Designed to Sell
Making the club’s pro shop effective and profitable
Appeared in Club and Resort Business Magazine, 2008
A definite trend toward clubhouse facelifts has escalated within the past ten years, lending courses to rethinking the position, shape, style and size of the pro shop. Now, more than ever, clubs and resorts are realizing the potential with their shops, as well. With the latest wave of clubhouse renovations, properties are putting time, money and energy into rethinking the pro shop’s position on the course, the layout of the store, the décor, inventory and more.
Brian Kittler, PGA director of golf operations for McConnell Golf, surmises that this trend toward renovating developed out of necessity. “Some of the clubs not reacting to this 10 years ago,” says Kittler, “have to play catch-up, and they are losing members because they didn’t update 10 or 15 years ago.”
It was the right move for Haig Point Club in Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. Established in 1986, the course recently underwent an entire renovation and this included the pro shop, redesigned by an architectural firm.
Since Haig’s 1,000 square foot shop had an existing horseshoe-shaped counter, the designers used the structure as the centerpiece. The counter, newly stained to a darker hue, now commands the middle, spouting four corner columns that stem to the 30 foot ceiling. Square in design, there is a double door entrance and also double doors leading to the clubhouse. A large pane of glass claims 50 percent of the walls. Alcoves, which display hanging merchandise, separate each of the glass areas and display tables pepper the main areas. A staircase located within the shop leads to the assistants office as well as a storeroom. The design allows flow around all side of the counter, as well as the display tables.
“How the shop is set up is one of the most important decisions,” says Jason Cherry, director of golf at Haig Point,“because the setup dictates the flow of traffic and how accessible it is for the customer. The new lighting, decorations, paint color and counter stain color really changed the overall look. It gave it a more masculine look.”
When choosing the new display tables, they went with smaller tables, but a larger amount of them, allowing them to carry more merchandise, display each line on its own table, and create more flow through the shop. Ultimately, the alcove merchandise will change. Currently, the clothing faces left to right. The notion is that the impact would be stronger if the items faced outward toward the shop.
“I feel that one of the most common mistakes is overstocking,” says Cherry, “as well as improper stocking. Some shops are so full, you have to literally pry shirts apart on racks to see the merchandise, and you also feel like you are tripping over and backing into merchandise as you go through.”
When McConnell Golf purchased the Cardinal Golf and Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina and The Raleigh Country Club in Raleigh, North Carolina, Kittler says they knew it was crucial to upgrade its facilities in order to maintain – and attract – membership. McConnell bought the legendary Cardinal in June of 2006, and it wasn’t long before the company embarked on some much needed renovations. With a group of designers in Virginia, McConnell bounced around ideas for a good six months, discussing everything from the color of the wood to the carpet, placement of tables and chairs, and lighting fixtures.
The golf shop was already located in an ideal spot. “It is accessible from the men’s locker room and the fairway grill,” says Kittler, “as well as the first tee and ninth fairway, which makes it a high traffic area.”
According to Kittler, the ideal size depends on several factors: type of facility, the type of membership you are trying to attract, and the amount of play/volume you are anticipating. “For us,” he says, “about 800 square feet is ideal. It is just big enough for us to have proper displays, enough room for our customers to move freely within the shop and keeps with the theme of welcoming and hosting our customers. This also keeps our merchandise and overhead costs to a minimum, which helps maximize our revenues.”
Already in a spot that invites plenty of customer in, Kittler and his associates concentrated on a plan that would increase flow throughout. They splashed darker stain throughout the room, giving all the woodwork a classical feel that complemented the changes throughout the course. They concentrated on keeping it an open, uncluttered plan with lots of displays, and a slat wall built in so it looks “natural.” “We use a lot of displays on the periphery of the shop,” says Kittler. “We use tables to showcase new arrivals, as well as nesting tables. When someone walks in, they see new merchandise and it sets the tone of what we carry. There is a ladies section, shoes has its own section, the hats – everything has its own place, like a department store.”
Not unlike a small Filene’s or Macy’s, Kittler says the shop at the Cardinal is also sectioned in an effort to build brand loyalty.
“We wanted to restore the clubhouse the way it had been done in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” says Kittler, who estimates they sunk about a half a million into the clubhouse. “We needed to modernize the clubhouse, as well. Before, it just didn’t look right. They had canned lighting in the ceiling. We did a lot of accent lighting in rows so you can direct it. We softened it. It’s warm and welcoming now. ”
Kittler emphasizes that it’s important to avoid clutter. Not over-purchasing is key to keeping the store neat. “Even though it’s small,” he says, “customers don’t feel like they are tripping over things. They’re not bumping into racks. We kept the counter on the back wall so when you walk through, you have to walk to the back to check out. You want your customers to see everything.”
McConnell purchased The Raleigh Country in November of 2003, pleasing many who feared the property would go the way of condos or strip malls. Plans are in motion to create a new pro shop this November, in addition to many other renovations.
The plan involves flopping the Fairway Grill with the shop to expand the men’s locker room. “Everything is intact,” says Kittler. “It’s just a matter of flipping them. We haven’t seen the actual plans, but we have input like we did with the Cardinal. Structurally, the clubhouse itself won’t be changed, but we will change the carpet and the lighting.”
The flip will mean not only moving a large hardwood bar, but a smaller shop, which Kittler says is welcomed; it is presently too spacious in some areas, and too small in others. The new design will give it a “more uniform look with high traffic area.” The new fixtures, as with the Cardinal, will function to highlight merchandise.
“We are telling designers how the flow will go,” says Kittler, “and they talk about how they envision the flow. You don’t buy fixtures or anything until you know what you need. You want to know what color or stain you want so you match your fixtures. You try to get your fixtures through the design company and incorporate that into the cost. It’s good to consult with the designers because sometimes golfers are too conservative and it gets you out of the box.”
The motivation behind renovating the Raleigh Club is based on timing and a need to create a buzz. “We have been kicking around this project for three years,” says Kittler. “The beauty of both of our projects is that we did these as a company, and the members were not assessed a dime. We did it because the need is there.”
Likewise, Indian Spring Country Club in Boynton Beach, Florida, sunk a lot of time and funds into rebuilding and redesigning the entire clubhouse in 2000. Expanding it to 52,000 square feet, this included a 1,700 square foot shop furbished with fine wood fixtures and detail that focused on a clean, elegant and timeless look.
Upon approaching the Indian Spring pro shop, the customer is first enticed by elegant window displays that rotate on a weekly basis, showcasing the latest in golf and tennis apparel and accessories. The entrance features a sitting area with an oversized find leather couch and TV that previews the latest sports info.
