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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1985)
Friday, February 15, 1985/The Battalion/Page 7 Animal shelter provides area services By DIANA HENSKE Reporter 1 s Fiday f ; ‘lunnati^ '■ratltfj llT w ai5fl -ran Cb 1 Valet; pi. Ci:. •Corps.^ aam fe| iill Bk'. RevoliiiEil ■enter, idf n. in 3t; Please fe' 1 haveife whoait| UldvtlK; 're infcfe drill frii! ■s. Call )N0M1 stwilhjt: (1 nil lb e Bittak prior toi itie la Nit. 6 *!' The Brazos Animal Shelter, now I in its second year, provides an ani- | mal lost and found service, a pet I adoption program, and animal con- | trol for the Bryan-College Station I area. “The bottom line is how can we I help people help these animals,” says 1 Lynne McCulloch, operations man- | ager for the Brazos Animal Shelter. The Brazos Animal Shelter is a I non-profit organization funded pri- I marily through Bryan, College Sta- I tion and Brazos County govern- I ments. “If there’s something very special I and unique about tins shelter, it’s the I fact that it’s literally a shelter that a ■ community built after many, many ■ years of need,” says McCulloch. The shelter also receives help I from the Brazos Valley SPCA and I the Brazos Valley Humane Society. “They have both been extremely I supportive to this shelter in terms of ■ donating time, materials, money, land helping us with special pro- Ijects,” McCulloch says. “It’s a real I community effort.” About 12 to 25 veterinarians take I an active part in the operation of the | shelter. The veterinarian of the day I comes in and vaccinates all incoming I animals, evaluates any sick or in- I jured animals, and euthanizes ani- I mals. “We are probably unique in the I United States in not only the amount I of veterinary support that we have, I but the scope of services,” she says. The vetet inarians also support I the shelter by honoring the neuter I coupons given to anyone who adopts I an animal. They may be redeemed I for a gross physical exam, a rabies I shot, and neutering. “They all honor these coupons,” I McCulloch says. “That’s why we’re I able to offer such a tremendous I health package to our adopting fam- | ilies.” The staff at the shelter varies I from paid full-and part-time work- I ers to volunteers. “We have a gentleman who works I part-time for us through the Senior I Texans Employment Program,” says | McCulloch. Albert Wilson is a deaf- | mute who wanted to work with ani- I mals. “I think that says a lot. We’re very 1 fortunate to have him working with | us,” says McCulloch. Patty Arreola, a part-time em- | ployee, uses the Texas curriculum I requirements for kindergarten Photo by RONNIE CROCKER Monnie Bond, kennel supervisor of the Brazos Animal Shel ter inspects a dog kept in the kennel. The shelter has pro vided a home for 7,900 animals. through sixth grade to create activ ities for learning animal care. For example, a curriculum requirement for third-grade science is to obtain science information from varied sources. The students collect news clippings about pets and people and write a story about how the person might feel aoout the pet. “The goal is to educate everybody about being kind to animals and re specting them,” says Arreola. “Younger kids’ values are just form ing and we want to expose them to some ideas that they may have never been exposed to.” Arreola makes teacher packets of learning activities, gives tours of the shelter, and is working on expand ing the program through scouting, teacher workshops, and veterinarian visits. McCulloch stresses the impor tance of coming to the shelter regu larly to look for a lost pet. “Anytime someone is missing their animal, they need to come down and see if their animal is he re,” she says. There is a lost and found book the pet can be registered in, but it shouldn’t be relied on com pletely. If an animal is brought in with ar N* public- 11 li>' ,esf „ rd t*- i The ^l'P ar f| -sitv -iereh e trkii'S ad l aCl St d 011 ■ S V; have 1 ! s^MSC GREAT ISSUES General Meeting Monday Feb. 18 7 pm 407 Rudder tags, the staff works diligently on tracking the tags to find the owner. “We’ve called all over the country tracking tags,” says McCulloch. If someone finds an animal and is reluctant to bring it to the shelter, the information is taken down for the lost and found book, the person is advised on care and is encouraged to fun a classified advertisement in local newspapers. When animals are brought in as strays, they are held for a minimum of three days to allow time for the owner to claim them. Then they are available for adoption. “We adopt out family pets, peri od,” says McCulloch. “We do not adopt out guard dogs, watch dogs, junk yard dogs, or barn cats,” says McCulloch. “We want homes where they’re going to be babied and be part of the family. Any animal that we have, whether it’s two days old or two years old has already been dumped or trashed once in its life or we wouldn’t have it.” Anyone wishing to adopt an ani mal must fill out an application which asks questions concerning pre vious and present pets, knowledge of pet needs, and the animal’s f uture home. If the applicant rents, the ap proval of the management must be secured. The applicant must also agree to have the pet neutered. “Most pets don’t come from shel ters anyway, they come from the next door neighbor whose dog wasn’t spayed and had a litter,” says McCulloch. “We don’t want a hand in that.” When it becomes impossible to keep an animal any longer, it is given a quick painless death by injection. “We can’t keep them forever be cause we’re constantly getting new ones in the front door that also need an equal opportunity to be claimed or adopted,” says McCulloch. “For many of these animals, the love and respect that they’ve been given here is probably some of the only love and respect they’ve ever known in their lives. “The last gift of love that we have to give them is the dignity and the gentle handling and the respect that they deserve.” The shelter is small enough to be flexible with the amount of time an animal is held. Occasionally an ani mal is held up to a month or six weeks. “We don’t have the luxury to do that routinely,” says McCulloch. “The average can be anywhere f rom 5-7 days.” The shelter is paid by the govern ment for the first three holding days. “The ideal would be not to have to euthanize at all, but then everyone would have to have their dog or cat neutered,” she says. The shelter is the animal licensing authority for Bryan-College Station, and all pets should be licensed. To get a license, the owner must bring proof that the dog or cal is currently vaccinated by a vet licensed to prac tice in Texas. The cost of the license is $5. The shelter is the animal licensing authority for Bryan-College Station, and all pets should be licensed. To get a license, the owner must bring proof that the dog or cat is currently vaccinated by a vet licensed to prac tice in Texas. The cost of the license is $5. “If an animal comes in here with a city license on, and it’s been injured, we’ll even secure emergency medical care for it,” says McCulloch. “It’s the best $5 health insurance policy I know of for an animal,” says McCul loch. T. Parkway Medical Clinic 20% Discount to A&MStudents & Faculty 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday Parkway Shopping Center-next to Kroger's & TG&Y 693-0202 Pizza inn Who needs COUPONS? We don’t at PIZZA INN. — *’• r— rr FREE DELIVERY BUFFET ’ >.* ^ __ V "MON. THRU FRI. "a'11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ”SUN. TUBS. AND WED. NIGH 1 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.SE**^ 413 So. Texas Ave. 846-6164 Sale-a-brate Your Accomplishment - - * ' z 50% off All Loose Diamonds Until March 21 Layaway Plans Available Mon. -Fri. 9:00-5:30 Sat 9-5 Visa, MasterCard, American Express tlo University (Parking In Rear) 84M3-D816