Do You Have Room In Your Heart?

Photo:

Channing

Channing arrived at Responsible Pet Care with a mangled tail that required surgery to remove it. A traumatic injury and being in a shelter made Channing very fearful. She spent several weeks hiding in a box that was put into her kennel to help her feel secure.

Every day the caregivers at the shelter worked with Channing until she felt safe enough to exchange her covered box for an open bed. She is now more relaxed and at ease.

She kneads her paws on her bed and tilts her head to indicate that she is listening when she is spoken to. One of RPS’s caregivers is fostering her at home to help her with her social skills.

The painful event that left this one-and-a-half-year-old cat wandering the streets is behind her. The staff at RPC hopes that a new home will be in her future soon.

Responsible Pet Care of Oxford Hills is a no-kill, non-profit shelter and adoption center for cats and kittens and the holding place for stray dogs for 12 towns in Oxford County.

The shelter cares for between 80 to 100 cats and kittens, and four to six dogs on site and in foster homes. At least 50 cats are ready for adoption at all times.

The fee to adopt a kitten up to six months old is $90. The fee to adopt an adult cat is $80. For senior cats over 10 years old the suggested donation is $50. Before a cat leaves the shelter it has been spayed or neutered, given rabies and distemper vaccinations, tested for feline AIDS and leukemia, and treated for parasites.

Anyone who is interested in adopting a pet from RPC can visit the shelter Tuesday through Sunday from Noon until 4 p.m. Adoptable pets and the adoption application can be found online on the shelter's website at www.rpc.petfinder.com.

The shelter also operates a thrift shop called Pawsibilities. It is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Donations of clean, usable household items will be accepted during those hours. All money raised at Pawsibilities supports RPC.

Both Responsible Pet Care and Pawsibilities are located at 132 Waterford Road in Norway.

For answers to questions about adopting or fostering a cat or kitten, or to make an inquiry about a lost dog, call Responsible Pet Care after Noon at 743-8679.