Nadeau’s ‘absolute dream’ comes true with grand opening of Pet House
By NATHAN BROWN, Enterprise Staff WriterArticle Photos
TUPPER LAKE - The Pet House at 190 Main St. officially opened its doors at noon on Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by several local officials.
Wine, champagne, lemonade and an array of snacks were being passed out for free.
"This is an absolute dream come true," said Valerie Nadeau, the woman responsible for the shelter's creation, in her speech before she cut the yellow ribbon across the main entrance. "I never could have imagined it would be this nice. I am still in disbelief. This is such an amazing thing, and I want to thank you all."
Nadeau also thanked Tom and Sue Lawson of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who donated the building in November 2007 and agreed to fund its renovation into a state-of the-art cat shelter.
"They have made this above and beyond anything I could imagine, and I want to thank them so much," Nadeau said.
Nadeau also thanked her parents for "messing around 46 years ago."
Nadeau started taking care of Tupper Lake's stray and feral cats in her Washington Avenue home in February 2007, and she spent much of last year trying to raise money for a new cat shelter to fill the gap left when the contract between the Tri-Lakes Humane Society and the town ended in 2003. The town maintains a pound for dogs but not for cats, and town and village officials said that, while they sympathized with Nadeau's cause, they didn't have enough money to pay for a cat shelter.
The shelter's five full-time employees were all present, in shirts covered in pictures of cats, as were the two part-timers. They surprised Nadeau with a present - a slide show, set to music, of all of the shelter's 60 or so feline residents.
"This is the best crew I ever had," Nadeau said. "And look at the great uniforms."
Employee Andrea Palermo said the shelter has two adults who volunteer on a regular basis and two teenagers who volunteer once or twice a week.
"That's it right now, but we'll be building on that in the future," she said.
Anyone interested in volunteering can call Nadeau at 359-2136.
The shelter is a state-of-the-art facility with in-floor heating, air conditioning, air filtration, a medical examination room and lounge areas where the cats can socialize. It is big enough for 122 cats. The Adirondack-themed wooden furniture and interior woodwork, which features bark and twig trim throughout and antlers on the walls, was done by Davie Daby, who owns Adirondack Rustic Creations with his wife Wendy.
"When I die, I want to come back as a cat," said Franklin County Legislator Paul Maroun of Tupper Lake.
There was also a prize giveaway, with prizes such as Lake Placid Horse Show tickets, Tail O' the Pup passes and T-shirts given to people who could answer such questions as, "Who was the most famous cat that loves lasagna?"
The answer is Garfield.
Contact Nathan Brown at 891-2600 ext. 26 or nbrown@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
