page 3B/The Battalion/Thursday, October 27,1983
Shelter gives strays a chance
by Susan Poole
BaitelioM Reporter
The kennel at the Brazos
Aniinal Sheltef Inc. is a maze of
chain link cages neachihjg to the
ceiling bur ncr wider and longer
than a bathtub.
In one of them a black and
tftn botrtrd with large, soulful
eyes vests on nis {>aws. A
‘‘ready U> Sigfr hangs on
where a
an-
jtintisly wiggles artd wags its tail.
Other dogsehttply lie in their
cages, sleepily raising an eyelid
the gate of ariotlier cage whe
small chihuahua-like dog
when someone passes.
Most of these stray and aban
doned dogs will be claimed by
their masters or adopted by new
•masters, but some of them will
end up being put to sleep.
The stray and wild animal
population is a problem that ev
ery city faces.
. „ - Unfortunately, most pet dogs
that are lost or abandoned by
their owners end up beiny hit by
cars or become too starv d or
diseased to survive, Kathryn L.
Ricker, head of the shelter, said.
In some cities the number of
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dogs killed by cars match the
number oflive stray dogs found,
she said.
“Someone is paid full-time to
clean dead animals off the
streets of Bryan and College Sta
tion,” Ricker said.
Malnutrition is another prob
lem these lost dogs suffer, which
is a factor leading to disease.
Ricker said she has seen dogs
with severe mange, ulcers all
over their bodies and other
health problems.
“Dogs that have been lost
since they were puppies have
been found and their necks have
grown completely around their
collars,” she said. “There are
ulcers all around the area and it
is extremely painful. Unless
someone wants to spend the
time and money to bring the dog
back to normal health the only
humane thing we can do is put it
to sleep.”
But some dogs do survive and
adapt to outdoor life without
people. They become like wild
animals and will even raise litters
which are wilder.
“A pack of wild dogs used to
roam the Southwest Parkway
and Krenek Tap Road area in
College Station,” Ricker said.
“They even would raise litters
behind the Post Oak Mall area.
These puppies were definitely
wild and had never been
touched by human hands ”
Wild dogs survive mainly by
scavenging garbage dumpsters
and cans and eating cat and dog
food left outside of homes.
Some of them are good enough
to catch rabbits, frogs, rats and
other small animals, Ricker said.
Dogs will also eat berries and
other edible plants, she said.
When a wild dog is caught, it
is taken to the shelter where, if it
can be tamed, it could be
adopted. Otherwise it is put to
Sle*^, she said.
Ricker warns against people
feeding abandoned or wild
animals.
Wild cats are a bigger prob
lem, she added.
“There is no hope for a wild
cifc,” Rkker said. "It can’t be so-
ckrfiwd. It is as wild as a tiger.
They only thing we can do is put
them to sleep.’
“People feel sorry For them
and feed them,” she sakl. “But
what they are really doing is in
creasing the rabies and other
disease potential in their area.”
If people Want to feed a stray
animal, Kicker said they Should
take responsibility for the anim-
akin
al by taking k to get shots for
rabies and distemper, Having k
wormed and neutered. It is not
fair to the animal to feed it but
not take care of it, she said.
Wild animals should not be
handled, Ricker said. The best
thing a person could do is call
Animal Control to catch the
animal.
>gs
animals are caught by humane
traps, she said. A meaty bone or
other type of bait is plated in the
When
When stray animals are
caught that are not wild, the
shelter holds them for three
days to see if they are claimed,
she said. If an animal is not
claimed it is checked for health
problems and, if healthy, is put
up for adoption, Ricker said.
“We get about 800 animals a
month, more in the summer,
and 10*40 percent of them are
claimed by their owners,” she
said. “Of the ones left, 10-20
percent are adopted. We think
that is a pretty good rate.”
In order to adopt a dog from
the shelter, the potential owner
must pass an interview and sign
a contract. The contract says the
person has to have the animal
neutered and take it to get a
rabies shot, Ricker said.
trap. When aw ahimal enters Ihe
cage to get the bait a trap door
" Ail
closes behind them, Ricker said.
"We insist that the animals be
neutered so there won’t be any
stray litters,” she said. “We want
to put ourselves out of business.”
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NEW YORK — Tuition-free
retraining courses are among
benefits for the jobless as col
leges, labor unions and others
team up.
up
-counseling, resume
writing workshops, job banks
and other services, a survey by
the Action Cbmntittee for High
er Education showed.
