PAWS Animal Welfare Society, Inc    By Jean Cobb www.ourvalleypaws.org

* In January of 2009, when the St. John Valley was experiencing record-breaking cold, we were told
about three gray cats, two adult females and a male kitten, that were living in a culvert. A  couple
living in the house nearby had been feeding them. Our group trapped them, had them spayed/
neutered, socialized  them and ultimately found homes for each of them.

* In March, a lovely young brown tiger cat was abandoned when her  owners moved. After we had her spayed, a young man adopted her.  When he had to move to a more affordable apartment later, he  convinced his landlord to let him keep Nixon by offering  to pay her an additional $20 a month.  He loves her dearly and considers her “his friend”.

Nixon

*In June, five kittens born of a feral cat that was being fed by a home  owner, were now about six weeks old and needed to be caught and socialized. Over the course of a week we trapped them one by one. The kittens were socialized and found homes. Sadly, the mother tested positive for feline leukemia and had to be euthanized. Thankfully, the kittens tested negative for the disease.

* In August, a road construction crew was visited daily by a black and white tom cat that was
very friendly. The crew shared their lunches with him. We took the cat off the streets, had
him neutered and found a home for him. 

* In October, the local veterinarian called us about a friendly cat that had  been brought to them to be euthanized. She was a stray and the man who  had brought her in had been feeding her throughout the summer. When  the staff discovered that she had recently had kittens, the man  returned  to his house and found her kitten that was less than three weeks old in  the field in back of his house. We fostered the mother and kitten, Benji, subsequently had her spayed and found a home for each of them.

Benji

These are only a few of the cats that PAWS Animal Welfare Society helped last year. All of the
stories started out sad, but thanks to our small group and the kind acts of some people in the
community, most of the stories ended happily.

PAWS Animal Welfare Society is truly a grassroots organization. It started in the winter of 2008 by
two women who work for the University of Maine at Fort Kent when they decided to help a few
homeless kittens.  From there, it evolved into a small group of determined individuals that has had
a significant impact in Fort Kent and the surrounding communities.

Our first hurdles were to overcome the skepticism of the Town officials in Fort Kent with regard to
our ability to do what we proposed to do and to change the attitude of many townspeople with regard
to the value of cats and the importance of caring for them properly. In spite of the large number of
unwanted cats in the area there was no support for them until we formed our group other than a
few caring individuals who tried to help them on their own.  Kittens freezing to death and cats with
frostbite were commonplace. Now we are known in the area and have the admiration and support
of the Town officials and many of the townspeople.

Our group is directed by seven board members who meet every month or so and hold general
member meetings every few months. As is usually the case with small groups, the Board members
do most of the hands on work. Priscilla  D, our founding member and past President, is Director
of Student Teachers at the University. Pris handles our educational programs in the local grade
schools and helps with the rescue of cats. Darlene, our co-founding member and Secretary, is
Pris’s administrative assistant. Darlene traps, fosters, does all our bookkeeping and aggressively
manages the Help Fix ME program. Kim, our current President, is a writer and a  paralegal.
Kim publishes a monthly article for us in the local newspaper, and writes our quarterly newsletter.
Jean, our Treasurer, traps, fosters, takes the minutes of meetings and writes grants. Another
Board member, Priscilla S. is an RN and is in charge of all medical supplies and issues. In addition
to the above, all of the Board members work on  several fundraisers each year.

We made a positive difference in the lives of 243 cats and 13 dogs in 2009 and prevented the birth
of countless kittens. This includes cats that were fighting to survive outside under harsh conditions
and unaltered animals owned by people who often abandon cats because they have too many or
because they lose interest in them once they are no longer kittens. These owners were either helped
by us through the loan repayment plan that we implemented or via the Help Fix ME program offered
by the State to people who are on some form of State aid. We accomplished this by actively seeking
out cats and dogs that had not been altered and then working closely with the owners to get the
animal spayed/neutered. The State has acknowledged that Northern Maine have had outstanding
results with the Help Fix ME program. The key to our success is that we do not just tell pet owners
about the program and expect them to follow through. We collect the nominal fee, help the owner
complete the application, mail the application to the State, verify that the owner has received the
voucher, verify that an appointment has been made for the surgery and, finally, that the surgery has
been done.