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November,
2006 |
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Dear friends,
Thanksgiving
is over, once again, and hopefully it was a good one for you! It also means
the end of hunting season, which I am very happy about. It’s such a horrible
time for the wild animals and the birds. Our friend Theresa – she is the lady
who baked the delicious cheesecake for the fundraiser and also donated several
of the prizes – owns a restaurant across the border from us, in Canada. There
is a lake in front of the restaurant, frequently occupied with Canadian geese. A
family of five still live there now, even though it's high time to leave. The male has a shot-up wing, the female limps, and so does one of their
three
young ones. Since the one with the broken wing seems to be the leader, the
others won’t leave. |
Theresa’s husband called the wildlife people to ask if they could put at
least the poor male out of
his misery, but so far they have not had time to come. They said there
was so much illegal shooting going on in residential areas, there was no
time for minor things like that. This means these poor geese are going
to freeze in the water, when the lake ices over. Karl said he has seen
it once before, and he never wants to see that tragedy happen again. But
there are good hunters too. A friend of ours told Jim he was going “down
south” hunting. Jim was flabbergasted, and so was I, when he told me. –
hunting? He asked. "Oh yes," John said, "I go every year deer hunting
with my camera." Needless to say, we all had big smiles on our faces. |
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November was a wet and miserable month. Naturally the dogs were
not so happy about that. Whenever there was a dry day they got to
enjoy the outside runs, but they did have to spent most of their
times inside. It was just too wet. But at least it was not too
cold, that means not much fuel consumption, which is a good thing,
since November was also a month with very little money coming in
through donations. But I am not complaining: I do give thanks to
all of you who support us, and we still had enough money to pay
the electricity. The vet, well, that’s another story. I hope we
can work something out with him, because we have a HUGE cat bill
to pay.
We do have some great news though, in the dog-section:
Bear, the black longhaired son of Lady, was adopted. Karen, our
Saturday volunteer, knew of someone who lost their companion dog,
and convinced him to give Bear a chance, and it seems to be
working out. Yukon, our hound, who did not want to leave our
Shelter, decided Mike’s mobile home was safe enough, since it’s on
the premises, and now lives happily and content there. Mike, who
has a little daughter of seven, told us
a funny story about Yukon: He had to trim Yukon’s nails. Yukon got
very upset over that. After the dirty deed was done, Yukon wanted
to go out, and no matter how much Mike tried to get him back into
the house, Yukon was not coming in. So the little girl, who is
very attached to Yukon, and vice versa, called Yukon, and he
trotted right up the ramp Mike has built for him, (Yukon has
arthritis and has a hard time climbing stairs) into the house. He
follows Alexus around everywhere, the two of them are best
buddies! So two homes for two dogs this month, not bad at all.
Since there is nothing much new at the Shelter, I would like to
share the following with you, which is a bit sad, but also quit
interesting: A few days ago I talked to a friend of mine, who
moved away a few years ago, on the phone. Saskia is originally
from Holland and was a doctor’s assistant over there. When I asked
her if she still had her dog, Woof, she said, no, but he died so
peacefully, it was a miracle. Intrigued, I asked her what
happened. Here is her story: |
“One morning, when Dave (husband) was going to
let Woof out for his walk, Woof could not get up. He was very old
already, and his body was just giving out. So I said to Dave “it’s
time to take Woof to the vet and have him put to sleep”. Dave
refused; he did not want to let Woof go. So after Dave left to go
to work, I laid down on the floor next to
Woof and I started talking to him. I said, “ I know
you are old, and I know you are trying to hang on because of Dave
and me, but it’s okay, you really can let go. You will close your
eyes, and I will take three deep breath’s with you, and at the 4th
you just let your soul fly away. I promise you it will be okay.
You don’t have to be in pain anymore, just let go”. Well, I took
three deep breath with him, all the time Woof was looking straight
at me – he always was stubborn, and he showed me that he was not
going to close his eyes- but he never took the fourth breath. He
just went. . . I think that’s a miracle – I have done this with
people before, but never would I have thought it works with a
dog!!!”
Imagine, this little story tore me up.
I will remember it when the time comes for my own animals. Maybe Saskia just has that special thing going for her, or maybe if we
believe in something strong enough, we can really make it happen.
And how much nicer that would be for our companions to go to
wherever, than having to lay on a cold steel table at the vet’s
office and wait for the lethal injection.
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Cat Report – November 2006
I’m sad to report we
lost another cat – Kimmie, Alison’s wild son, died in mid-month, cause
unknown because he was so unmanageable. Alison and her super-friendly
son Robin are both doing fine.
