Robin and Valentino (now Margaret & Vern) are happy and well loved kittens!  We adopted them in December and they've made our whole winter!

They spend a lot of time in the window watching the bird feeders and the squirrels.  Thank you P.A.W.S. for the best kittens ever!

Emerson & Lisa

It's been a year since we adopted Orrie (the calico with the half orange/half black face) and we are so glad we found her!  We can't believe this amazing lovable cat was overlooked for SEVEN years in the shelter.  We're so glad we were able to give her a furever home.  It took her a few months of hiding behind the washing machine, she would sneak out at night to eat and check out her new surroundings.  Once she discovered I kept cat treats in my nightstand drawer she started visiting in the evenings after it quieted down here.  It became something you could set your clock by...7 pm here she would come, looking for treats.  Now she's out and about ll the time and has become a very important member of the family.  One of her favorite places to sleep is on our 12-year old lab's dog bed, she claimed and took over that spot.  We often find Abby (the lab) sleeping next to her on the floor!  I guess we know who rules the roost around here.

I thought you might like to know that Jezabelle and Gordon are both doing very well.  They are still fed daily in the second floor of the big barn where they also have a litter box and two single huts and a dog hut they can both fit into (all with bedding).  We feed them at dark to encourage them to stay in the barn at night, but they have a little opening just their size so that they can come and go.  When we are away, family members feed them.

Jezabelle is always with us when we are outside, and she loves to sneak into the house and cars.  She likes to be held, but it is not beneath her to bite when she has had enough, so we hold her frequently for short periods.

Gordon did not let us touch him until late fall, and just recently let me pick him up briefly.  He let another female family member pick him up while we were gone, but still hates to be approached by men.  Jezabelle has a calming effect on him, and was feeding with him both times he consented to being picked up.  She and he are great companions, often seen together.  If he gets closer to a human than she likes, she is not beyond quietly swatting him, and he chooses to gently head butt her out of whichever of the two food dishes she picks (she always beats him to the dishes).  Gordon wanders, and got locked in a neighbor's shed for a day or two before they neighbors called to see if he was our family cat.  This is an elderly neighbor who feeds wild animals and I suspect she has a soft spot for Gordon.  After we had been on a trip last month I was beginning to panic when we had not seen Gordon for a week, but after calling that neighbor to see if she had seen him, he suddenly showed up the next morning looking healthy and fat.  I think he has learned the art of double-dipping from his cousin who lives across the street and is often around Jezabelle and Gordon and their dishes!  Now, if I can only get a collar on him.

Gordon and Jezabelle are such good cats that it seems like just an aside, but we did want barn cats, so I am happy to report that we have not seen any mice in the barns or house this winter!

Thank you! 

Mary Lynn

Elden & Danica LOVE their new family!

We wanted to let you know how much we are enjoying Elden and Danica (aka Dani). They both love to play with our little boys' cars and this of course delights the kids! Elden and Dani also play with each other, groom each other and snuggle up together. So getting two kittens was indeed a great idea! Both of them are wonderful, sweet and affectionate cats. Thanks for all the care you have given to them and for helping to bring them into our lives!

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Stephenson

This is Doodle, here!  Remember me?  7-month old black short-hair?  I was adopted on May 16 and I'm just writing to tell you that I'm really settling in.

I've been given the new name of "Zipper" because I can zip from one end of the house to the other, and that's just what I do!  I grab a toy mouse, and I'm off. I'm a race cat!

I have a cat tower in front of the kitchen window so I can watch the blue jays come to the bird bath or watch Dad mow the lawn.  I also have a big cat tower by the living room windows where I watch the "animal circus" come to the bird feeders: all kinds of birds, chipmunks, squirrels, even wild turkeys (Yike!).  I also have my own super-fuzzy blanket on Mom and Dad's bed.  It's a pretty amusing place.

I went to the vet last week.  I liked my hard cat carrier - I like to play in it and sleep in it.  The car was fine, too.  The vet says I'm very healthy and sweet (but everybody already knew that.) I've got Mom and Dad pretty well trained, I think. They like to play and pet me.

Thanks to all of you for taking such good care of me for the first 7 months of my life.  I'm sending along some pictures of myself so you don't forget me!

Love,...Zipper (formerly known as Doodle)  and my people, Lisa and Mark Lishner say "Thanks," too.

Purebred Chessapeake Bay Retreivers had always been our dog of choice. But in the summer of 2002, about a year after our last Chessie passed away, our daughter wanted my husband and me to meet a tan and white sharpei/pitbull mix that she had taken a shine to at the CRARL where she had been volunteering. So we did, and after we had exhausted every excuse not to adopt him, Booker came home with us, joining our family of six.

During the first two weeks he chased our chickens, ripped clothing, pulled sheets and towels off the clothesline and charged full speed into each one of us, knocking us to the ground. We thought we may have chosen a dog that was more than we could handle, and the day came when we were ready to return him to the shelter. But the kids convinced us to give him another chance. He may have had a few terrible habits, but he was also jaunty, loveable, handsome and smart as a whip. So we kept him, and it wasn't long before he stopped chasing the chickens and began protecting them instead, barking and chasing any fox, hawk or coyote away that came near them.

He also loved to learn and was easier to teach than any other dog we had known. He learned the usual sit, stay, and lie down commands, and then some additional, more unusual tricks, such as to nudge with his nose, sneeze, yawn, growl, bow down, jump through a hula hoop, among others. He was always eager to perform for anyone, filling the kitchen with applause and laughter. A well-behaved passenger, he loved to join my husband in his truck, especially when he plowed the driveway, and would brace himself on the seat with perfect timing. The love we gave him was returned twofold, and he would welcome the kids home from college with a tennis ball in his mouth and tail wagging doubletime.

We were very sad when Booker passed away last month, and miss him so very much. But we are also thankful we decided to give him a chance. In his honor we would like to say that if you haven't tried adopting a dog or other animal from the shelter, you may want to give it a try. You just may find an unexpected, wonderful surprise like Booker.

Both girls have adjusted beautifully and seem to be happy, especially wiggle Mcgee "Alley". Buttons will sleep with us at night but Alley seems to prefer her favorite chair and likes to sleep on a blanket. A little love seems to go a long way with these two. Thank you! ~Bob

Sophie is doing well. Other than being spoiled rotten. She takes up the whole bed and insists on sleeping between me and my lady. She has a cage but she knows it is "Her Room" and goes to it on command. Next is to train her to come when called while her nose is on the ground. She is totally part of the family. Thank you all.

~Jim & Krissy

We adopted Kyle almost a year ago - she is the most special little dog in the world and we love her to death! Thank you for helping us bring this wonderful friend into our life! ~Candace

Belle is a wonderful, well-mannered dog who has filled a large void in our lives. She was the best Christmas present ever. We have been to the Belfast dog park several times where she is the "fastest" dog in the yard and gets along with all. On the days we do not go to the park we go for a run of several miles. We have even had her down to the beach where she stays with us off leash. I think she somehow knows she has found her forever home.