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Show A6 The Emery County Review, Tuesday, August 5, 2008 ANIMAL LIFE Pet & Livestock Health, Training Tips and Information From Puppies to Lizards: What Makes a Pet? Colleen Davis When beginning this article, the first thing I did was look for the definition of pet. Well some of what I found was that a pet or companion animal is: an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment, as opposed to livestock, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for other reasons. Pets also seem to provide their owners with health benefits; keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress for those who like having animals around. Walking a dog can provide both the owner and the dog with exercise, fresh air and social interaction. My research also revealed that for thousands of years people from all different places and cultures around the world cared for some animals simply because the liked them. Sometimes it was because of the way they looked, felt or the sounds they made. Some people chose the pet they had because of the status having such a creature gave them. Some animals are just good company and show an attachment to people. Pet is a word that started appearing in the English language as early as the 1600s. Pets are generally not expected to work for their keep and they are not eaten. People have been using animals for hundreds of years in many ways. Dogs have been used for generations as guards, for hunting, and herding, but as time has passed, dogs have been kept as companions and playmates. Then and now most family dogs are not purebreds although they still are recognized as retrievers, spaniels terriers, shepherds, hounds, and other types. Their looks reflect the kinds of dogs that are living in the community. At first domestic dogs appeared to have been similar in appearance. As civilization proceeded, dogs began to evolve so they could perform various functions in the community. Some were used to work with stock, while others served as guards. The selective breeding to develop dogs with deliberate physical traits began about 150 years ago. Today there are about 300 different breeds throughout the world. Cats were first introduced to help keep rodents and vermin away. What farmers from centuries ago saw and realized is that the crops and grains attracted vermin and rodents. The vermin then attracted cats. pigs, because they were easy to care for, didn’t have a long lifespan and are generally gentle. Chickens have also been considered to be a perfect backyard pet for some of the same reasons; they are easy to care for and are gentle and friendly. One of the most recent changes in the types of pets have been reptiles: lizards, snakes and turtles. One reason for this is because people are able to care for them, but also because a large number of our society finds lizards and snakes both dangerous and repulsive. Keeping a pet takes a lot of work and dedication, and involves a number of practices. These include providing the animal with a special diet or food, playing with it, giving it adequate shelter and sometimes even allowing it to live in our home or sit on the furniture or your lap. And one of the most important practices in having a pet is caring for it when it is sick or injured. The farmers then started encouraging the cats to stay by leaving out food that would attract them. Since they had a source of food. They moved in on a permanent basis. Being a naturally calm animal just as are feral cats today, they first started allowing people to approach them to be petted and then eventually to be held. What have been considered “children’s perfect pets”, are rabbits, mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters and guinea As I stated earlier pets have been part of our lives for hundreds of years and we continue to debate what our responsibilities are to them. The issues are difficult and opinions vary. Americans for the most part value their pets as companions and associate them with their happiness. Pet owners include the family pet as a part of their family life. They are included in family portraits, family vacations, holidays and also when buying gifts. Some pet owners celebrate their birthdays, and when the time comes they have a memorial service to mark the end of their life. Over time pets have become an important part of many of our lives, whether it has been a faithful pet or just one that we are used to having in the yard. So the question again is “what is a pet”? Well a pet in short is an animal that is a companion and brings us comfort, joy and in general helps us to be happy. DOG TALK Take the Time to Baby-Proof Your Pup for