“We created a space that was centrally located and that was a warm and inviting meeting space,” says Jamie Chavez, diector of membership and marketing. Chavez, who admits the store is a bit too large, says they sometimes struggle with having so much inventory. “We have to stay attentive,” he says, “to making sure we are moving intentory in a timely manner.”
While many spoke positively, and were pleased with the layout and operation of their stores, Bruce K. Harwood II, PGA head golf professional at Stoneybrook Golf Club in Estoro, Florida, is more critical of his present setup. “The pro shop was not planned out as well as it could be,” says Harwood. Since Stoneybrook used an architect that relies on a standard design, Stoneybrook “pretty much has a cookie cutter design.
“Instead of the cart being on the pro shop side of the clubhouse,” he continues, “it’s on the exact opposite, which makes our cart staff have to get here an hour earlier and leave an hour earlier each day. The design of the shop is not conducive to holding a lot of product or selling it more than it is for aesthetics.”
Spanning 1999 to 2000, it cost 1.5 million to renovate the whole building that houses the golf shop. It sits at the entrance outside the community gates, attached to the clubhouse. At 1,000 square feet, lots of windows allow for plenty of natural light, but at the expense of wall space for displays. Harwood says they use an abundance of floor displays and creativity to make the shop inviting, and the three entry points are helpful. “We do design the floor layout that makes you have to walk a certain way,” he says.
Despite the challenges, Stoneybrook uses its floor displays strategically, putting the floor gondolas in a way that separates the sections of apparel. They also use the front counter to break up the hat section from the shoes. “We constantly move product around the shop to give it a fresh look,” says Harwood. “Even though we are a daily fee public facitility, we do have a tremendous amount of regulars, so by moving product around often, you would be amazed how many people look at the same shirt twice and ask, ‘when did you get this in?’ Keeping a fresh look is crucial to having success in sales. You must have a method planned out at least a year in advance. We do a great job at it each year.”
Harwood again stresses the importance of product placement. “Take yourself as an example,” he says, “and what you would expect the location of something to be, and what you would possibly purchase, even if you weren’t looking for it. You can guarantee that every single person will end up at the front counter.”
And in the end, getting those shoppers to the counter is all that matters. Sound advice, indeed.
The dog pawing the bars at the pet store is undoubtedly a cutie. As a youngster, it was always fun to browse the store and giggle at the adorable pets for sale, hoping our parents would say, “OK, we can have him.” You didn’t think about where they came from. You didn’t think about the fact that the cunnin’ Shitzu or Cocker Spaniel unfortunately represented and perpetuated a massive, lucrative, cruel pet trade. Neither did our parents. Then, we didn’t know much about where these pets came from. Like with marshmallows, we’re largely ignorant to their origin.
As the ASPCA reports on its Web site, “that cute little puppy most likely came from a large-scale, substandard commercial breeding operation, commonly known as a puppy mill. Puppy mills usually house dogs in overcrowded and often unsanitary conditions, without adequate veterinary care, food, water and socialization. The breeding stocks at puppy mills (possibly your new puppy’s mom and dad) are bred as often as possible in order to increase profits. Unlike your lucky puppy, the mom and dad will probably never make it out of the mill.”
The standards are changing, but not enough. Not enough to stop the flow of purchases that fuels this problem, and not enough to shut down the countless puppy mills that supply these stores or many “kennels” that are really just pet stores with attractive masks.
The puppy mill (as well as mills that breed birds and other smaller animals) problem is a frustrating and seemingly insurmountable one at times, but there’s no giving up; too many animals will suffer as a result. “While many people are aware of the existence of puppy mills,” said Monica Engebretson, project director of Animal Protection Institute, based in Sacramento, California, “few people realize that birds, reptiles and other animals are also frequently produced in mill-type situations where many, many animals are kept in barren cages, and under horrible conditions in order to churn out animals for the pet trade.”
“One doesn’t need to be an animal rights extremist to be horrified by this sort of treatment,” echoed Leigh Grady, who runs the Sterling Animal Shelter. “To treat living beings so crassly, so objectify them as ‘things’ and see only their financial worth is morally wrong.”
The mills, graphically explored in a variety of high-profile investigations for TV and newspaper coverage, are indeed that horrific. With a remarkable number of animals jammed into small crates, devoid of socialization and loving treatment, the mother dogs are usually bred their entire life in captivity, sitting in their own filth and unable to run – or “live.”
Deborah Howard is president of the highly visible Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS), a national animal welfare organization dedicated to protecting companion animals that has a strong focus on researching and investigating pet stores, puppy mills and breeding facilities. As it states on the Web site, “since 1995, CAPS’ focus has been on the USDA’s failure to enforce the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) as it pertains to commercial dog breeders and brokers. In order to document AWA violations, CAPS investigates federally licensed facilities in the Midwest (more than 100 since 1997).”
“Puppy mills still exist because there is still a demand,” says Howard. “People buy on impulse. There are payment plans.”
She started her crusade in 1989 after wandering into an Atlanta franchise of the Massachusetts-based Doctor Pet Center, which had more than 300 stores across the country. “First of all,” says Howard, “I was appalled by the conditions. I saw a lot of sick puppies there, and it wasn’t’ too clean, so I decided to find out where they got the puppies from and then I found out about puppy mills.”
Backed by her background in public relations and a law degree, she dug further into the puppy mill business. Her findings fed an ongoing passion to stop them.
She’s not alone. Large animal rights organizations are devoting a lot of energy and funds toward this issue. Stephanie Shain, who is the director of outreach for the Humane Society of the United States, directs the Stop Puppy Mills campaign for the HSUS. Involved in all aspects of the work on mills, it includes supporting legislation to better regulate factory style breeding, working on a billboard campaign, educating puppy buyers and working with grassroots activists.
“There are so many issues facing animals today,” said Shain, “and so many abuses that could be prevented if more people knew about them. I think what makes the effort to stopping puppy mills so important and unique is that it is the systematic abuse of animals who are one of the most beloved in our country. The same people who spend hundreds of dollars on clothes or beds or leashes for their best friend may also have supported a business that looks at neglect of animals as business as usual.”
Howard and CAPS have been involved in a multitude of media investigations, jumpstarted by an undercover investigation for 20/20, as well as a number of pet shop protests throughout the US and Canada in close to 40 cities in 1990. Her grassroots efforts and PR work now make her a popular source for media coverage, namely a two-part feature on “Dateline” in 2000 that had the second most responded to story in the history of the TV show. “We got so many emails,” said Howard, “that it took me three weeks, seven days a week, 12 hours a day, to answer them. People love animal stories. They are really affected by them.”
