To the Editor:
Recently in Gardiner, four kittens were found in a box on a snow bank, frozen to each other and barely alive. Thanks to Good Samaritans and the animal shelter, they received veterinary care. However, many less fortunate animals do not receive help in time.
Maine has strong animal welfare laws which require each municipality to have an animal control officer (ACO) to ensure that injured companion animals running at large or in a public way are given medical attention. To locate your ACO, call the police or sheriff’s department, your town office, or Maine’s Animal Welfare Program at 287-3846.
Private citizens attempting to help injured animals should exercise extreme caution not to get bitten, as the animals’ rabies vaccination status often cannot be verified. A safer response would be to call the ACO who is trained to handle injured animals and carries equipment to make sure they are not bitten. Sometimes the response from busy municipalities may not be immediate, but with persistence your efforts should pay off.
ACOs can ensure that injured animals are seen by a veterinarian. They also have access to animal shelters after hours so they can make sure healthy strays are fed and kept warm until their owners can reclaim them or they can be put up for adoption.
In this economy, many people face the heartbreaking decision to re-home pets they can no longer afford. This is not an excuse to abandon animals. Each community is required to contract with an animal shelter to care for strays, and many accept owner-surrendered animals.
If you know an animal has been abandoned, please report it to your ACO so they can prevent it from freezing, starving, or being hit by a car. With your help, we can make Maine a safer place for animals and people.
Steven Dostie, President
Maine Federation of Humane Societies
