The Messenger Animal Rescue Inc.

06/19/2026

Just a quick reminder that I am off this weekend and will be less responsive to messages than usual. I will reply when I can.

I truly appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding over the last couple of weeks as I have been focused on caring for one of my own dogs following his recent surgery. Your kindness and support have meant a great deal.

At this time, intakes remain on hold while I continue to balance his recovery and shelter responsibilities. The animals currently in our care are doing well and receiving their normal daily care and attention.

Thank you for your understanding, and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

06/19/2026

🌟 $5 Friday! 🌟

Happy Friday everyone! This week’s $5 Friday offers a truly special opportunity. Up for grabs is an original watercolor painting by the late Sandra Priest. 🎨

This beautiful piece was generously donated by Sandra’s niece, Linda Gray, from her personal collection of some of Sandra’s artwork. Thank you, Linda, for sharing this wonderful piece and helping support the animals at The Messenger Animal Rescue. 🐾❤️

This is an original Sandra Priest watercolor painting depicting a beautiful coastal Maine scene featuring a clamdigger along the shoreline. It has an estimated resale value of $250. Sandra passed away several years ago, making her artwork even more special and collectible, as no new pieces will ever be created.

Whether you’re an art collector, a fan of local artists, or simply appreciate beautiful original artwork, this is a unique opportunity to own a piece of Sandra Priest’s legacy and a charming depiction of Maine’s coastal heritage.

Don’t miss your chance to own a Sandra Priest original watercolor painting of your own!

🎟 How to enter:
$5 = 1 entry
$10 = 2 entries
$15 = 3 entries
…and so on!

💻 Payment options:

Autobooks:
👉 https://app.autobooks.co/pay/messenger-animal-rescue
➡️ Please check the box to cover processing fees so we receive the full donation and you receive your full number of entries.

Venmo:
👉 https://venmo.com/u/Sarah-Strout-9
(Please choose payments between friends so we aren't charged fees- Last four digits if needed: 0499)

PayPal:
👉 https://www.paypal.me/stroutsarah
➡️ Please choose Friends & Family and, if using a credit card, consider adding a little extra to help cover fees.

🎉 Winner will be drawn Saturday June 20th!

Thank you again to Linda Gray for donating this beautiful piece of artwork in support of the animals at The Messenger Animal Rescue. Good luck everyone! 🍀🐾

06/18/2026

Our sweet Dixie girl was spayed today, which means her adoption has now been officially finalized! ❤️

Dixie has made so much progress in her new home, and I couldn’t be happier for her. She has found a loving family with patient, understanding people who are giving her the time, guidance, and training she needs to overcome her past traumas and adjust to her new life.

Since going home, she has done remarkably well, and it has been wonderful to watch her confidence grow. I had the opportunity to visit Dixie last week, and while she was incredibly excited to see me, it was clear that she is happy, comfortable, and content in her new home. There is nothing better than seeing a rescue dog finally feel safe and loved.

We are hoping she has a smooth recovery from her spay surgery and is back to her fun-loving, bouncy self very soon. Congratulations, Dixie! We are so grateful that you found your happily ever after. 🐾❤️

06/18/2026

Please Read my response to DD PET Adoption Thank you.

There are not enough homes for them all nor enough funds to keep up by continuing to add more needing help. Not all cats who appear "pregnant" are actually large with kittens, all too often these cats have pyometra! Pyometra is an infection in the uterus which is found during a spay! Please consider any spay a win for an outdoor cat, whether preventing kittens born to repeat the cycle of suffering or catching a hidden de@th sentence of pyometra!!!

06/18/2026

We do not support pig scrambles. There are plenty of wonderful educational opportunities at agricultural fairs. Terrorizing innocent animals is not one of them.

06/18/2026

Parvovirus is very dangerous and it survives in the environment for a long time!

It can happen at ANY age if your dog is not vaccinated!

06/18/2026

📌 Reminder: The shelter is open by appointment only this week.

My first and most important priority right now is my own personal dog, Axell, who is recovering from major orthopedic surgery and experienced a minor setback earlier this week. As a result, I am spending a significant amount of time managing his recovery and follow-up care.

Please know that all of the animals currently at the shelter are receiving the same excellent care they always do. If you need to schedule an appointment, feel free to send me a message and I will do my best to accommodate you. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding during this time.

I would also like to remind everyone that all owner surrenders require an appointment. We are not always able to accept new animals, and at this time I am not accepting any additional intakes until Axell is a little further along in his recovery and I can devote the time and attention that new arrivals deserve.

Today, I noticed on our security cameras that someone came to the shelter on two separate occasions with a cat. I do not know what their intentions were, but please do not assume that you can simply arrive at the shelter and leave an animal. That is not how our intake process works.

Before any animal can be surrendered, arrangements must be made in advance so we can determine whether we have space available and ensure we are prepared to properly care for that animal. This policy applies whether the shelter is open or closed.

Thank you for your understanding, patience, and continued support.

06/18/2026

A good sturdy carrier makes all the difference!

How do you give a rescuer a heart attack?

When you drop off your cat, let them out of the carrier in the driveway. 😳

We live near Oak Street in Ellsworth, which if any of you know Ellsworth…is very very busy!! 

