#Middlebury
DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I chuckled while reading your recent column, because I remember a New Year’s resolution I made: I resolved to never tell any critter that enters our yard to go home!
Three years ago I spotted a cat in our back yard. I yelled at it, “Go home! I don’t need you here.” It ran off, but one winter morning, I opened my front door to find the same cat laying on our porch. He was so skinny, and he wasn’t moving until I got close, when he tried to run off. Luckily, my service dog, Ehra, ran after him and caught him, gently picked him up by the scruff of his neck and took him to her dog house out back. Ehra curled up next to the cat to keep him warm.
It took over two years for “Tiger” to trust me enough to let me pet him. Now, he won’t leave my side.
Last week, another feral cat appeared in my back yard. I made my latest New Year’s resolution when I saw it: I’ll do my best to care for this cat, and hopefully convince it to stay on our property, even if it never becomes truly tame.
Tiger is a constant reminder of what I have to do to help all animals.
One more thing: People need to spay and neuter their pets. My “lottery dream” is to buy mobile spay/neuter vehicles for every county, state and even other countries. But it’s just a dream, for now. – Dee in New York
DEAR DEE: What an awesome resolution, and perfect advice to pet owners. The homeless pet population is huge. Owners can directly impact these numbers by getting their pets fixed.
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