What the Snowbirds Ar•
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A Matners
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,Best Friend
You won't believe what's happening
at dog shelters all over Maine.
Fry burg $32 Million Facelift
In F bruary In Augusta
II's "s p'add as the river A sneak peale al the lJew and
that runs through if. improved State House. S4.99 U.S.lS6.99 Canada
lab s in th ' Woods
Can two women 01 a te,t";,, age enjoy
a midwinter vatation in the Nor'" Woods?
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www.down ••st.com
ercent 0 he (J a n "n nral s
adopted eac year, possibly the highest success rate in the country.
The reasons are enlightening, By Joshua F. Moore.
I
:I
I T HERE are sixty kennels at the
Animal Welfare Society sheller in
Kennebunk. but only eight dogs up
for adoption. In Thomaston, the Humane
Society of Knox County hasspacefornine-
mightadoptthem,Maine has become the
place where man's best friend almost
always finds a secondchance.
Maine's statistics are enough to make
any dog-lover bark at the moon: in 2001.
Suchsuccess did not happen overnight.
For morethan a century the Slate 's manda-
tory dog registration law has helped cui
down on the number of strays. but the real
push to stop the supply of unwanted pets
teendogs. It hasjust nine. FromKittery to 38percent ofthestate's households owned dates back to the 19705, when veterinarians
Presque Isle,many of'Maine's dogshelters a dog- upfrom 27 percent just fouryears inMaine andacross thecountrybegan reali-
are facing a problem that seemed utterly earlier and above the national average of zing that spaying and neutering - proce-
unthinkablejust afewyearsago: they can't 36 percent, according to the Humane dures rarely promoted by shelters and vets
find enough straydogsto keepup withthe Society of the United States. Maine is at thetime- were crucial tocontrolling the
slate's insatiable demand for excellent. home to 121 shelters, rescue groups, and proliferalion ofunwanted animals. In Maine.
affordable pets. While nationwide millions nonprofit pet-adoption agencies - one of this campaign would later grow into such
ofdogsareeuthanized eachyearorelseend thehighest numbers percapita ofanystate. inspired efforts as the Mama Low-Co I
up as career "shelter dogs," Maine has Whilesome nationwide estimates put the SpayJNeuterClinic inHancock, which steri-
become a model for controUing its dog number of dogsentering shelters who are lized more than five thousand animals over
population. a place wbere shelters boast later euthanized as high as 56 percent, in just three years before closing in 2003. And
placement rates that are among the high- Maine the majority of the state's shelters lastyearMaine became only the third state
est in thecountry, where humane societies claim to be "no-kill" facilities, meaning in the country to create a state-subsidized
have actually begun importing dogs from that the only animals put down are those spay/neuterprogramforJow-incomecatand
outof state and even overseas just to satisfy with aggressive behavior or serious health dogowners. a program so successful ihat it
demand.Through a powerful combination problems. Although nostatewide Statistics spent its entire $ I00,000 in seed money in
of veterinarians who have aggressively exist, many of th~ state's shelters place just five weeks. 'This spring Mainers join
promoted spaying and neutering, some between 90 and 95 percent of the more onlyColorado inhaving the option of 31101-
groundbreaking stale legislation, and a than five thousand dogs they receive - ling $\ on their state income lax form to
business-model approach tokeeping home- phenomenally better thanthenational aver- help fund the program. Help Fix Me.
less dogs in front of those people who age of about 50 percent. (Continued on page 69)
' -1
Luckiest Dogs
(Continued from page 52)
While Maine's cat overpopulation
problem has reached a crisis des pile these
inspired efforts":"- and, indeed. some shel- Stay connected [0 the Maine you love!
ters do still struggle 10 find homes for all
their dogs and almost all have serious There's always plenty to do on-line.