Especially at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, and on a weekday!

I appreciate the time spent by the people who brought us a beautiful little cat tonight so we could help give her a better life. 🐈‍⬛🐾

BUT I have to remind everyone that when you bring a cat to us, they MUST be in a hard sided carrier and do not open the door until we take kitty from you, bring her inside and THEN we can transfer. ❤️

It makes no difference how well-behaved the cat is. It makes absolutely no difference how wonderful your relationship with your cat is.

Loud noises, traffic, dogs, helicopters, as we are near a hospital, and many many other things can terrify any kitty, which could make it possible for them to run into the road, be injured or simply disappear.

ALWAYS contain your kitty when you bring your kitty to us. In fact, if you intend to travel anywhere with your kitty, even to the vet, EVEN NEXT DOOR, please make sure your kitty is contained because the unexpected can happen and you could lose them. ❤️

And by the way, nylon carriers with zippers stink. Cats have claws and trust me, they can get out of them.

While we truly appreciate the dedication and effort of the person that brought us a kitty recently in a tote because she got the kitty …regardless of whether kitty wanted to come or not… it’s dangerous to carry a kitty in anything but a secure carrier with a secure door and it is very important.

You should always have a carrier available to transport your kitty in case of emergency. If you need a secure carrier, reach out to us and if we have one will let you have it and if not, we’ll help you find one. ❤️

Make sure carrier FITS kitty. If you have a large cat…you need a large carrier.

You’re the human. Please be responsible for your kitty. Keep them safe. 🤞🐾🐾🐈‍⬛


https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Do9xpMgTQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

06/16/2026

We currently have eight kittens that will be looking for homes toward the end of July. Some of you may have noticed that I haven’t posted photos of them yet, and there is a reason for that.

Every time I post kitten photos, my inbox gets flooded with messages. Even when I clearly state that the kittens are not available yet, I still receive numerous requests from people wanting to claim them. Unfortunately, it also means that the adult cats in our care get overlooked even more.

The truth is that our adult cats deserve homes too. Everyone loves kittens because they’re cute, but every kitten eventually grows up to be an adult cat.

A while back, I posted a photo of a stray kitten that had come into the shelter. The post clearly stated that the kitten was on a stray hold, was not available for adoption, and that I was not accepting inquiries about it. Despite that, I still received at least a dozen messages from people wanting to adopt it. In the end, the kitten was reclaimed by its owner and was never going to be available. I spent valuable time responding to messages that could have been avoided if people had simply respected the information provided in the post.

For that reason, I no longer post photos of kittens before they are ready for adoption.

I also want to explain our kitten adoption policy. Whenever possible, I prefer to adopt kittens out in pairs. We now keep kittens until they are 12 weeks old so they can receive their rabies vaccine before leaving the shelter.

In the past, I adopted kittens out at 8 weeks of age, which is permitted under Maine law. They were spayed or neutered before adoption, and adopters were instructed to schedule the rabies vaccine when the kittens reached the appropriate age. Unfortunately, many never received that vaccine. Lesson learned.

As a result, kittens now stay with us until they have been:
• Spayed or neutered
• Vaccinated, including rabies
• Fully ready for adoption

You do not have to agree with our policy, but it is not negotiable. We do not allow cats or kittens to leave our care without being altered and appropriately vaccinated. That applies to everyone.

If you think you may be interested in adopting a pair of kittens, you are welcome to submit an adoption application now. Priority will be given to applicants interested in adopting two kittens together, and an approved application must be on file before any adoption can take place.

Please do not message asking what the kittens look like, what color they are, what breed they are, or requesting to reserve one. If you are serious about adopting, the first step is to complete an application. We can go from there when the kittens are closer to being ready.

06/16/2026

👉 Did you hear the good news?! 👈

Yesterday, it was announced that Ridglan Farms signed a binding agreement to release all of the remaining beagles in their breeding and testing programs and *permanently close* their breeding, sales, research, and testing operations.

We went to Ridglan back in April determined to help fight for the thousands of dogs stuck in cages, undergoing painful surgical procedures without pain relief, antibiotics, or even a vet present, and being criminally abused by a facility with over 300 documented cruelty violations. These dogs were all destined to be sold for cruel, invasive, barbaric, and unreliable animal testing. We were met with tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and intense police brutality at Ridglan in April, but we left Wisconsin hopeful that together, the coalition of people and organizations that grew after activist actions at Ridglan that brought global attention to the plight of these beagles would help SAVE THE DOGS and SHUT DOWN RIDGLAN FARMS. And it worked. 😭😍

But the fight for dogs—and all animals—is far from over. With over 20,000 beagles (and also cats, ferrets, and pigs) being bred for outdated and cruel animal experimentation at Marshall BioResoucres (MBR) in New York (and more dogs at their UK facility), a growing coalition is building to seize the momentum from shutting down Ridglan to taking on MBR, ending all testing on dogs, and fighting for ALL animals in laboratories. We’ll keep everyone updated on how you can help. ❤️

📸 Isaac, who was born at MBR and survived five years of invasive, painful laboratory experimentation before being rescued in 2013