Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Do you love cats? Calico Nook might be the place for you!


Do you love cats? 


Last month, co-partners Marissa Massucco and Kristi Mahoney opened up a not-for-profit for cat lovers called Calico Nook (58 E. Central Street in downtown Franklin). Calico Nook is a progressive, upscale, warm and relaxing community space where cats roam free and feline fanatics can get their fill. Calico Nook has a few resident rescue cats and are in the process of partnering with local animal shelters to foster some of their cats. Since Calico Nook is not-for-profit, funding comes from a $5 admission at the door. Some people come to hang out or play with cats. Some people come to read, relax, use the wi-fi, see local art or buy a variety of eclectic cat-centric retail items. So far the community has been very supportive!

Calico Nook is also planning on having many special events, from acoustic music nights to kids craft events to pet info sessions. They have two upcoming events in April:



Pet Info Session: Saturday, April 18th with Dr. Bart Massucco 10:30am and 1pm

Dr. Bart, the owner of Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Wrentham, will be giving a fun pet informational session at 10:30am and 1pm. Dr. Bart can answer any pet related questions you may have. Fun for all ages (5 and up.) Bring your pet-related questions and he will answer them and learn fun cat facts from a seasoned pro. Standard $5 admission applies.



Kids School Vacation Event: Tuesday, April 21st from 3-4pm

Kids 5 and up can come and do a variety of cat centric games from word searches and word scrambles to puzzles and cat bingo. We have a prize basket brimming with prizes waiting to be won. Children must be accompanied, supervised by an adult at all times, and adhere to all cat rules. Standard $5 admission applies to each child and adult.

screen grab of Calico Nook webpage
screen grab of Calico Nook webpage


For more information on Calico Nook, please visit their website at www.caliconook.com or like them on Facebook for up-to-date information.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

feral cat video

Shelter Me has posted a video created by Ricky Ferreira who interviewed Dottie Luff to get the latest on the "famous" feral cats of Highwood Condo here in Franklin.

View the video here

Monday, October 27, 2008

In the News: Special Ed, more feral cats

GHS
Posted Oct 26, 2008 @ 10:54 PM

The number of schools not meeting the state's achievement standards under federal No Child Left Behind regulations is quickly mounting.

Forty-seven schools across MetroWest and the Milford area were designated as at least needing improvement as a result of 2008 test scores, including ones in districts often considered to be of high quality, such as Natick, Westborough and Franklin. Half of all schools statewide received such a label.

State education officials say they are not surprised the number of schools needing improvement is swelling - up by 156 to 828 total this year - because of the ambitious goals set under No Child Left Behind. The law requires all students reach at least proficiency by 2014 on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

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GHS
Posted Oct 26, 2008 @ 10:44 PM

FRANKLIN —

Animal rights group intervening with feral cats

By Joyce Kelly

DAILY NEWS STAFF

FRANKLIN - Franklin's Animal Control will start a trap, neuter/spay, release program for feral cats at Highwood Condominiums today, according to the head of an animal rescue society intervening with the situation.

The trapped kitten and cats will go to the Purr-fect Cat Shelter in Medway for evaluation, said Stacy LeBaron, president of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society of Salisbury.

The board of trustees for Highwood I, the section of Highwood where the cats live and roam, had voted to trap and kill the cats, but agreed to halt the plan and discuss an alternative when a resident and LeBaron intervened earlier this month.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


Saturday, October 11, 2008

"some people are just self-centered and narrow-minded"

GHS
Posted Oct 10, 2008 @ 10:34 PM
Last update Oct 10, 2008 @ 10:41 PM

FRANKLIN —

Neighbors are rallying to save a nearby colony of feral cats, contacting national animal rights organizations after learning Highwood Condominiums' board of trustees plans to trap and euthanize them.

Animal Control officers Cindy Souza and Tracey Holmes say the feral cats' feeding station, which they set up with Purr-fect Cat Shelter of Medway in nearby woods is on state land where trapping is prohibited.

"We've kind of stepped back ... It's really up to the people to stand up to the association at this point," Holmes said.

And they are.

Resident Leslie McShane contacted Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah, to bring attention to the situation.