The Action Committee, a
coalition of 26*higher education
groups that serves as'a clearing
house on U.S. studettt aid, cited
dozens of help programs for the
down-and-out.
Under one, some 2,700 work
ers from a Ford Motor Co. plant
in Washtenaw County. Mich.,
are eligible for free career
chansre counsefinpr offered by
Up to $4,000 in retraining
costs is provided by the UAW-
Ford Motor Co. Employee De-
Train i n v
This Great Dane is lucky to have an ownl
who cares for him. Many stray pets at tkB
Brazos Animal Shelter aren’t so fortunate.
and
velopment
Program.
"Our program is an alterna
tive fd conventional government
retraining For unemployed per
sons,” said Jeanne P. Gordus,
University of Michigan resear
cher who heads the employment
transition team.
"It doesn’t tell people to take
a course in fobotics or to move to
Boston. It gives them the infor
mation and skills to make such
economic decisions, and it pro
vides a support network for per
sons facing similar difficult
choices.
In Missouri, Project Refocus,
a Community-wide program to
Participants arc put in con
tact with specific job-retraining
programs after they attend a
family assistance seminar and go
through job counselin
Near Baltimore, Dundalk
the Univertity of Mkhjtftfn’s retrain the jobless, was launched
Employment Twmsitfcm Team, by the University of Missouri-
Mwrjw's •
Kansas City after Armco Steel
Co. fired 1,000 workers.
THE
FULL
MOON
COSTUME
CONCERT
Community College has linked
up with the American Legion to
create scholarships for veterans.
The spring 1983 program pro
vided tuition and fees for up to
six college credits pei jobless stu
dent.
In Cincinnati, the College of
Mount St. Joseph on the Ohio
Last semester offered single f ree
courses, on an as available basis,
to anyone in the region who had
been out of work for at least a
year.
Nearly 500 took free courses.
Business related subjects such as
data processing, computers and
accounting were most frequent
ly requested. The school subse
quently gave 55 scholarships for
by Mar
Batlali
If vou re at
First Presbyterian Church
1100 Carter Creek Parkway, Bryan ,
fulltime schoolingihis
Elmira College inK
N V ., set up 10 till4- y ,
• i lu>laiships Lm ' B \ }
full-time undergndtii
bv people who have bet
ployed within the
months due toaladd
education.
The scholarships,!
ior i V l ‘ r vca 7’ a fmssing .1.1
unued I manual netda^J, UIMv ,
mic good standing.
For the 40-plus out
executive. Pace limH j s t he on
» ounselin(gCenltTBili® uUe i s t.,i
< .ii v lunsasupportginMaken .m
Middle-aged e\ meet localh
managers and profc*„ s p |( ,bl
bo Live lost theirand u
the footsteps of oultfce,i mdiv
white collar types«®Helen Fit
turned to the progniWBivan-C ,<i
l.tst 43 years. ■ said the
The program wMts a chat
during the Great Defither crafisn
l<> get into it, onewiiB'Fvta v at
talus and out of ajobiiforni of art
ailing with
hen the Tex;
Parkway, Brya
823-8073
Or. Robert Leslie, Pastor
Rev. John McGarey, Associate Pastor
SUNDAY:
Worship at 8:30AM 811:00AM
Church School at 9:30AM
Class at 9:30AM
(Bus from TAMU Krusgsr'Dunn 9:10AM
Northgate 9:15AMI
Youth Moating at 5:00PM
Nursury: AH Events
li
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25,000 or moreay&Tave a passioi
In California) li^B'he orgar
director of High T«|chance to di
C '.enters and Servicesfoijhe market in
Angeles CommuniiilW.ind ship
District, said: B galleries
“Displaced worles^R Fmnev •
b*' ■ onvinced thaithfi^BWe ti v m
jobs have endedsotbffjpit their an
ccntrate on lookingiaid. “It’s bar
ones. iamtothrov
“Often workers wl^Bame a ga
wait to be called backtotem of the p
job. They find itdiW She said ev
accept the factthattkTerem exper
may never come, that there i
“Once that hurtlf |vho is able t
come, their other needfiOnT I mm
ad dressed—job seatdip Finnev sai
ing, income andrij
assistance, as well asn
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