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Show Wednesdoy, Pet ember 28, 1983 Yefflal ExpfBSS 1 3 Cfaoostmigj She pefl ft infiieeft yyir mieedls ONE OF the more popular cats that needs little or no care is a stuffed animal named, "Garfield." By Traci Menke Express Assistant Editor Choosing a pet to meet the needs of an individual or family is often a complicated com-plicated and difficult decision. There are many things that must be considered before the final decision on what type of pet will meet your needs. Some of the major things to consider in choosing a pet are the cost and the future health care and feeding costs of the pet, the responsibility of caring for the pet, the size of the pet and what age group the pet will satisfy best. Two of the most common types of pets that families choose are kittens and puppies, but when choosing one of these animals people must remember that kittens and puppies grow up to be cats and dogs. When choosing a kitten or puppy, families must consider the size of the home or apartment the animal will be living in and also the size that the animal will become. Veterinarian Sid Hansen said some of the things to remember when choos ing a cat or dog are whether there will be somewhere for the animal to get exercise. ex-ercise. He said the decision of who will be responsible for the feeding of the animal and who will house train the animal if they are to be indoor pets should be made before the pet is brought into the home. Hansen said when choosing a cat or dog as a pet, the family must also consider con-sider what it will cost to feed them and the health care of the animal. Health care should include the rabies shots which are requried by law and other inoculations. He said that the family should also consider the possibility of whether they wish to have their animal spayed or neutered. Parents should educate the children about what the animal's needs will be before bringing the pet into the home. He said that the feeding and care of the animal is a responsibility that must be taken care of daily. According to Cindy Collaso with LC's Pets, when choosing a kitten or a puppy, people should consider not only the size of the pet but also the ages of the children. She said that often times larger breeds of dogs and cats make better pets for small children because it isn't as easy for the children to harm the pet. Some of the more popular breeds of small dogs include Poodles, Pomeranians, Pomera-nians, Snauzers and Cockers. Large breeds that tend to be good with children include Basset Hounds, Beagles, Collies and Labradors. When choosing a kitten as a family pet, Mrs. Collaso said, often the mixed mix-ed breeds are the best. She said that often times the purebred cats are high strung and are better as show cats. However, before the final decision on what breed of cat or dog is made, the person should research the tempera ment and size of the animal. Other popular pets include fish, HAMSTERS CAN make excellent ex-cellent pets, but caution should A MIXED breed of cat often is be used when handling the best for small children. animals. r" 0, t i f. J birds, gerbils, hamsters and turtles. According to Mrs. Collaso, one of the most important things to consider in choosing one of these types of pets is the age of the children. She said that fish make a good pet for almost any age group because "it's a good way to teach responsiblity." According to some medical studies, watching fish in their bowls or aquariums can also help lower blood pressure. When choosing fish as the pets, Mrs. Collaso said, the family should consider con-sider whether they want to keep the fish in a bowl or an aquarium. She said that if the family decides to keep the fish in a bowl, a goldfish is a good choice. Loran Reynolds, at Loran's Barber Shop and Tropical Fish said that goldfish can better stand the changes in water temperature than other species. He added that goldfish can even be frozen in ice and then thawed out and are still able to survive. If a family chooses to have tropical or exotic fish, they should consider getting get-ting an aquarium. He said that tropical fish cannot withstand changes in temperature of the water and need to have warm water to survive. Reynolds said that a good temperature to keep fish contained in a bowl healthy, would be about 70 degrees. He also said that the bowl should not be kept in front of a window because the sunlight can cause algae to grow and the bowl will turn green. When feeding the fish, he cautioned, families should be generous with the amount but not overfeed. Mr. Reynolds said that overfeeding can cause the water to turn cloudy and can be harmful to the fish. He also said that families should be careful about the number of fish they keep in the bowl or aquarium. Some of the conveniences of having a fish as a pet is being able to leave it by itself if the family goes on vacation. Mrs. Collaso said that many pet stores now carry automatic feeders and weekend and vacation feeders. She said the automatic feeder is powered by electricity and automatically dispenses the fish food once a day. Weekend or vacation feeders come in a tablet form and rest on the bottom of the tank. Fish can then nibble on the tablet and eat what they want of it. The tablets come in various sizes to accommodate accom-modate the length of vacation. Mrs. Collaso said that some other things to include in a fish bowl or aquarium are snails, frogs and algae eaters. She said that an algae eater helps to insure the cleanliness of the bowl or tank. According to Mrs. Collaso, birds can also make very nice pets. Some of the more popular type birds are parakeets, finches, cockatiels, parrots, par-rots, and canaries. One of the more important things to consider when choosing a bird for a pet is whether you want a bird that can W 3- 4 it- ; I. . 