ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 3, 1996 TAG: 9612030044
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
IN RESPONSE to your Nov. 23 Extra section article, ``Spot checking: High-need, high-strung, Dalmations may not be the best family dog'':
This article, which recommends careful consideration before buying a Dalmation puppy in response to requests from children after seeing the movie ``101 Dalmations,'' is well-timed and much appreciated by those of us in animal-welfare organizations. Selecting a family pet is a long-term commitment and shouldn't be an impulse buy.
Read up on breed characteristics and temperament, and ask advice from veterinarians, shelters and other pet owners. Local humane societies, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other animal shelters, have wonderful animals to choose from. Mixed-breed animals offer some of the same traits of their mixed ancestry without inbred defects.
If you decide on a purebred animal, carefully screen the breeder. Many pet shops sell purebred puppies. However, they can be purchasing them from puppy mills or commercial breeders, which breed only for profit without regard for the animals. This produces unhealthy and unsocialized animals. We don't need more animals born to become throwaways because they are unhealthy or have a bad temperament.
Giving a pet as a holiday gift isn't a good idea because the recipient may not want a pet or wants a specific breed. In addition, it's a very busy season and not the best time to introduce a new pet to the household. Wait until one can devote the time and attention a new pet requires. If you still want to give a pet as a gift, get a gift certificate from the local shelter or animal-welfare organization, and allow the recipient to make his or her own choice.
DONNA ESSIG
President
Franklin County Humane Society
ROCKY MOUNT
Betrayal of couple was inexcusable
MY HEART truly goes out to the Dulins, featured in the Nov. 17 news article, ``Adoption: It's a risk they take.'' I commend the birth mother for choosing adoption for her babies. However, it's beyond comprehension that she didn't feel committed to the Dulins. The birth mother is the one who contacted the adoption agency, made a choice from four options provided her, allowed this couple to meet with her in the hospital, together with them named the twins, talked about the future, and then promised not to hurt the Dulins as had been done before. I realize that entrustments aren't signed until a baby is born, but all of the above certainly sounds like a commitment.
Most disturbing is that the birth mother, after winning the hearts of this couple, betrayed them, and didn't have the decency to contact the adoption agency to notify them of her decision. The devastation the Dulins must be feeling is unimaginable.
I further cannot comprehend a physician who would intervene in this situation for his own gain, knowing a licensed adoption agency was already involved. The Dulins had followed the procedure for adoption, yet the physician put himself above a licensed agency.
KAREN BURTON
SALEM
Petty accusations against VDOT
IN RESPONSE to Roger Shelton's Nov. 19 letter to the editor, ``Exit ramps here are real killers'':
I will not sit by and listen to someone accuse the Virginia Department of Transportation of being in the killing business. It appears that Shelton has too much time on his hands to ride around and find projects to blame VDOT for. I wonder what his response would be if his fuel and title taxes, as well as his registration fees, were increased to fund the projects he speaks of. And I also wonder if he remembers when his paycheck from VDOT paid his bills and put food on his table.
I will not be a party to Shelton's petty accusations.
BOBBY PERDUE
BOONES MILL
Airport issue taught a lesson
IN RESPONSE to J. Stephen Lowder's Nov. 15 letter to the editor, ``Airport-issue story just wouldn't fly'':
He is critical of The Roanoke Times for only covering the controversy of the Lexington/Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce having endorsed the airport without the majority of its members' support, and its sending out only pro-airport propaganda. Lowder states that this newspaper failed to mention the endorsement of the airport by the Rockbridge Economic Development Commission, the Lexington City Council and the Buena Vista City Council, and it therefore failed to print the entire story.
Yes, the Lexington City Council did endorse an airport. But this same council failed to hold any public hearings or make an attempt to listen to the views of its constituents. Since its endorsment, this same council has been asked to apologize to its voters, and has refused.
To tell the entire story, The Roanoke Times also would have covered the Buena Vista City Council's endorsement of an airport, even though more than 50 citizens of Buena Vista attended a meeting to protest the endorsement. This newspaper would also have printed news of the Rockbridge Economic Development Commission's endorsement, along with the names of its board members and their business affiliations.
I just want to thank you for your coverage. I believe the biggest lesson learned from the airport issue in Rockbridge County is that those who are in positions of trust to represent their entire constituency can no longer make up and play by their own rules - at least not without being held accountable when they do! Thank you, Roanoke Times, for publishing the truth.
RENE COUNTRYMAN
LEXINGTON
Cornea transplants are most common
REGARDING your Nov. 15 Associated Press news article (``Policy shifts line for liver transplants'') concerning a new policy for liver transplants:
I do not question that policy. However, I wish to point out an error in the article. The statement is clearly made that a liver transplant is "the second most common transplant surgery after kidney.'' This is wrong. Transplantation of the human cornea is by far the most common human transplantation carried out, and has a much higher success rate than transplantations of either the kidney or the liver.
I find it sad and almost incomprehensible that individuals who use their eyesight daily to report such articles wouldn't give appropriate credit where credit is due. When one considers the numbers of successful corneal transplants and the ever-expanding need for donated cornea, the eyes have it.
F. ELLISON CONRAD
Physician and surgeon
ABINGDON
He delivers more than the newspaper
AS A longtime subscriber to your newspaper, I want to commend you for featuring your carrier, Wilford Harris, in the Nov. 21 Neighbors section (``Carrying on and on''). If there is such an award as "Carrier of the Year," I'd like to nominate him. He is surely a good emissary for your newspaper.
In all of my experience, which covers many cities and many newspapers, I've never had a more reliable, more thoughtful, more courteous delivery person than Harris.
Thank you for recognizing his outstanding service to your newspaper, to this community and to his customers.
ROY L. CUNNINGHAM
ROANOKE
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