Mommy, can we get a kitty (or doggie) for Christmas!!!

Millions of Children this holiday are asking this very question! During the holiday season, tons and tons of parents contemplate the decision of when is the right time to bring an animal into the family.

A very simple answer is, "when your ready."

Although coming to that conclusion raises many questions of its own. Is my child old enough to take on the responsibility? Do we have enough time to care for the animal properly? Am I ready to make a commitment for the life of the animal, which could mean any where from 10 - 20 years, depending on the breed and type of animal your decide to adopt. Some other tough questions include, do I adopt from a shelter, a pet store or a breeder. What are the benefits and challenges to adopting from these facilities.

Animals and Children

Animal Welfare agencies suggest that parents should not expect children to take full responsibility for caring for the animal no matter how old they are. The ASPCA of New York City has a great guide and interaction advice on pets and children (http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=edu_resources_kidsandpets).

In general, children are capable of helping with tasks such as feeding and walking, etc. with close adult supervision at all times.

Selecting an Animal That's Right for My Family

When it comes to selecting an appropriate companion, take into consideration that although puppies and kittens are extremely cute, they are extremely vulnerable around young children because kids tend to handle animals a little too roughly and this may result in injury to the child or the animal. Your best bet is to consider your home and children carefully and then contact a reputable organization such as a shelter or breeder and ask them to steer you towards an animal that will be a good fit for your home. These professionals should be willing to spend time in order to make a good match for you and the animal, if not, best to select another adoption facility that is willing to take as much time as necessary to perfect the adoption.

Selecting a Facility, Shelter (Rescue Group), Pet Store or Breeder

I don't hide the fact that my first choice is always to go to an animal shelter that has a good reputation and properly cares for the animals that come into their facilities. Many shelters have purebreds and using petfinder.com makes it easy to locate just about any type of animal --purebred or mutt.

Some things to look for in a good shelter: do they have a successful adoption program, i.e. do they employ temperament testing on their animals and does the facility look clean and are the animals well cared for. To find a good shelter, you can search on petfinder.com or ask your vet. The great thing about adopting companion animals from a shelter is that you're saving a life and there's nothing better than that to get that warm and fuzzy feeling. You're also helping to make room for other homeless animals, and giving them a chance at happy home in the future.

Breeders

If you feel that you must get your companion animal from a breeder, be sure that they have a good reputation. You should ask for references from past adopters, and be sure to meet the animals parents (Mom and Dad) and assess their temperament carefully. If you don't like the personality of the animals' parents, often times that is a good indication that animals from this litter may not be a good fit for you. You'll also want to check at least three generations worth of blood lines to make sure you are getting the quality being advertised. Finally, any reputable breeder should be willing to take back the animal under any circumstances, should you realize that its not a good fit. If they don't have a return policy, find another breeder!

Pet Shops

Please refrain from adopting your animal from a pet shop. Most of the time these animals come from Puppy Mills and horrible conditions. More often than not, these animals are not socialized and it takes a lot of work and professional training before they are confident in their new families. If you still feel that you have to save an animal from a pet shop, ask for references, try to find out about where the animal came from, their health history and what their return policy is. Still not convinced about the connection of Petshops and Puppy Mills, than check out this website and I'm sure it will change your mind http://www.njcapsa.org/

Just in time for Christmas

Although its wonderful to see a child's face when Santa delivers that new pet on Christmas morning, please be mindful that this is a very chaotic time to bring a new animal home. There are dangers associated with Christmas trees and choking incidents with gift wrap. More often then not, many families have visitors or go out visiting much of the time. All this can lead to stress for both the animal and the owners, which isn't good for anyone.

If you do decide to adopt during the holiday, do so with thoughtful consideration. Then sit back and enjoy your new companion. There's nothing like bringing home a new addition to cap off the holiday season..

Best wishes for Health, Happiness and Prosperity in the New Year!

Rose Tropeano-Digilio

Plans for New Shelter in Bridgewater, Too Small, You Decide

I recently read an article about the plans for the new shelter in Bridgewater and I must say I'm a bit disappointed.

Although the new shelter will be somewhat larger, they will not have enough space for a real life room, or community room and the cats will be stuck in the same very small cages they always been in.

You may ask, why is it important to have a community room and a real life room at the shelter?

The short answer is that in order for the shelter to adequately meet the needs of the community and their animals, they simply need a bigger shelter.

One of the main reasons that animals are surrendered (both dogs and cats) is due to behavioral issues that are hard to solve on your own. Through programs like Training Wheels (http://www.suesternberg.com/) and similar educational programs, Somerset Regional Animal shelter is trying to evolve to meet these needs. A real life room will allow to them to properly assess animals personality traits and thus in the future, hopefully reduce surrenders and decrease the shelter's animal population.

In tandem, a community room will help the shelter become more of a resource rather than just a place to give away your pet. With use of a community room, the animal shelter may hold training sessions and offer education that could also lead to a decrease in the number of surrendered pets and allow owners to learn practical training tips that will help improve the animal-human bond.

As we come into the holiday season, please consider this --in the event that you have to relinquish your cherished furry friend, wouldn't you feel more comfortable surrendering it to a facility that seemed well equipped and gave you the impression that not only were they going to provide for the basic needs of the animal (food/water/shelter) but mental enrichment as well?

Making Howl-o-Ween Fun for You and Your Pets

Halloween is just around the corner, and if you haven't noticed there are plenty of fun things to do with your pets.

The Somerset Regional Animal Shelter is having a Halloween Adoptathon and fun day on October 27 at the shelter (http://www.fosras.com/), Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter (http://www.njshelter.org/) is having a Halloween Photo Event on October 23 and Tewksbury Township is hosting Bark in the Park, http://www.tewksburytwp.net/.

In terms of costumes Walmart, Target, Petco and Petsmart all have great costumes for your pets. It's so hard to decide because they are all cute.

Halloween can a fun time for you and your pets if you keep safety in mind. Always remember that CHOCOLATE IS TOXIC to animals and should be kept well out of reach!

For more details on how to keep your pet safe during Halloween, please visit http://www.aspca.org/.

Happy Halloween!

Vick's Pitbulls - Are they Good Family Pets?

It's recently been announced through an article by CNN that all but one of Michael Vick's dogs will be placed with families as pets or a sanctuary so that they can be socialized and interact in a positive manner with humans.

I for one, don't think I would feel comfortable owning one of these dogs and having them interact with children because of their fighting history, even though they have been professionally evaluated by behavior experts. I seriously question if these dogs would make "good family pets."

In addition, many dogs will be sent to a sanctuary to be socialized. Is this really a responsible and compassionate decision? Because I wonder if these dogs will have quality of life in a sanctuary. Will they truly have interaction with people, or will they be locked up in cages 90% of the time and left to their own devices?

I fear that many will end up going kennel crazy, a fate which is indeed worse than death.

Unfortunately, this is a tragic situation. These dogs have already been through so much - I would hate for them to have to endure life in a cage.

Pet Accessories

I was shopping in Walmart the other day and noticed that they have just displayed

some very nice doggie sweaters and T-shirts - Very Cute!!

My only question is -~~~Where's the CAT STUFF!!!

Don't get me wrong - I love love love dogs very much - even though I don't share my home

with one at this time. It's just extremely frustrating to walk through aisle after aisle

of doggie items then find that the store only has a quarter of one aisle of cat accessories and toys.

Is anyone else frustrated with this - or were you successful in finding interesting cat toys aside from the obvious places such as Petsmart and Petco, etc.

Welcome the pets blog

Welcome to the Courier News pets blog. Please be sure to share your thoughts.