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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1987)
Friday, February 13, 1987/The Battalion/Page 5 ets fill emotional needs, erve as friends, prof says >wner-animal relationship little understood tistStiJ ohnsogl eachij manitgB By Sondra McCarty Taieilil Reporter Until recent years, the emotional ^'Htachment pet owners feel toward y C'fflHeir animals has been neither ap- ^jBeciated nor understood. But every ie tmB ar) Americans spend $9 billion on eir pets, an A&M professor says, so animals obviously fulfill some |hml. Y B Dr. William McCulloch, professor ol veterinary public health and di- a d|. Bctur of the A&M Center for Com- ^JBirative Medicine, says the closeness 1 wL,»°P' e have for animals is a result of jj^He alienated society they live in. *M“To many people, a pet as a com panion is like a child,” McCulloch says. “There is a nurturing feeling in us, and we want to feel responsible (for a living thing). , .■"We see a need for compan- t anc * * n rnan y ways the pet is “[^■liqiie 1 lu ^ ;: ionsnip.” pinique on its own for compan- leactop He says the needs vary from per son to person, but are primarily inti- lacy, companionship and loyalty. B Patty Arreola, humane educator at the Brazos Valley Animal Shelter, says pets are always positive. She says pets give unconditional love and are always there to cheer up and com fort, regardless of the owner. Not only do pets give joy as com panions, they also cause sorrow when they die. “It is OK to cry over a lost com panion animal,” Arreola says. “Grief “To many people a pet as a companion is like a child. There is a nurtur ing feeling in us, and we want to feel responsible (for a living thing). ” — A&M professor William McCullough is a natural thing to feel.” McCulloch believes a major role of a veterinarian is to alleviate guilt feelings pet owners have at a time of loss. Marc Rosenberg, a veterinarian in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, outlines a four-stage grieving process in his pamphlet, “Companion Animal Loss and Pet Owner Grief’: The pet owner denies the situa tion. The pet owner gets angry at himself and sometimes at the veteri narian. The owner suffers grief. The owner resolves the loss. However, coping with feelings of loss and sorrow can be minimized by the veterinarian. Dr. Neil Van Stavern, a local vet erinarian, says a professional should show true concern for pet-owners’ feelings when they lose an animal, and that pet owners should be edu cated on euthanasia — putting an animal to sleep. “We do not need to allow the ani mal to suffer,” Van Stavern says. “Society does not know what eutha nasia is. They need to know it isn’t painful and it isn’t a bad thing.” Loan program toes unused, officials say ABILENE (AP) — A program ^reated 15 months ago to help young farmers buy their own and has not yet given a loan, offi- lials say. State Rep. L.P. “Pete” Patter son, a co-sponsor of the program, said the Texas Land Commis sion’s Farm and Ranch Program is designed to attract youth into an aging agriculture community I and encourage them to stay with it during hard times. The program allows the Veter ans Land Board to loan up to $100,000 to a farmer or rancher whose net worth is less than $250,000. The program has yet to make a Ban. Patterson said he is confident Be program will eventually begin giving loans. I The program ran into prob lems last year when officials learned the federal tax reform law prohibited using tax-free bonds to finance loans to people who wanted to buy land from family members. At least 40 percent of the more tan 230 requests for the land aans in the last six months have involved sales between family members, such as a son or daugh ter wanting to buy from parents, he said. Bullock’s proposal for state includes new services tax AUSTIN (AP) — State Comptrol ler Bob Bullock released a plan Thursday that would cut the state sales tax rate while making Texans pay the tax on many services as well as goods. Bullock also called for changes in the state’s business franchise tax sys tem. “Restructuring the state’s major taxes will assure tax equity and fairness and junk an outmoded tax system,” he said. Any changes in Texas’ tax laws would require legislative approval. The state sales tax is now 5.25 per cent, a temporary rate set last year by lawmakers in response to the state’s fiscal crisis. The sales tax is scheduled to roll back to 4.12 per cent in September, but Gov. Bill Clements and many legislative lead ers say the 5.25 percent rate should be made permanent. Under the Bullock plan, the sales tax would be set at 4.5 percent and be extended to services such as fees for lawyers, architects and other professionals. Bullock also called for continuing the 15-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax, which is scheduled to be rolled back to 10 cents per gallon in September. Overall, Bullock said, his plan adds up to a $3.3 billion biennial rev enue increase for the state. Continu ing the temporary tax increases now )ugh' re no! * problem] i cow" 1 'g 1 lining If] .theC shorifj it ;r y on* 11 ] riou ! f : | hesus^J ur "' |1 _ losses^ | narij^d ico f ot 1 CO# j soldfi inf 1 ! 