Newspaper Page Text
Page 6A
The Braselton News
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Social
Cookie sale
begins Jan. 4
With the new year on the hori
zon, the Girl Scouts of America
say it’s time to start thinking about
Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Do Si Dos
and all the other varieties of Girl
Scout Cookies.
America’s favorite fund-raiser
begins Jan. 4, when Girl Scouts
and Brownies will go door-to-door
taking advance orders for cookies
and moms will start bringing the
order forms to work so co-workers
can plan to break their New Year’s
resolutions related to dieting.
The sale is billed as “an integral
part of Girl Scouting’s Business
and Economic Literacy initiative”
because it provides real life expe
rience in finance, marketing and
public speaking and gives Scouts
experiences that help build self-
confidence.
The girls learn to manage inven
tory, set goals, manage money
and develop marketing skills.
Essentially, they operate their own
business. The entire troop sets a
goal and follows a plan leading
toward fulfillment of that goal.
Many successful women have
credited their business skills to
their days of selling Girl Scout
Cookies.
For the rest of us, it’s about the
cookies — the Samoas, Tagalongs,
All Abouts, Trefoils (the original
Girl Scout cookie), Do-Si-Dos,
Thin Mints (the most popular),
Lemon Chalet (a former regular
returned to the lineup) and — new
this year — Sugar-Free Chocolate
Chip. The fact that they have
no trans fats is beside the point,
which is that they’re delicious and
support a good cause.
Cookies cost $3.50 per box. They
will arrive the week of Valentine’s
Day, and during February Scouts
will sell cookies from booths at
various locations.
The troops will also offer patrons
a chance to donate cookies to a
local nonprofit agency that will be
determined by local Scouts.
The Girl Scouts of Northeast
Georgia serves more than 7,000
girls and adults in 25 counties.
Mobile veterinarian claims pets are happier with house calls
VET SERVICES ON WHEELS
Dr. Becky Shelton (left) calms golden lab puppy, “Sawyer,” prior to routine shots and surgery in her
mobile clinic parked at the home of Jimmy Smith, Flowery Branch. She is assisted by Jacki Flores.
Though I can't say I
have walked a mile in
their paws, I can easily
imagine how traumatic
it must be for pets when
their owners take them
to veterinary clinics for
routine medical atten
tion.
The strange medicinal scents
and the echoes of yelping dogs
and meowing cats has to be any
thing but soothing to their keen
senses of smell and hearing.
Such an experience can prove
similarly stressful for the people
who bring them there. And it’s
not always pleasant for the doc
tors who must treat them in such
a state of anxiety, either.
“I would rather stick my hand
in a buzz-saw than remove a ter
rified feline from a cat carrier,”
said local veterinarian Becky L.
Shelton.
“When it comes to basic medi
cal attention like shots, neuter
ing, and the treatment of most
common ailments, pets are much
happier when treated in familiar
surroundings,” she explained.
That is precisely why Dr.
Shelton decided to gear her
veterinary practice exclusively
to house calls throughout Hall
County, the Braselton area, and
neighboring communities.
And to facilitate this, she
drives a state-of-the-art animal
clinic on wheels to wherever her
services are requested.
Although her Shelton Mobile
Veterinary Service has been in
practice since 1998, she didn’t
pursue a career in veterinary
medicine until almost 10 years
after graduating from high school
in Lilburn. Instead, Shelton
first joined the Air Force and
remained in that military service
for nine and a half years.
“But when I was about to be
transferred from Warner Robbins
A.F.B. to Korea, I didn’t want to
go there and decided to resign,”
she said.
Shelton, then, went back to
In Focus
with Fil
Fil Jessee
filwrites@aol.com
school under G.I. Bill benefits,
and graduated with a B.A. degree
in business administration.
Soon thereafter, she entered the
University of Georgia School of
Veterinary Medicine, and gradu
ated there in 1994.
After assisting Dr. Jane White
at the Murrayville Veterinary
Clinic until 1998, Shelton opted
to do something on her own. She
worked as a nighttime emergen
cy vet for Pets Are People Too, a
24-hour animal hospital system
based in Atlanta, and began her
own business by making house
calls from her car during the
day.
Shelton acquired her mobile
clinic that same year from
Dogen Industries, Humbolt,
Iowa, a well-known specialist in
the manufacture of mobile labs
and medical rescue vehicles.
And although this company
offered several standard designs
suitable for her business, she
had the option of customizing
some of the equipment to fit
her special needs. Consequently,
her unit is well-equipped for
minor surgery with the latest in
anesthesia and a pulse oximeter,
which monitors heart rate and
the percentage of oxygen in the
blood.