1 1 1 a i i v - 7 rr . 4 , vN talk. Mrs. Collaso said that there are several breeds of birds that can be taught to talk. Again the size the bird will become is a major consideration, when choosing choos-ing the one to meet your needs. Many birds can also be taught tricks: When choosing a bird for a pet. con sideration must also be given as to what type of food to give the bird and whether or not it will be confined in a cage. She said some birds tend to bite and should be in the view of small children, but out of their reach. Mrs. Collaso said that she would generally recommend hamster and gerbils for families that have children over the age of five or six. She said that the reason she recommends the children be older is because the animals often cannot take a lot of handling and tend to bite. She said also because of their size small children often harm the animal by squeezing them. Veterinarian Sid Hansen said that he would also recommend gerbils and hamsters for children that were about five or older. He said that the animals make fairly good pets because they are relatively clean animals. As in the case of birds, when choosing choos-ing a hamster or a gerbil as a pet the family must consider what type of food they will use and the type of cage they will need for the animal. It is often good to have a wheel or ball of some sort in the cage so the animal can get some exercise. A method should also be devised to contain con-tain the animal safely in its cage. Often times they escape and hide in various locations throughout the house. In the case of turtles, Mrs. Callaso said, with water turtles one of the most important things to consider is the method of confinement. She said that the turtles can survive in water but need to be able to get in and out of the water at any given time. Depending on the size of the turtle, she said, often a small baby tub works quite well. Families should remember ' to put enough water in the tub for the turtle to swim around. She said families considering the turtle as a pet for small children should remember to get a type of turtle tur-tle that doesn't bite when handled. She said that snapping turtles are not the only turtle that bites. Other things to be considered when purchasing a turtle are the size of the turtle and the responsibilty of keeping its living quarters clean. Mrs. Callaso said that families should wash their hands after handling turtles. Some of the more exotic pets that people choose to care for include snakes, tarantulas, and tree crabs. At the present time none of these animals are available at local pet stores. According to Sid Hansen, there has been quite a lot of research done on the effects that different pets have on peo ple. He said that one of these programs involves the matching of certain people peo-ple with the right pet for them. Dr. Leo Brustad with Washington State University is currently using computers to match people with animals. The program deals basically basical-ly with dogs and cats at the present i 1 SOME OTHER creatures can also be kept in an aquarium with fish. TURTLES ALSO make ex-cellent ex-cellent pets and often require little care. time. Brustad is trying to match up elderly, home bound and handicapped persons with the particular breed of animal that meets their needs. He uses information about the animal's temperament, size and cost when determining the needs of the individual. - -.'d FISH ARE pets that can help teach responsibility and are easy to care for. There is also medical evidence that watching fish can help reduce blood pressure. f I f - V -" ' v x- I j- r 4m, ' , . ' j' 3 (' -; . ' 4 ', i ti ( ' . - i . ' ) 1 3 : -..." - . WHEN CHOOSING a cat, the size and type of cat are a key element ele-ment in choosing the right one. Consideratiqn must .also be given to the health and feed cost of raising a pet. 4 , f I 5 . 3 i r NO ccp I r ; h9 : '" i N..., . ' . ' "t ,' : v& & v i WVI ' m . v " V ' i 'ft- n . v T .5 T';A7 ji f .... .J ) S 4 ' BIRDS OFTEN make very good pets and tan be taught to do tricks and even to speak. One of the more popular birds shown in the picture is a parrot. WHEN CHOOSING what type of dog will meet the needs of your individual family, one should consider what size the dog will be when full grown. MRS. CINDY COLLASO with LC's Pets, displays a basket hound puppy. Basset hounds tend to be good pets tor families with sii children. i |