Now, CAPS is shooting its arrow at the USDA, which in charge of inspecting the federally licensed facilities in two classes: A and B. The A dealers are the actual breeders and puppy mills. The B dealers are the brokers who sell the dogs to the pet stores. Working with a law firm in DC, CAPS has a bevy of lawyers working pro bono lobbying in an effort to change the standards by which the USDA operates. “Sometimes, we go in a day after an inspector goes in [from the USDA],” said Howard, “and has said there are no violations and we find plenty. And sometimes, even when they find one, they don’t go back to see if corrections have been made.”
Shain adds, “It is important to understand that these standards [that the USDA ensures] require the bare minimum to keep these animals ‘healthy.’” These requirements include the size of the cage, that animals should have food free of bugs, that they are provided water and veterinary care. There are no laws that ensure that the dogs ever be taken out of their cages or given attention or affection. “The dogs are treated like little breeding machines,” said Shain. “Additionally, enforcement is pretty poor. There are about 100 inspectors nationwide and about 4,000 breeding operations. Those 100 inspectors are also charged with inspecting animal research facilities, circuses and other exhibits that involve wild animals. The math isn’t complicated.”
The puppy mill industry is well funded, and Shain reports those mills are working harder than ever to ensure that its way of treating dogs is protected. Conversely, every effort is being made, mightily, by those who want to protect these animals, but like the puppy mills in question, it is like throwing tomatoes at a well-armed bully with a lot of friends. “No decent breeder would ever keep his or her dogs the way puppy mills do,” says Shain, “in cages for their entire lives, churning out puppies as fast as they are physically able, and much to their physical detriment.”
Additionally, the USDA has never required dealers that sell animals directly to the public to apply for licenses, regardless of its size. The Animal Welfare Act excludes retail pet stores from its minimum requirements. It’s the USDA’s position that these dealers are retail pet stores. What does that mean? Well, someone could keep hundreds of dogs in cages and bypass the licensing procedure (however lame that procedure is) because they sell directly to the public. More and more, Shain says, this selling is being done on the Internet. There are thousands of puppy mills operating that no one is even looking at. The current laws are insufficient, argue people such as Shain. Like animal cruelty laws in most states, they don’t do the job.
So one would ask – why the lax attitude? Why does this look-the-other-way approach seem to be prevalent regarding the laws that supposedly “protect” these puppy mill animals? “They are looking at agricultural interest,” said Howard. “They think of dogs as livestock, and it’s a very bureaucratic agency.” CAPS meets with the agency occasionally, namely with Dr. Chester Gibson, the deputy of APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which oversees animal care). They made progress when they connected with the former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, who was appalled at the situation and called in Dr. Gibson for action. “Very little was done,” said Howard. “It’s really hard to shut these places down because, first of all, they are federally licensed, and local authorities don’t want to get involved. Almost all of these places are in rural locations in small tight-knit communities where breeders know the authorities. The USDA just doesn’t do anything. We can present evidence to them. They say, ‘Yes, we are interested in seeing evidence.’ But now, they claim they cannot tell us what happened [with the evidence].”
Now, says Howard, concerned citizens are forced push its requests on these violations via the Freedom of Information Act, a tedious and often fruitless endeavor.
Howard says soon, they are headed to Washington (for the eighth time) to lobby for a congressional oversight hearing, hoping to instigate the Governmental Accountability Office to launch an investigation of their own. “It’s a way of looking at government management to get them to look at the USDA,” says Howard, who is opposed to breeding in general – reputable or not. “Why would you want to contribute to the pet overpopulation. It really bothers me.” I hate to see animals killed, and millions of them lack homes. I don’t understand this obsession. Why do people have to have puppies? They grow up so fast. I love mixed breeds. A rescue dog usually is better because they know you did something special for them. I don’t understand why people need to buy a purebred dog.”
Being affected and reacting in a proactive way are two different things. Even those with the kindest of hearts can be unaware of where an animal may come from that is at a kennel or pet store. Either that, or they repress the knowledge and convince themselves that it is ok.
And actually, Massachusetts is not a puppy mill state. We don’t technically have any here. Most, experts say, operate in the Midwest. Pennsylvania, particularly Lancaster County, is also known for puppy mills. “They have really bad facilities for the most part,” says Howard. “There are a lot of Amish bred puppies. We’ve investigated a number of facilities in Lancaster, and Holmes County in Ohio. Holmes is actually a lot worse.” There are mills located in Oklahoma and New York, as well. The problem is mushrooming as some operate with 20-30 dogs in cages in a garage, unloading the pups through the Internet or ads.
The puppy mills are not in this state, but the puppies bred there definitely are. In fact, says Howard, more than 90 percent of the puppies in pet stores come from mills. One of the “tricks” these stores use on customers is to argue that they are a “USDA licensed facility.” We’ve covered that one. That means you are buying from a puppy mill. “Pet Land really twists the truth,” says Howard. “I’ve seen a lot of their paperwork. They don’t list the broker’s name. They only list the breeder. They want you to think they buy directly from the breeders. That’s why your puppy costs so much; there are several layers involved.” Howard has CAPS members who work undercover at pet shops and says many are given training manuals to educate the worker on what to say to the customer who asks, “do these puppies come from puppy mills?”
In Massachusetts, where a “puppy lemon law” does exist (but is weakly enforced and little known), there are numerous offenders. Essentially, if it is a pet store, chances are you should stay away. And many kennels position themselves as responsible rescues or breeders, but in essence are pet stores in disguise. Laughlin Kennels in Oxford, for instance, last year went through a nasty dispute with Cathy Denaris and Tina Mastrototaro, who say the kennel adopted to them a very sick puppy. The two, who had to adopt the puppy to another family because they couldn’t chase the medical costs, maintain a campaign online and in local papers to warn others of Laughlin. While people such as Shain are reluctant to name names (though others will – just poke around the Internet), the bottom line is that when looking for a new puppy, never buy one unless you see with your own eyes where this dog came from, and that it is humane.
“Many people think that if they don’t have a puppy mill down the street,” says Shain, “then they don’t have a puppy mill problem. Those people couldn’t be more wrong. Puppy mills deliberately operate far from the public eye. Walk in to your local pet store and ask to see the paperwork that comes with the puppies. What you will likely see is that the puppies have been shipped across the US – and just a few weeks of age – to be sold in that swanky pet store.”
