A pet in the House !

They make us happy, entertain us, give us unconditional love and delight us with their company.  A number of studies have concluded that sharing life with pets contribute to having a healthier, longer life for their humans.

In addition to offering good company and much happiness, having a pet as a member of the household make people play and exercise more frequently, take leave of their problems more easily and handle anxiety and stress much better.  When the pet is a dog, their guardian nature gives, on top of this, an increased feeling of security to its owners.

Children who grow up with pets derive great benefits from this relationship as , besides having marvelous times playing with them,  the love that they receive from the animal contributes to improving their self-image and their sense of responsibility. 
It also makes them better able to assimilate the important aspects of life such as birth, growing up period, reproduction and death.  A child with pets is usually also more sociable.

Those with pets receive much love and company, but in exchange they must make an effort to care for the pets and to try to learn about them to understand them better and provide for their well being as much as possible.

Most families choose a dog or a cat, but there are others that prefer the company of a hamster, fish, canaries, rabbits or even reptiles.

Dogs and cats have spent millennia at the side of humans and are perfectly adapted to share our lives and be happy at our side, and thus are the two ideal species to add to the family.


 

Simple guide for a happy pet
It’s interesting that as pets adopt our customs the quality of their lives gets worse.  Giving them snacks, holding them in our arms all the time, over feeding them or bathing them too often can cause them severe harm. 
Feeding them and taking them out for walks are the most important things,  but there are other key factors for their total wellbeing.

*Provide for them a diet that is complete and according to their needs. ( age, level of activity, etc.) No snacks, fried nor highly spiced food.

*Give them verbal and physical love. It’s good for them and for you.
 
*Be alert for early symptoms of illness or parasites.  While you are petting them is a good time to check them out.  If you notice anything unusual, consult your veterinary.

*Provide a private area for them.  Dogs like to have a dark and somewhat private area. The memory of underground lair is still in their genes.  For the more audacious cats, however,  the part of the house that “belongs to them” is simply the entire house….every last corner of it, and they will define their “intimate” areas as they choose them themselves. 

*Keep them active.  Play with them. Make them “think” (for example: hide and call them, make them smell new aromas, etc.).  Take them out for walks and let them run loose for a little while.

*Take them to a veterinarian for a check up at least every 6 months.

“If you love something… let it free.  If it returns, it’s yours.  But if it doesn’t come back, it’s because it never was”.
Those who have pets in a cage for simple aesthetic pleasure, “altruism” or snobbishness, have the wrong motivation.  To use a living being as a simple decorative object, not valuing it nor giving it the love it needs, is a selfish and harmful feeling for the prisoner ,which sadly tends to be an animal of wild ancestry and in many cases, an endangered species.
Wild animals are happy in the wilderness, not in a cage.

DID YOU KNOW?The common belief that dogs are color blind is false. They can see them, but not as intense as we do.

Source: Veterinary Faculty- Standford University

DID YOU KNOW?

A group of animal lovers in Playas del Coco have founded C.A.R.E, to protect our "little brothers", the animals. If you want to joint or collaborate with the group, contact Nancy Woodhouse at 2670 2058.

We also invite you to follow their example and organize the animal lovers in your community. Contact C.A.R.E to learn from their experience.

Click here to visit CARE's Web Site (in English) 

Towards the end of the Paleolithic period in Europe, some 30 thousand years ago, when humans already used stone tools but had not yet learned how to polish them, small bands of dogs started to follow closely behind these nomadic tribes in anticipation of leftovers from their hunts. 

In time these prehistoric men and dogs established a friendship and such closeness as to develop an spontaneous alliance. Anthropologists consider this alliance to be the key for the successful expansion of both species. 

The association with the dogs helped decrease infant mortality, reduce hunting accidents and surprise attacks from the large predators. Which is the relationship?  When those men left for the hunt, most of the dogs were left at home protecting the women and children in what at that time was a vulnerable tribe.  Other dogs, taken on the hunt, increased the efficiency and diminished the risks of each of these trips.  And thanks to their powerful senses of smell and hearing, predators and enemies could never again take them by surprise.