S uesday • March 3, 1998
The Battalion
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furrrrrfect Pet Planning
et-lovers can find fuzzy
friends at animal shelter
By Leah Templeton
Staff writer
r hose sad, droopy eyes
look up, that little head
cocks to one side and
pink tongue licks your
:e. Now how could a per
il actually say no to
jopting a pet?
Many students probably
jve| a pet or two at home,
it few have pets here at
liool. A pet is an animal
eat Will brighten the day if
Is going badly or make it
en better if it is going
aat. The only problem
not enough pets are
ing adopted.
m
t
Kathy Bice,
^â– hrector of the Brazos Animal Shelter,
3et : .id that on any given day the animal shel-
w r has 100 to 200 animals just waiting for
good home.
"Our long range goal is to reduce the pet
ipulation; however, 85 percent of the popula-
doesn’t think there is a pet overpopulation
even:
ibn#
i oft
ladlins,
not!|
que;
15-3il
)
V
problem,” Bice said.
Bice also said the
Brazos Animal Shelter
goes through about
half a dozen to a dozen
pet adoptions a day, and
there is a long-term re
ward for adopting.
“A pet is a friend
that gives you un
conditional love,”
Bice said. “They
t will stick with
jj| you for a good
fifteen years.”
Adopting a
^ pet does not
mean being
limited to only
a dog or cat,
Bice said.
There are a
variety of
animals
waiting
to be
taken in.
“We
" don’t just
have dogs
and cats; we get
rabbits, chickens, horses, ducks and
even goats. It can get a little crowded.
It’s important that people think of us
first when getting a pet. A third of
our dogs are purebred, and we have
a purebred waiting list.”
Bice said there are also many
benefits to adopting rather than
buying a pet.
“Adoption costs $65 and that includes
spay or neuter, worming, vaccinations and
an adoption kit that has coupons to pet train
ers and groomers,” Bice said. “The whole
package is worth over $150.”
To increase adoption, the shelter con
ducts mobile exhibits that go everywhere
from the mall to campus. Bice said the shel
ter is always seeking corporate underwriters
to hold the events.
XI
This Week's Theme: What’s your most embarrassing moment?
<< It was my first time on stack at Bonfire and 1 was hanging on a rope on
the third stack... I lost my footing and everyone laughed.'’
— Joseph Wells
Senior agricultural business major
Over 1,000 pets that have wandered away
from home end up at the shelter. However, if
a pet is wearing its Brazos County licensing
tag, which is required by law, there is a much
better chance the pet will be returned.
Bice said that the only way to stop animals
from being put to sleep is “to get them spade
or neutered, get them tagged and keep them
as long as possible.”
Hollye Crutcher, a sophomore biomedical
science major, had a close call while trying to
adopt her cat, Farrah.
“I was supposed to get her from a friend of
a friend, but come to find out her parents had
taken the cat to the pound,” she said. “She had
already been there two days and we had to be
there by three that afternoon to adopt her or
she’d be put to sleep. We made it at 2:50.”
Crutcher said she has never been a cat lover,
but Farrah has changed her mind, almost.
“I’ve come to realize Farrah isn’t just a cat.
I don’t know what she is, but I still hate cats,”
she said.
Crutcher also she believes that pets are
good company.
“I decided to get a pet because I was living
by myself, and cats are easy to take care of,”
she said.
Shannon Ramsay, a veterinary technician
and receptionist at Wellborn Road Veterinary
Hospital, said pets can even improve stu
dents’ studying techniques.
“Students are more likely to stay home with
their pets arid study than go out and party and
leave the pet alone,” Ramsay said. “When
your pet falls asleep on your feet, you just can’t
leave them.”
Ramsay also said pets adopted from the
shelter get their first shots free at the veteri
nary office, because the cost is included in
the adoption fee.
“It is always best to start your pets out
healthy,” Ramsay said.
The Brazos Animal Shelter handles over 2,000
adoptions every year, but that is nowhere close
to the number of animals that are put to sleep or
still out wandering around. So whether living
alone and looking for a little companionship or
just feeling big-hearted, adopt a pet and give
them a good home.
Titanic approaches
top-record sales
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Within the
next two weeks, Titanic is set to be
come the highest-grossing film of
all time.
With a total domestic gross of
$427 million, Titanic is only $34 mil
lion behind Star W/ars for the top spot
on the all-time charts, not adjusted
for inflation.
