Sophomore music and math major Adam Petz performs “Grave” from Beethoven’s Sonata in C Minor Sunday in Heath Recital Hall.
Now 19, Petz started playing piano when he was in Preschool.
John Henningsen/The Bulletin
HELPING HOMELESS ANIMALS
Post-Tribune (IN) December 11, 1995 PHOTO (COLOR) Rachael Jones holds Sugar, a female cat she is treating at the Southlane Animal Hospital. (Color)(Larry A. Bretts/Post-Tribune) THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED VERSION. Porter County Profiles – Ever since Rachael Jones was a child, she has been crazy about animals. So it was no surprise upon graduation from the University of Notre Dame that Jones went on to Purdue University to study veterinary medicine. She also attended the University of Michigan, has worked at the Potawaumi Zoo in South Bend and spent three years as a staff veterinarian for the Michigan Humane Society. go to website michigan humane society
“I like all kinds of animals,” said Jones, 37, who, with husband Christopher Keeley, own Southlane Veterinary Hospital. They are also the parents of a 4-year-old son.
While Jones is an animal lover, she has also become an advocate for educating prospective animal owners, prosecuting animal cruelty cases and reducing the flow of unwanted animals that make their way to the shelter and must be put to sleep. One sign of this can be seen following her scheduled trip to the Porter County Animal Shelter, where she puts to sleep animals that are sick or have not been adopted.
In the lobby of her clinic are two cages of kittens Jones is fostering and is trying to find good homes.
“Usually, whenever I go to the shelter, I bring back animals,” she said. ”I wish I could do more, but we just aren’t set up to finance the care of these animals for an extended time. I just have to pick and choose a few. And I am very picky about who adopts them.” Donna Smith, director of Porter County Animal Control, which runs the animal shelter, called Jones a good-hearted person.
“She is a very active foster parent and she donates the proceeds of the pet photos with Santa that she does at her clinic each year to the shelter,” Smith said.
While Jones is working to help homeless animals, she also notes a downside.
“After people read articles like this they view this as a shelter and they start dumping animals here,” she said. “We just aren’t equipped to take care of homeless animals.” Jones said education is the key to avoiding many problems with unwanted pets. “People take their animals to the shelter because they have become inconvenient,” she said. “They are moving or they develop an allergy to the pet. Unfortunately, these animals are viewed as items.” This is common with exotic animals. “They see the animal in the cage as a baby and say, ‘Isn’t he cute.’ But the people buying these animals don’t know how to care, raise or train these animals. go to web site michigan humane society
“The animals either end up dying or they get too big and become unmanageable in a domestic setting. People are under the mistaken impression that if the animal becomes a problem they can give it to a zoo. That’s just not an option.” One immediate goal is to begin work on a not-for-profit rehabilitation center where victims of animal cruelty could be treated and returned to the wild or placed in a responsible home.
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