The animal shelter’s record of placements continues. Princess, an elderly female that we thought would continue to be our tenant, was adopted last week and now has a cozy place to put her paws up for her remaining days.

Her place as the senior cat has been taken by a big black male named Oliver. He is very sweet as older felines tend to be. It seems to be a man cave in the adoption room at present.

Betsy, the only female,  was returned to us a while back and has, we hope, departed for a “’til death do us part” home. Big Ben, the enormous orange cat with a loud purr and a sweet face, has also found a new owner. The new boys joining Oliver are two young males, Bubba and Forrest. Both of them are black and only three years old. Oliver will no doubt have to teach them to behave like gentlemen.

Unfortunately, the lab/greyhound mix named Flash is still spending the holidays with the shelter staff and volunteers. The dog trainer par excellence, Tom Shelby, has evaluated him and pronounced him a good candidate for re-direction of his boundless energy. What a good project for someone in the new year; more fun than weight-watching and guaranteed to provide the new owner with exercise.

There is a wonderful new show at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Every animal lover on the Island (most of the population) will love it. There is a wealth of material to amuse the viewer, from David Crohan’s life as a blind pianist aided by his seeing eye dogs to the beloved, recently deceased, Norman Bridwell’s Clifford illustrations to the barn cats and working dogs who have shared our Island. There are also interviews done by Linsey Lee with some of the animal owners. The show includes two donation boxes, too — one labeled for cat lovers, the other for dog people. Both benefit the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard. I imagine some of us will put our cash in both of them.

So we bid farewell to 2014 with a heartfelt thank you to our board members, our volunteers, the vets who volunteered their time, those who adopted lifetime companions from the shelter and, especially, to Lisa Hayes, our director, and Gordon Healy, her assistant. They keep things humming and inspire all of us with their knowledge and dedication. Let us head into 2015 with our tails up and our ears pricked!

Shelter hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The shelter is closed Sunday and Monday. The telephone number is 508-627-8662. Contributions are always gratefully accepted; the shelter is funded solely by donations. Please make checks out to The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard; the mailing address is P.O. Box 1829, Edgartown, MA 02539.