THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2008
NEWS
PHILANTHROPY
3A
Auction to help abused, abandoned animals
A cat named Shadow peeks out of her cage at the Lawrence Humane Society, 1805 E. 19th St. The money raised Friday at the annual Lawrence Humane Society Pawsible Dream benefit auction will help cats like Shadow and other abandoned or abused animals of Daunda County.
BY JESSE TRIMBLE
jtrimble@kansan.com
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Lawrence Humane Society will hold its 14th annual Pawsible Dream benefit auction at 6 p.m. Friday at the Lawrence Holiday Inn Holidome, 200 McDonald Dr. Money raised will help the 7,000 animals sheltered at the Humane Society each year.
Midge Grinstead, executive director of the Lawrence Humane Society, said the money was definitely needed this year because of the economy.
The auction will feature several pieces of University of Kansas sports memorabilia and donations from community businesses.
"We've had to fire four people so far this year." Grinstead said. "Normally, we have around 15 full-time employees; now we only have nine."
Grinstead said the first year's benefit auction raised $6,000, and last year the auction raised $82,000.
"We hope to raise $85,000 this year," Grinstead said. "We've advertised more this year, talked to people more about it, because we really need this money — for us and the animals."
All of the money raised by the benefit will help pay for food, shelter, medications, vaccinations and veterinary bills for abandoned and abused animals of Douglas County.
"It's so detrimental!" Grinstead said. "We've had to cut some part-time staff, too."
Gristenold said it had been especially difficult getting businesses to donate money and items this year. She said she thought it was because of the economy and people struggling to pay for bills and gas, among other things.
She said the humane society was
$15,000 over budget and hoped the benefit would help with that and with hiring another full-time staff member.
Grinstead said that 12 years ago the Humane Society had to euthanize 70 to 80 percent of the animals because of a lack of funds. She said the money from the benefit would prevent that from happening again in 2009.
Jessi Baker, Maryville, Mo. senior, and her roommates recently added a new member to their fam
ilv: an adopted cat named Elliot.
Baker said the group decided to use the Humane Society in Maryville because they knew cats there needed homes.
"I think a benefit is a good way to get people involved," Baker said. "It's especially important that the community be more informed to be able to make contributions for such a great cause."
Baker said she would give the society money, not because of the items featured, but for the cause itself. She said she and her roommates realized how important it was to budget money for Elliot to keep him healthy and happy.
mal suffering and human suffering and think we should do something about it.
The Lawrence Humane Society's Hogs for Dogs poker run will be held Oct. 4. Pars for Pets, a golf tournament to benefit the humane society, will be held on Oct. 13.
Tickets for the Pawsible Dream benefit cost $25 per person and $40 for two. Tickets can be purchased at the Humane Society, 1805 E. 19th St., or through the Web site, www.lawrenehumane.com.
Don Marquis, professor of philosophy, said there were many different views within society when it came to the treatment of animals.
The recent condition of the economy has made it difficult for some people to keep their pets.
"Students and everyone else do things that are irresponsible," Marquis said. "But at least people know they should take the animals to a shelter."
Pawsible purchases
Some items for sale at Pawsible Dream auction:
• Framed piece of championship-logo floor signed by the basketball team
• 2007-2008 basketball signed by the team
• Brandon Rush jersey
• Framed set of Sports Illustrated football and basketball championship covers, signed by members of the basketball or football teams
• Stained glass window from Ireland
He said some people, like Baker,
make a connection between ani-
Edited by Becka Cremer
- NASCAR tickets
- Chiefs tickets
- Family packages for bowling or movies
POLITICS House raises troop pay approves billions for war
WASHINGTON — Bowing to President Bush's demands, the House passed a mammoth package for the Pentagon Wednesday that contains a pay raise for troops, billions of dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and some political protection for lawmakers during a tense election season.
Pawsible Dream details
A benefit Auction
**Who:** Lawrence Humane Society
**Where:** Holiday Inn Holidome, 200 McDonald Drive
**When:** Friday evening. A silent auction will run from 6 p.m. to 7:45
p.m., and a live auction from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The 392-39 vote sent the $612 billion defense authorization bill to the Senate.
To earn President Bush's signature rather than a veto, House and Senate negotiators dropped several provisions he opposed. They include a ban on private interrogators in U.S. military detention facilities and what would have amounted to congressional veto power over a security pact with Iraq.
Not passing it before Congress adjourns this week was not an option six weeks out from an election in which voters will choose a new president, every seat in the House and a third of the Senate. Democrats made clear early on that any Republican efforts to block the bill would be characterized as disrespect for military personnel.
However, negotiators address objections from some Senate Republicans to $5 billion in pet projects not requested by Bush, called earmarks. In the compromise, the earmarks are listed in a table accompanying the legislation.
"We're very thankful to have a chance to get the bill passed," said Rep. Todd Aiken, R-Mo.
What: Benefit Auction
A separate bill would have to be passed to spend the money cleared by the authorization bill.
The measure would permit $612.5 billion in spending for national defense programs in 2009, including $68.6 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also includes a 3.9 percent pay increase for military personnel, half a percentage point more than Bush requested.
Associated Press
funded by:
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS September 25, 2008
DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: SEPTEMBER 30TH
Alpha Chi Soccer Classic 3 V 3 SOCCER TOURNAMENT
October 4,2008
Shenk Complex (23rd & Iowa)
Check in: 8:30 AM
Games start: 9:00AM
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HOW TO SIGN UP:
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to Alpha Chi before TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 30th!
Questions? Call or Email:
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Liz Winke: (913) 269-8938, lizwinke@ku.edu