4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2006
Lawrence sophomores Susan Lawhorn and Josh Gering carry puppies Benny and Mallory to the play area at the Lawrence Humane Society on Wednesday. The two have been volunteering their time at the shelter since the beginning of the year. They come every Wednesday and Friday and try to play with at least five dogs a piece.
Pets
CONTINUED FROM 1A
Ginstead said the number of pets in the shelter would continue to increase until the end of the summer, reaching up to 1,000 animals before the number would begin to decrease.
Gwen Gerdsen, Wichita senior, worked at the shelter for a year. She said the worst part of the job was the intake desk, where people left animals they couldn't, or wouldn't, care for.
Most people who leave their pets never anticipated how much of a responsibility a pet would be, she said. Some people legitimately have to leave their animal, she said. But a lot of people don't tell the truth and shouldn't have had the pet in the first place, she said. One woman brought in her cat because the feline wouldn't use a litter box.
More than half of the adoption applications made by college students are not approved. Many "try to be sneaky" on their applications, Grinstead said, by giving false information about their apartments' pet policies and where the pet would be living. The Humane Society is proactive about making sure pets are treated properly. They visit the homes of recently adopted pets and recover animals that are mistreated or not living according to what was agreed upon in the adoption application, she said.
A cause for improvement
Sue Novak, president of the Lawrence Humane Society board of directors, said the shelter currently sets the example for the other shelters in the state. But 10 years ago, the shelter was deep in debt and had a bad relationship with the surrounding community.
The biggest change, Novak said, happened when Grinstead became director nine years ago. Grinstead's work gave the shelter credibility in the community and the nation, she said.
The shelter switched cleaning products and vaccines, which made the animals healthier, and reduced its euthanasia rate from 80 percent to less than 15 percent. As a full-service shelter, they accept any animal for any reason and refuse to euthanize animals for space reasons. The animals that are euthanized — about 9 percent of dogs and 20 percent of cats — are typically too sick or injured to continue living or they have a violent temper, preventing them from being adopted for safety reasons.
To control the animal population, the Lawrence shelter spays or neuters every animal older than eight weeks. Grinstead also offers local pet owners subsidies
totaling $28,000 per year for the same procedures to be performed for non-adopted pets in order to lower the total number of animals in the community
The offspring from two cats alone, assuming all survived, could produce more than 80 million cats in 10 years, Grinstead said.
The Humane Society also assists animal control with cruelty and neglect investigations, the only Kansas shelter to do so. About 150 of the 750 investigations last year ended with the Humane Society the animal
tions were not met, the Humane Society intervened and took the pet.
"They're happy to see you. You don't have to do anything to make them happy."
One of the shelter's largest accomplishments was getting a Kansas law passed this year that made animal cruelty a felony. After eight years of legislative disregard for her propos
Humane Society confiscating the animal.
the animal. Grinstead said the Humane Society's main goal was to help animals, so she provided owners with pointers for solving minor problems that were identified in the investigations, such as how to handle a pet's frustrating behavioral problems. In more severe cases, Grinstead would require that the pet receive veterinary care. When the condi-
Casey Grady Wichita sophomore
als, Grinstead founded the Humane Kansas Legislative Network, Inc., and hired lobbyists Hurley and Associates of Topeka to get the new law adopted.
Novak said
Novak said the hardest thing was raising money for the shelter. A portion of the shelter's funds come from the city and county, but more than half comes from donations and fundraisers, including this weekend's sponsored walk called Mutt 'n Strutt. Last December, the shelter received a $42,000 donation that allowed them to continue operating until city funds arrived in January. A Lawrence resident dedicated the money to the shelter in her will.
ing to care for them full-time - an easy alternative to taking on the responsibility of having your own pet while in college.
own pet white in college.
While the nine full-time and four part-time staff members provide the animals with food and clean cages, the volunteers have all the fun, Grinstead said.
After completing a brief training session, volunteers are able to walk dogs, pet cats and groom the animals.
Grady and Megan, Plumb Overland Park sophomore, volunteer at the shelter once a week for a few hours. On each trip, they walk two to three puppies and a few older dogs, who explore and exercise in one of the larger outdoor enclosures. Taking the animals outside brings their personalities to life, Grady said. The older dogs can travel outside with their kennel mates, but puppies like Peanut live and play alone.
While alone indoors, Peanut passively waits for attention. When outdoors, she bounces around a grassy enclosure in the shelter's front yard and alternates bursts of hyperactive running with calmly enjoying the attention the two volunteers give her.
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
A kitten cries for attention from anyone passing by at the Lawrence Humane Society on Wednesday. Lots of cats are abandoned at the end of the school year because students are unable to keep or care for their pets.
Usually some financial miracle comes along to allow the shelter to remain in operation, Novak said. Last month, the Humane Society signed a deal with Hill's Science Diet — a Topeka-based pet food company which will provide high-quality pet food for the shelter and save it $38,000 on food.
Donating time
Plumb's own family adopted their dog Destin, a white, German Shepard-lab mix, from a Kansas City-area shelter. Volunteering at the shelter helped her miss Destin a little less. Although she began volunteering to fulfill her sorority's required service hours, she said it was the best volunteer work she'd ever done.
Grinstead encourages more KU students to join the 300 total volunteers at the shelter. Volunteering is a "good way to get unconditional love from the animals," she said, without hav-
With finals approaching, students are sporadic in their volunteer efforts, Grinstead said. But playing with the dogs provided a relaxing break from school.
Grady's family dachshund, Olive, died last semester. Working with shelter dogs has helped her recover from the grief.
Grady said they volunteered as much for themselves as they did for the dogs.
"They're happy to see you," she said. "You don't have to do anything to make them happy."
University involvement
semester volunteered with the Humane Society as part of a class project. Each semester, the class works with a client from the community who may not have the budget to hire a public relations agency, said David Guth, associate dean of journalism, who teaches the course.
Students taking the principles of public relations course this
SEE PETS ON PAGE 5A
T