Pets have their day on North Royalton's City Green
The North Royalton Animal Hospital’s annual “Pet Carnival” held from 1-4 p.m. also attracted a 110-pound tortoise, two cats, one horse, a skunk and one falcon.

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Brazil’s pampered pets get best hospitals money can buy
SAO PAULO, Aug 16 — When Pierre’s regular check-up revealed his kidneys were struggling and he needed dialysis, there was no question what to do. His owner, Cibele Dominigues, admitted the little white terrier for weeks of costly treatment in Veterinarian Hospital Dr Hato, an ultra-modern animal clinic in Sao Paulo that boasts it is the best and ...

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very funny! this is why children need their pets!

Homeowners remodeling with their pets in mind
There was a time when pets were pets. They had bowls and beds, and that was about it. Then something changed.

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Couple makes life a treat for pets
It's been at least 15 years since Bill and Virginia Hilker started parking along the Redondo Beach Esplanade to watch the sun set. | » PETS BLOG

Read more on Daily Breeze

Dogs and cats are great pets, but they require an awful lot of work to keep them healthy, happy and well adjusted. Food, shelter, veterinary costs, plus time, grooming and whatever extras you factor in can really add up quickly, making some people question whether pet ownership is really worth it in the long run. For some people, the lessons that a child learns through pet ownership are worth a lot, but not quite as much as the effort to raise dogs or cats, so a smaller, simpler pet is the solution that they seek. But, what are the best choices?

Although the thought will give many people the creeps, the rodent family offers quite a few nice, starter pet options. These are relatively easy to keep, do not take up a lot of space and if handled carefully can be actually very affectionate. Guinea pigs are probably the most popular in the group, and with their slightly larger sizes, may be easier for a child to handle. They do need daily vitamin C, but can get that from fresh fruits and vegetables. Other options are the rats, the mice, the hamsters and the gerbils. Each has their own advantages as well as their drawbacks, so do your research before bringing one home.

If the rodents still sounds like too much work for you, consider the lizards or small snake group. (Of course, with snakes, you will still be dealing with rodents, but as a food source.) Not very affectionate, or interactive, these pets are interesting to watch and only need minimum hands on care to remain healthy. They do need a specialized diet and some pretty intensive habitats, so expense might be an issue in their case. And remember, the bigger the snake, the bigger the home it will need to live in.

Small birds are a good choice, but are still fairly involved on the maintenance scale- they need their cages cleaned daily, fresh food and water and can sometimes be impossible to tame down. But for a child who is more intent on a watching their pet rather than petting them, a bird is a perfectly fine choice.

Possibly the best, low maintenance pet is the fish. True, a fish will not walk with you or eat your broccoli under the table, but they are beautiful to watch as they swim about in their tank and there is a never-ending array of accessories that can be added to their tank. Each new addition will be greeted with curiosity, and the child can see which item brings out the most activity in their fish. A daily feeding, or a weekly feeding tablet is about the only real maintenance a good set up will require. Minimize initial expense with your tank choice by buying many of the items used, and as always make sure that you know exactly what you are bringing home. Remember, some pets eat everything in sight, including their own roommates!

This article will discuss pet feeding and how to properly feed your pet to ensure they receive all the nutrition they need to live a long and healthy life. However, more and more pet owners are resorting to making meals for their pets or feeding pets raw food.

Some people believe that pets should only be fed raw food, as the animal would have eaten in the wild, in order for the pet’s nutrition to be “balanced” in a more natural way. There are many articles available which discuss the possibility that the man-made pet food of today and straying our pets from raw, natural food is the cause for so many diseases that are cropping up in our pets. It is believed that most of these diseases are nutrition-based due to the lack of raw meat and other nutrients in our pets’ diets.

However, veterinarians usually recommend a well-known and trusted brand of pet food that has been specifically designed for your pet. This is where pet feeding can become difficult. The quality of pet food can vary tremendously between brands and can differ in the amount of animal nutrition, therefore it is usually a good idea to choose a brand with a good reputation. For instance, Science Diet dog food and Purina dog food are very well-known and trusted brands.

