> nya Arc lies pampered in the TY lounge, on his white pillow and blanket. He purrs as the old hand strokes his silky fur. Patty | Doran is Arc’s most attentive resident, although all the residents love him. He is known by a different name by each of them. Patty’s special name for his is ‘‘Ginger’’. For the past two years, Arc has luxuriated in this attention and bountiful food from all the residents. And it’s all the fault of . Frank Bowsher, the Terrace animal control officer. by Betty Barton . ing a pet. Each day, Frank delivered Arc, a very large ginger cat, to Terraceview Lodge to spend the day with the residents . there. And each evening, he picked ’ him up and took him home or returned him. to the Animal Control Shelter on Haugland Ave. One day after work; Frank forgot to collect Arc — and he continued to forget for three days! When he sheepishly re- turned to Terraceview to pick up the cat, he was told he couldn’t. The residents loved him, the cat was already trained to take himself outside when necessary, and no one wanted him to leave ever again. The staff accused Frank of forgetting Arc.on pur- | pose, but he still adamantly declares he just forgot. He is presently looking for just. the right dog to share Arc’s special place in the hearts of the — Terraceview residents, - Any person, but old people . - particularly, benefits from hav- An animal is the answer, whether it be a bird, a cat, a dog or a goldfish, says Frank Bowsher. The Registered Nurses Association of B.C, backs him up. Community- based nurses often see how pets. evoke a healthy response from their owners. Studies show that people who greet and pet a friendly animal experience a measurable drop in blood pressure, It is often noted that a depressed or withdrawn patient will experience a positive emo- — tional change after being a playful dog. Many elderly people have gained purpose and meaning in life by having a pet to look after and love. As people age, their former responsibilities dwindle _— they’ve retired from work, the kids have left home, and perhaps a spouse has passed away. Mongrel dogs, rather than. purebreds, are now being train- ed to aid the disabled and the elderly.. Because mixed-breed dogs are often better-tempered than purebreds, this idea has proved very successful. In the U.S. and Britain, particularly, the dogs are placed in the homes of the deaf to alert their owners to the door bell, the: kettle boil- ing or any Other urgent sound. The dogs are trained to attract the attention of their owners either by tugging at a sleeve or patting the person: with a paw. They then lead them to the sound that must be dealt with. Larger mixed breed dogs .are ‘even being trained to maneuver _ and pull wheelchairs. Organiza- rhe man who Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 10, 1990 BIS loves anin - Frank Bowsher; Terrace’ s ‘animal control officer, and his assistant. Marilyn: Brown know the value of good pets like their friend Kylo. . tions. tke the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) are continuing the invaluable service of training dogs to lead the blind. People who work with the elderly and handicapped, or local animal interest groups are doing the less orthodox training. Frank Bowsher points out that these animals are well cared for, clean and trained. ‘‘We have to start accepting these dogs in public places, including res- taurants and stores. They per-— form an invaluable service and provide a source of joy, calm and love for those who own -them,’ > Frank loves animals and always has done. His mother had a special knack with animals, They always had cats, dogs, birds, otters and snakes when Frank was growing up. At age 14 he joined Britain's equivalent of the SPCA and began to learn about animals and their characteristics and special needs. When he emigrated to Canada, he bred Labrador dogs in Winnipeg and took his Great Danes to every dog show. Bowsher, an aircraft engineer by trade, came to Terrace in 1979 to.get back to what flying was all about — bush planes. He worked in the industry until the local economy took a dive in the mid 1980s.: While considering other career options, Frank | came across an opportunity to run the Terrace Animat Shelter. Since animals were his-second. . animal: unless, it’ is _being..a ‘nuisance. There are. _ bylaws, .- love, Frank applied and got the contract. He avidly read every piece of information on animal care and learned new techniques and. tips from the vets. As his job has evolved in the last three years, he has tried to educate others, Frank Bowsher does animal care presentations in the schools. He feels that youngsters need to be trained at an early age to treat animals with love and care, When he first visited the elementary schools, the children had the impression that he was the big, bad dog catcher and probably mean to the animals. Now that they know differently, the children all greet him and help him to catch stray dogs in the school yards. And they often come to visit at the shelter on their way home from school. Other visitors include psychiat- ric patients from Mills Memorial Hospital out for daily walks and clients from Osborne Home. Having contact with these visitors defines the animals’ per- sonalities for Frank and his staff. This helps them to match the right animal to the right adoptive home. “You've got to really love animals to do this job,’’ says Bowsher. One also has to be a good public relations person. People come in to the Animal Control Shelter to retrieve their impounded animal, are cross at the inconvenience and some- times even accuse Bowsher of. luring: the animal out of their yards. | Bowsher doesn’t. pick up..an though. Dogs must be tied or in a fenced yard. If the front yard of a home is not fenced and the dog is not tied up, Frank has the right to pick up that animal. But he seldom does, unless it chases achild, for example, which hap- pened yecently. There is also a leash law. If one is taking a dog for a walk or jogging with it, it must be on a leash. But again, only if the dog is causing a prob- lem will he approach the owner to advise that the animal be on a leash. ‘“‘We’re in animal control. If you decided to domesticate an elephant, that would come under my control,’? Frank ex- plains. He carries a pager and a radio phone. He is tied in with the police and fire departments. He works long and odd hours. ‘tf all people looked after their animals, I’d be out of a job,”’ he declares. Impounded dogs and cats are put up for adoption after three days. The Animal Shelter is to then keep them only three days more before destroying them. But, depending on space at the shelter and the personality of the animal, they try to keep them longer. Frank has also taken many dogs home with him, rather than destroying them. Many people take their animals to the shelter because they are no longer able to care for them, for any number of reasons. Frank discourages peo- | ple giving pets for Christmas - presents. If they come in looking - for-a pup ora kitten for that. special: little person, -he inter- views the prospective ‘‘buyers”’. He wants to ensure that they want the animal too. Often the child is too young or loses in- terest. Then someone else has to be willing to take over the care of the animal. Frank says that nine times out of ten, Christmas pets are returned to the shelter within a few months, if the ‘buyer’? is not totally com- mitted personally. Frank Bowsher and his staff agree that the worst day is when they have to put an animal to sleep. Frank’s assistant at the Animal Control Shelter is Marilyn Brown. Marilyn has worked at the Shelter since May ‘89. She first did a two-week practicum there five years ago while she was involved in the Kermode Friendship Centre Pre- Employment Program for Women. Marilyn wanted to work with animals and needed some on-the-job experience. She had a negative impression of the Shelter before she had the op- portunity to work there. Now, she knows that the ‘animals are washed, fed well, _and treated with kindness, and that Frank -Bowsher is ‘‘the kindest man she has ever met’’, . The Shelter is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Satur- day. If the hours were extended, Marilyn feels, there would be more adoptions. And perhaps more people would actually en- sure that their pets were registered in the Shelter, rather than tying them to the door or leaving them in a box outside the -front door of ‘the Shelter.