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The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday, February 11, 2010 |
Anamosa Veterinary Clinic Joins Iowa Humane Alliance to Help Curb Pet Population
By Michelle Phillips |
Last week, Anamosa Veterinary Clinic was called upon to help do triage on 20 cats and kittens that had been surrendered by a woman in near Williamsburg. Overwhelmed by the large number of animals, Safe Haven, an animal welfare group in Iowa County, called Mary Blount of the Iowa Humane Alliance (IHA). Blount in turn called Anamosa Veterinary Clinic, one of two clinics that work with the group, and they agreed to help.
“Originally, they said they had 20 cats with respiratory infections,” recalled veterinarian Brian Darrow, who owns the clinic. “The kittens (five) and one adult were sick, but they were in better shape than we thought.”
Darrow said the cats had fleasbut were, overall, in good shape. “We tested for FIV and Feline Lukemia.”
He also spayed or neutered six of the cats, with appointments made for two more, but some were too little for the procedure.
Spaying and neutering the animals could have helped to prevent
them from multiplying, which is one of the reasons Darrow’s clinic and IHA have joined forces to offer Spay Day.
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Veterinarian Brian Darrow owner of Anamosa Veterinary Clinic, examines Tippy while registered veterinary technician Joli Smith holds the patient. Darrow’s clinic has joined forces with Iowa Humane Alliance to assist with Spay Day. |
Blount, who began the IHA about two years ago, has been working with cats abandoned in the Cedar Rapids area after the flood, and Anamosa Veterinary Clinic has been helping with that care as well.
“We offer a reduced cost for the services based on need,” said Blount, who said to get the reduced rate, appointments must be made with her organization, not Anamosa Veterinary Clinic.
Blount said IHA tries not to turn anyone away and offers services statewide.
“The need is really urgent and has been for a long time,” she said. In fact, IHA has gotten over 500 calls.
“Our mission begins with our clients, but we also want to give back, and I think we have a unique opportunity to give back to the community,” said Darrow.
However, he is the exception, and although the program is statewide, Blount said most veterinary clinics aren’t willing to devote their time to the cause. The only other clinic Blount has partnered with is Cat Guardian in Oxford Junction, but their appointments for Spay Day are already completely booked.
Registered veterinary technician Joli Smith who works at the clinic said there are advantage to getting your pet spayed or neutered. “It’s good for the health of the pet, helps prevent roaming and reduces the large number of strays.”
Darrow, who works closely with the local rescue group, Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), said the county needs a shelter, but not the only step to combating the problem of unwanted pets. “Shelters are somewhat of a waste until spaying and neutering is in place,” he said.
The clinic often houses pets for AWF and Smith said they have agreed to keep them for a week, but that sometimes isn’t enough. “We will keep them 10 or 14 days, whatever it takes. We don’t euthanize the animals,” Smith reassured. The number of animals in Jones County that need homes has definitely been on the rise, which can exhaust resources.
“We are not an animal shelter, we are a pet hospital,” reminded Darrow.
Spay Day is February 23 this year, but because of the need, Anamosa Veterinary Clinic also designated February 11, 18 and 25 as days for IHA appointments. Pet owners should call 1-888-977-2942 and leave a message requesting an appointment. Blount said someone will return the call, but because of the great response to the program it might take a couple of days for a return call. |
High Schools Team Up to Help Haiti
By Michelle Phillips |
The principal at Dyersville Beckman, Patricia Lehmann, wanted to raise money to help send meals to Haiti, so she sent out an email asking all of the schools in the WaMaC Conference to assist in the fundraising efforts.
Teacher Sarah Nemmers received the email and said Lehmann wanted students to help with the Kids Against Hunger project and asked that each of the 16 schools in the conference raise $1,000. By raising $16,000 total ,the group would be able to provide 64,000 meals.
The letter was presented to the student council, which decided to help organize the project. “We got the letter at student council, and the brainstorming that went on was huge,” said senior Kelly Colehour.
The first thing the group did was organize a 50/50 raffle at the girls basketball games on Tuesday and Friday of last week.
“We had probably five people help each night,” added junior Jackie Russ. “We had a table and someone selling in the stands.”
The students also put out a bucket for free will donations at the games and drummed up some more money.
Student council has also posed a challenge to the portfolio classes, and the class that donates the most money will get a pizza party. They are also challenging the boys basketball team to raise more at their games than the girls did.
Interact, the student equivalent to the Rotary Club, joined the efforts and plan to sell red, yellow and blue ribbons for a dollar each.
The groups have several other ideas they are looking at to raise funds. Some of the ideas include a dance, raffle or bake sale, but the students haven’t settled on any of those ideas just yet. “If we can get a Wii, PS3 or X-Box donated, we could raffle it off,” said Colehour, who added that the groups would be meeting this week to discuss options.
The young women encourage the community to get involved as well and have left donation cans around town. Checks can also be brought to the high school to help with the project. All donations must be received by March 3. So far, about $250 has been raised, “We are hoping to exceed the $1,000 goal,” concluded Nemmers. |
Fifth Grade Strawberry Hill Student is Principal for a Day
By Michelle Phillips |
Last week, Lexi Maruga had an opportunity that most fifth graders only dream of. Lexi got to be the Principal for a Day.
Her parents, Kevin and Bridget Maruga, purchased Principal for a Day at the annual Anamosa School Foundation Auction last month. “Once, when I was little, I said I really wanted to be a principal. Dad called me when they had won it. I thought he was kidding,” said Lexi, who added that her parents thought it sounded fun.
On February 4, Lexi got a taste of what a day is like for Strawberry Hill Principal Josh Lyons, started with announcing to the teachers that they would be able to wear jeans the next day and that Friday was ugly sweater day for the whole school. She also got to send an email to all the teachers and work at Lyons’ desk. “We walked around a to see what Kindergarten, first and second grade were doing,” Lexi recalled of the morning activities.
She said she was surprised by some of the things Lyons does. For example, Lexi said she was unaware that he had a schedule that he must fill out and adhere to each day. |
Strawberry Hill Principal Josh Lyons and Principal for a Day Lexi Maruga make a stop in the lunchroom last week as they made rounds through the building. Maruga’s parents bid on Principal for a Day at the Anamosa School Foundation Auction in January. |
In addition, Lexi said she had no idea that Lyons worked with the budget and had to ask for money for the things the school needs.
“I gave her an overview of the job. We talked about teacher observation and evaluation,” explained Lyons of how he prepared her for some of the things they would be doing throughout the day.
Lyons said he explained that when observing in a classroom, he is not always evaluating the teacher. Sometimes he takes notes about the kinds of things teachers are doing in the classroom, checking resources and watching for the types of support or training they may need.
“I think this is a great experience for the kids. I think the role of a principal is a mystery sometimes,” said Lyons.
Since it was still a school day, Lexi went to class for part of the day as well. She said she felt like she had power and that her friends wished they could be principal, if only for a day. |
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