Thursday, September 1, 1033 Daily Ncbraskan Pegs 7 Owners 9 last uman touch9 gives pets a final home A major convention took place in the Midwest this summer. It didnt receive much publicity. "We had 80 owners of pet cemeteries from around the nation in at tendance," said Pat Blosser, founder of the International Association of Pet Cemeteries. This was our sixth annual summer seminar, and we think it was a big success." Blosser, 52, is owner of Paw Print Gardens, a pet cemetery in West Chicago, I1L Although pet cemeteries (0 Bob x) Greene are not talked about much Blosser said that people who use them are sometimes wrongly considered to be "kocks" there are more than 450 of them in the United States. "Before pet cemeteries came along, the situation for animals who died was very bad, Blosser said. "The people would leave their dead pet with the veterinarian, and would not really think what happened after that But in most cases, the pet's body would simply be taken to the local rendering plant, or to the garbage dump. Then Jones would inquire at some later date about what had happened to her dog or her cat and the vet would have no good answer to give. All that has changed, according to Blosser. "We have a 24-hour phone service, and a pickup service," she said. "This is very important, because when a person calls, that cat may be lying dead in the front room, and to ask the person to wait 12 hours is just the wrong thing to do." Blosser said that often a person's grief for a dead pet is more intense than for a human relative. "We have had funeral directors visit our cemetery, and often they will remark that they have seldom seen such grisij" she said. The reason, she said, is that pets are often more devoted than humans. "Un like a human, no matter what you do to a pet, that pet's devotion will not waver " she said. "The faithfulness is always there. If you keep putting food in a dog's belly, and give him a pat on the head, he's content. Humans will do things to cut up and divide the family. Youll always hear that 'so-and-so isn't talking to so-and-so,' or 'so-and-so and so-and-so are getting a divorce.' You dont hear that about a human and his or her pet Blosser said that, at her cemetery, more than 4,000 pets are buried. Most of them are dogs and cats, but the graveyard also has 12 horses, a Shetland pony, a spider monkey, a duck, a guinea pig, 2 lovebirds and a parakeet "We have counseling sessions every Thursday night for the humans," she said. "They need to work through their grief. We advise them, for example, not to try to replace their pet right away we advise a waiting period of at least six weeks." Blosser said that it is not just single people or childless people who come to pet cemeteries: "There's no way to define who comes. You cant say if it will be the young, or the eld, or the middle-aged, or the single, or the mar ried. But I will tell you this when you see a man crying his heart out for his pet, you can tell it's the first time in his life he has cried with such deep feeling. "I really dont think it's going too far to say we help keep some people out of mental institutions. They hurt so badly over the loss of their pets, but they feel they can't express that hurt to neighbors or co-workers. If the pet cemeteries werent available, I think the combination of grief and self blame and denial would put some of these people in the hospital That's how bad the hurt is." There is one generalization Blosser feels she can make about the people who use pet cemeteries: They're different from the rest of the world. They're more caring, and more honest and more feeling. If the whole world was made up of the people who come to pet cemeteries, I dont think we'd have any need for ges or juries or policemen. irS3, Trigone Coicpary CyEdicste, lac. ISISID) v" TITS lrMin HuS-AL&fl2)Q for just L or I?Z7Z"3 il l2 CC? f 27 CLE9 ) 1221 il. 27C 5221 O Cl ) o 1! 1 1 ii THANK YOU FOR CARING GIVE BLOOD :?'& AiiM-rM.ui (7 C music houso. Inc. This VVcoh's Special 40 off all new drum sets and acoustic guitars. This Week Only! 1208 10" St 476-6644 DONT LET AN ACCIDENT TRIP YOU UP BUY KEYSTONE STUDENT INSURANCE Are you willing to gamble that you won't have any medical bills during tha school year? Why not buy Student Health Insurance and decrease your odds for financial disaster to illness or accident After October IS, 1833 all enrollments art FINAL! Visit the Student Health Insurance Office, Room 1C3 at the Health Center by Saturday, October 15th. A Student Insurance Representative is available to answer your questions Monday through Friday. For more information call 472-6000. P.O. Box 403 433 Dallas, Texas 75240 1-C03-527X313 Lb is &P&rl eta) cg a? raoGto apse if r T-SMrts, Jackets, Sweaters! We Can Supply end Custom Print Apparel for Yea, Your Fraternity, Sorority, or Dorm Floor. eJf,T, CXcsa "Clll 142 NORTH .4Cth (14 bled: North of "O" St.) -ioS