the house of pets is in effect, y'all...
I think I live in a pet store.
About 3 years ago, we bought a dog. A pomeranian, to be exact. She's a good dog, a little crazy at times, but who isn't. And having a dog that weighs less than 10 pounds is good when you have little children who would be squished by a larger breed of dog.
Then we bought two rats. They're both dead now (of natural causes).
We replaced them with four mice. Three of them were pregnant. One was male. He wasn't to blame, though. They were pregnant when we bought them. Ultimately, we ended up with 27 mice. 17 went back to the store. We now have 10, all females.
Then we bought a fish. A red betta. His name was James. He died (again, natural causes) and was replaced recently with a blue fish. Ten points if you can figure out why his name is Thomas...
Last week, we went out and picked up a cat. She's a five year old female cat. She's overweight.
Why an adult cat? Well, we wanted to give an animal a chance to live. Adult cats usually end up sitting at the pound for a while and then end up euthanized. People want kittens or little puppies, not full grown animals. So, she came home with us. She's a good cat and she gets along with the humans and other animals in the house.
My message (or public service announcement, if you will) is:
If you're going to buy a small animal (fish, mouse, rabbit, etc..), go to the pet store. I can't think of any pound or humane society that has fish in stock. Or mice. Rabbits can sometimes be there...but not always.
If you're buying a larger animal, go to the pound and pick up an adult animal. They need as much love as any of those kittens or puppies do, and they might not get it if you decide to pick up a baby animal. Just make sure you check the animal over before you sign anything. They can't always afford to have a vet on staff and you'll be stuck with any bills to bring that cat or dog up to snuff. Check the teeth, too. Blackened gums are a sure sign of infection and will cost about $150.00 to fix. And if you don't fix them, your animal is going to lose some teeth, which means more money in the future. And soft food, too.
And spay or neuter your pets. The pound has more than enough unwanted animals, and it does have health benefits for your animal.
And get rabies shots for them. It's cheaper than having to replace your pets, and nobody deserves to die that way. In a small town like North Bay, 80% of the pets do not have their rabies vaccinations. That means if your pet goes outdoors, there's a good chance they'll get infected. Think about what that means in a larger city...
Now my wife wants a ferret.
I no longer think I live in a pet store.
I know I live in a pet store.
And remember:
About 3 years ago, we bought a dog. A pomeranian, to be exact. She's a good dog, a little crazy at times, but who isn't. And having a dog that weighs less than 10 pounds is good when you have little children who would be squished by a larger breed of dog.
Then we bought two rats. They're both dead now (of natural causes).
We replaced them with four mice. Three of them were pregnant. One was male. He wasn't to blame, though. They were pregnant when we bought them. Ultimately, we ended up with 27 mice. 17 went back to the store. We now have 10, all females.
Then we bought a fish. A red betta. His name was James. He died (again, natural causes) and was replaced recently with a blue fish. Ten points if you can figure out why his name is Thomas...
Last week, we went out and picked up a cat. She's a five year old female cat. She's overweight.
Why an adult cat? Well, we wanted to give an animal a chance to live. Adult cats usually end up sitting at the pound for a while and then end up euthanized. People want kittens or little puppies, not full grown animals. So, she came home with us. She's a good cat and she gets along with the humans and other animals in the house.
My message (or public service announcement, if you will) is:
If you're going to buy a small animal (fish, mouse, rabbit, etc..), go to the pet store. I can't think of any pound or humane society that has fish in stock. Or mice. Rabbits can sometimes be there...but not always.
If you're buying a larger animal, go to the pound and pick up an adult animal. They need as much love as any of those kittens or puppies do, and they might not get it if you decide to pick up a baby animal. Just make sure you check the animal over before you sign anything. They can't always afford to have a vet on staff and you'll be stuck with any bills to bring that cat or dog up to snuff. Check the teeth, too. Blackened gums are a sure sign of infection and will cost about $150.00 to fix. And if you don't fix them, your animal is going to lose some teeth, which means more money in the future. And soft food, too.
And spay or neuter your pets. The pound has more than enough unwanted animals, and it does have health benefits for your animal.
And get rabies shots for them. It's cheaper than having to replace your pets, and nobody deserves to die that way. In a small town like North Bay, 80% of the pets do not have their rabies vaccinations. That means if your pet goes outdoors, there's a good chance they'll get infected. Think about what that means in a larger city...
Now my wife wants a ferret.
I no longer think I live in a pet store.
I know I live in a pet store.
And remember:
A pet is for life, not just for Christmas!
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