Pet Report for the week of June 8, 2009

By Cory McKeown with photos by Eileen Parsons

Leaping! Bounding! Side-ways dancing! Yes, we have kittens!

Last year, it seemed that kitten season would never end. We had kittens at the shelter well-into winter, and usually the little guys stop trickling in by the holidays.
This year, the kitten season has seemed slow to start, but we are beginning to see the arrivals of new babies. We have tried hard in our community to be aggressive with spaying and neutering programs for both cats and dogs, and are starting to see some very positive results locally- we just don’t see nearly the puppies and kittens appearing in the spring that we used to just a few years ago.
But, no, the whole country isn’t necessarily running lower on unwanted pups and kittens. We wish that was true, but it just isn’t. What we can do to help, and what we do to help prevent some of the  many needless  deaths in other over-crowded  shelters   is to bring some of the pups and kittens  to our shelter, space permitting. We are also often able to help by taking adult dogs and cats as well.
As a result- “Yes, we have kittens”! We have darling kittens of all sizes and colors- calicos, tigers, black, buff- all waiting to dance their way into new hearts and homes. Come see them today- if you have been thinking of getting a kitten or nice adult cat, we have some real people-pleasers.

Look- Up in the sky! It’s a bird. No, it’s a plane, No, it’s  uh…a St.Bernard mix?

Sable is one of those dogs whose arrival  at our shelter starts us guessing. Let’s see- just what should we list as her breed? She is large and has a reddish gold coat. Too big to be a Golden Retriever, and yet… Eventually we just  have to give up and admit that what Sable is  is a very pretty and very sweet MUTT.

So, we are listing her as a St. Bernard/ Retriever mix, a  combination of two breeds known for their nice dispositions and family-friendly ways.

Sable seems delighted to meet anyone, big or small, who will take the time to stop by her run and spend time with her. She is even-tempered and very friendly- very anxious to please and to  become someone’s new best friend. And, she’s beautiful to boot! Easy on the eyes; easy on the heart…

Shelter Wish List

With the nicer summer weather, we are hoping to enlist more volunteers who would like to do a good deed and get some healthy exercise in the deal- we need dog walkers! Having the dogs taken out for walks is not only good for them physically, it helps them to become more social and well-behaved, and thus, more adoptable.

So, if you have some time to spare, enjoy walking and dogs, come by the shelter during our normal business hours and we can fix you up! Older kids and teens are welcomed, too, but need to be accompanied by a parent. A fun and very worthwhile way to spend some time over summer vacation.