Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 26, 1994 TAG: 9407270022
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When the candy bars arrived from the manufacturer, though, the message was muddled.
"Please Spray/Newtor Your Pet," read the labels on the candy bars, instead of the intended "spay/neuter."
Volunteers worried that mislabeled candy bars would be hard to sell.
Obviously, they misjudged the zeal of candy lovers, who seem to have little time for reading.
``I saw the `newtor' the day I got the order,'' said Sandra Obenshain, a member of the board of directors for the Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "It was very embarrassing that it was on there."
Embarrassing or not, she had chocolate in July to unload.
"I sold 100 of them," she said.
The manufacturer said it would send new labels if the volunteers wanted them. As Obenshain made her rounds, though, she found the public to be forgiving.
"Most people said it didn't matter," she said. "They just wanted the candy." Soon, all but 144 of the mislabeled candy bars were gone.
Obenshain says she doesn't want to leave the impression that SPCA members don't know how to spell key words in the organization's fundamental message. The problem was with a salesman, who misspelled the words in trying to abbreviate the message.
Obenshain hopes candy lovers who have pets will make the most out of the message.
"Thank God it's flea season," she said. "Maybe they'll think it's time to spray their pets."
by CNB