Holly Sternberg is the founder of www.petstorecruelty.org, which is both the name of a Web site and a group based in Washington DC determined to end the sale of animals in pet stores: that includes puppies, kittens, rabbits, birds, ferrets, hamsters and all over living creatures. With energy directed at large conglomerates such as Debby’s Pet Land, the group runs an extensive list of companies to boycott on its site – including Massachusetts – that are padded with customer testimonials urging others to resist buying from these stores.
Sternberg became involved in animal protection in 1980, after her image of the US being animal-friendly was shattered while working on her BA in Neurobiology and Animal Behavior at Cornell. “We feel that animals should not be treated as merchandise,” says Sternberg. “Some of these animals, such as birds, are still wild, and should not be kept in captivity at all. We let people know about the horrible ongoing homeless animal crisis and encourage them to help stop the killing by adopting their animals from shelters and rescue groups.” (Note: Sternberg does not imply that bird owners should just open a window and let their pet free. She is arguing that birds should not be captured in the wild and forced into captivity, or bred into captivity, as their complex behavior demands that they fly and flock – a subject for a later issue of Pets!)
There is often the argument of “but I want to save the pet in the store.” But what people need to comprehend, say experts, is that saving that one only kills 100s because it keeps the business alive. With all the lobbying, fighting with the USDA to do its job and trying to shut down pet stores, the answer really lies with the animal buying public. “People need to stop buying the puppies,” says Shain. “It really is that simple.”
Psychologically speaking, people don’t want to believe that the person selling that adorable puppy would lie about where it came from. Furthermore, when the buyer ends up with a sick – or dead – animal, they often are too drained to take legal action. Fighting these companies, and mills, takes so much energy that some have gotten tired of fighting. But thankfully, there are still strong-willed folks on the frontlines.
We are making strides in terms of the public’s knowledge of these places. However, in response to the buyer’s awareness, those who profit from the puppy mill business are developing more savvy tactics to deceive the public. A newer approach is for mills or stores to place ads in community newspapers to give the impression that it is a small, conscientious breeder.
“I am never surprised,” says Shain, “when I talk to someone who has bought a puppy who seemed healthy in the store but who died soon after, and they tell me that the store promised them the puppy came from a good breeder. I have yet to see a case when that is true. In my experience, they have always come from a mass breeding operation. A puppy mill. If you are buying a puppy mill puppy, you are part of the cycle of puppy mill abuse. Your money keeps your puppy’s mom in a cage for her entire life.”
Think about that, and head to a shelter next time.
SIDEBAR: One reporter’s findings
Andrea LePain, investigative producer and co-managing editor for NECN (New England Cable News), spent six months investigating a pet store in Stoughton, MA, called Missy’s Puppyland. The investigation was spawned by several customers complaining to the station that the dogs from the store were sick or genetically defective. Some had incurred thousands of dollars in vet bills.
What she found was surprising, and the result even more surprising.
LePain started her investigation at the Bureau of Animal Health, with which she filed a public records request. It produced a long list of consumer complaints, and Missy’s Puppyland had been cited numerous times for violating state health rules. LePain wanted to check this store for herself. Hidden camera in tow, she noticed some of the dogs for sale to be skinny, timid and unusually lethargic. Others, she adds, had diarrhea, and there was a strong smell of urine permeating the store.
“I went a step further and bought a dog so that I could have it checked out by a vet,” says LePain, “but when I went to pick the dog up, the store owner told me it was too sick to go home with me. So I ended up getting a different dog, and I took that one directly to the vet. The vet found a couple of problems – something with the dog’s eyes and its tail. He also said the puppy was underweight and not breed standard. When he heard I got it from Missy’s, he said he had treated many dogs from that store and had just seen bad health in general.”
Ultimately, LePain confronted the store’s owner, Linda Snow, asking for answers about the problems related to her store. She denied any issues. Interviewing the Bureau of Animal Health produced few answers either. “They basically said all pet stores have problems,” she said, “and they were trying to work with Missy’s rather than shut her down.”
Generally speaking, LePain says people understand what a puppy mill is, and assume that some pet stores get their dogs from such places. However, seeing that cute pup in the store erases this knowledge –at least for the time being. “They can’t resist buying it,” she says, or they feel sorry for the dog and buy it in an effort to – in their minds – rescue it.”
LePain’s story generated dozens of viewers calling or writing to NECN, stating that they were angry that Missy’s – and stores like it – were allowed to stay open. Protests even erupted from the story. Others wrote to the Bureau, trying to urge them to close Missy’s. “To my knowledge, Missy’s is still up and running,” says LePain. “It appears the Bureau issued them a new license this year.”
SIDEBAR TWO: Important Web sites
Confused about where to go, or want to know more about the action being taken regarding puppy mills and the stores who buy from them? There are countless sites focusing on this issue. Do Google all you want, but here are some to click on:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_adoption_information/how_to_find_a_good_dog_breeder/
www.stoppuppymills.org
www.puppybuyersguide.org
http:www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/lemon_ma.html
Appeared as monthly column, “People Making a Difference” in Pets ! Magazine
The world grinds slowly. Social consciousness chugs along so that sometimes we barely sense the advances. This frustrates those passionate for change; Passionate about injustices that, though they seem so blatantly, well, wrong, aren’t addressed with appropriate speed. It can get discouraging, no matter what the war.
Animal lovers crave some good news from the battleground. They want to hear that the wheel is turning. That we are evolving.
We are, especially if you listen to advocates such as Sarah Luick, a Massachusetts attorney with a penchant for animal law.
As a kid, Luick would keep tabs on animals in her neighborhood and make sure they got home safely. She’d watch birds and marvel at them taking off and going about their business. She didn’t want to dominate them. She only wanted to protect them.
She was destined to protect them. As a board member with the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) and the Massachusetts Animal Coalition, she’s on the frontlines in the battle against cruelty. And though she says we’ve got some serious hurdles to clear, people are becoming more intolerant of injustices against animals.
“It does frustrate me,” says Luick, “but there are changes. I think the media even covering cruelty cases leads to outrage often. Just having it in the public view has made changes in how we view our pets. We are beginning to see changes, even with information on how cruel we can be with food animals and lab animals. We’re starting to see that industries using these animals have to pay attention more than they ever had to in the past.”
Luick serves on the board for the Massachusetts Animal Coalition, which is meant to gain working relationships and networking for those who do companion animal work as well as feral cat work (and much more – visit www.massanimalcoalition.org for lots of information). And since the early ‘80s, for ALDF, which is an organization that provides free legal work for any prosecutor across the country trying an animal cruelty case, Luick has been assisting with expert legal advice to give their cases the best chance at victory.
