Orphaned pets find new home on campus

For Marvin and Anita Cannon, a Bryan couple without children, family consists of cats Cali, Cole, Cooper and Lola, who sleep in the pair's bed and wake them with kisses.

So, they have decided to spend thousands of dollars to secure their pets' future after they are no longer able to care for them. Turns out, the most revered and one of the few places in the country to offer a perpetual pet care program is just a few miles away, and it's run by Texas A&M's top-ranked vet school.

"We checked out the place. I wouldn't mind living there myself," said Marvin Cannon, 70, a professor in Texas A&M's vet school who also serves on the advisory board of the Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center.

At this center on the west end of campus, 21 cats, 16 dogs and one llama live out their lives in comfort, thanks to the foresight -- and cash -- of their owners, who have died or are no longer able to provide care.

And some 350 pets from 20 states are signed up for a future in the program, leading to a $650,000 expansion of the center that will add 2,600 square feet for a total of more than 11,000, said Dr. Henry "Sonny" Presnal, center director.

Love of pets is not a casualty of the economy. Center staff said the rough times of the last couple years don't seem to have had an impact on center growth. During Presnal's tenure as director of the center, which started in 1998, the endowment has ballooned to roughly $10 million, up from about $1.5 million.

Not just for the rich

Enrollment costs depends on the owner's age, animal size, and how the endowment through the Texas A&M Foundation is funded. Owners under age 40 would pay $100,000 if bequeathed through a will or trust to enroll small animals such as cats, dogs and birds, or $10,000 if paid-up front. Those older than 70 would pay $50,000 through either method.

"The owners are people who love their animals and may not have anyone to take care of their pets when they're gone," Presnal said. "This is not an elitist program."

The white 1990 Honda Accord parked in the Cannons' driveway attests to that. To them, the question comes down to what one values. Marvin Cannon still gets visibly upset thinking about Chloe, a brown-patched tabby who would press against him each night as he slept but died a couple years ago of a rare cancer.

"We want them to have the best home they could," he said, as a statuesque Cali sat on a coffee table and gazed at a visitor. "And we found it at Texas A&M."

Aggieland is well positioned for such a center. Next door to the center is the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, which offers 20 percent off on veterinary care for Stevenson's animals. Still, monthly costs range from $5,000 to $6,000, Presnal said.

Well-kept secret

The center is low-key, appearing from the street to be a ranch-style house, and a good chunk of the Texas A&M community doesn't know of its existence, center staff said.

"We're a well-kept secret," said Ellie Greenbaum, Presnal's assistant, who has worked at the center since 1999.

At times, the center looks like a luxury pet boarding house. On Tuesday, poodle Shadow sat still for a haircut as cat Gracie hopped onto his table. Nearby, three-legged Chester lumbered into the spacious grooming area as an A&M student stroked sweet-faced terrier Katy's back.

Some, like docile white cat Jane Claire, roam wherever they please because they get along well with humans and residents (that's what pets at the center are called).

Others have special arrangements. Willie lounged atop a carpeted kitty condo in the same room with fellow cats Puppy, Diamond and Muffin, who all came from the same Alvin family. In a nearby room is Uno, living alone because he has feline leukemia.

When a pet dies, the remainder of the endowment goes to the veterinary school or remains at the center, according to the owner's wishes.

"Why would someone pay $1,000 to fix a broken leg on a kitty?" Presnal said during a tour of the center. "Because they love that cat and that's what they want to do. It's the same reason here."

Strengthening bond

Humanity's love of animals is ancient. The Egyptians adored cats. And man's relationship with his best friend dates back thousands of years.

In recent years, pet trusts have sprung up in more than 40 states, including Texas. They ensure that pets are properly cared for after the owner's death.

What's more rare is a continuing care center like at Texas A&M, a school whose pooch mascot is the highest-ranking member of its storied Corps of Cadets. Although their number is growing, only a few exist in the country, and none has enjoyed the success of Stevenson, created in 1993, nor has its home-like feel, Presnal said.

Oklahoma State University's Cohen Family Shelter, created in 1998, has a 6,600-square-foot facility that charges $10,000 for a bird, $15,000 for a cat, and $25,000 for a dog, but it has far fewer enrollees.

University of California at Davis' vet school has its Tender Loving Care program, which charges $30,000 for a cat and $50,000 for a dog. But the goal at that program -- which has 28 pets from 12 families enrolled -- is to place the animal in a home. Other universities have created or are exploring similar programs.

"They're a great way to fund education," said Barry Seltzer, a Toronto lawyer who co-wrote the book Fat Cats and Lucky Dogs. "It's becoming more and more prevalent because people are talking about it, writing about it and doing seminars about it."

It's an education in itself, too. Four Texas A&M vet students live in the home, helping to provide care for the animals along with four staff members. The students get paid and get a free place to live.

"It's more than just an old home for dogs -- it gives experience and opportunities for all the students who work there," said one of the students, Chase Crawford, 24. who wants to be a veterinary opthamologist.

Animal lover's legacy

The Texas A&M center was established in 1993 at the suggestion of Dr. E. W. "Ned" Ellett, a former head of the small animal clinic, and with donations of $250,000 each from the Luse Foundation and animal lover Madlin Stevenson, who died in 2000 at age 95. Her four cats, seven dogs, pony and llama came to live at the center that bears her name.

Elise Lee Wear, a retired University of Wisconsin nursing assistant professor, enrolled two dogs in the program after reading about it in Dog Fancy magazine. The Eden Prairie, Minn., resident didn't feel comfortable asking her sons to take on such a responsibility, and the A&M program sounded like a perfect solution, she said.

"I have a responsibility to these little bodies that have given me all of their lives and love," she said. "You don't just toss them out in the snow."