PET ADOPTIONS
(Off Topic)

Sickness and animals

Before visiting a pet store, how about checking with local shelters and rescues to find an animal who needs a home? Shelters and area rescues not only support cats and dogs, but some of them also take in rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, hamsters, and other animals large and small. NOTE: Adopting a pet is NOT a way to get a cheap pet. It is a way to provide a loving home to a furried friend who will really appreciate your love. Adoption costs of certain animals may be about the same as the pet store prices.

Before adopting or buying any pet, please fully educate yourself about the care the pet will need. Do your homework, and do not rely soley on the information provided by petstore employees. If you are getting a pet for a child, please realize that if the child loses interest, the ultimate responsibility for the care of the pet, including cleaning the cage, exercise and attention, will lie with the parent.

The cruelty some people show to animals truly breaks my heart. What I also find upsetting is the way pet stores treat their pets. For example, very few pet stores separate their small animals by sexes. This results in pregnancies of animals before they are ready, and in-breeding. Neither is healthy for the critters. The pet stores claim that pets cannot be sexed at a young age. However, this is simply not true. Pet stores also sell products that are not necessarily healthy for your pet. For example, cedar chips are toxic to small animals.

Great Sites:

Petfinder.com: Search listings of adoptable pets, large and small.
Shelter Directory, USA: Find shelters in your area.

Useful Info:

Questions to ask before getting a pet
Companion Animals for People with Chronic Illness
Benefits of Pets In Healing
Petinfo.org

Forums:

here (dogs, cats, hamsters, pigs, guinea pigs, rabbits, chins, birds, horses, rats, mice, gerbils, ferrets, reptiles)