As a child, watching those birds in flight, she might not have been able to express it as eloquently as she can today, but Luick was always infuriated by humans‘ disgraceful treatment of animals. “I don’t understand why society should ever allow pain and suffering and depravation of any creature capable of feeling pain,” she says. “At the very least, you have to justify it through the balance of interest tests. I always wondered why I didn’t go down the same route as rescue people. But to me, this is about people. Why is this acceptable? If you can’t use people the way you use animals, how can you get away with it without anyone questioning it?”
In Massachusetts, if the District Attorney deems an animal cruelty crime a felony, someone convicted of the crime may be punished with up to five years in jail and a $2,500 fine. Many agree that the law should not only be stricter, but more strongly enforced. Cruelty laws tend to be “interesting” in that they are rather vague, which sometimes can be a strength in court, and sometimes a weakness.
Luick says that’s where ALDF helps, and where those in law enforcement are coming around. To her, attention is slower to come around to what she calls “institutionalized cruelty,” such as puppy mills, laboratories and farms. “We really do have more of an ethic in regard to our companion animals,” says Luick, “in that we won’t accept animal cruelty. That means local police departments can’t ignore it either, or it will be on the news that they have. I think the difficulty comes in where you’re talking about a large number of animals. The remedy to prevent it from continuing or happening again needs new direction and new thought and new cooperation between all organizations.”
Growing up in Boston, Luick attended Suffolk University, and specialized in animal law. It was a rarity 25 years ago, but thankfully, more common today. Now, more law schools have courses in animal law. More bar associations have animal law committees. And it’s becoming standard for law schools to have student groups involved in animal laws. In years to come, as these students enter the work force, the change will only positively infiltrate the system. The animals of the world are quietly applauding.
But it’s something Luick knew long ago. She’s glad others are coming along, and is full of faith. “I think because I’m an attorney,” says Luick, “I have confidence that our legal system is really meant to address and find a remedy for what are clear and obvious wrongs.”
For more information on the Animal Legal Defense Fund, visit http://www.aldf.org/.
SIDEBAR: The state of animal cruelty
In February of this year, the ALDF compiled statistics for 50 states to report on how each fared in its laws to protect animals from cruelty and neglect. Stephan Otto, ALDF’s director of legislative affairs, reported that while each state had room for improvement, some states were clearly stronger than others in their concern for animals.
Here’s what they found.
Comparing overall strength and comprehensiveness
States with the best laws
California
Illinois
Maine
Michigan
Oregon
States with the worst laws
Hawaii
Idaho
Kentucky
North Dakota
Utah
The top tier (the states that treat their animals the best): California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Vermont, Virginia
The middle tier: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee
The bottom tier: Alaska, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming
Those that made the “worst” lists landed there for a variety of reasons, including no felony animal cruelty provisions, inadequate definitions/standards of basic care, no humane agents, inadequate provisions for forfeiture of abused animals and no separate crime for the sexual assault of an animal.
This report by the ALDF is the first of its kind, and the organization has plans to release one on an annual basis. Visit the site for the complete report.
SIDEBAR 2: a major victory for ALDF
The Animal Legal Defense Fund is often victorious for our animals in the courts. But as a group, it has been highly concerned in recent years with issues that affect large groups of animals such as hoarding, puppy mills and factory practices. Last year, the ALDF made history when it was successful in getting a mill shut down.
Sarah Luick explains: “The Animal Legal Defense Fund recently won a first of its kind and unprecedented court victory in Sanford, North Carolina where a unique state law allows any person or organization to sue an animal abuser. In April 2005, the judge granted an injunction allowing ALDF and county authorities to remove more than 300 diseased, neglected and abused dogs from the home of a local couple. As a result of this lawsuit, the couple was prosecuted for and found guilty of animal cruelty. In addition, ALDF was granted custody of the animals with the ability to provide them with needed veterinary care. ALDF subsequently won the right to restrict the couple’s visitation rights while the dogs remained in custody during ongoing appeals.”
As published in Pets! Magazine, 2007
Tina Zlody and Louie Despres spent years keeping their dog Olivia’s Cushings Disease at bay with monthly acupuncture sessions. Heart disease, too, would plague her later in life. Her heart finally took her at 14 years old last year. That prior August, Zlody had to put her cat Tawny Kittaen to sleep because of kidney failure at only nine. A stray in “not the best neighborhood,” Tawny had worked hard to win over Zlody, who had never grown up with cats.
“The day my husband was to leave on a trip,” said Zlody, “was the day we had decided that she needed to not be in pain anymore. He offered to postpone the trip in order to be with me. I explained that she was my cat and that I had to do it alone. I miss her every day. Olivia had a great long life. Tawny had a short, bad life.”
But the death that resonated most deeply, in retrospect, was her first dog, Maggie. Zlody got her after moving out of her parents house and it was the first that was “hers,” and she was Maggie’s. “In so many ways she kept me on the right path,” says Zlody. “I could have done very silly things, but just the idea that I had to be there for her, care for her, made me more responsible. She was with me through relationships, job changes, moves and was the one constant in my life. She was my soul dog. She got sick with pancriatitis and I didn’t see the symptoms in time. Again, it breaks my heart to this day that I had to put her to sleep, and not at our vet.”
The loss is profound, and difficult to recover from for true animal lovers. “We do everything for them,” said Zlody. “and that is a huge emotional investment, so the loss leaves a huge void. They play a role in everyday activities. They are the first thing I deal with when I get up and the last thing at night. I also think that people, if they are dealing with a longterm human illness, have time to hopefully make peace with each other. I had no opportunity to apologize to Maggie for missing her symptoms and to thank her for all she had done for me.”
It is love in the absence of words that makes it transcend language. It is the lack of a language that makes it hard to explain and hard to say goodbye. It is the way pets are woven into the very fabric of our lives that make it feel that the world is unraveling when they go.
Jeannie Hebert of Shrewsbury has lost many animal companions in her years of adopting dogs and cats. Within the past year, she said goodbye to her 21 year old cat Louie, and more recently, her white German shepherd Kirby. “To me, it is as if I have lost a child,” she said. “Kirby was my constant companion and the source of much joy to me. During the span of those years [with him] my life changed drastically. My marriage broke up, I changed careers, but Kirby was there for me each and every day. Even when those I believed to be my most trusted friends disappeared, he was there with love and compassion….when he passed I was crushed. He seemed invincible to me.”