financial needs- many of !he Slate's shel-
lers have (acedan almost unbelievablenew • Get Insider Travel Tips
problem in recent years - a lack of adopt- • Read News and Issues
able dogs. " We have the same demand here
• Access Maine's Current Weather
for farruly pets as there is elsewhere, bUI
because we have such a handle on the pet Conditions
supply, there arejust not that manyoptions • Visit Our Extensive Listing of Maine Info
available 10 people," says Brian Winslow, & Advertisers' links
development director for the nonprofit
Animal WelfareSociety in Kennebunk.To
• View Webcams across Maine
handle (his demand. in 2002 Winslow's • Shop for Back Issues, Slipcases, and Hars
group started Paws Across America, a pro- • Update Your Address
gram thai imports dogs from out-of-state • Renew Your Subscriptions
shellers - a recent batch of nearly tWO
dozen came from Tennessee - where
they face imminent euthanasia because of
a lack of demand. People who have seen
e
W are accessible,
the dogs on the Internet or on television anywhere, any time,
have been known to camp OUI on the
AnimalWelfare Society's doorstep In order on the Web.
to be first in line when the doors open. and
most dogs are gone within an hour or IwO
of the opening time.The arrangement ben-
efits more than just Maine dog-lovers: in
addition 10 the $\05 adoption fee. new
owners pay a $50 surcharge, half of which
goes 10 underwrite spay/neuter programs
al the anginal shelter.
And the Kennebunk shelter is not alone
in looking beyond the Piscataqua for dogs.
"We're actually considenng taking some
Slipcases
dogs from Puerto Rico," explains Martha
Kalina, executive director of the Maine
Federation of Humane Societies and head
of the Thomaston shelter. ill Westbrook.
the. Animal Refuge League also occasion-
ally brings in dogs from out of state. While
rescuing such distant dogs might seem 10
favor pooches from away over Maine's
own animals, Kalina and others argue thai
new arrivals like thes e actually help local
dogs thlll are homeless by continually
bringing new potential adoptive parents
into the shelter. "We need 10 keep people
coming \0 the shelter, and this is a way to
keep fresh dogs corning in," she says. And
such imports from out of slate are only
brought 10 Maine when local shellers are A great way to ke:ep your issues ha ndy and organized. Handsome green and
experiencing low numbers of dogs. designed 10 hold one year 01 Down East. S11.95 each. plus $4 .50 S&H. (Call for
In those parts of Maine where the shipping price for more than one.) Allow 4 weeks for delivery. Our vendor ships
demand fordogs is less intense- typically UPS. No P.O. boxes. please. Maine: residents add 5% sales lax,
away from the coast and the more densely Call 800-766-1670 (U.S. and Canada)
populated southern portion of the state - Call 207-594-9544 for international, or visit www.downeast.com
FEBRUARY 2005 69
shelters have learned to keep theirsupplyof will likely exhibit many of a purebred's ter it's not necessarily that they need a pel.
dogs fresh by literally tradingwith each other. traits - for better or worse. bUI that they're going 10 save an animal."
Every shelter will take the overflow from ForfrugalMainers, shelterdogs are also "I think it's terrible thai there are so
another if it is overwhelmed with new an excellent value: while even backyard many dogs that nobody wants." says John
arrivals, bur Kalina says certain areas have breeders often charge $500 or more, most Gagnon , who recently adopted 3 mixed-
provenespecially successful at placingspe- sheller dogs cost about $100, with the usu- breed retriever ill Kennebunk. He says he
cifie breeds- Knox County hasadoptedout ally mandatoryspaying/neuteringincluded, never even considered buying 3 pure-
a large number of pit bulls, for example, as well as a thorough veterinary checkup. bred. "Physically and emotionally I think
while the Animal Refuge League in "Most of our clients are people who want dogs are better if they're mixed breeds
Westbrook has been successful at placing a family per and don't want 10 spend a lot The dog J got is absolutely adorable. and
hounds - and so will often accept more of of money," says Bangor's Jeffrey Mitchell. she has an incredible personality."
them. And with the Internet, small-town The real problem facing shelters in the And while many Mainers do want a
weeklynewspapers, and television spotsand rest of the country - and the driving force puppy (the majority of the dogs that the
shows allowingpeople statewide to literally behind both professional breeders and their Kennebunk Animal Welfare Society imparl'.
