Pets are usually your child’s first best friend. A family pet is a great way to show your child unconditional love as well as teaching them about friendship, responsibility, loyalty, and empathy.
While most families adopt a cat or a dog there are other options available as well. Rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, small birds, and some fish can make great family pets, for instance, as long as they receive the specialized care they need. Big and small animals alike need the proper attention and care.
Adding a pet as a new member of the family is something that you are going to want to consider and discuss carefully as these pets become a lifelong friend that depends on you.
Here are eight things to consider when considering what type of pet to adopt:
1. How old should my child be before we get a pet?
2. Should we get a young animal or an older one?
3. What kind of dog is best with kids?
4. What animals shouldn’t be pets?
5. How should my child interact with pets?
6. How can I help my pet feel safe?
7. How can my kid help care for a pet?
8. How can I teach my kids to take good care of pets?
Continue reading for answers from the hummane society.
/24-7PressRelease/ - CAMPBELLVILLE, ON, CANADA, April 04, 2007 - Many people give adorable baby bunnies as pets at Easter. In a few weeks the babies grow up, the children lose interest and the rabbits are evicted to fend for themselves or end up in shelters. Thousands of rabbits are waiting in shelters for loving homes. Some of these rabbits have become Super Bunnies and their entertaining show can be found at www.clickerbunny.com and on YouTube. This Easter, give a plush or chocolate bunny as a gift and then visit local shelters as a family to find the perfect bunny for a pet.
Rabbits can make wonderful pets. They are smart and entertaining, each with its own distinct personality. Many baby bunnies are purchased on impulse at Easter without consideration for the long term commitment and care required. Rabbits can live up to 12 years, must be fed and housed properly and require attention, training and vet care just like a cat or dog. The adorable baby bunny grows to an adult in a few weeks and many are neglected, abandoned or surrendered to shelters. Once a family has decided that they want a rabbit for a pet, the best place to look is the local animal shelter or rabbit rescue organization.
Rabbits can be trained to come when called, go into a carrier, use a litter box and other useful and entertaining behaviors. Canadian authors and animal trainers, Joan Orr and Teresa Lewin wrote the book, “Getting Started: Clicking with Your Rabbit” published by Karen Pryor Clickertraining. This is the first ever book on the subject of clicker training rabbits. “We have been getting a terrific response to the bunny book”, said Joan Orr. “Many people did not know that rabbits can be trained and can learn as well as dogs can”. “Clicking with Your Rabbit is an eye-opening adventure into the minds of rabbits!”, said pet journalist Janice Biniok. “I’m for anything that helps us enjoy our pets more, encourages us to build stronger human-animal relationships, or deepens our understanding and appreciation of our fuzzy companions, and this book does it all.” The www.clickerbunny.com website provides information, resources and videos for those interested in clicker training their rabbit, ferret or other small pet.
In order to promote adoption of shelter rabbits and to showcase the talents of clicker training rabbits, Andrea Bratt-Frick of BUNS (Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter) in Santa Barbara California (www.bunssb.com) has created the entertaining Super Bunnies video which can be viewed at www.youtube.com (search for Super Bunnies).
The House Rabbit Society is promoting the purchase of chocolate rather than live bunnies for Easter through the “Make Mine Chocolate” campaign (www.makeminechocolate.org).
Give a chocolate or plush bunny for Easter and then do some research into the care and raising of rabbits and visit your local shelter as a family to pick out the perfect bunny pet.
For information about clicker rabbit training visit www.clickerbunny.com.
LOS ANGELES, CA — (MARKET WIRE) — February 12, 2007 — Planetwide Media today announced the launch of the National Geographic Kids Silly Pets Comic Book Creator. The interactive entertainment self-publishing software, to be sold in major retail stores and through online retailers, allows kids and families to create personalized comics books featuring their pets along with a vast collection of National Geographic photographic imagery and artwork.Kids can create their own customized comics, comic books and storybooks, which can then be posted to blogs, emailed to friends, or printed out and shared with others. Planetwide’s Drag ‘n Drop Comics technology allows users with minimal computer and design skills to make their own unique and authentic-looking comics by “dragging and dropping” images, text, icons, symbols and artwork into a selection of more than 100 layout and design templates combined with the users’ real-life experiences with their pets.
The retail box version of National Geographic Kids Silly Pets Comic Book Creator software will be available through mass market, electronics and online retailers in the United States and Canada. The retail box version will be sold for $29.99 and will be available at retailers’ websites and at http://www.mycomicbookcreator.com.
“Planetwide Media’s mission with National Geographic Society is to provide the most intuitive and innovative educational software for families to allow them to easily share and self-publish their stories online and through user-generated-content online printing methods,” said Kevin Donovan, president of Planetwide Media. “Our goal was to provide a personal media platform for National Geographic members and others to share stories important to them, including fun events and their family roots, with friends and families across the world.”
