More than ever, pet adoption has become a hot topic. With so
many homeless dogs and cats out there, adoption agencies are doing
all they can to make it easier for prospective pet owners to
connect and find a special furry friend that needs a home.
More than ever, pet adoption has become a hot topic. With so many homeless dogs and cats out there, adoption agencies are doing all they can to make it easier for prospective pet owners to connect and find a special furry friend that needs a home.
Locally, the Animal Shelter in San Martin has a great selection of prospective pets. If you are considering a new cat or dog for your family, take a trip over there sometime. You’ll be amazed at the number of pets available for adoption.
More than that, you’ll find it difficult to walk away from all those cute faces. These pets are wonderful and many of them would be a great addition to almost any family. The shelter in San Martin has weekday and Saturday hours. Go visit them sometime soon.
There is also a Web site where adoptable pets around the world can be seen online. Petfinder.com showcases homeless pets worldwide via the internet. You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home to see these animals. Just click your mouse to scan pictures and descriptions of lots of cats and dogs that need a home.
But let’s pass on a word of warning. Internet searching sounds neat and convenient, but nothing can replace that one-on-one contact when you visit a shelter. Most new pet owners that adopted a shelter animal will tell you the same story. Their pooch or kitty actually “picked” them. The story usually sounds something like this: “Here I was at the shelter and out of a group, Fluffy came over and sat in my lap. She wouldn’t let me leave. I just had to take her home.”
That’s the way it works so often at the shelter. Looking on-line for an adoptable pet might be fun. But in the end, you can’t do better than the experience of a visit to the Animal Shelter in San Martin or one of the many other local adoption agencies.
Here’s a question for you. Do you talk with your pet? Do you actually carry on a conversation? As it turns out, more than 60 of pet owners converse with their dog, cat, or other pet. (I actually thought the number would be higher.) This was one of many interesting statistics recently published in a veterinary journal. And the majority of those responding to this question felt that their pet actually understood them and enjoyed these “discussions.”
In our household, there is a definite difference in how each of us interacts with each of the animals. I really enjoy sitting on the back porch in the evening with Rumpy, our cat. We check to see how the day has gone for each other. He eagerly runs over to me when I sit down and he jumps in my lap to get the conversation started. The trials and tribulations of the day seem to disappear immediately. This truly is one of life’s great moments, and I’m glad to hear it is shared by so many pet owners.
Finally, I’ve been asked to make a list of the most common pet names. Over so many years of private practice, I never actually took a poll. But after asking around our clinic, I put up a short list. Bear (or Oso), Sammy, Ginger, Brandy, Buddy and Lady are very popular these days. But to complete the survey, I did an internet search for common pet names. And the #1 name on the list of 30 most common pet names was Max. Fido, Fluffy and Spot didn’t even make the top 30 list (come to think of it, I didn’t see Rumpy’s name there either!).
A lot of names are chosen at random. In other instances, children have fun naming a new family pet after some character in a favorite movie or television show.
But many pet names are part of a story. Rumpy the Cat is a good example. Rumpy entered this world as a breech birth … rear end first. His name came naturally.
One of our good friends couldn’t decide on a name for his new terrier pup. He and his wife tried several, but the little guy paid no attention to any that they tried. One morning, my friend’s wife found the pup in the bedroom closet chewing on a sock. She screamed, “Outta here!” Their pup ran out and then for some unexplained reason, came right back to her. He sat at her feet, and looked up to her for approval. Over the next few days, he responded the same way whenever anyone yelled those words. He would always run over and sit at their feet, looking up and wagging his tail. His name from that time on … you guessed it … “OuttaHere.”
I’ll bet some of you have similar stories about your pet. And we’d like to hear from you. If you have a pet with an unusual name, let us know how he or she got it. And watch for some of these in upcoming columns. We’ll see who has the funniest story to tell.
