Friday, April 15, 1988/The Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
Feople say health-care system has failed them
AUSTIN (AP) — A woman with severe
a Cci,|dep ress i° n , a mother of a child with severe
birth defects and an elderly man who cares
for his sick wife told a special panel Thurs
day that the nation’s health-care system has
laiied them.
Iformer U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan, chair-
pan of the panel, agreed.
■ “No one does as upside-down a job of car-
[g for their most vulnerable citizens as the
Inited States of America,” Jordan said, call
ing for a national health-care plan. “We
■ally know how to mess it up, and it’s time
for us to straighten it out.”
Ijordan was chairman of a health-care
ifia
hearing sponsored by the Gray Panthers of
Austin as part of a national push for changes
in the system.
Tina Peterson of Austin, representing
parents of children with birth defects, said
families can be devastated by the costs of
medical care even if they have insurance.
She is the mother of a premature boy who
weighed less than two pounds at birth and
now breathes through a tube.
“These families are falling through the
cracks,” Peterson said in testimony echoed
by several witnesses.
Lora Puckett, 27, said she suffers from se
vere depression and has been in and out of
private and public health care facilities.
“I’ve fallen between the cracks,” she said.
“Medical care just seems to be beyond my
grasp.”
Jordan responded that falling through
the cracks is not a comfortable position.
James Shumate, 76, said the cost of caring
for his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer’s
disease, is more than he can bear. ,
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, irre
versible neurological disorder, with symp
toms including memory loss, disorientation.
personality
skills.
change and loss of language
“We desperately need a national health
care program to help our people cope with
catastrophic illness,” he told the panel.
Sue Towery, of Austin, a multiple sclero
sis victim who has no insurance, said work
ing people without health coverage face con
stant fear of illness.
“There are a lot of working people just
trusting to God that nothing will happen,”
she said.
Jordan said the federal government spent
$48 billion to provide health services for 23
million Americans in 1987.
“We would do better if we gave all of the
poor and ill people $1 million and they could
take care of themselves,” she said.
She urged presidential candidates to
make national health care a major campaign
“The hour is too late for us to be fright
ened away from this issue by the medical
profession and cries of socialized medicine,”
she said. “That is passe. That is old. That is
an argument that simply won’t wash.”
-CS City Councils plan to honor ‘Prevent a Litter’ month
yj | By Page Goodman
*l\ I Reporter
I ^To encourage people to get their
Ipehspaved and nciilcicd. die Bi van
uc and College Station City Councils
(djflan to pass a resolution honoring
icHe nationally declared “Prevent a
,! Witter” month.
:l)inH
J gMany people are familiar with
Baying or neutering, but it is not
understood, said Patty Arreola, hu-
*Wi ne education specialist for the
'■"Brazos County Animal Shelter. It is
wlimportant that people know the
ffituhs and the myths about animal
jmjHrilization, she said.
ofesW The animal won’t become fat or
|less protective,” Arreola said. “The
VBt drive is reduced, which allows
foi a more well-behaved, often
" Walthier animal.” Cancer, which is
prominent in the reproductive sys-
|tem in later years, is made less likely
[ with the operation.
Many people think their pets can
be neutered or spayed only after the
animal has had one litter. This is not
true, Arreola said. Six months is an
appropriate age, and for females the
operation is usually easier before the
first heat.
Arreloa said the animal shelter
staff is hoping the community will
become more knowledgable about
the process through “Prevent a Lit
ter” month, which is sponsored na
tionally by the Humane Society.
During the spring and summer,
the number of animals received by
the Brazos Animal Shelter doubles
— from 500 per month to more than
1,000, she said.
“There are not enough homes to
take care of all of the litters born —
especially in the spring and summer
— because the dogs and cats have
the cycles then,” Arreola said. “For
every person born there are 15 dogs
and cats born.”
Service fraternity sponsors walkathon for animal shelter
By Nina Lessard
Reporter
Texas A&M students are busy
working with the Brazos Animal
Shelter on April fund raising pro
jects.
