Maffett Talk Opens New Service By LARAS' House

LARAS' House Board Member Orma Williams shows how to care for Kitty Melodii Patenaude to the Maffett Memorial Library Board. (Special to the Journal/Byron Riddle) On Tuesday, June 16th, Orma Williams stood before a group of children at the Maffett Memorial Library and talked about and demonstrated the proper care of pets. Helping her make the points come alive was fellow LARAS' House board member Melodii Patenaude who got down on all fours and pretended to be either a dog or a cat to demonstrate how an animal reacts to various types of treatment, good or bad. Her talk followed a series of charts she used that featured the acronym CARE to get her message over to the young audience.

Other members of the Limestone Animal Rescue and Adoption Shelter waited outside the library with a number of puppies and kittens they brought for the children to handle and possibly adopt. The children had the chance to handle the animals practicing some of the lessons that Williams and Patenaude had brought to them inside the library. With parents along, some of the children took home new pets, two dogs and one kitten in all.

Kids gathered at the Maffett Memorial Library to learn how to care for animals from LARAS's House. (Special to the Journal/Byron Riddle) The LARAS' House presence at the library was in conjunction with the reading from the book , The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, a story of four animals who suffer abuse in the story. Glenda Nelson did the reading in the absence of Appelt who arrived later in the day to do another presentation on the book that afternoon.

So well received was the presentation by Williams that it was decided to make this program available to all groups in Limestone County. Adults, not just children ,can also learn how to better take care of a pet and provide better treatment for it from the points made in this talk. LARAS' House will make its members available to civic clubs, church groups, garden clubs, youth organizations and others to put on this program. Contact the rescue shelter at (903) 644-5275 to schedule a program.

LARAS' House Board member Ann Pendleton tends to puppies at the Maffett Library Adoption. (Special to the Journal/Byron Riddle)