Houlton Humane Society

I want to take just a few minutes to tell a story of a small group of individuals without whom the shelter could not function - our staff and volunteers.

Courtney has been with Houlton Humane for over 10 years, she was a mere "babe" when she joined us and I have never seen such dedication.  She takes babies home when they need to be bottle fed, she carries around little ones in her pocket if they need to be kept warm, she is an expert critical care nurse, animal care specialist and just a warm tender loving person.   You can't know Courtney without loving her and just wanting to hug her. 

Caleb has been with us about two years, maybe longer, he's so quiet that sometimes I think he's been with us forever.   Caleb has little to say but he makes up for his shyness with a work ethic that is second to none.  He has the most winning smile, a tender gentle hand with the animals, there is nothing he won't do for us, and we think the world of Caleb.

Luanne joined us this past summer at a time when we were having a health crisis with some of the animals.  It was a bad time to start, the work was hard, every single day we had to do ten times the work of a normal day, but Luanne never complained, she jumped right in there and learned as she went.  She is great at showing the public this kitty or that dog and telling them their story, she loves the animals and has been very helpful with the staff's "neuter bread" project to raise money to neuter animals so they'll be adopted faster.  Everybody loves Luanne.

Steve just joined us recently and already he is part of the family.  His winning smile and his willingness to work hard has been much appreciated.  We look forward to him being with us for a long time and I know we will enjoy getting to know him better.

Nancy is our Monday volunteer - she has been doing this for us for years, every Monday, without fail, Nancy comes in and cleans cages.  Nancy doesn't have a lot to say because she is busy taking care of animals, that's her focus and her passion and it shows.  Nancy is also a generous donor and supports the shelter financially, comes to and helps with our fund raisers, you name it, Nancy is there for us, thank you for all that you do.

Kate is a former employee who used to donate her pay check back to the shelter and now she just works for free.  She has her own very successful business boarding dogs and I don't know where she finds the time to help us out but she does, and she also cooks for fund raisers, makes things for us to sell, and is always there for us when we need her.  Thank you Kate!

There is an entire book full of others who come and walk dogs, water the cats, sweep floors, roll pennies, help with fund raisers, and I don't mean to overlook them, we appreciate every single one, but there just isn't room here right now to mention them all, I'll do that at a later date.

Last, but certainly not least, is our fearless leader, Executive Director Heather Miller.  Heather has been director for a year now and she has brought a tremendous amount of organization to the shelter, and more style and class than we've had in years.  She also has brought compassion and caring to a new level, taking home sick animals, babying them all night, medding them all night, working all day and then coming back at night to walk dogs, coming in weekends when there is a crisis, coming in the middle of the night to help an ACO with an intake, training volunteers, keeping the paperwork caught up, making sure we are current with state law, doing her job as animal control officer for Amity, you name it, Heather's doing it, and always with a smile and sense of humor.  We are lucky to have Heather and we appreciate all she does.

We are very very proud of our team.  I wish we could pay them what they are worth, I wish we could show them how much we care, I wish there was some way to reward them for all they do to help the animals.   Thank you, all of you, we love you all! 

What an exciting event, the Christmas Don't be Late concert was a huge success and we hear people still talking about it everywhere we go.  So many comments, one lady told me that everybody at her Church was talking about it and offered prayer for the Shelter.  We definitely can use the prayer as the Shelter is currently down to just enough funds for one week of payroll and bills.   This is a very tough time of year under the best of circumstances but with the economy so poor and the holidays ahead of us, we are struggling more than ever.

We are so grateful to  Chuck Loucka for his remarkable performance and the months of preparation that went into it, to his wife Chris for all her help in putting this event together, his daughter Cara and husband Jonathan for securing the location, getting the sound set up, baking for the reception, and all that they do for the animals.

A special thank you to the Wesleyan Church, Pastor Wayne, Pastor Dave, and Steve Bither for all their help.

Stay tuned for our membership drive which will begin in just a week or so.  You don't need to wait for an invitation to become a member.  Family membership is $25.00, students and seniors are $10.00 and business memberships are $100.00 a year.  

We need volunteers to host fund raisers to help us continue our work.  If you have some time and would like to do a bottle drive, bake sale, yard sale or if you are crafty and would like to make something for us to sell, please contact the shelter and let them know what you can do to help.


Thank you for being there for the animals when they need you!