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 If you're concerned about just how
safe the food is you're feeding your pet, you're not alone. Since 2004 there's
been a pet food recall an average of every 3 months, leaving pet owners fearful
and uncertain about what products are safe for their pet. Your pet trusts you
to do what's best for them, so follow these precautions to make it less likely
your pet will suffer from a pet food recall.
First of all, regularly check online for bulletins about tainted pet food. The
FDA and Humane Society regularly update their websites about pet food recalls,
and you may even consider joining an online community that will notify you via
email or text message when there is a new pet food recall. If you learn that
your pet's food has been recalled, stop feeding that particular product to your
pet immediately and contact your veterinarian, even if your pet doesn't
seem to be experiencing any unusual symptoms.
You can typically return the recalled product to the store where you purchased
it and get a full refund without a receipt, but it's probably a good idea to
print out the recall information from the Internet and bring it along with you.
If you decide to dispose of the recalled pet food instead of returning it, make
sure you deposit it in an area not accessible to animals. Double bag it into
heavy duty garbage bags and place it in your trashcan, or take it directly to a
dumpster if you're worried about an animal breaking into it. For more
information on returning the food or disposing of it, contact the manufacturer
of your particular pet food.
Once you've disposed of the contaminated pet food, you'll need to thoroughly
clean anything that may have come in contact with it, like the plastic storage
container you use to hold it, your pet's bowl, plastic place mats you might
keep underneath the bowls, etc. Use an antibacterial cleaner or a mixture of 1
part bleach and 4 parts water to sterilize the items, making sure you wear
gloves to protect yourself, too.
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Adding a pet to your family can be a valuable
part of your child's growing up process, with the pet offering friendship and
companionship for your child, a source of exercise, and, if you train your
children to interact positively with your pets, a source of responsibility. To
ensure both your pet and your child are kept healthy and safe, however, you'll
want to teach your children general safety guidelines when interacting with
pets.
Teach your child to never approach an animal that's not accompanied by an
owner. Teach them that, if they're ever approached by an animal they don't
know, to stand still like a tree. Teach them that acting calmly around any kind
of animal will keep it at ease and less likely to act out of fear or confusion.
Discourage children from screaming, taunting, or running wildly around animals
as this may cause them undue stress and lead them to act aggressively.
According to Marie Bellew Wheatley, president and CEO of the American Humane
Association, "Any animal may bite -- even family pets. So parents should supervise children when
they play with any pet, and they should teach children the best ways to
approach and treat animals, to avoid being bitten." Make sure your child
knows not to get too close to the pet, or grab the bowl away, while the pet is
eating, since there's always the chance of a pet getting possessive/aggressive
when it comes to food. Lastly, teach your child not to touch the pet's waste
and wash their hands after playing with the pet.
Pet owners and parents with children have the ability to teach children how to
safely interact with animals, and it's a good idea for the safety of children
and the pets who love them -- or even the ones that don't know them.
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 Since the ancient Egyptians, pets have been
cherished for the benefits they offer their owners, including companionship,
loyalty, and affection. Studies conducted in recent years have proven that pets
provide more than just love and company. In fact, owning a pet can actually
improve your physical and mental health, with pet owners experiencing lower
stress levels, decreased blood pressure, and a reduced likelihood for
developing depression or heart disease.
In a study by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), 92 percent of
pet owners indicated that they derive a host of health benefits from their
pets.
In addition:
76 percent of respondents claimed their stress levels are
reduced when their pets are around.
65 percent of respondents said that their mental health is
improved by their pets.
31 percent said their physical health had improved by
accompanying their pets on walks, trips to the park, playing fetch, etc.
What other benefits are there to owning a pet, you might wonder?
Lower Health Costs - A 2001 study by the United States
National Institutes of Health showed that those with pets are less likely to
make trips to the doctor, especially for non-serious medical conditions. And,
interestingly, coronary patients who owned pets were more likely to be alive 1
year after being treated with a heart condition than the patients who weren't
pet owners.
Less Stress- Exercising with a pet, especially walking, or simply
spending time with your pet helps to reduce stress by soothing nerves and
offering instant relaxation. The State University of New York at Buffalo
conducted a study where they gave participants difficult math problems and
found that the group of participants who owned a pet had lower blood pressure
than the group who didn't own a pet in the same stressful situation.
