University of South Carolina Libraries
Pets Inc. rescues, cares for abandoned animals Local volunteers save cats, dogs from euthanasia BY LORI ROBSON THE GAMECOCK Pets Inc. has rescued more than 19,000 dogs and cats in the Midlands from euthanasia. Volunteers for Pets Inc., found ed nearly 11 years ago by Pat McQueen and Jane Brundage, take care of abandoned and abused animals in their West Columbia facility 24 hours a day, while people foster other animals and bripg them in on Saturday and Sunday mornings for the weekend adoption program. In this program, pets are brought to the facility between 10 and 11 a.m. and picked up between 4 and 5 p.m. each weekend until they are adopted. “One good thing about this pro gram is that they don’t make you feel bad about dropping off an an imal. They understand that ani- , mals are Abandoned and that some peopl§ just can’t care for them,” said Vinetta Ratliff, a fos ter parent for dogs. Pets Inc. survives on private donations, private grants and fees for adopting pets. It is primarily a service organization. Pets Inc. also works with vet erinarians in the area to provide spaying and neutering of dogs and cats. Serious veterinary work is ' provided to the organization at a discounted price, and most vac cines are done at Pets Ind. Not only is having an animal spayed or neutered a requirement at Pets Inc., it is also South Carolina state law that the surgery be performed if an animal comes from a shelter. More than 22,000 dogs and cats have been “One good thing about this program is that they don’t make you feel bad about dropping off an animal. They understand that animals are abandoned and that some people just can’t care for them.” VINETTA RATLIFF FOSTER PARENT FOR DOGS spayed or neutered since the pro gram started in January 1992. “It keeps unwanted puppies and kittens, as well as dogs and cats, from being put to sleep,” Ratliff said. The adoption fee at Pets Inc. is $89 for puppies and kittens and be tween $49 and $89 for adult dogs and cats. The fee includes two de wormings, vaccinations, and spaying or neutering. People who adopt an animal also get a bag of dog food and a lifetime “Ticket Home” identification registration. “Ticket Home” is another pro gram that Pets Inc. offers. This program lets people register pets so that, if the animals are lost or stolen, there is a better chance they will be returned. This part of the program, which was started about eight years ago, has reunit ed an average of 350 to 400 pets with their families each year. Shannon Kim, a lawyer who re cently made a donation to Pets Ink, said, “I come here because they don’t put them to sleep un less there’s something really wrong with them.” “But that is also probably one of their biggest problems. It gives people the idea that they can just leave an animal and not worr about it,” Kim said. Pets Inc., because of a lactof space, is always looking for voln teers to foster animals. The fadity was built to comfortably hid 45 cats and 60 dogs, but the nunber of homeless animals at PeS Inc. is more than double that.mmber. Pets Inc. also looks forJonations and volunteers on a rgular basis. Comments on this sory?E-mail gamecockudesk@lotmail.com Candidates CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Benjamin says. Democrat Wade knows the sig nificance of his race, but said he’s running on his qualifications and experience. “I am running on jobs and economic prosperity, and that isn’t black or white and it isn’t Democratic or Republican,” Wade said. Manigault is the first black woman to appear on a statewide ballot. The llth-grade English teacher is running as a Libertarian, and hasn’t gotten much attention. “Running is more challenging for me than the others because I have to deal with issues of race, gender and party affiliation,” she said. “I believe my campaign is historically significant, but no one is reall; paying any atten tion.” Gray doesn’t have huge hopes for his canpaign, which has in cluded hiving thousands of pen cils printed to hand out to people who went to write his name on the ballot. He said he’d be happy to win 5,000 write-in votes. Churclvecognizes service work ly Greek organizations BY KIMBERLY HUl THE GAMECOCK First Baptist curch honored USC fraternitifand sororities for communitservice Sunday in its first “G£k Day.’ Wes Churl, interim college minister, s*d that, because of some neg‘ive portrayals of Greeks, Ir'elt the need to recog nize th<service Greeks con tribute ' this community. “Gr<ks have a stereotype that they fl under, but we wanted to pull fit the positive that’s there,” Chech said. I April, Rick Milne, Sunday scSol college director, learned of Southwest Missouri University’s effort to honor its Greek organizations and wanted to do something similar. Milne approached Church with the idea, and Church jumped right into planning. “We wanted to provide a venue for the Greeks to be recog nized in the community,” Church said. He said plans were laid down in August and that, just last week, the church spent many late nights preparing for Sunday. “They took so much time to make this so special,” said Anne Marie McNeil, Sorority Council president. “It is an honor for them to recognize us.” For its guest speaker, Church chose Ed Young, a pastor and Columbia native who is accus tomed to youthful congregations. Church invited Young because the pastor rarely speaks on Sunday outside his own church. Church