“The oximeter is pretty impor
tant because it lets me know
how an animal is doing under
anesthesia. And because ani
mals still can’t talk when they’re
awake, our ability to do blood
work on the spot gives us a lot of
essential information quickly,”
she explained.
Some serious pet injuries and
life-threatening medical prob
lems require Shelton to refer
patients to animal hospitals bet
ter equipped to handle these and
to board the animals where their
recovery can be closely moni
tored for an extended period.
But aside from such critical
care needs, her mobile services
can easily address a broad range
of animal health, first aid and
dental needs. In addition, her
assistant, Jackie Flores, handles
pet grooming requirements
under the separate trade name
“Road Clips.”
In addition to dogs and cats,
Dr. Shelton also attends birds,
rabbits, ferrets, and other caged
pets. However, she does not
cater to farm animals or, as a
rule, confined wild animals.
But Dr. Shelton does respond
to occasional calls from the
Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in
Dahlonega. There, her most
memorable assignment was
patching up the injured paw of a
full-grown African lion.
“I had to close a cut after the
animal was tranquilized with
a dart, and just prayed that he
wouldn’t wake up until I was
through,” she said.
Because Shelton charges
$60 for a trip fee but nothing
for a basic exam, her services
are especially economical for
people with several pets or for
neighbors who want to share the
cost of a house call for annual
inoculations and routine check
ups. And her visits also provide
a convenient alternative for the
elderly or people with several
small children who find it more
difficult to transport pets to stan
dard animal clinics.
When I asked Dr. Shelton
what she enjoyed most about
her work, she said: “I like what
I’m doing because I have always
loved animals. My job would
just be perfect if I never had to
deal with some of the people
who own them.”
I’m guessing that some of
the more difficult pet owners
who prompted that comment are
the impatient types who don’t
always understand why she
can’t attend to their needs within
an hour or two of their calls. It
usually takes at least a week
before Dr. Shelton can fill an
appointment request, sometimes
longer during the busy summer
months. But as the saying goes,
“good things come to those who
wait.” And where mobile veteri
nary care is concerned, there’s
no doubt that these words fit
“those” with four legs as well.
Shelton Mobile Veterinary
Service can be reached by phone
at 770-538-0743, but be pre
pared to leave a message. The
doctor generally returns calls in
the evening, following her daily
round of appointments.
Fil Jessee lives in Braselton,
where he works as a freelance
journalist. He can be reached at
filwrites@aol.com.
birth announcements
Gavin Peyton
Welchel
Anthony and Amanda Welchel
of Commerce announce the birth
of a son, Gavan Peyton Welchel,
on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007,
at St. Mary’s Hospital, Athens.
He weighed seven pounds, one
ounce and was 19 inches long.
He joins a sister, Macey, 7.
Grandparents are Michael and
Darlene Thornhill, Hoschton;
the late Van Welchel, formerly
of Hoschton; and Jimmy and
Doris Stevens, Pell City, AL.
WELCHEL
Great-grandparents are Ruby
Thornhill, Hoschton; the late
M.J. Thornhill, and the late
Tommy and Sue Shipman, all
formerly of Hoschton.
r“7
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• The Jackson Herald • The Commerce News • The Braselton News
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ft UNITY LODGE
F & A.M.
No. 36, Jefferson, GA
1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
A. Ben Wurtz • 706-367-1400
Borders St. behind Tabo’s 260
JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB
Meets Tuesdays
Jefferson City Clubhouse
12:30 p.m. • (706) 654-2237
Clay Eubanks, President
260
COMMERCE
^AMERICAN LEGION
Commerce Rec. Dept. Post 93
Carson Street - 1st Mon. night
Each Month, 7:30 p.m.
335-6400
BANKS COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
meets first Monday each month
7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial
Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441
North in Homer pd.-2/2008
JEFFERSON
^AMERICAN LEGION
Albert Gordon Post 56
Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Harvie Lance, Commander
Phone (706) 654-1274 310
■ Georgia Real Estate Investors
Association, Inc. - Athens
Meets the third Thursday each month
7:00 pm at the Holiday Inn
197 East Broad St, Athens, GA 30601
Tom Hewlett - Chapter President
mailto: the wlett 1 @charter.net
website: www.gareia.org pj jo/07
The Jackson Co. Republican Party
Would like you to meet us for
breakfast the second Sat. of each
month, 8:00 at The Jefferson
House. For more information, call
706-652-2967 or email
fishyglass@yahoo.com Pd.os/os
BANKS COUNTY
EgS AMERICAN LEGION
Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 pd,06/os
VETERANS OF
‘W FOREIGN WARS
Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr.
Each 4th Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Mike Buffington, Commander
Phone 706-335-6532 263
JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB
Meets 2nd & 4th Monday
Jefferson City Clubhouse
6:30 p.m. • (706) 367-1400
Mark Bradley, President
260