Safety Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis Authorities may never know what provoked a black Labrador puppy in Tulsa, Okla., to fatally maul 2-month-old Zane Alen Earles. According to The Oklahoman, the child’s grandfather placed him in an infant swing in the dining room before he and the baby’s father left the house Monday morning a little after 8 a.m. The boy’s mother ADOPT A PET and grandmother were asleep in their bedrooms at the time. A couple of hours later, Earles’ mother found her son dead in his swing. Tragic. And utterly preventable. Reportedly, there were two dogs in the household: the Lab and a pug. Both were taken to the Tulsa Animal Shelter, where the Lab pup was euthanized. Does this mean the Labrador retriever --America’s favorite dog for decades running -- will now plummet in popularity, as did the Rottweiler, as did the American Staffordshire terrier, as did the Doberman with each new attack? Does it mean we had this gentle breed pegged wrong all along? Absolutely not. It means breed is largely irrelevant. It means we as dog owners must be aware of the dangers of mingling infants or small children with dogs. It means we as parents must be vigilant in ensuring our kids are safe around the family pet. A 2-month-old child left alone with a dog -- any dog -- doesn’t have a chance if that dog suddenly feels threatened and decides to act on it. Babies are particularly vulnerable: They are physi- cally fragile. They lack the strength and coordination to defend themselves or get away. They wail, they flail, they kick and scream -- all of which can be irritating to the canine sensibilities. And when baby starts to crawl, the dog simply sees one of its own down on the ground on all fours. A little confused roughhousing is all it takes for a small child to be seriously wounded -- even by a small dog. It’s also possible for your baby’s toys to be the irritant. An infant swing, for example, is in constant motion when turned on: back and forth, back and forth. This motion can feel threatening Animal Hospital Large & Small Animals Cats by the Armful (435) 637-5797 or 1-800-718-5797 These 8 week old male domestic long-hair kittens are looking for a place to call home. One is black and white and one is orange and white. They can be yours for $55 each, which includes neuter and rabies vaccination. An AVID Chip is also available at the time of the adoption for $12. This pet and many others are available at the Emery County Animal Shelter in Castle Dale, 490 West, SR-29. Call 381-2539 for more information. We Carry Science Diet Pet Food A MeMBer of The AMericAn AniMAl hospiTAl AssociATion J. Boyd Thayn, D.V.M. 1989 Airport Road Price, UT to a dog in close proximity. If you bring an infant swing into your house and you have a dog, do your pooch, your child and yourself the favor of letting the dog get used to that motion before adding the child to the mix. Set the swing up in the room where you plan to keep it. Turn it on and leave it on --childless -- for an hour or so every day for a week. Watch your pup’s reaction. Gauge his tolerance. If he’s not comfortable with it, he should never be allowed in the room when it’s on. But even if the pooch seems fine with it, keep your child under adult supervision at all times. With babies and dogs, tragic accidents can happen with even the tiniest or gentlest of breeds. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by statistics or even by what you know about your dog. The only way to baby-proof your pup is to keep the two of them under careful and constant adult supervision. Woof! (Dog trainer Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis is coauthor of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and host of the PBS series “WOOF! It’s a Dog’s Life!” Copyright 2008 Creators Syndicate, Inc.) Sequoya Boarding & Grooming ASSA Member Cheryl Sorensen Alisha Roberts There are many advantages to having your pet spayed or neutered t#FUUFS CFIBWJPS t'FXFS IFBMUI QSPCMFNT t/P VOXBOUFE QVQQJFT PS LJUUFOT We offer many advantages in our surgical packages All patient’s receive: 7JUBM T NPOJUPSJOH EVSJOH TVSHFSZ t $#$ CMPPE UFTUJOHt *7 QPSU Options that increase safety and comfort of your pet are: 1SF BOFTUIFUJD CMPPE XPSL UFTUJOH t *7 øVJET t 1BJO NFEJDBUJPO UP UBLF IPNF Glen Jensen, DVM Hand Scissoring & Shaping 28 Years (435) 384-2665 100 East Rock Canyon Road, Clawson 7 miles South of Castle Dale Specializing in training, handling and exhibiting of AQHA horses in Halter and Western Performance. Hal & April Schiffner www.risingsunqh.com Sharmon Gilbert, DVM 490 West Hwy 29 Castle %BMF t 435-381-2539 Quarter Horses and Arena, LLC (435)749-7120 (cell) • Castle Dale, UT |