Healthier Emotional State- Owning
a pet helps fight feelings of depression and loneliness, providing pet owners
with a more positive outlook on life. The affection from the pet gives the owner
a sense of security, and their responsibility for the pet gives them more of an
interest in life.
If you've ever owned a pet, or do currently,
you'll likely agree with this statement by AAHA President Link
Wellborn: "Pets are...more than just a member of the family - they are
central to a healthy lifestyle."
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 Dogs, cats, and other pets do
have feelings, but it's often useful to interpret their feelings in the context
of their worlds, not ours.
If you've watched a dog while its family was away on vacation before, you
probably noticed the pet was subdued --and sometimes even looked depressed and
lonely, jumping on their family, barking, and wagging their tail manically when
they were reunited. Studies have shown that canines are capable of experiencing
a wide range of emotions-- in a similar manner to the feelings humans
experience, giving whole new meaning to the moniker "man's best friend".
It is normal to feel that pet companions are sympathetic; you'd like them to be
when you vent to them at the end of a stressful day. Cats are notoriously
jealous of new kittens added to the family, or a new baby, often taking a
considerable amount of time to adjust to the change in family structure, much
in the same way that a child with a new step-parent might. So how can we know
what emotions pets feel, and what feelings they don't? The answer is, of
course, we can't because we can't ask them... but we can observe them
and compare our findings.
Charles Darwin concluded that there is an emotional and cognitive continuum
between animals and humans, and that animals experience the same range of
emotions, just not the same degree. A dog may get anxious simply because it
can't find its toy, whereas a man may get anxious when his wife's flight is
delayed, which might make him late for his meeting. It's the same emotion, just
a different degree of it. So before you think Goldie the Goldfish is just a
invertebrate swimming circles in her fishbowl consider this: a 2007 Canadian
study indicated fish may even have their own distinct personalities, making a
bowl full of fish possibly as diverse as a room full of preschoolers.
Jane Goodall's work with primate research found that primates have highly
developed capabilities for empathy, forming strong bonds of attachment, and
mourning within their highly complex social systems. When Goodall trained Koko
the Gorilla, she taught her 1, 000 words in American Sign Language and, upon
the accidental death of Koko's beloved kitten All Ball, Koko communicated the
signs "cry" and "sad" to her trainers, adding more evidence
to the fact that animals, in fact, do experience emotions, even if the
range of them is shorter.
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Foster Care for pets
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Foster guardians for pets provide similar
services that foster parents do for children: providing them a safe and
supportive temporary home until they are placed in a new home. If you're
looking to help animals who are newly recovered, rescued animals, homeless, or
abused, consider opening your home -- and your heart -- to become a foster
guardian for pets. Look for animal fostering groups in your area; as foster
care is needed for nearly every domestic animal imaginable, from dogs, cats,
and birds; to exotic pets, horses, and farm animals. Animals need your help,
and providing animals in need with a loving and caring environment is one of
the best things you can do. You can offer foster care even if you already have
pets, assuming your pets get along with other animals. Be prepared though, for the small expense of
food, toys, and other items to make the animal's transition into your home more
comfortable. Like owning a pet, becoming a foster guardian to a pet in need is
a big responsibility and not to be undertaken lightly, but the rewards are
great.
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Fun Pet Facts
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Did
you know that the old rule of multiplying a dog's age by 7 to find the equivalent
human age - is fallacious? A dog is able to reproduce at 1 year and has reached
full growth by 2 years, so to more accurately calculate a dog's age in human
years, count the first year at 15, the second year as 10, and each year after
that as 5.
Nearly all but two breeds of dogs have pink tongues. The two
exceptions? The Chow Chow and the Shar-pei, both with black tongues. 
The Basenji is the only barkless dog in the world.
The Poodle haircut was originally meant to improve the dog's
swimming abilities as a retriever, with the pom-poms left in place to warm
their joints.
32% of homeowners have at least one cat.
Cats have some of the sharpest hearing in the animal kingdom. If you often find
your cat waiting for you at the door when you come home, it's because he or she
can hear and recognize your footsteps from hundreds of feet away. 
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