Making any online purchases? Though March 31, the great folks at Tisbury Turkey have decided to help us with our fundraising. Visit our website, animalshelterofmv.org, and you’ll find a link for tisburyturkey.com. There you can visit one of many online stores like Amazon.com, Target and 1800flowers. Purchases made through the Tisbury Turkey site will benefit the shelter financially. The information is prominently featured on our aforementioned web site.

The animal shelter is in a slump, like all the remaining denizens of the Vineyard at this gray time of year. The few cats prowling around are patiently waiting for visitors and/or new owners. It is like a stag club in here. All our feline residents are male and all of them are black, except for Big Baby who has some handsome white markings as he is properly called a tuxedo cat. He is deaf due to an unfortunate encounter with a raccoon and is, therefore, wary among other animals. But he loves people, especially children, so would make a good addition to a family. The other black cats are the brothers Forrest and Bubba, sleek and shiny as patent leather. They are young lads, only 3 years old. Oliver is the senior black cat. He is twelve but healthy and has a lot of good years ahead of him. Whoever provides him a home will be taking him for free. We’ll even throw in a cat carrier!

Reminders for the thankfully brief month of February: Offshore Ale is hosting a food for fundraising event on the 19th that will benefit the animal shelter. Mark your calendars for the rabies clinic which usually takes place in April. This year it will be held on Saturday, March 28. Cats and dogs can receive their necessary annual vaccinations against this disease at low cost at the shelter.

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 or visit animalshelterofmv.org.