Adoption Option

WARL ADOPTION OPTION

Meet Fuzzy

Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes. WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at (508) 853-0030.

Fuzzy came from a large group of guinea pigs who were surrendered since their family did not have the time to spend with them. Fuzzy and the other male guinea pigs in the home were not getting along, so Fuzzy will be adopted as an only guinea pig. Potential adopters who would like to try to bond Fuzzy to another male guinea pig will need to do the appropriate research to accomplish this. Otherwise, plan to provide Fuzzy his own housing. Fuzzy's foster mom has this to say about Fuzzy: "Fuzzy enjoys being in his cage and popcorns (jumps) around it. He does not like to be held but enjoys being petted when you sit with him and loves to greet you by standing on top of his igloo." Fuzzy is pee pad trained (only pees on pee pads) and is very vocal. As a special consideration when adopting Fuzzy, be aware that he is quite dominant, wants to be the boss guinea pig. Potential adopters should be aware of the cleaning and health needs of male guinea pigs. Proof of homeownership or landlord approval is required to adopt. Prior guinea pig experience is preferred.

WARL COVID-19 Procedures

As of Nov. 9, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we want to share with you some changes we have implemented so that we can continue to serve the pets and people of our community while keeping our team protected. h ADOPTIONS: At this time, adoptions are being held BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. If you are interested in adoption, please visit our website worcesterarl.org/ adopt/ to learn more about our available animals then call us at (508) 853-0030 ext.0 or email us at info@worcesterarl. org to schedule an appointment. h CASUAL VISITS TO THE SHELTER are prohibited. We will strictly enforce this in order to keep our animal care team protected while still maintaining the most essential function of our operation ... finding homes for animals in need. h ANIMAL SURRENDERS: Our business practice for surrendering a pet remains the same. All pet owners must contact WARL in advance of surrendering a pet. Please call (508) 853-0030. h SPAY/NEUTER CLINICS: All scheduled appointments will be honored. If you have a scheduled appointment, we will be contacting you to discuss changes to our drop off/ pick up procedures. h DONATIONS ACCEPTED except for open bags of food. h Pet food, cat litter, and other shelter supplies will be essential in continuing to provide for our animals and to assist community members in need. To avoid unnecessary travel and exposure, items can be purchased online from our Amazon Wishlist - https:// www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3AX342JIL73M0 h Weekly training classes are going on for adopters. h The WARL Volunteer Program is temporarily suspended. All regular volunteer shifts are on hold. We look forward to welcoming you back as soon as we can. We have many animals in our care who depend on us to stay healthy and well. The above measures help to protect our staff and community from the spread of COVID - 19 by minimizing face-toface interactions while continuing to operate only core essential services. Please continue to follow our Facebook page for additional updates. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the shelter at (508) 853-0030 or info@ worcesterarl.org.

Fuzzy is available for adoption through WARL.

MELISSA SWISHER RICHARDSON

Blues

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the cheating parents who paid him six figures — he earned $25 million total — to secure their kids seats at high-end schools such as Yale, USC and Stanford. The dialogue is taken verbatim from FBI wiretaps, and it will make your skin crawl. Responding to a parent concerned about her child’s ability to score highly on a standardized test, Singer chuckles, “The score will be whatever we want it to be.” To fulfill his pledge, he hires someone to take the test for the girl.

The Varsity Blues scandal feels like it was eons ago rather than a couple of years, so I’d forgotten the sheer brazenness of what went down. In the film, Singer is portrayed by Matthew Modine as someone who regards his crimes with casual indifference. He’s almost robotic in his sales pitch to the parents, delivering marketing come-ons and calm reassurances that they’ll never get caught, not even by their own children (some had no clue their college future was being engineered by Mom and Dad). When a nervous father asks Singer, “Is this going to be a front-page story?” I shouted, “Yes it is! Sucker!”

Singer had accomplices, including unscrupulous coaches who for a hefty payout “recruited” rich, non-athletic kids into phantom positions on their teams (the Yale soccer coach took home $800K). Singer typically cut checks from a bogus foundation to cash-strapped small sports programs, like water polo and crew, under the guise of helping them stay solvent. Talk about rigging an already rigged game.

Most of the coaches pocketed the proceeds — but not all. One of the film’s few good guys is Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer, who naively believed Singer was making a legitimate gift to the sailing team and who used the money to improve the program. The coach pleaded guilty rather than risk a lengthy trial, yet the judge declined to give him jail time, recognizing that he’d been scammed.

My other hero is the unnamed guidance counselor who blew the whistle on Loughlin’s daughters, questioning why they had been admitted as coxswains on the USC crew team when neither had participated in the sport in high school. The counselor was subjected to a tongue-lashing by Loughlin’s designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, for revealing the truth, but he had the last laugh. Giannulli served five months.

Matthew Modine as Rick Singer in a scene from the Netflix film “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal.”

NETFLIX