Pet adoption needs to be taken seriously
By MARIAN GREEN
Oftwbiwald
While students may think
happiness is a warm puppy or
kitten, local humane society
workers say many students take
on more than they can handle
when adopting pets during the
school year
"We re very reluctant to
adopt pets out to students
because we wonder what will
happen at the end of the term,’’
says Linda Wilcher, a temporary
office manager at Lane County
Animal Regulation
Wilcher says pets take more
time, money and attention than
most college students can af
ford to give them
Students have a ‘very high
turnover (of pets) because it's
very difficult emotionally for
students to keep a pet along
with a full-time schedule.”
Typically, a student comes to
the shelter wanting to adopt a
cute little puppy, but several
weeks later finds out that the
puppy is a “huge full-time com
mitment, and we end up getting
(the dog) back,” Wilcher says
Wilcher says the facility has
refused sororities and fraterna
ties dog adoptions because
those organizations usually
can't guarantee one person will
take full responsibility for the
pet — especially when the
school year ends
Pet adoptions aren't a prob
lem at University residence halls
simply because students aren't
allowed pets in their rooms,
says Housing Director Dan Wil
liams He says he's received no
reports of students violating that
regulation
The Lane County facility does
allow students to adopt pets if
they can meet certain criteria,
such as providing proper living
facilities and proving that their
landlord allows pets. Wilcher
says
"We do check those things
really carefully,” she says
If a student who has adopted
a pet can no longer take care of
it, the student may bring the
animal to the Green Hill Humane
Society
Carmen Kunkle. manager of
the Green Hill facility, says "re
sponsible” students (the only
ones she'll let adopt pets from
Green Hill) will return those pets
to the facility, a practice she
encourages
"Quite a few (students) return
them at the end of the year when
they're leaving," Kunkel says
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Those returned pets — even
though they may be older than
average — usually are placed in
homes No time limit is placed
on a pet’s stay at the facility,
Kunkle says
"We had one in here last year
that lasted for eight months. It
was adopted a a couple days
before Christmas,' she says
Nevertheless, many strays are
picked up in the University area,
adds Kunkel.
Although Green Hill doesn't
maintain exact figures for the
University area, Kunkel es
timates that 15 percent of all
cats and 20 percent of all dogs
taken to the Green Hill facility
hail from the University area
Green Hill houses as many as
1,100 dogs and cats, but the
average is around 1,000
Just recently, a couple of
students said they've left their
pets at parents' homes because
they found they couldn’t give
their pets proper attention,
Kunkel says
Green Hill requires similar
qualifications as the Lane
County facility, and both
stipulate that new owners get
their new pets spayed or neu
tered as part of the adoption
costs — $25 for cats and $40 for
dogs, Kunkel says.
Kunkel says she isn't any
more wary of students as pet
owners than other groups of pet
owners "Not after I talk to them
You can get a good feeling
about what kind of people they
are.’’
‘ They’ve felt the need to
come all the way out here. That
gives them some credibility,"
she says
Students adopt cats mainly,
Kunkel says
“They like dogs, but I think
they realize their lifestyle dic
tates cats ."
Kunkel says Green Hill gets its
share of ' success stories.”
"Just this morning, I got a
picture from a girl who says her
cat helps her study. That will go
up on our bulletin board.”
Graphic by Max DeRungs
The Green Hill society has
one of the best adoption rates in
the nation. Kunkel says. It's
adoption rate has reached as
much as 89.5 percent, while the
nationwide average is about 12
percent, she says.
Kunkel says Green Hill has a
high success rate because the
facility guarantees its pets'
health, and pets are kept in
larger areas than most facilities.
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