo
Davis, Waterville
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I got a
chuckle out of a letter from Joan Ryan, who wrote: “I found this $15 hanging
around, doing nothing." Well, it’s doing quite a bit for our furry ones!
One of last
month’s newsletters was returned with a stamp on it “deceased." So we have one
less donor and friend. Francis Sullivan from Bedford had been one of Charley’s
personal friends. Maybe another “newcomer” Joann DeNapoli, recruited by our
Viola McDonald, will pick up where he left off.
I also
received a note from Carole Parker telling me that a cat from Charley, who he
had named “Charley II” and who had been adopted by her 15 years ago, died. It
seems like more and more connections to Charley McCarthy’s era are gone
forever.
And with this
sad note I will close this letter, wishing you a wonderful month of June with
lots of sunshine, little rain, and many happy days.
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