connected Sunday’s sermon and the Greek recogni tion with a theme of commitment. The Greeks listened to the sermon on commitment and participated in the service in their reserved seats in the front of the church. Jennifer Barrineau, assistant student and college minister who ♦ GREEKS, SEE PAGE 3 Elevator ; CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 be remade.” “The door closure was com pletely bent; one of the light bulbs was out; the door was hanging partway down the ele vator shaft,” he said. “The eleva tor technician reported that the elevator had been vandalized; it was severely damaged.” Gangam said he was trapped in the elevator about 4 a.m. Oct. 15 after he returned late from work in Swearingen Engineering Center. “I was coming from the de partment, and I took the elevator instead of the stairs because it was late and I was feeling sleepy,” Gangam said. “So, it got stuck up between the first and second (floors).... There was a noise, and it stopped.” Gangam rang the emergency bell and screamed for help, he said, but began to panic when no one answered his calls. “I was feeling breathless slightly, and I started to panic, and I was sweating,” Gangam said. “Nobody was coming. It was about 4:25,1 guess, when I was really having breathing problems, I thought I should open the outer door and call for help because when I was shout ing from inside, I knew nobody could hear that. So, I just tried to open the outer door. I forcibly opened the outer door just a lit tle bit — 4 inches or so — then I shouted for help.” Someone from the third floor, Gangam said, finally heard and contacted the available manage ment member, who then called an elevator technician. Once the technician arrived, Gangam emerged from the elevator be tween 5:30 and 6 a.m. Gangam said others have ex perienced similar troubles with the elevators at Whaley’s Mill. Jon Vanhouten, the Columbia police officer who responded to the incident the next day, re ported the damage as malicious injury to private property. “From my evaluation from the thing, it looked as though he vandalized the elevator out of frustration and anger of being stuck in the elevator,” Vanhouten said. “Malicious injury to private property means he maliciously damaged the elevator with the purpose of doing what he did.” The Whaley’s Mill elevators continue to trouble residents, said Gangam, who has been gath ering signatures from others con cerned about them. Whaley’s Mill management, however, traces the elevator problems to the residents themselves, who they say damage the door sensors by trying to hold them open too long. Carter acknowledged that ele vator problems can happen. “It’s unfortunate, but we rely on residents to do their part to make sure everything’s take/ care of. We may not be aware of it,” he said. He said residents must take care of the elevator. Gangam said he just wants management to address the maintenance issues involving the elevators. “Why is that not a problem in other apartments? And since they are managing, they should take care of it,” he said. Carter said the elevators are completely up to code and in spected yearly, and that they un dergo monthly maintenance as well. Vanhouten said: “It’s proba bly 50 percent Whaley’s Mill's fault and 50 percent his fault for doing what he did,” he said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail. com -1 As Senior VP of Financial Planning at a major movie studio you could: OX. a $93 million budget_ Hire 7,500 extras Rent 273 palm trees__ | (and 1 big fan to make them sway) o < 0 | How do you get a job like this? Start today. | Apply for a Summer Dream Internship at: 1 www.StartHereGoPlaces.com/biz2 1 _ __ <0 ***«-i^ 1 -Contest Rules complete rules can be found on the CdlegeClub com Web site. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY Contest .entry period runs | States, eighteen (18) or older at 6me of entry enroll* in a full/part-time accredited cdlege or universe, and is atjed: » *>«e tee or«ateSn«*Sned m me St3fe^iB^rfiffiUail'fMiK^FmrinMaVsindi'famN m«nM^S?Mmnoitdiniblet^Mr'baSft^SKnMIsn^responsbteh^techrtrahor other maffwcSlTMU^Mlade'netawlfccfinartor* € complete Contest Offloal Rules Employees and family members of Sponsor not el 9 ® P P® Pv •«. p .nfi Pn7A tMinmno essavs will each rec^ve their choice of one of thA "Summer Dr#^m a- or fail* electronic communtcaticrts mat may occur In me processing of tee entries The authors of me two C) “^"“3 SSWitjEsoWwhomav State rX qift checks The authors of the five (5) winnnQ Honorable Mention essays will recei e n . , i/vYifLfmC" r./diAOpr'inh mn a ftivt^on of ^tudAnt driuantanp inr 9iyir c™to hai Nnnai Sperm The Am*can Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1211 Avenue of the Americas. New York, NY 10036-8775, Cdlegeuub com. a diviaon or btident Advantage. Inc., 2036 Cate Del Nogai. a. Suite 200. Carlsbad. CA $009 * » </) _ _ Start here. Go places. ( If you know business and accounting, you can get a job anywhere. Because the skills you learn in business — strategic and analytical thinking, communication, and leadership — are always in demand. In some of the coolest industries in the world. Even in the movies. Start going places with a Summer Dream Internship Register online today and complete your application by 2/01/03 to compete for one of two $5,000 paid internships. Eight other students will receive cash value awards of up to $1,000* #/ MBSMKUK li I