They are our rocks. So how can you cope when that rock is gone?
Judith N. Stone, LICSW and grief counselor with more than 25 years experience, works with Vescone, a 24-hour veterinary emergency and specialty center that offers 24 hour coverage, in leading its free pet loss support group. “People can call Vescone 24/7 for support and information about pet loss,” said Stone. “They can come once or as many times as they would like.”
Stone explains that many have such a difficult – sometimes seemingly impossible – time coping with the death of their pet for a variety of reasons. “First and foremost,” she said, “pets tend to provide unconditional, uncomplicated love and devotion to their owners. Their needs are simpler and they provide true and steady companionship and comfort, something that can be harder to find in human relationships.” They also enhance human relationships, she reminds us. Couples and families refer to and think of pets as members. For single people, they are family.
“There is more and more evidence of a wide range of emotinal experience in animals. I think we as humans get great satisfaction from experiencing that emotion and mutuality with another species. For all of these reasons and more, the death of an animal companion means the breaking of a powerful bond, the rupturing of an attachment, and it can therefore be devastating.”
There are lots of ways to help people cope with this devastation, explains Stone. It’s important to validate the range of feelings, which include pain, sadness, confusion, fear, anger, emptiness, loneliness and disbelief. Sometimes it can be hard to find this empathy, and it is a critical part of support. It is particularly helpful in a group setting, said Stone, because members share stories, grief and their own ways of coping. Almost always, Stone finds, people who come to the support group have experienced a lack of empathy from others – others who lack the understanding of the animal-human bond.
As with losing a human, at first, many cannot grasp the reality of the death. “When Kirby passed,” said Hebert, “I literally took to my bed. I would collapse in a sea of tears at just the mention of him.” It’s important to allow space to those who need to grieve. In Stone’s group, there is discussion about the stages of the grief process.
“Crying, thinking a great deal about their companion, talking, even ‘talking to’ the lost loved one,” said Stone, “keeping a toy, blanket or other object that reminds them of their pet for a time can all be useful ways to move through grief.”
For Hebert, part of letting go meant giving Kirby a proper burial, just she had done for her beloved Hannah, who died years earlier of the same type of cancer, and others before them. She had already picked out a plot at Angel View Cemetery in Middleboro, which took care of the arrangements. “They were so kind and understanding,” said Hebert. “It was exactly the same as planning a funeral for a human. To me, Kirby was as important to me as any other human in my life. Much more than some, really.” Kirby’s family and friends gathered around him to say goodbye, and be there for support.
Hebert will most likely adopt another pet, eventually, especially to fill the void and give a companion to Pia, Kirby’s best buddy. But Stone reminds us that it’s usually a good idea to wait for some time so the person is emotionally ready to accept another pet into their home and heart. It’s advisable, too, that the new pet not look like the one that has passed.
“I think there is a great need for grief counseling,” said Stone, “but often people have a hard time asking for help or don’t know that resources are available. Our culture doesn’t offer a lot of support for grief. Working with people who are grieving is a powerful, fulfilling experience for the counselor. It gets down to the bedrock of human experience. It can allow for a special kind of openness and healing that is like no other.”
As it appeared on the cover of Worcester Magazine, August, 2007
Recently, Adam Davis’s mom, Nancy, took him to a ‘50s concert at a country club in the area.
At first, Adam looked agitated, as he can easily become in crowds. Elderly folks and children can especially intimidate him. But he scored a deck of cards, and sat cross-legged on the floor between the dinner tables sorting them. That made him happy for the night, as it often can. For years, cards have occupied hours, and he has some 30 plus decks in his room. If Adam visits your house, he’ll inevitably rifle through your drawers and cupboards looking for decks. If there aren’t 52 in the pack, someone had better fix it quick.
Other things make him happy, too. He’ll crack you up with a knock-knock joke he’s made up: “Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Nancy.” “Nancy who?” “Nancy Davis!” He’ll yell random phrases such as “get out of your pants!” that can bring you to hysterics. He carries around items such as key chains for weeks on end, sometimes stuffing them into a sock. He loves fans, and turning on lights and clicking on hundreds of files on a computer (“triangles,” he calls them). He’d eat hamburgers for breakfast, lunch and dinner if you let him, and he likes cookies and brownies a lot, too. He gravitates to the catholic mass and cartoons on TV, listens to ‘80s music and watches the movie The Big Lebowski
, which he called the “fuck movie” because the F-bomb drops so much in it. Recently, they took a trip to Overlook Farm in Rutland and he fell in love with the pigs.
But keeping Adam happy, and calm, is a challenge, and that is putting it mildly. Watching Nancy interact with her son for any length of time will at once break and warm your heart.
Adam suffers from autism as well as mental retardation, and a few related and unrelated issues that include anger and inability to control his bowels. His mom has been taking care of him since birth at home in Charlton and for a majority of the time. The task is immense and endless, and a glimpse into Nancy’s life could make the most stressed feel guilty that they had ever complained about petty problems. Calm, patient to a fault, intelligent and kind, she’s grown and adapted to Adam’s condition with quiet dignity and some silent suffering.
She’s “lost it” a few times with Adam, and knows when it’s escalated to the point where he should stay in his room. It usually happens when she’s overtired, and he just won’t stop yelling in her face. Echolalia, they call it – when you say something and the autistic person repeats it endlessly back to you.
“I definitely do have periods of depression,” says Nancy. “I have always had periods of depression. I think my way of coping is to escape mentally. Blocking Adam out is a form of survival because he repeats things over and over and over again. It drives you mad if you don’t tune it out. And sometimes it does escalate. It’s true. To insert someone new into this situation is much harder than growing with it.”
But Adam’s 27 now, and Nancy finds herself stepping toward the most major decision of her life. For parents with severely handicapped children, there usually comes a time where they’ve got to put their faith in another caregiver. Those “kids” have got to move to another living situation. Adam’s got to go on so Nancy can finally live, as he is engrained in her daily existence so much so that there is little separation; he is an integral part of his sister Sarah’s and father Rich’s as well.
“I have been alone for 12 years,” says Nancy, who is divorced from Rich, who is remarried with two children. “I had one boyfriend after we got divorced, and to insert somebody in a situation with Adam is very hard. I have no life of my own, and yeah, in order to make a life with someone else it would be very hard on both to learn how to live with each other. I’ve learned it as he’s grown, so I’ve been able to bend and learn how to deal with things.”