The senior cats
continue to do well. As usual, though, I have someone to worry about –
Kennebec, another of the wild ones, is off his food. He’s done this
before and straightened himself out, but it seems as though this episode
is lasting longer than the previous ones. More next month . . .
The fall house call is
over and almost everyone passed examinations with flying colors. In the
case of Black Peter John Paul Joe Louis, the color was red, as in blood
red, and it was literally flying; he bit or scratched the vet, the tech
and me. All of us survived, however, including Peter.
Peter and his brother
Pooh I always catch in advance and put in carriers, because once the vet
and tech are in the room they’re uncatchable. This time I caught them
both easily and thought maybe they’d settled down a bit (they’re eight
years old now; you’d think they’d have learned!), but I was wrong. When
I came to corral them, Peter was napping inside the hollow soft
tunnel/bed that Karen gave the cats; I picked up the bed, brought it to
the carrier and scooted him in all peacefully. Then I realized the bed
was still heavy: His sister Lisa was in there, too, looking a bit
ruffled after her unexpected ride. |
Lisa is bashful, but
much easier for the vet to work with than her brothers are.
The ones who need
follow-up after the house call are Purina/Meg and Randall. Meg is going
in next week for blood work; she may be hyperthyroid, and Randy needs
dental work. Neither is acting sick, and Randall can still chew his dry
food in seeming comfort.
BabyJay’s three boys
are almost as big as she is now, not that she’s a very large
cat. Vaccinations are done except for the kittens’ rabies shot, and
BabyJay’s spaying is scheduled in December. The four of them are a
lively bunch: BabyJay’s just a youngster herself, and entirely willing
to play with the kids. Steve e-mailed me the other day that their sister
Molly (formerly Rachel) weighs almost four pounds and is much loved.
Thanks, as always, to
all of you who help us out, with special thanks to Teresa and family
(her son Brian cashed in more returnable bottles and cans this month and
gave us the proceeds, and her sister Suzanne in Pennsylvania clips
coupons regularly); and to Karen, the Charles cat, P. A. Lenk and
another neighbor, Kathy Glenn-Lewin, for canned food.
And another reminder to
those of you who do Maine income tax forms: please don’t forget to make
a donation to the companion animal sterilization fund check-off. This
state program is used right to the limit, and I’ve heard no evidence
that it’s abused. People who apply want to take proper care of their
pets; they just don’t have the resources to do everything they should
without help. I wish someone would set up a similar program to help with
cats’ and dogs’ medical expenses. It pains me every time I overhear one
of the techs on the phone telling a caller what his dog or cat needs and
then answering the inevitable question, “How much will it cost?” (Please
don’t take this as a criticism of vets’ fees, though; I’ve talked with
my own doctors and techs enough to know that, like M.D.s in private
practice, they have all the expenses of running a business plus
education loans to pay off.) |
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The cheerful part of this newsletter –
our
supporters! Thank
you to all of you, who once again dug
deep into your purses, no matter it being $1 or more, every bit
helped our furry friends. The list is short this month, but we can
always hope for next month
J |
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Alice Winston, Swampscott
Betty Sawyer, Jonesport
Beulah Fortier, Thorndike
Carole Parker, Stoughton
Cindy Houston, Woburn
Cristine Cardello, Melrose
Don Hill, Palmyra
Donna Bering, Lynn
Dorothy D’Alessandro, Ossipee
Elizabeth Johnson, Saco
Enid Hayes, Halifax
Florence Mason, Lexington
Francis Archer, Canton
Harriet Snyder, Brockton
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Inge Maiellano, Marblehead
Iris Martinello, Tewksbury
Irma Simon, S. China
Jim Lavita, Dennis
Jon & Barb Anderson, Augusta
Joseph D’Alessandro, Tuftonboro
Judy & Al Smith, Belmont
Laureen Alden, Stoughton
Linda Merriam, Dresden
Lorena & Harry Clark, Beverly
Marcia Smith, Bucksport
Marian Delarue, Woburn
Mary Klayda, Winchester
Michael Kane, Greenwood |
Mildred Walker, Presque Isle
Nancy Capone, Wakefield
Naomi Teixeira, Jay
Pat Thain, N. Billerica
Peter Carey, Waterville
R & G. Welch, Stonington
R.D. Bournival, Nashua
Rust Pappathanasi, Swampscott
Ruth Willis, Braintree
Sandra Nicholson, Beverly
Viola McDonald, Woburn
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Thank
you very much to our faithful supporters! |
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This brings me to the
end of November’s newsletter. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas with
your family and friends |
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Our
best wishes,
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Gabriele,
Karen, Mary, Mike, Ted and Jim
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