October,  2007

Dear Friends:

Hopefully you had a nice month of October and are all in good health! I had my doubts if our supporters are still with us, or if they had been abducted by aliens, because we had a fundraiser and nobody came! Well, almost nobody, probably half of our usual turnout. It was kind of sad and disappointing, especially since Jackie Lowney had outdone herself with beautiful baskets, and Enid Hayes had sewn up some really nice throws and had knitted her poor hands bloody. Thank God the handful of people were so taken by these things, that lots of the items were sold, and thus some money came in for the heating fuel.

So many thanks to the people who did come, and the ones who tried so hard to make it a success: Al Smith who is always a riot raffling off our items, Cindy Houston who took care of the coffee and was our sales person, and also baked lots of dog cookies which ended up with our own dogs because there were just no people who would buy them. Jackie Lowney had made wonderful baskets again with the help of Joan Ryan, and they did sell well! Enid Hayes baked cookies and brought lots of handmade items, which also sold.

Anyway, something will have to change, it’s not worth driving 500 miles from the North Pole to Woburn, Massachusetts and back, to plan and do things for weeks before, and then -- zilch. Cindy, Enid and I have been talking about inviting the public next time with local advertisements; the other alternative is to stop the fundraisers all together.  I have no idea what Charley did to make people show up, but evidently I must be doing something differently, because every year the turnout seems to be less.

Maybe it’s just because we always have the same crowd, and who can blame them for saying: “same old, same old, every year, I think I skip this one”. We did have a couple of “new faces” stopping by; and I finally got to meet Grace Kiley, a long time supporter of Charley’s Strays, and  Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, who joined us recently.

The first prize of $300 was won by Cathy O’Connor, a lady who has been in animal rescue for many years and who lives right next door to Clinton. True to her word that if she won, it would go back to Charley’s, and she did. Thank you Cathy! Inge Maiellano also won a cash price of $50 and would not accept it. Thank you Inge! I mailed a bunch of items in the form of another cash price of $50, a wallet, a lamp, candleholders, a planter, a table and other items to the following people: Jim Lavita, Mildred Walker, Harry Greene, Nancy Brown, Dorothye Andrews, Linda Merriam, Kathy Hillman, Ruth Giusti, Alice Winston, and Joe Blake. Congratulations! We also received two gift certificates from a lady, who does “mental healing” for animals – each was for an hour’s session. Since there were not any people at the fundraiser which owned pets themselves or were interested, I gave them to our big prize winner- Cathy is just the person who would know who has a pet in need of help. Thank you Kathryn Drage from “Earth Talk”, Gardiner, Maine, for this gift!

As always, every cloud has a silver lining: Even though we did not make as much money selling tickets and items at the fundraiser, I am very optimistic about our fuel bill for this winter. If the price of fuel does not go even higher, the fundraiser money, Cindy Houston’s yard sale check, and two checks we received from the following should take care of this winter’s needed oil and gas.

We received two checks from the following companies which should take care of this winter’s oil and gas needs: I mentioned at beginning of the year that Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant in Augusta has a monthly event, called “Full Moon Madness”. They donate 5% of their lounge sales to a charity, and they picked Charley's Strays for three of those evenings. I just received a check in the amount of $774.72 from them! Thank you, Margarita’s; this money will surely help our critters to stay warm this winter. For all you people out there, including our supporters, or people who read our website: please do your fine dining and drinking at Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant; not only will you enjoy it, but charities will benefit from it too.

The second check we will be using for our huge heating bill came to us from Petco in the amount of $983! We are very grateful that Petco selected us as a recipient of their generosity. Like Margarita’s, they donate a certain percentage of their sales to charities; in Petco’s case probably to animal shelters. So a huge “Thank you” to Petco, and the plea to our supporters; please do your shopping for your 4-legged friends at their stores, they in turn help us and other needy Shelters!

CAT REPORT – October 2007

The good news is that the fall house call is over. Those odd noises you hear are 1) me breathing a big sigh of relief that everything went smoothly and 2) Gabriele tearing out her hair as she looks at the bill.  J

The even better news is that all the cats are in okay shape. Dr. Balboni brought along the scales, so many of them got weighed. Christopher is still thinner than I like – he weighs not quite six pounds – and looking a bit scruffy, though he continues to act as though he feels fine. He’s been to the doctor repeatedly over the spring and summer, and once his thyroid got back to normal none of the doctors can find anything wrong with him.

As usual, before Dr. B. arrived I’d captured Chris’s half-brothers Pooh and Peter (Black Peter John Paul Joe Louis) and put them in carriers, to minimize chasing time. Pooh was even cooperative enough so he got weighed!  He’s a bit over seven pounds. Peter did not make it onto the scales, but he did get his vaccinations. Their sister Lisa was scared but manageable, as usual.

Dr. B. even vaccinated Shy-High, who’s usually impossible – this time he was only extremely difficult. Maine has a new law requiring veterinarians to provide explanations for cats who don’t have their rabies vaccinations, so I have letters about Emery, the handsome feral black and white boy, and his maybe-son Kennebec, whom I still don’t push at all, in spite of his improved disposition these days.

A few days after the house call Robin developed a swollen lower lip. I guessed it was some kind of ulcer – another cat had one, years ago – and not serious, but I made him an appointment. By the time Dr. Chaisson saw him, the swelling was going down on its own, so he doesn’t need medication unless it recurs.

My thanks to the cats’ friends: Jennie Bering, Irma Simon, Teresa and her family and others for coupons, and Karen, the Charles’ cat, P. A. Lenk and some of my rescue colleagues for cat food. The Tidy Cats litter coupons are apt to get used the day I receive them; I special-ordered 20 20-pound bags at Shaw’s (where it’s cheapest right now) about a week ago, and I’ve cleared the shelf every time I’ve been in since, knowing I’ll run low again altogether too soon.

ADA Fence, Palmyra

Al & Deb Bachrach, Petersham

Alice Winston, Swampscott

Barton Lee Patrick, Northport

Beverly Maheu, China Village

Carole Parker, Stoughton

Cathy O’Connor, Winslow

Chickie & Don Smith, Woburn

Cindy Herrick, Newton

Cristine Cardello, Melrose

Donna Bering, Lynn

Doris Dango, Palm Bay,

Doris Lary, Hartland

Dorothy D’Alessandro, Ossipee

Dorothy Eckstein, Medford

Enid Hayes, Halifax

G & R Welch, Stonington

Harriet Snyder, Brockton

Inge Maeillano, Marblehead

Iris Martinello, Tewksbury

Irma Simon, S. China

Jacky & Keelee Lowny, Bedford

Jennie Bering, Lynn

Jim Lavita, Dennis

Janice Solimine, Stoneham

Oann DeNapoli, Winchester

Joe Arouca, Ormond Beach

Joe D’Alessandro, Tuftonboro

Jon & Barb Anderson, Augusta

Joseph Blake, New Bedford

Josephine Ford, Holden

Judy & Al Smith, Belmont

Judy Rohweder, Northport

Karen Rapallo, Wakefield

Kathleen Hillman, Chelmsford

Katherine Collins, S. Barre

Kimberlee Meyahira, Meredith

Linda Merriam, Dresden

Lisa D’Alessandro, Raymond

Lorena & Harry Clark, Beverly

Marcia Post, Wakefield

Marcia Smith, Bucksport

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