The Animal Welfare Society is a large, open admission, no kill shelter serving 21 municipalities in York County, Maine.  In 2018, AWS opened an on-site veterinary clinic to serve the low income population and to prevent unnecessary surrenders to the shelter.  

Even though their prices are reduced, many who seek care for their animals cannot afford to pay for services.  When AWS asked for funding to cover co-payments to assure that every animal could receive the care it needs, we were pleased to help.  

P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center is one of our local shelters.  They’ve been a part of our community since 1974 and are a private, non-profit, no-kill animal welfare organization providing care primarily for cats and dogs. Annually, they care for more than 600 animals.  

In the last few years P.A.W.S. has expanded its in-house veterinary care and was in need of funding to purchase equipment. We were happy to help them purchase the surgery packs that they needed.  

Spirits Place, in Saint Albans, Maine, is a shelter devoted to the care of community cats.  But it’s also a place devoted to the care of the community.  Although they spay and neuter cats and help low income families with the care of their companion animals, they also educate. 

Local high school students learn about and help care for the cats as well as manage their Facebook page. And some even make the pottery Spirits Place sells to help support their shelter.  Special needs individuals from the community also regularly come to help with the cats, finding a place in the community where they are welcome and useful. 

When Spirits Place reached out to us for help with a large cat colony in a local trailer park, we were honored to be able to support their efforts.  They were able to alter 35 cats and place 20 kittens in other shelters for adoption.

Montgomery County, Maryland, has its share of community cats, but also has its Friends.  The Friends of Montgomery County Animals, an all volunteer group, works to bridge gaps in humane services in their area.  They have a cat foster care and adoption program, fund TNR efforts and sponsor adoption promotions at their local shelter.  

Their request to the May HTR Foundation was for funding to tackle a colony of 45 feral cats on a farm.  Forty cats were trapped, altered, vetted and returned, and five young kittens with respiratory infections were placed in foster care.  

The May HTR Foundation is happy to be able to support such a wonderful organization.

The Maine Federation of Humane Societies is just that – a cohesive network of humane organizations supporting animal welfare groups throughout the state.  One of their regular events has been a statewide conference with training and education for animal welfare staff, volunteers and management, as well as training for the State’s Animal Control Officers.  This year the Federation decided to hold two identical conferences (north and south) to make them more accessible.  

The May HTR Foundation has supported this conference in the past, and we were happy to do it again.   

Lost Dog Recovery in Maine is an amazing group. They are all volunteers and they know exactly what to do to find a lost dog.  If you follow them on FaceBook, you’ll be impressed by their efforts and their many successes in finding these dogs. 

When they asked us for funds to purchase more traps and cameras, we were happy to help.  Maine is a big state and transporting equipment can take precious time.  Now Maine Lost Dog Recovery has two more traps and cameras available to their volunteers, Animal Control Officers and shelters throughout the state.  

The Pope Memorial Humane Society is one of our local shelters and we  like to support our local animal organizations whenever possible.  When they asked us for help with their Community Cats program, we were astonished to learn that they had spayed or neutered almost 500 cats in 2016.  You’d think that would take care of virtually every community cat in the area, but their area is especially large – 18 communities in 2 counties.  

The May HTR Foundation was delighted to help Pope Memorial continue this program and look forward to the day that their incredible success puts them out of the Community Cat spay/neuter business.

When Cottontail Cottage Rabbit Rescue asked us for help in buying a pellet stove to keep the bunnies in their shelter warm during the cold Maine winters, we looked at one another and said “Rabbit rescue? In Maine?” We’re from Maine and had never heard of Cottontail Cottage – the only rabbit rescue for whole state and other parts of New England. They didn’t have to convince us that Maine was cold in the winter; we already knew that. When we saw their pictures and learned more about their programs, we were happy to help them buy a new pellet stove. Cottontail Cottage offers lecture series, hand on learning events, open houses and helps low income rabbit owners take care of their pets.

And their bunnies are too cute. We can’t wait to visit.

Zeus’ Rescues is a top notch operation in New Orleans well known around the Gulf South for their efforts not only during hurricanes and floods, but for taking adoptable animals from local shelters to reduce over-crowding and decrease euthanasia. When they asked us for immediate funding to rescue dogs and cats in Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria, we made an immediate decision. Their application was dated October 14, 2018 and the May HTR Foundation check to them was dated October 16, 2018.

When we visited their shelter in early November, the animals (81 of them) from Puerto Rico were safe and being prepared for adoption. Some were healthy and adorable, others were older and not so adorable, and more than a few had serious health problems, but every one of them was getting the care they needed to be able to go to their very own family.

When it comes to feral cats, the Upper Valley Humane Society has got it together. They have an excellent trap-neuter-release program and address all the needs so common in a feral cat population. While working with a colony of 20-25 cats, all the trapped animals will not only be spayed or neutered but receive comprehensive veterinary care. Many will be adopted into “barn” homes and all will have a less stressful visit to the shelter since their time there will be spent in a large outdoor enclosure rather than a small cage.

The May HTR Foundation is happy to support such professional work.