This week has been a special one for those of us who care about animals – it’s Be Kind to Animals Week! In 1915, the American Humane Association wanted to encourage compassion, kindness and humane treatment of animals. So they established the first national Be Kind to Animals Week. More than one hundred years later, animal welfare organizations in all fifty states are working to remind us that all animals should be treated humanely. Be Kind to Animals Week is the oldest commemorative week in the nation.
There are many ways you can be kind to animals. One is to provide the basics for your pet – shelter from heat in the summer and from cold in the winter, good quality pet food, a fresh supply of clean water to drink, and regular veterinary care. Another is to prevent your pet from running loose, keeping dogs on a leash or in a fenced yard, and keeping cats indoors. Outdoor cats have an average life expectancy of two-to-five years. An indoor cat has a life expectancy of thirteen years or more; some live into their twenties!
A third way to be kind to animals is to make sure your pet has an ID tag, a tattoo, or a microchip implanted. Millions of lost pets never find their way home because they have no ID.
A fourth way is to never leave your pet in a closed car on a hot day. Even just a few minutes in the shade with the windows cracked can cause your pet to die from heat stroke.
A fifth way you can be kind to animals is by having your pet spayed or neutered. Shelters are filled to overflowing with dogs, cats, puppies and kittens, and there are nowhere near enough homes for them all.
I have one final suggestion for being kind to animals - adopt one of my little homeless friends from your local shelter. Give a pet a chance, and make a friend for life!
I’m Mindy Norton, reminding you to be kind to animals – not just for a week but all year long, when you’re speaking of pets.
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