Lots Of Pete Are In Need Of A Home
By Audrey C. Lodato
Poet Staff Writer
If “Be Kind to Animals Week" has
started you thinking about taking hi
an animal, two good places to ex
plore are the Chartotte-Mecklenburg
Animal Control Shelter and the
Humane Society of Charlotte
Animal Control, located at 2700
Toomey Avenue, took in 5,337 stray
and donated cats last year, and
10,616 stray and donated dogs. Only
about 15-20 percent of these were
either reclaimed by their owners or
adopted. The remainder had to be
euthanized.
Superintendent Diane Quisen
berry explained that the holding
time varies for each animal. When
atrays are picked up and the owner
is unknown, the animals are kept for
three days before Animal Control
Personnel decide whether to euthan
ize or put up for adoption. Fac
tors considered include the ani
mal's health, temperament, and the
adoption record for that type of
animal in the past. When an animal
is donated, that decision is made
immediately. Once an'animal is put
up for adoption, there is no set length
of time it is kept. Tr '
Although such a large percen
tage of animals brought to the
shelter are euthanized, Quisenberry
noted that there are worse fates for
an animal, such as being drowned or
$
v
Costs to adopt an animal from
Animal Control range from $13.50
for a male kitten to $37 for an adult
dog. The fees include mandatory
spaying or neutering, most shots
(except rabies), and city license
Kittens and puppies too young for
spaying-neutering are given ap
pointments; if the owner fails to
keep the appointment, the animal is
reclaimed by Animal Control.
The Humane Society of Charlotte
(537 Rountree Rd.) has a year-long
waiting list of approximately 400
dogs and 800 cats whose owners
want to get them into the shelter. On
&>a recent day the shelter had 60
requests to take animals. The reason
is that the Humane Society holds all
its animals for adoption and 'Ac
cepts only healthy animals. The
shelter is able to house 25-30 dogs
and 20-25 cats at any one time.
In 1984, 657 dogs and cats found
new homes through the shelter. This
past March, the Humane Society
placed a record 121 animals (dogt,
cats, and one rabbit). The ave
•/ y *.iT
Linda Clark, volunteer coordinator ter the Humane Society of Charlotte
hold* one of the cats presently In 'fester cere” at the »■■«■». Society's
shelter on Rountree Rd. The shelter has Iota of cate waiting to riipt new
owners as well as plenty of dags anxious to he taken into toeing hones.
(Photo By Audrey Lodato)
rage, though, is about two adop
tions per day. In addition, for the
past three months, with the help of a
new computer system, shelter per
sonnel are able to match requests
for pets with animals on the waiting
list, so that some adoptions take
place without the animal having to
first be at the shelter. There were 43
of these placements in April, as
compared to only 13 in January,
thanks to the computer.
Patti L«wU, director, pointed out
that no set fee is charged for
adoptions but donations of at least
flO are asked and gratefully ac
cepted. All animals leaving the
shelter are spayed or neutered. At
the same time, the pet is tattoed to
provide easy identification in the
event it Is lost or stolen.
Of particular concern, explained
Lewis, is the adoption of older pets
rather than kittens or puppies. "A
lot or people seem to think an animal
won't love them If they haven’t had
it since it was young, but that’s not
true," she declared. “The capacity
to love is as great for an older
animal as it is for a kitten or puppy."
Besides knowing that “what you
see is what you get," some of the
advantages of adopting a grown
animal are that cats are already
litter-trained and less likely to
scratch furniture; adult dogs are
usually housefaroken and don't chew
everything as a teething puppy
would.
The Humane Society of Charlotte
receives no government funding.
Much of itifMconiiS ia derived from a
thrift shop on the premises and
.donations. Some pet-related items
are also sold, one of them'being a
T-shirt with the saying, ‘‘Animal*
are little people ia fur coats." For
more information, dial U3-PBTS.
Sugar Creek Road School Sets Graduation %
The Sugar Creek Road School of
Religion began classes in Religious
Education and Theology silbe se
cond semester of the 19(2-83* school
year. With approximately 90 stu
dents enrolled, the began
operations on Tuesday and Thurs
day evenings and Saturday morn
ings. The following semester, the
days of meeting were dunged to
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday
evenings. The school year 1904-1908
found the school operating on
Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
On Tuesday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m.,
three persons who have matriculat
ed and completed 00 hours of class
work and written a thesis will
receive an Associate in Arts De
gree in Religious Education. Per
sons who are to graduate are Mrs.
Carol Odessa Bridges, Mrs. Nellie
Elizabeth Hayes, and Warren
Clifton.
commencement speaker for the
planned exercise* will be Rev.
Dr. William P, Diggs of Florence, .
S.C. Dr. Diggs is a graduate of
Morehouse College at Atlanta, Ga.,
where he received a B.A. degree in
history. He received the M.A. degree
ih sociology from Atlanta Univer
sity (Atlanta). Enrolling in Colgate
Rochester Divinity School of Ro
chester. N.Y., Dr. Diggs received
the B.D. and M.Div. degrees.'
____________ •" __
vinKy degree (D.D.) from Friend
ship College of Rock Hill, S.C., and
the Doctor of Humane Letters .
(L.H.D.) from Morris College of
Sumter, S.C. Dr. Diggs taught at
Friendship College of Rock Hill,
S.C., where he served as instructor
of Bible, Sociology, and as College
Minister. After a period of time, he
Professor Homiletics and
History at J J. Starks
of Theology at Benedict
College In Columbia, S.C. At the
closing of Starks School of Theo
logy, Dr. Diggs taught Sociology at
Benedict College. After 13 years at
Benedict, he accepted a position as
Associate Professor at Morris
College. Dr. Diggs has also served
as Visiting Professor at Francis
Marion College of Florence, S.C. At
present, and for the past 24 years,
Dr. Diggs has successfully served as
pestor of Trinity Baptist Church of
Florence, S.C. Dr. Diggs is Mode
rator of the Pee Dee Association of
S.C., Instructor in S.C. State Con
gress of Christian Education, and
Vice President of the Congress of
Christian Education of the Pro
gressive National Baptist Con
vention of America, Inc. .
Post Office
Deliveries Reflect
City’s Growth
Charlotte’s dty letter carriers
began deliveries to 5,302 new resi
dences and businesses during the
past 12 months, bringing the April
15, 1985 total to 160,227 (3.4 percent
increase).
That figure does not refled growth.
experienced on the 19 rural routes
served by the Charlotte Post Of
fice.
In addition to the 19 rural routes,
there are 289 dty delivery routes in
Charlotte, as well as 13,000 post
office boxes at its stations.
The largest growth areas con
tinue to be those served out of the
Idlewild (28212 - 15), Randolph
(28211 - 26) and Starmount (28210)
stations.
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