By MiskaMoo
a.k.a. Miska

If any of you got new family pets for Christmas, I am happy for you. Pets are wonderful! They keep you company when you are lonely and make great listeners. They are great to play with and talk to; they go places with you and have fun with you. They are always happy to see you, too. I love it when people give a lonely pet a new home!

If any of you have gotten a new pet recently, I would love to hear about it. Please write and tell me about your new friend! If you send a picture I will have my friend John post it on this site so that the whole world can see your special friend.

Pets come with responsibilities. You will have to feed and water and walk your pet. You may have to do other things like groom your pet or, if you got a fish or a gerbil, clean its house. If you have a new puppy or kitten, you will have to train it. You will need to spend time with your pet, and buy it food and toys. You will need to take it to the veterinarian when it gets sick, and find someone who will care for it if you go on vacation. Pets are a lot of fun, but they are also a lot of work! Your pet depends on you for everything. That's a lot of responsibility!

This is a picture of Akhenaten (Awk-en-ah-ten, or "Aki" to his friends), a yellow Labrador retriever puppy who lives with one of the people who work at Wolf Park. His human mommy read a lot of books and thought for a long time before she took him home. She had all the things a new puppy needs ready for him when he came home, too. She enrolled Aki in a "puppy class" to help train him and get him used to travelling in the car, going strange places, and meeting other dogs. She took him to the veterinarian to get vaccinations and had him neutered when he was old enough. That cost a lot of money, and took a lot of time! But Aki is a wonderful dog and a good friend and has a home for life.

Some people get pets before they are ready to have them, or without knowing how much work is involved in having a pet. Because they do not have the time to train their new pet or clean up after them, they may get rid of their pet. People take their unwanted pets to shelters or sometimes just leave them by the side of the road. Never just abandon your pets on the road! Most pets do not have the skills to survive on their own. Most do not know how to hunt or find shelter. Abandoned pets usually starve to death or get hit by cars. A few lucky ones may get picked up by local animal shelters.

Please think carefully before you get a pet. Buy a book about the pet you want and find out how much effort you will have to put into your pet. Go to web sites which can help you select a pet that is right for you. Talk to others who already have pets. Offer to take care of other people's pets to learn about how to properly care for them. Get experience with the kind of animal you want to keep someday. Then it will not be such a surprise, and you and your new friend can have a happy future together.

By the way, if you are looking for a new friend, consider getting one from a local animal shelter. There are many homeless animals just waiting for a new friend just like you to come and take them home. If you would like to help save animals who need a home, you can go to web sites such as that of the Humane Society of the United States to find shelters in your area.

Until next time, this is MiskaMoo, saying, see with your eyes -- and with your heart.