Furry friends seek homes for holidays

By Steve Estes

For 12 years Moxy and her owner shared a good, quiet life in the Florida Keys.

But as so often happens in the Keys, financial circumstances forced Moxy’s family to move to another town, all the way out west to Oklahoma.

Moxy’s owner, unable to find housing in Oklahoma that would accept her pet, took the faithful companion to the Marathon Animal Shelter, now run by Safe Harbor Animal Rescue of the Keys.

Her request was simple. Because she wouldn’t be able to take the dog with her, Moxy’s owner asked the shelter to euthanize the animal.

“We told her we wouldn’t euthanize an otherwise healthy dog just for her convenience because she couldn’t take the dog with her,” said Katie Bentley, SHARK director.

The owner surrendered the Shepard/Border Collie mix to the shelter, and now Moxy roams the offices at the Marathon facility waiting for a new family that will appreciate her “loving nature.”

Moxy is 12, and according to Bentley does have some arthritis issues making it a little difficult to get up and down at times, but “She’s full of spunk and loves to be around humans.”

Abby baby is a young Jack Russell/Dachsund mix that found her way to the Marathon shelter recently after a short life basically being passed around from family to family.

According to Bentley, Abby baby showed up with some mange issues but the hair is recovering nicely. “There’s a nice fuzz patch on her head.”

The shelter picked up Abby baby running the streets after she had escaped from her yard. “Apparently the dog was kept alone in the yard all day and had very little interaction with people. We know she has an owner out there somewhere, but they’ve never called to claim her,” said Bentley.

Now Abby baby spends her days picking through prospective new families and frolicking in the shelter yard with other dogs. But she won’t frolic with the cats. “She has a thing about cats.”

Moxy and Abby baby are just two of the dogs SHARK has ready for adoption at the shelter on Aviation Drive in Marathon.

“And a loyal companion is always a great gift idea for the holidays,” said Bentley.

She doesn’t recommend actually picking out an animal as a gift for someone. “The pet you pick for someone else may not be the pet they would pick for themselves. Tastes are different.”

What she does suggest, however, is the purchase of gift certificate that covers all the adoption costs for the recipient so they can choose their own companion.

“We have all sizes, all ages. We’ve got two young puppies, one a Jack Russell mix and a Yorkie, and we’ve got some older, bigger dogs that are just looking for a good place to call home,” said Bentley.

The shelter even has a new litter of puppies that are being fostered by a caring neighbor, puppies that will turn out to be smallish dogs.

In all, there are 28 dogs at the shelter, “all very adoptable,” said Bentley.

The shelter also has a large selection of adult cats, “more than we’ve ever had before,” but no kittens, says Bentley.

The shelter is so overwhelmed with adult cats right now that they are offering an adoption special of just $15 for cats.

Simply getting a gift certificate for the holidays doesn’t insure a future pet, however. Folks must still fill out the adoption application. They will be required to either prove they own their home or have the landlord’s permission to have a pet, and they will need personal references.

“If we can call the references and get a good report, we can do a same-day adoption,” said Bentley.

The best way to get to know a potential new companion is to visit the shelter and visit with the animals. The shelter is open Tuesday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and weekends from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“If that doesn’t meet your schedule, call and we’ll make arrangements,” said Bentley.

If adopting a companion isn’t in the cards but you want to give some loving to an animal, Bentley says the shelter is always looking for volunteers for various things.

“We always need dog walkers, and with the large number of cats we have we’ve found it hard to find people who just want to get into the cat cages and play with the cats for a while to give them some human interaction,” said Bentley. Her staff calls these folks “cat snugglers.”

And, if time prevents volunteering, Bentley says you can also help by donating something from the holiday wish list for the animals.

That wish list includes: For cats-blankets, litter, toys to play with and catnip. For dogs-blankets, wet food, toys to play with, chew toys, hot dogs as treats, a radio/cd player so the four-legged animals have some soothing music to listen to.