"shop" for a particulardog, shelters are now amateur counterpartS - is that most peo- are puppies because they are adopted so
drawingprospective dogownersfrom allcor- ple wan, a puppy, something that IS in short quickly) an unusually high number of the
nersof Maineandevenbeyond. ''We'veactll- supply nationwide, according (0 Andrew state's residents are wtlling to adopt older
ally hadpeoplecome from outofstalebecause Rowan. founder of the Center for Animals dogs.Whena pairofoctogenarians in Bangor
they've fallen in love with a dog on our Web and Public Polley at Tufts University and adopted an Akita that was several years old.
site," Kalina says, bur she adds that she for example, their concem was not for the
requires every potential new owner to really dog's size (it had, of CO~, lost muchof its
get to knowa dog beforetakingit home. ''We youthful vigor), bur rather that it might out-
want them to faJJ in love with their per- livethem both. In Thomaston. a two-year-old
sonalities, not their pretty brown eyes." black Lab mix spern rwo years at the sheller
Jeffrey Mitchell, execurive director of before being adopted by a woman from
the Bangor Humane Society, which places Waldoboro. Worley says Maine's graying
about two thousand dogs each year, agrees, population ismorewilling thanmosttoadopt
but at the same time admits that rhose eyes dogs that have entered their golden years.
will often be a dog's best marketing tool. "Companion animals are very important in
He is quick to add, though, Lhat the dogs seniors' lives," she says. "Sometimes that is
he considers the least adoptable are, ironi- the only thing they have 10 come home 10."
cally,often the firstones to findnew homes. Regardless of whether they are look-
"People see a dog that has had a rough time, ing for a full-grown golden retriever or a
and it'Il just strike a chord with them:' he now vice president of the Humane Society five-month-old mixed breed. Mainers say
explains. of the United States. "When you start look- they're finding the perfect pet in the state's
Surprisingly, few of the dogs housed in ing al where people gel animals from shellers . "We had a dog for twelve years
Maine shelters come from abusive homes nationwide. shelters still are only about 15 that we had adopted from a shelter. and
or have a similarly troubled past of the son percent of the population." he says. " [f you we've been looking for another ever
conventional wisdom suggests aJJ homeless ask people if they want a dog, they often since," says Jennifer Cote, who drove
dogs have had. Instead, most were aban- say they don't want 10 go to a shelter and from her home in South Portland to a
doned after their owner moved. a new baby get an eighteen-month-old dog with an recent mass adoption of out-of-stare dogs
forced the painful "the dog or the child" unknown behavior. There's a tendency to at the Animal Welfare Society in
decision, or another pet drew the dog- want II puppy that you can train and bring Kennebunk. "BUI in thaI lime we've got-
owner's anention - and his resources. around to your way of life." ten S'IX kirties and a toddler, so this really
"People don', usually give up their dogs But a large percentage of Mainers seem had to be a special dog," Although she'd
easily," explains Mitchell. ''1I's usually a to have a decidedly different rnindsei, identified a pooch on the sheller's Websire
fairly traumatic change in life conditions." according to Norma J. Worley, director of that matched what she wanted. she ended
He says the vast majorityof the dogs he Maine's Animal Welfare Program, who up taking home another dog instead. "OUf
adopts OUI are mixed breeds, animalshe per- bauled pet overpopulation in Southern first choice was a little rambunctious and
sonally believes often make better family California for twenty-two years before a little mouthy, and within a few minutes
pets than purebred dogs. 'These dogs are moving 10 Maine three years ago. "In it was like this other one had always uved
brigbt, and they tend to have a more even Southern California companion animals with us," she says. paning her five-month-
temperament than purebreds," he says. "A were throw-away animals:' she says. "I've old shepherd . Griffin. "In a lot of ways
101 of purebredscan be kind of dull, and not actually seen people surrender their ani- he's even better than our old dog."
have thai much personality' But potential mals because they didn't match the furni- For Griff n and the thousands of other
owners are always urged to consider the ture. But Mainers love the outdoors and dogs from both Maine and elsewhere that
composirionof any mixed-breeddog, since they love animals - whether it's wildlife spend lime in the Slate's shelters, life. it
many shelterdogs are only one or twogene- or companion animals - and they want to seems , almost always turns our to be the
rations removed from being a purebred and see things survive. When they go ro a snel- way it should be. 0
70 DOWN EAST