Pet Feeding for Dogs: Commercial brands of pet food for dogs include canned food, dry food and semi-moist food. Up to 50% of your canine's diet can come from carbohydrates such as grain. Vets do not recommend semi-moist food because of the additives and chemicals in them. Adult dogs may be fed once or twice per day, while puppies require more frequent feedings. There are brands that specifically specialize in all natural dog food, so if you decide you do want to feed your dog a more natural diet, you may look into it.

Never feed your dog chocolate, onions or garlic in any form (fresh, powder, flakes), persimmons, plant leaves (potato, tomato, rhubarb), mushrooms, grapes / raisins, or macadamia nuts. Also, do not let your dog chew on dryer sheets or eat human vitamins. The chemicals are harmful to them.

Cats also have a variety of food to choose from, ranging from dry, to semi-moist, to canned (wet). As with semi-moist dog food, veterinarians do not recommend it due to the preservative chemicals it contains. Cats require a high moisture content in their food, therefore it may be a good idea to stock up on canned food, which has a terrific balance of moisture.

There are also foods which are unsuitable to feed to a cat, such as: dough that contains yeast, onions, mushrooms, plant leaves, garlic, sugary foods, raw eggs, salt, persimmons, macadamia nuts, and raisins/grapes. Regardless of the rumors that milk is good for cats, you should never feed a cat cow’s milk, as they cannot digest it properly. There are some brands of cat food which offer small bottles of milk, usually intended for kittens.

After perusing the internet, I have found a few nice forums for pet lovers and decided to share it with you. http://www.lovemypets.com/Forum/forumPage.aspx

It is my goal to exceed all the other membership numbers that these other forums have (which is a mighty big goal).  However, I think I will just take it one day at a time and have a fun time with it.

Usually people think of pet owners as having a dog, cat, or even a fish.  But I am going to open this forum up for all pet owners!  Maybe you have a snake (which isn't a furry friend) or you might have a pet goat!!!  Whatever type of pet you have, this forum is for you!

I'm writing this for pet lovers every where , which like myself, there are many out there who are very close to their pets. They will always be there for you, good companions, and rarely complain. However they do in fact need our help through their journey in life.

Over the years I've traveled the world, visiting many countries, where ever my work would take me, primarily throughout Asia. I've learned and experienced many cultures, and now live in Northern Thailand , surrounded by jungle, but not too remote.

The other day, I was looking across the jungle view, thinking back on all the pets I've experienced, and who have come and gone with time. I really have enjoyed to the fullest many Dogs, Cats, Birds through the years.

One thing really struck me though, being a pet lover. I realized a disturbing pattern of most of my pets which, well enlightened me to share my experiences, and hopefully offer some good common sense, preventive steps to protect your pets, as they can and do follow similar heath problems as people.

Preventive, is certainly the right word to use towards your pets life and well being.

I'm going to share an experience with my pets, and these aren't what you might think, shots, vaccines, give a pet a bath topics, but unique true experience, where many of my pets could have lived a much longer and healthier life, if I would have known these problems before hand.

It started with my favorite dog, a golden Lab-Retriever name Kruger, yes named after the Australian gold coin, do to his short hair and very gold color. He traveled almost everywhere with me, within the states.

I gave him extremely rich canned food, mixed with rich dry food. You see those cans all the time, the picture with rich meat and gravy look on the label.

So the lesson is simple preventive understanding on nutritional guidelines for your pets. If I had picked up a book, and educated myself, he may have lived a much longer life.

Think about this simple preventive, common sense approach as a pet lover, and this certainly applies to more than just dogs.

http://www.lovemypets.com/

My dog, Lily, getting freaked out by Pipsqueak the Zhu Zhu pet hamster. Appearances also made by my cats Rory and Riley.