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I A C OM M U NITY RUN N A T U R A L FOODS STORE I
Cat people
SINCE 1 9 7 0 : FOOD FOR
PEOPLE,
The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, with a little
homo help, coughs up Furball to help feline friends
by
NOT FOR PR O FIT
S t e p h e n B la ir
olish your dancing shoes and pick out
some swinging threads for the first Fur-
ball, a benefit for the Feral C at Coalition
of Oregon. T h e event, featuring swing
dance lessons by Swing Out Productions and
music by Lily Wilde and her Jum pin’ Jubilee
Orchestra, will unite supporters o f the coalition
for what will likely be a perfectly merry
evening.
Five veterinarians seeking to reduce the
feral cat population founded the Feral C at
Coalition of Oregon in 1995. Feral cats—
unlike squirrels and other animals that can sur
vive by instinct in the wild— are untamed
domestic pets that face adverse living condi-
Drs. Jim Sampson, M.D., and G eof Beasley,
M.D., are honorary Furball co-chairs. T he cou
ple has been living in the Portland area since
1980, all the while earning outstanding reputa
tions in their professions and in the communi-
tV ' a
“They’re definitely philanthropists, and
they love animals,” Kraus offers, explaining
why the doctors were chosen as co-chairs.
“And we wanted to have someone, or in this
case a couple, that’s well known in the commu
nity, that’s well respected, and that can help
our cause. They liked what they had heard
about our organization and agreed to be hon
orary co-chairs.”
Sampson and Beasley, who have donated to
animal causes in the past, say the coalition has
done an exemplary job in addressing a problem
that many would just as soon ignore. Sampson
further applauds the group’s dedication and its
positive physical presence in the community.
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R N m i
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3 0 2 9 S E 2 1 S T AVE.
P O R TLA N D , O R
BETWEEN
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& DIVISION
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IS DISCRIMINATION DUE TO GENDER
IDENTITY OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION
A PROBLEM FOR YOU?
The City of Portland
is fighting this
discrimination.
Help is available
to resolve conflicts
problems at work,
in housing, or public
accommodation.
Confidential consultation
and mediation services are
free of charge.
Though Sampson and
Beasley have actively
supported political
causes crucial to
lesbians and gay men,
they also participate
in causes that are not
specific to the queer
community
For more information call:
Mediation Pilot Program
274-9886 or TTY
1-800-735-2900
N ew pu rchase
tions and short life spans due to communicable
diseases and lack of proper shelter and nutri
tion. T he problem o f feral cats is aggravated by
the failure of pet owners to spay or neuter their
cats, and by the all too frequent abandoning of
cats by delinquent owners.
The primary goals of the coalition are to
educate the public about these issues, and to
mitigate the problem by holding spay and
neuter clinics for feral cats throughout Oregon.
“T he Feral C at C oalition o f Oregon is the
first in this area to take a lead in bringing the
whole idea of feral cats to the surface,” says
Karen Kraus, the coalition’s director of devel
opment. “For a long time, nobody even
thought about it, or knew about it."
W hat’s New Pussycat, the group’s 1998 ben
efit, raised $30,000, which helped support the
coalition’s 28-foot mobile hospital. T he money
also helped the coalition expand its mission to
Hood River, C annon Beach, Eugene and other
Oregon cities.
The Furball, organizers predict, should
prove to be equally, if not more, successful.
Reed Colem an and Randy Querin of KOIN-
T V will host the festivities. Sponsors for the
event include Gardenburger, Tazo, Elephant’s
Delicatessen, Lange Winery, and Parkway Vet
erinary Hospital. Apart from swing dancing,
the evening’s events include a silent auction
and a raffle for a $500 gift certificate to Nord
strom and a $300 gift certificate for two at
Couvron restaurant.
Besides supporting animal causes,
Sampson and Beasley enthusiastically
support the arts. “In general, we have a
lot of attraction for animals and animal
causes, and the arts. These are the two
things that we’re most interested in, in
terms of being a part of the community,” says
Sampson, adding that he’s looking forward to
the Furball, an event that will certainly incor
porate several of his interests. He will even get
a chance to practice the dance moves he once
learned at the Crystal Ballroom. (“It’s much,
much harder than it looks," he politely warns.)
Though Sampson and Beasley have actively
supported political causes crucial to lesbians
and gay men, they also participate in causes
that are not specific to the queer community.
Lesbian and gay visibility, they say, should per
meate many different social, cultural and politi
cal arenas.
“In the years we’ve been in Portland, there
have been lots of opportunities to be benevo
lent and to give money and to work for caus
es," Sampson explains. “A lot of this in the gay
community has seemed to revolve by necessity
around political causes, which 1 think are
extremely important. 1 think it’s also critical
that gay men and lesbians have involvement in
causes that are quite a bit apart from the things
that tend to galvanize us, like ballot measures.”
He cites the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon
as a noteworthy and positive example of such
causes.
■ The Feral C at Coalition o f Oregon presents
F u r b a l l from 7 to 11 p . m . on Friday, June 4, at
the Wtrrld Forestry Center, Miller Flail,
4033 S.W. Canyon Road in PortLnd. Tickets are
$50 in advance, available from the Feral Cat
Coalition at 797-2606.
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P re -q u a lifica tio n
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R efinance/cash o u t
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R esid en tial, c o m m e rc ia l
& in v estm e n t p ro p erty
A p p o in tm e n ts at
y o u r co n v e n ie n ce
Office
297-9900
Evenings/Weekends
78Ö-1561
“Vm available
when jou are!
Colleen Weed
___
ä
,
ÆÆÆà Advocates
9 9 0 0 S. W. W i Is hire Street • Portland, Oregon 97225
ROSENBAUM & ASSOCIATES
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