Sarah, Adam’s sister 20 months his junior, slid into a protector-caretaker role with Adam, which laid the groundwork for her career, as she works at the New England Center for Children and is working on her Master’s in counseling psychology at Framingham State College. Like her mom, it’s remarkable to watch her interact with Adam.
“My mom has sacrificed a lot, and continues to,” says Sarah. “It takes an immense amount of patience. My brother is the most influential person in my life just because of the patience he’s taught me and I really appreciate the life’s lessons I’ve learned from him about accepting others. It does make me sad to know that my mom doesn’t necessarily have a life of her own. She works every day and works more when my brother gets home. She never ever gets a break. We have conversations about Adam because ultimately, when my parents are gone, the role falls on me. And the waiting list for places to live is long. I’m trying to encourage her to start looking for a place for him because finding a good place is difficult.”
In November, when Sarah gets married, she hopes Adam will be able to be in the wedding. No one can predict if he can fulfill the role he’ll be assigned in the festivities. Last year, at their grandfather’s funeral, instead of bringing the gifts up to the altar for the mass (as was the plan), Adam head butted Sarah in the church.
He can, on occasion, head butt, punch and bite. Years ago, when a man came to Nancy’s house to pick her up for a date, he hadn’t been in the doorway five minutes when Adam was in his face yelling. “He picked him up by the neck off the floor,” she says. “It didn’t end that relationship instantaneously, but I have never forgotten it. I just decided then that I cannot do this right now. It wasn’t fair to Adam and it wasn’t fair to me.”
Just as Nancy can “lose it,” so can others who care for him for any length of time. A couple of years ago when Nancy headed to Vermont to visit her sister, who was dying from cancer, Adam was staying at another caretakers home. He wasn’t sleeping, and “going nuts.” “Finally, this person called another person and said, ‘Can you please talk to Adam and try to calm him down?’” says Nancy. “As she went to hand Adam the phone, she said a few choice words to Adam because she was tired and angry. The person on the other end heard it and reported it. I had to come home from Vermont and pick him up. But, I’ve lost my temper with him, too, and said things that I’ve regretted. It’s human. There was this big investigation and she lost her ability to work with kids in Massachusetts.”
His inability to truly relate to others emotions, says Sarah, can be maddening, as it was on the day of her grandfather’s funeral. “I wanted to just say, ‘Adam, do you have any idea what is going on? Are your problems so problematic that you can’t just put the friggin’ gifts up on the altar with me?’ Everything is just such a production. But I don’t want to paint a picture that he is a monster. He has great qualities. But it’s moments like that. The thing with autism is that they are self absorbed. You might be crying next to them, and they say, ‘I’m hungry.’”
Having afflictions like Adam’s, and anyone having to take responsibility for them hardly seems fair. As anyone with an autistic or handicapped child will tell you, it drastically changes the scope and view of your world – for worse, but for better.
@DROPCAP: It’s difficult to even clue in to the fact that your child isn’t developing “normally,” never mind accept it when it becomes apparent. Everyone’s got a different take on when your little boy or girl should be walking and talking or how and when they should drool or utter a word. For new parents Nancy and Richard, it would take a good year or so to realize there was anything wrong, and 10 years to hear the words “autistic tendencies.” Nineteen before Adam was called “clearly autistic.”
Nancy endured, as she recalls, a “pretty normal pregnancy” with Adam. But it was difficult from birth; by the end of January, 1980, she was overdue by 18 days and doctors finally induced her. It didn’t work, and Adam was born C-section on Jan. 28. “He was only five and a half pounds,” says Nancy. “So they were watching him from day one. They put him in an intermediate nursery, and he was having blood sugar issues. He was shaking a lot. My mom told me later that the first time she saw him – she had had five babies, and she knew something was going on.”
After a week in the hospital, she, Adam and Rich headed home, and the signs that things weren’t quite right were apparent to Nancy early on. It was nearly impossible to nurse him; he’d stiffen his body, push straight up and scream. “He was such a challenging baby,” says Nancy. “He never slept. He had projectile vomiting constantly. He was screaming all the time. I didn’t sleep for a long time.”
That first year revealed more question marks that are easy to see now in hindsight. Rich has a small picture of Adam taken at a photographer’s studio during the time. His hand is under the blanket holding Adam up because he couldn’t sit up. “He was delayed in learning to stand up and walk,” says Rich. “He was even more delayed in his speech. This was the more heartbreaking experience over time. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to tell someone something and the person doesn’t understand. It was Nancy who recognized his delays over time.”
Nancy had a book that highlighted developmental milestones, and was also watching friend’s babies hitting those milestones. Adam just wanted to sit on her lap and look around. He didn’t roll over, crawl, walk or talk.
The delays prompted Adam’s pediatrician to set up a meeting with a neurologist before his first Christmas. For Rich, it was startling and devastating when he found out his son was diagnosed with microephaly and was probably going to be mentally retarded. “I remember asking if he would catch up,” says Rich, who was a music teacher at the time. “When the doctor said, ‘not totally,’ I wanted to know how much he would be delayed. I didn’t understand what it would mean for all of us, but I suddenly understood as a parent that not everything is under our control, and that some of our life’s plans and expectations hang on assumptions that we probably had no right to make.”
Nancy wasn’t shocked; the diagnosis tagged a title to Adam’s actions. She does battle depression, but tends to have an accepting philosophy about life. “That’s how I’ve always been,” she says. “I’m a quiet person and I don’t depend on a lot. I guess my expectations have never been really high. Oh, that doesn’t sound too good, does it? It’s just that I depend on myself. That is what I’m trying to say. I’ve never had a big plan in my life, like this is what I’m going to do when I’m 30, etcetera.”
Rich admittedly had a hard time at first, but his denial and depression dissipated. “Later, I became more faith-filled because of the challenges,” he says, “but at first, I felt like Adam’s disabilities were a punishment for my own selfish attitude toward life.”
At a year and a half, Adam was able to pull up to stand, and by 19 months, he could walk.
By age three, he used his voice to yell and would frequently cover his ears. But Adam seemed so oblivious to sound that they tested his hearing by calling his name from behind, also ringing bells behind his back. Both times, he responded immediately. But he didn’t follow verbal directions and his scores were below a six month level in language skills. He “prefers solitary play, has short attention span, skills are severely delayed, especially cognitive and language skills,” read a report from the Early Learning Center in Sturbridge.