Omega Tau Sigma, the veterinary
service fraternity at A&M is sponsor
ing “Walk for the Animals,” a
pledge-style walkathon for pets and
their owners. Any animal is welcome
as long as it is not a wild amimal, said
Celeste Treadway, a second-year vet
student at A&M, said.
“OTS tries to provide service to
the veterinary profession and the
community,” she said. “We would
like to make the walkathon some
thing the whole community can be
come involved in.”
The walk will begin Saturday at
9:30 a.m. and participants are wel
come to walk as many times as they
want around the circular one-mile
course in Central Park, she said.
Sometimes the situation becomes
so overwhelming that pet stores can
not accept the animals, she said.
“We never turn away the ani
mals,” Arreola said. “We get about
8,000 animals a year and have 40
dog kennels and 20 cat cages. At
times, we have to double up.”
Having no place to put all the ani
mals is just one of the problems of
the overpopulation, Arreftla said.
The animals are turned loose and
become a problem to the commu-
Patty Arreola, humane education
specialist for the shelter, said the
walkathon is the shelter’s biggest
fundraiser of the year.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Ar
reola said. “We encourage everyone
to go and get pledges and come walk
around Central Park. It’s a nice way
to spend a Saturday morning in the
park.”
If people can’t walk themselves,
they can sponsor the mayors of
Bryan and College Station who will
be participating in the walkathon
with their pets, she said.
People are welcome to enter their
E ets in the pet show, which will fol-
>w the walk, she said.
The pet show will have nine cat
egories, ranging from best Frisbee
catch to obedience. Treadway, who
is also a member of OTS, said an en
try fee of $3 per category is charged.
nity, she said. Without shots, they
can contract diseases and become
harmful to humans and each other.
To help educational efforts, the
animal shelter has tried to make peo
ple aware in other ways, Arreola
said. . /•' \ v • u
“When an animal is adopted we
give coupons fof free physicals,
shots, tags and discounted or free
spaying or neutering,” Arreola said.
Winners receive ribbons and bags of
pet food, she said.
The Aggie Men’s Club and the
PreVet Society are helping the shel
ter hold dog dips every Saturday in
April.
“Fleas and ticks are a serious
problem,” Arreola said. “They seem
to thrive in our environment and not
only are they a nuisance but they can
transmit diseases.”
It is important to treat the home
and yard at the same time as the
pets, Arreola said. Re-treating the
home and yard within a few weeks
will kill any eggs that have hatched,
she said.
Each dip is different concerning
how long to wait in between dips, she
said.
“I recommend everyone talk to
their vet and ask for instruction as to
the type of dip to use on their pet,”
Arreola said. The shelter will have a
vet on hand to screen all dogs before
they are dipped, she said.
“Also, we have the owner sign a con
tract that states they are required to
have the pet spayed or neutered. If
it isn’t done, we follow up with a re
minder and if it still is not done we
can repossess the animal.”
The American Humane Society
will also sponsor “Be Kind to Ani
mals,”, in the first full week in May.
“This is our ibusy season,” Arreola
Radio station WTAW, in cooper
ation with the Brazos Valley Medical
The dips are available from 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m. at the shelter parking lot at
2207 Finfeather Road in Bryan. The
cost of $6 includes a bath and dip,
with all the proceeds going to the
shelter, said Mitch White, service
chairman for AMC.
“Every Saturday we send out four
guys to bathe and dip the dogs,”
White said. “It’s really a lot of fun.
You get pretty dirty, but it’s fun.”
Arreola said a lot of A&M stu
dents help with their fundraising ac
tivities.
“We are greatly appreciative of
the A&M students,” Arreola said.
“They show not only a deep love for
the animals, but also the desire to
help the community as well.”
“Our goal is to serve the people of
our community and the animals of
our community. We want to try and
solve problems by helping people
become better owners.”
——a—win—■!—liiniunnwi
Association, is asking a pet trivia
question once a week. Prizes are be
ing given, one of which is a free spay
or neuter. Also on that day, the sta
tion will announce how many dogs
and cats have been born since mid
night, Arreola said.
“We are hoping to create knowl
edge arid awareness about spaying
and neutering 4W hopes that one day
there will not be a need for the shel
ter,” Arreola said.
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