PARIS — Jessie wants a home to live out her golden years. Gigi wants a big house with a yard. Lynnette wants to live with people who will respect her privacy.
All they want for Christmas is a warm, caring home.
They are just a few of the 107 kittens and 13 dogs currently sheltered at Responsible Pet Care at 9 Swallow Road in Paris. Their Christmas “wish list” can now be seen in a two-minute video created by Norway resident and RPC volunteer photographer and webmaster Sandy Geddry.
RPC President Shirley Boyce said Geddry put together the video to celebrate the holidays and feature some of the shelter cats and dogs who need homes. The musical video can be found at www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152938220364201&set=vb.98023954200&type=2&theater.
While many of the cats and dogs will be adopted, others will have to remain in the shelter.
“These animals and many others are patiently waiting for their forever homes, but while they wait, thanks to generosity and donations of kind and compassionate people, they will be warm and happy with the staff and volunteers at Responsible Pet Care,” Boyce said.
Geddry, who lives in Norway with RPC volunteer and husband, Leo, maintains the shelter’s Web page, Facebook and Petfinder website, along with volunteering for many of the shelter’s fundraisers.
“(She) makes these wonderful videos and takes all of the photographs,” Boyce said. “When we were broadcasting a pet adoption show on NPCTV, Sandy put that together.”
The video has had a great response. By Monday of this week, the two-minute video had been sent to 9,792 people and shared 152 times on social media.
Responsible Pet Care was established in 1997 by a small group of people who recognized the plight of unwanted cats in the Oxford Hills region. The founding group pooled their money to purchase what they described as a very neglected piece of property on Route 118 in Norway that had two buildings. The better of the two was cleaned, painted and fitted with cages and equipment to house cats and kittens.
In May 2013, the shelter relocated from a small building in Norway to a 5,600-square-foot former school at 9 Swallow Road in Paris. The $295,000 purchase price was raised by community members. In August of that year, the group received a $50,000 grant from USDA Rural Development to retrofit the building.
The shelter is now trying to raise $8,000 to keep the new larger shelter warm this winter through the Help Keep Them Warm fuel campaign.
Donations may be mailed to Responsible Pet Care of Oxford Hills, P.O. Box 82, Norway, ME 04268. Contributions may also be made online at www.rpc.petfinder.com, Boyce said.
Anyone who would like to adopt a cat or dog at the shelter should contact the shelter directly.
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