They wanted him to go to a typical preschool, at first putting him at St. Joseph’s in Leicester with his sister. But when they tried to place Adam at a program at the Mason Road School in Dudley, it erupted in an arbitration battle with the Special Ed Director of the school system. Ultimately, the Davis’s won after a stressful fight. “He was little and didn’t have behavior issues yet at all,” says Nancy. “He was really easy going and fun and happy. He was just slow, and he never played with other kids. That’s another trait of autism. They call it parallel play. You know, two kids playing with a truck next to each other but not interacting.”
Other programs followed, including the Mercy Centre in Worcester, Dawning Place at Oxford Middle School and a year-round program at the Leicester High School. Puberty proved to be a marked change. Once a fairly easy-going kid, Adam’s nature turned more angry in elementary school. It was also the start of bowel issues that have gradually resulted in him losing full control of them. He started to suffer seizures, too.
“Two things happened after puberty,” says Nancy. “The anger increased and the happy kid disappeared. And around 13 or 14 – and this is a little graphic – um, his bowel movements became huge. He would go longer and longer between bowel movements. They were so huge that they were not flushable. I had to cut them with a plastic knife. One time I was at a party and he had a huge bowel movement in the toilet, and there were no plastic knives to be had, so I had to pick it up and put it in the trash. So I have lost my sensitivity to the whole thing long ago.”
Though he has “attractions,” Nancy says for Adam they would never manifest in a physical thing because he wouldn’t allow himself to get close to a person. “He would never be able to tolerate having someone close to him. He does like girls better than guys, though. It’s so funny – this morning, he’s yelling at me when I am getting ready to go. And the woman who picks him up in the morning he loves more than anybody right now. She’s a pretty young thing. He’s yelling at me as he’s going down the steps, and I hear the door open to the van and he goes, ‘hiiii, Melissa.’ His tone is so funny.”
In 1992, Rich and Nancy divorced. “Adam became the focus of our family,” says Rich. “Sometimes this can be a unifying force and in other cases this can be a separating force. In our case, it did both of those things at different times. Nancy and I ended in divorce, but I don’t see Adam as the reason that I happened that way.”
A doctor finally called Adam “clearly autistic” in 1999, putting further titles on what the Davis family already knew. His “toilet” issues, too, got to the point where Nancy was having trouble balancing work because of such things as trips to the gastroenterologist.
Today, Adam’s day starts at 5:30 a.m. He gets up, walks to the top of the stairs and yells, “bathroom!?” “Yes, Adam, go to the bathroom,” his mom replies. If he doesn’t ask and she doesn’t answer, he won’t go. She and his caretakers have to remind him throughout the day.
“He understands a lot,” says Nancy. “He is more intelligent than he appears. It’s hard for him to express himself. When Randy [their dog] had to go to the hospital, I had to get Adam out of bed. I said, ‘We have to take Randy to the hospital.’ He asked me what was the matter. I said, ‘Randy doesn’t feel good.’ Adam stayed in the waiting room there. They took him out of the side door when we left. They wanted to cremate him, but I asked to take him. They wrapped Randy up like a mummy on the gurney and took him to the car. Adam didn’t say anything until we were almost home. He pointed at Randy and said, ‘All gone?’ I said, ‘Yes, Adam, he’s all gone.’ He knows a lot. He can operate machinery. Computers. I’ve been told he’s just borderline retarded. It’s the autism that affects his ability to function in this world.”
@DROPCAP: Servicing people with disabilities, the 7 Hills Foundation is the largest private non-profit agency in the state. Linda Cournoyer is the family support area director for 7 Hills, blanketing the south valley area. That makes her the coordinator for Adam’s respite program and the flex funding (which is the reimbursement for medical supplies and additional respite hours) that Nancy gets from the Department of Mental Retardation. She not only helps Nancy and knows Adam well, but can relate. Her 37-year-old daughter Denise has disabilities, who she had to send to live in a group home when she was 13 because of extreme behavior issues.
“Between the Center of Hope, 7 Hills and the DMR, we give her what she needs to keep Adam home,” says Cournoyer, “but we all know that down the road she’s going to have to find a living situation for him. That will be so difficult. When Denise went off, it was like nobody needed me. It was devastating. You don’t know what to do with your life because your life has been Adam or Denise or any other kid with disabilities.”
Sarah agrees, saying she sees not only her mom, but many families struggle with the same decision: “Parents could be the parent of the year, and still feel like they failed. They feel guilt that they even had thoughts about sending their child to a residential setting. It just further shows how selfless they are, and what sacrifices they made for their kids. You cannot imagine the accommodations that parents have to make for these kids.”
Services for the disabled after the age of 22 are vastly different than when they are for “education age.” Not only is Nancy craving a life of her own, but financially, she has had to adapt to freelancing (she’s a graphic artist) and gets her health insurance by belonging to the Chamber of Commerce. Adam’s is covered by his dad’s insurance, and MassHealth kicks in when that stops.
Sue Loring is the director of the Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts, which is funded by the DMR. The Center is a portal to help those affected by autism sift through services and navigate information. A trained RN, Loring had a long, protracted struggle to get her son diagnosed. Edward, who is now 22, lives at home still because his cognitive impairment is such that he’s eligible for services through DMR. But 22 being the magic age, Loring is seeking a suitable living situation for him.
“He’ll be in a shared living situation,” says Loring. “It’s where another family sort of fosters them and they become part of another family that isn’t worn out and tired. But I just know when I breathe my last breath, I will say, ‘Who is going to take care of Ed?’”
And that’s what Nancy asks. Who is going to take care of Adam? Who is going to understand his quirks and know how to quiet him? Who will deal with administering the frequent stool cleanings he’s got to endure because of his bowel situation? Who’s going to care?
Waiting lists are long, and options are not plentiful, especially for a hard placement such as Adam. The staff turnover rate at group homes is high, and being in shared living isn’t necessarily ideal, either. “I’m going to have to pick one,” says Nancy. “And it’ll be within the next two years. That’s what my plan is. I mean, we do overnights every week and that was a big deal because eight years ago he couldn’t tolerate one overnight and now I get them all the time. So I think if we do it gradually, it’ll be better. I’d rather do it under my control then having him plunge into that situation.”
Working at home, which she has done for the past seven years, has reduced the stress level greatly for Nancy. But, as she’s given a good portion of her life to her son, it’s time to have one of her own. “I can’t do this forever,” says Nancy, “because I will die someday, or there will be a point where I cannot physically handle it. There have been times where I had pneumonia and I had mono, and it was very hard just cleaning him up in the bathroom. It’s normally hard for a parent when a child leaves. But it’s going to be doubly hard because I know he doesn’t want to leave. He wants his life to stay like this forever.”