"I thought they should know what goes on in small towns that want to euthanize their problems ... instead of reaching out to the community to try and find homes for the feral cats or try to relocate the colony to a friendlier area that they can all survive in," McShane said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


Sunday, September 21, 2008

"It just amazes me to think that people can be so cruel to animals"

Milford Daily News
Posted Sep 20, 2008 @ 10:50 PM


FRANKLIN —

With the vigilance of a cat stalking its prey, self-proclaimed "Cat Lady'' Dorothy "Dottie'' Luff, 81, scours the woods that are home to a colony of feral cats for traps.
Every day, she said she watches for them, terrified someone will catch and later kill one of her precious babies, whom she has named, fed and cared for over the past decade.

Recently, while she was checking on "Gayle,'' "Leftie'' (so-named because she always rubs against Luff's left leg), "Debbie'' and "Blackie,'' Luff looked down and saw an unfamiliar puff of fur on the ground.

As she petted the animal, she thought it was the softest fur she'd ever felt, and turned it over to discover it was a raccoon, and it was dead. Someone had stabbed it with a stick through the front of its body, she recalled, shaking her head and remarking that no child or animal had done it.

"Sometimes I think the humans are worse than the animals,'' Luff said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

In the News - more on cats, zoning issue, by-law emergency

GHS
Posted Aug 12, 2008 @ 01:28 AM

FRANKLIN —

A feral cat colony living behind Highwood Condominiums is the pride and joy of elderly resident Dorothy "Dottie" Luff, but other residents living closest to the cats' feeding station say the felines are just a nuisance.

"No one wants to hurt the cat people or send (Dottie) into distress," resident Madelyn McAneny said yesterday. "But these cats are using my yard as their litter box."

A group of neighbors gathered yesterday to dispel public perceptions surrounding the controversy over these cats.

"It's not that we don't like animals," Highwood Road resident Ruth Bayer said. "We're just concerned with the health issues, the smell and our property values."

"This is not us against Dorothy," McAneny added.

Last month, Pioneer Property Management responded to heightened complaints and notified residents the cats would be trapped and removed from the site. But pleas from officials and caretakers, including Luff, have halted the trapping.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

GHS
Posted Aug 12, 2008 @ 01:06 AM

FRANKLIN —

Planners recommended the town adopt a zoning change to allow a wider variety of development near the Knights of Columbus on Rte. 140.

The Planning Board last night voted in favor of recommending Town Council rezone a portion of West Central Street (Rte. 140) from Business/Single Family III to Commercial II.

Town Planner Beth Dahlstrom and Town Engineer William Yadisernia also supported the change.

"The Knights of Columbus is selling the property, and we want to increase the redevelopment potential of the lots in that area. The Knights of Columbus is in need of substantial redevelopment," Yadisernia said.

Neither he nor Dahlstrom knew the prospective buyer of the Knights' property, which they estimated to be between 7 and 10 acres.

The proposal involves seven adjacent parcels of land (on the zoning maps, parcels 270-024-000 through 270-030-000), including the Knights of Columbus property, a Dunkin' Donuts, a gas station, and single-family homes, Dahlstrom said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

GHS
Posted Aug 12, 2008 @ 01:25 AM

FRANKLIN —

Anticipating vast increases in the price of home heating oil this winter, Councilor Stephen Whalen is proposing the town suspend a prohibitive bylaw to enable more residents to convert from oil to natural gas.

"One of my fears is, a lot of people are going to be caught off-guard by the huge increase in heating oil," said Whalen, who is a senior financial analyst with Liberty Mutual Group.

He had just read a report projecting oil will cost homeowners 70 percent more than last year, and gas, 25 percent to 30 percent more, when he received an e-mail from Maple Street resident Joshua Phillips objecting to a bylaw that prevents him from tapping into natural gas, said Whalen.

"I'm not an expert, but there is a consensus in the financial community that oil will go up more than gas," said Whalen.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Franklin changes

Go away for a few days and upon return to Franklin you can find some changes.

A new foundation is being put together for a house in an empty lot on King St:

Franklin: Foundation on King St

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Work on the columns at the old Town Hall, new museum resumes downtown:

Franklin: Column work resumes

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And quite a stir is being raised over some feral cats. The article appeared yesterday in the Milford Daily News and got picked up by the Boston Globe today.