Counting admissions and adjust
ing The top 10 movies at North Amer
ican theaters Friday through Sunday,
followed by studio, gross, number of
theater locations, receipts per loca-
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Msc GREAT ISSUE*
V:
presents:
(Euli JXftiHremgg
Featuring:
Ronald N. Loomis
Cult Awareness Educator and Consultant
Director of Education, American Family Foundation
Tuesday, March 3
7:00 PM
MSC 212
Ronald N. Loomis is an internationally recognized
expert on cults and mind control who has been educating
others on the phenomenon for over 20 years. He is a Past
President of the American Colleges Unions International,
and has over 35 years experience with student activities
administration, as well as being recently named the Director
of Education of the American Family Foundation. Mr.
Loomis has been cited in the New York Times, The
Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Congressional
Quarterly. He has appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting
Company, as well as the Today Show. His expertise was
sought out during both the Waco standoff with the Branch
Davidians as well as in the aftermath of the Heaven’s Gate
suicides.
Persons with disabilities call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs
we request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable
us to assist you to the best of our abilities.
Stacfanfs' pats
cannot ouruiua
tha co/faga (ifastgfa
Helen
Clancy
copy chief
H e
looks
out
the window,
waiting for
headlights
to break the
darkness.
Maybe a cat
will walk by,
or a neigh
bor will take
out his or
her trash.
The phone rings, but isn’t
answered. Some unfamiliar
voice rambles on the ma
chine, and then the caller
hangs up.
It’s a common existence
for many pets owned by col
lege students. Prisoners of an
apartment, these cats and
dogs spend their days lan
guishing in boredom.
They are not abused, how
ever. The owners are often af
fectionate and nurturing —
when they’re around.
But their busy schedules
and competing interests
force these loyal companions
into a life of neglect.
Students ignore the gravi
ty of pet adoption. Like par
ents who have children to
enrich the portrait on their
Christmas cards, some stu
dents own pets for their per
sonal enjoyment.
Pets are expensive, tem
peramental, messy, vulnera
ble and time-consuming. Al
most like boyfriends.
And similar to those fate
ful college romances, pet
owning doesn’t always stand
the test of time.
It’s unfair to assume that a
pet can survive the transient
lifestyle and have its sur
roundings uprooted every
few months.
Many owners also do not
realize the implications of
college graduation.
Job interviews in far away
towns and post-graduate liv
ing arrangements can com
plicate the owner/pet rela
tionship. Graduates will have
no choice but to Q-drop their
companions when a new
landlord forbids pets.
Many of the animals
found in shelters were once
pampered by a well-meaning
college student.
Usually named after a
student’s favorite ale, little
“Shiner” and furry “Pearl”
would have grown into loy
al, trustworthy pets. In
stead, they were eschewed
for corporate internships
and allergic roommates.
Students should seriously
consider the permanence of
owning a living creature.
Serving as the sole
provider and nurturer of a cat
or dog requires more than
filling a food dish and paying
for vaccinations.
Pets are playful and gre
garious when they aren’t
spurned by preoccupied
owners. However, one can’t
assume that all college stu
dents are negligent.
A distinct few transcend
this stereotype by balancing
work, academics and pet
owning without a hitch.
But for the rest of us mor
tals, “Heineken” the iguana is
a guilt-free alternative.
Helen Clancy is a senior
English major.
tion, total gross and number of weeks
in release, as compiled Monday by
Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. and Enter
tainment Data:
1. Titanic, Paramount, $19.6 mil
lion, 3,035 locations, $6,469 aver
age, $427 million, 11 weeks.
2. The Wedding Singer, New Line,
$8.7 million, 2,826 locations, $3,086
average, $48.8 million, three weeks.
3. Good Will Hunting, Miramax,
$6.6 million, 2,203 locations, $3,013
average, $96.4 million, 13 weeks.
4. Dark City, New Line, $5.6 mil
lion, 1,754 locations, $3,180 aver
age, $5.6 million, one week.
5. As Good As It Gets, Sony, $4.1
million, 1,831 locations, $2,216 av
erage, $112.9 million, 10 weeks.
6. Sphere, Warner Bros., $3.8 mil
lion, 2,238 locations, $1,702 aver
age, $32.5 million, three weeks.
7. Krippendorf’s Tribe, Disney,
$3.3 million, 1,529 locations,
$2,169 average, $3.3 million,
one week.
8. The Borrowers, Polygram,
$2.83 million, 1,606 locations,
$1,763 average, $14.7 million,
three weeks.
9. Senseless, Miramax, $2.78 mil
lion, 1,850 locations, $1,506 aver
age, $9.2 million, two weeks.
10. Caught Up, Live, $2.4 million,
713 locations, $3,398 average, $2.4
million, one week.