0 ’ korN^| ounds 1 also co" jcai" 6 j),ini it, also Jj 0m lid. -edcf J Vdslf] while repa^ dog^, rs M 1 1 } fum 11 “! the ^ .{Stej. w s MSC JORDAN INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS INVITES MSC SCONA PARTICIPANTS AND THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY TO VISIT 1 T5£E JO'KpJ^'^COLL'ECTFOCKC op mj'cyBj'ECTs l-4pm WEDNESDAY, FEB. 11 TO SUNDAY, FEB. 15 BROWSING LIBRARY 2nd FLOOR OF THE MEMORIAL STUDENT CENTER TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Jose’s 4004 Harvey Rd. 776*97* 11-9:45 •: Closed Monday Chimichangos Fajitas T«Bone Steaks % 779-8702 9:30-8:45 Students and Faculty for over 15 years House Specialities Include: Red Snapper • Menas vary between! Jnsc’s features a foil service bar and Brucheta de Camarones Polio a la Parrilla Enchiladas Nortenas 1 Please call for Information & Daily specials banquet facilities for ap to 120 people. Please come and join as in oar coaa- in effect would mean about $2.9 bil lion. Bullock said his plan meets Clem ents’ no-new-taxes stand because it is “virtually revenue neutral.” The Bullock plan would not solve the projected $5.8 billion deficit the comptroller has said the state faces. But Tony Proffitt, Bullock’s spokes man, said the tax plan provides a “new and better base that should grow with the economy,” as opposed to the current plan, which depends heavily on oil and gas revenue. Bullock’s proposed revisions in the 80-year-old business franchise tax is aimed at encouraging new in vestment by corporations through a formula he said would lower taxes. The tax is paid by businesses and is based on a rate of $5.25 for each $ 1,000 in capital the corporation holds in Texas. The comptroller said the current tax, because it is based on capital in vestment, does not collect fair reve nue from lightly capitalized compa nies. It also discourages investment in the state by taxing it, according to Bullock. He said his plan would remove 90,000 small corporations from the tax rolls by basing tax collections on the ratio between a firm’s capital and receipts. The lower the ratio, the less tax the firm would pay. MSC Visual Arts Committee presents An Exhibit by Artist SUSAN KIRSHMAM January I9-February 20 MSC Gallery Reception on February 14 7-8 p.m. MSC Gallery SMILE FOR YOUR FAMILY’S GENERAL DENTAL CARE $ 29 00 CLEANING, EXAM & X-RAYS ★Call For Appointment, Reg. $44 Less Cash Discount $15 • Dental Insurance Accepted • Emergency Walk Ins Welcome • Evening Appointments Available • Nitrous Oxide Available • Complete Family Dental Care • On Shuttle Bus Route Ilikiit ^(Anderson Bus) CarePlusN>fti MEDICAL/DENTAL CENTER Dan Lawson, D.D.S. 696-9578 1712 S.W. Parkway M-F 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (across from Kroger Center) Sat. 9 a.m.-l p.m. 1 A Step Beyond Candy & Flowers ■ X. T O I CATERING BY DESIGN presents Unique, High Quality, Highly Stylized Food Sweetheart Package Carnation, S6Ho Cream soda, Cheese, Fruit, Crackers, Sweet heart Cake, Cheese Straws, Raspberry Bars, Chocalate & Nuts, Gift Wrapped $16. 00 Sweetheart Special Carnation, SoHo Cream Soda, Cheese Ball, Cheese, Fruit, Crackers, Kotopitas, Sweetheart Cake, Cheese Straws, Raspberry Bars, Chocolate, Nuts, Utincles, Done up in a basket for $25. m Delivery &> Tax Included M/C Visa Call 361-7913, 361-7914, 361-7915, 361-7916 Look for the Bltmpe West of Post Oak Mali A delicious way to say I love you Pelican’s Wharf has a delicious way to show your Valentine how much you care. Friday and Saturday night only, bring your special someone for a romantic candelight dinner and savor our special “sweetheart dinner for two” for only $28. Salad Bar Snapper En Croute (fresh snapper topped with mushrooms, special spices and crabmeat and baked in a delicious puffed pastry) Steamed Vegetables Hot Rolls Fresh Strawberries Romanoff Iced Tea Compliment your meal with a bottle of Lake Spring Cabernet Sauvignon or Glen Ellen Chardonnqy for only $2 more. Put some romance in her life this Valentine \s Day at Pelican's Wharf February 13 and 14. Major credit cards accepted. pelican*/ wharf 2500 Texas Ave. S./College Station 693-5113