About Planetwide Media
Planetwide Media (a division of Planetwide Games, Inc.) provides a unique and patent pending, interactive, self-publishing personalized media platform for a wide audience of emerging consumers in the digital media space. The company provides web enabled tools, software applications and video games that provide personal interactivity. The company’s signature product, Comic Book Creator™, is a best of breed digital media platform that embraces User Generated Contest (UGC) and enables users to blend their creations into their social networks, their blogs and across the web. Comic Book Creator is an easy to use platform that provides the consumer with a richly enhanced interactive digital experience. Planetwide Media is currently licensing the Comic Book Creator technology and partnering with world-class entertainment, video game, sports, music and lifestyle brands worldwide.
Visit http://www.myplanetwide.com, http://www.mycomicbookcreator.com and http://www.hypercomics.com for more information.
SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ — Superbowl(TM) Sunday’s best gridiron battle no longer takes place between sweaty men in pads and helmets; it’s puppies unleashed! Animal Planet’s PUPPY BOWL III, premieres on Sunday, February 4, from 3-6 PM (ET/PT). Get in the game with tackles, fumbles and fouls from playful pups that just can’t get enough of the action. Frolicking kittens return for an all-new edition of the BISSELL KITTY HALF-TIME SHOW.These pups know that no football game is complete without a stellar game bash. This year, Animal Planet introduces the all-new TAILGATE PARTY — where perfectly poised pups sit and cheer for their favorite players to come out on top. Join Choop the Chihuahua, T-Rex the Poodle and Jake the Jack Russell Terrier as they watch the big plays from game day’s hottest tailgate party. Things may get a little “ruff” on screen, but these adorable spectators don’t seem to mind as they root on the players.
“Since it first aired in 2004, viewers of all ages connect with PUPPY BOWL in a unique way and now look forward to making it part of their Super Bowl festivities every year, and we do our best to keep it fresh and entertaining,” says Maureen Smith, Animal Planet Media Enterprises executive vice president and general manager. “This special is adorable, and fun to watch while it informs viewers about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets and the need for adoption of homeless pets. During this year’s Puppy Bowl, we encourage viewers to go onto our new sister service, Petfinder.com, to look for a new furry family member.”
PUPPY BOWL III cameras catch all of the rig-”grr”-ous action of the puppies as they pounce and play with one another in their brand new stadium. With instant replays, the popular water bowl cam and flags for “puppy penalties,” viewers can decide which pup is their favorite. As in previous years, viewers have the chance to choose the game’s MVP (Most Valuable Puppy) by logging on to http://www.animalplanet.com. Animal Planet will tally the vote and announce the winner after the game.
Many of the charming canines featured in PUPPY BOWL III come from the Washington (D.C.) Animal Rescue League and other local shelters where countless animals wait to find good homes. While on the website, Animal Planet will direct viewers to its sister service, PETFINDER.COM, the best resource for finding adoptable pets. Here, interested viewers can obtain more information about adopting a pet in their own community.
For all the feline fans, the BISSELL KITTY HALF-TIME SHOW is back for round two! The frisky felines strut their stuff on a glittery stage and chase each other around the field. Prince’s performance has nothing on these tiny tabbies and cuddly calicos, which proves that batting around a ball of yarn is all the entertainment you need. It’s the pick of the litter for halftime shows!
PUPPY BOWL III, the BISSELL KITTY HALF-TIME SHOW and the TAILGATE PARTY are productions of the Discovery Production Group. For Animal Planet, Margo Kent is the executive producer. Animal-friendly companies such as Bissell Homecare, Inc., Pedigree and Subaru are sponsoring the special.
Animal Planet Media Enterprises (APME), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications Inc, connects humans and animals with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for entertainment, information and enrichment. APME consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in over 89 million homes in the US; online assets http://www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; PetsIncredible, a major producer and distributor of pet-training videos and includes web service PetVideo.com; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.
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This is simply tragic. I never quite understood having a pet in a home. It just seems like a recipe for disaster.
Read more.
I’ve always been wary of having clowns on hand for a child’s birthday party. You know, the kids might get frightened and all. That’s one thing. But having a cougar on hand is not something that strikes me as a good idea, ever. Apparently, not everyone agrees with me.
A 4-year-old girl was mauled at a children’s birthday party by a cougar that had been brought in by a wild-animal business to entertain the youngsters, authorities said.
The girl was attacked on Nov. 18 at the home of Goya Foods president Francisco Unanue during a party for his 7-year-old child and suffered severe cuts on her eyelid, cheek and ear, authorities said. Doctors sewed back part of her severed ear.
Police said Wild Animal World owner and trainer Corinne Oltz removed the leashed cougar from its cage to show it to the children, but the girl sneaked behind Oltz and startled the animal. The declawed cat seized the child’s head with its teeth.
I stand corrected, the 4 year old probably does. Read more.
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