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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1983)
Tuesday, December 13, 1983/The Battalion/Page 5 R.T. Finals VifeeR in A^ietand... H.E. 212 FIMAL EXAM l/AMR on 8 s aretd, ^^dastc. t0v iolat e | n '% e '> I of pub|( IS /calling,, timacv,;, toevalidjj™ Franialwi ’ ihe 1 °f Hunts ier dainaj essedbva ’ Hugh Ht; ’JMCtioart 'gthedefei ' violatiomi; fcemeni, 1. What iB the shear stress? 500 Pi W7% f A by Paul Dirmeyer ^4455 t^z/T^ £ / ] Trial request denied Pets provide comfort, friendship for elderly by Julie Ennis Battalion Reporter Slowly moving back and forth in a trance-like manner, her rocking chair disrupts the si nce of the dimly lit room. The old woman unconsciously taps her finger on the wooden arm of the chair to the beat. Creak, tap, eak, tap, creak, tap, creak, tap, eak, tap, creak... She stares out r her window into a world that Ihe feels isolated from. I Suddenly she stops, her face .floor wr l lights up, and she smiles as a v throwjlBnall kitten runs across the gar- )st 45 f Jen and darts up the tree near t to "indow. but renX “Animals are especially effec- CokenaJ ve * n drawing out the elderly 1 10 rcplajho have become isolated and Twithdrawn from society,” Betty problenitifeanklin, a social service worker igs andf;| with the State Health Depart ment said. jhineHoA When the elderly begin to ity Polictjjfuder f r om the loss of relatives •Shesaw Jd withdraw from their active Jewries, the objects and anim- teanmtoj which provided security in en.andmjdy iif e t> e gin to assume grea- imtimeto# 61 importance in their lives, she at, themJ 11 ^ emwithj Animals have relatively ran- M shet ^ om an d unpredictable activi- [ties and mannerisms that will ■stain the interest of an elderly Iperson, she said. Tory "Animals won’t make value ( judgements, there is a slim ^ J ance of rejection and positive feedback is almost assured,” Franklin said. “They have a great capacity for acceptance, adoration, attention, forgive ness, and unconditional love.” The animals act as a catalyst, thus increasing the level of phy sical action and social interaction among the elderly or between the residents and staff of care facilities, Franklin said. The visiting pet program seemed to lessen the depressing atmosphere and created a better morale among the staff and the residents, she said. The animals created a common bond that in- abled them to talk to people they might not have talked to before, she said. Dr. William McCulloch, a Texas A&M professor of veter- nary public health and director of the Center of Comparative Medicine is directly involved with the development and im plementation of pet therapy ses sions and human/animal bond education at Texas A&M. He also helped with the visiting pet program. “Animals promote a sense of resposibility on the part of the patient and a feeling of being needed,” McCulloch said. “Pets aren’t going to solve all prob lems though.” Last fall the “Visiting Pet Pilot Project” was initiated at Sher wood Health Care Facility. The primary objective of the visiting pet project was to intro duce a non-threatening animal to serve as a catalytic vehicle that formed adaptive and satisfying social interactions, Franklin said. Dogs were chosen because they were effective in their abil ity to offer love and touching reassurrance without criticism, McCulloch said. The carefully selected dogs were brought to the home By volunteers for one hour periods. Two sessions were planned on Tuesday mornings and one night session was set on Thurs day evenings. Any resident that wanted to participate in the program was allowed to do so, Franklin said. Patients positively related to the animals in non-verbal and physical interactions like touching and stroking, she said. “The dogs brought humor into a relatively gloomy environ ment,” she said. “The patients began laughing and talking to other patients and the staff.” Franklin said animals create a “buffer zone” between the volunteers and the aged pa tients. Sometimes volunteers are re luctant to get too close to the elderly person, and an animal creates a common ground that releases the inhibitions that are associated with dealing with the elderly, she said. Although state law does not establish specific guidelines to forbid pets from nursing homes, McCulloch said certain guide lines were followed for the visit ing pet program at Sherwood. United Press International LAKE CHARLES, La. — A federal magistrate has recom mended against ordering a new trial for convicted killer Joe Lewis Perry, who claimed blacks were unfairly excluded from Calcasieu Parish juries at the time of his trial. Magistrate Joe Tritico Mon day said defense attorneys now may file objections to his recom mendation, after which U.S. District Judge Earl Veron will rule on Perry’s request for a new trial. An all-white jury in 1981 con victed the 20-year-old black man from Houston of first-degree murder in the 1980 shooting death of a 58-year-old Florida truck driver during a robbery at an Interstate 10 rest area near Vinton. Court records showed the truck driver pulled into the rest area shortly after Perry, a friend and two women drove in. Re cords indicated Perry pointed a AUTO INSURANCE FOR AGGIES Call: George Webb Farmers Insurance Group 3400 S. College 823 8051 gun at the man and demanded money, then shot him four times and stole his wallet when he said he had no cash. Perry’s girlfriend later turned him in to authorities. Veron in late June halted Per ry’s scheduled July 1 execution, giving defense attorneys time to challenge jury composition in the parish during the five-year period. Tritico heard evidence and reviewed records in the case in late August, September and October. The magistrate said he completed his several-hundred- page report last week. Tritico disagreed with de fense claims prosecutors syste matically excluded blacks from juries from 1976 to 1981. He said even if that had occurred, the evidence was strong enough to convict Perry. Tritico also said any errors that might have been made dur ing Perry’s trial were harmless. OPEN HOUSE Villa Oaks West 1107 Verde ph. 779-1136 Mon-Fri 9-5 Sat-Sun 1-5 Pre-Lease Now-Move In Now No Rent till Jan. 15,1984 BOOK Store ) Sell Books Get Bonus Money!! 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