Do Your Pets Make You Happy?

Hi, everyone!

I was originally going to write about something else, but a short trip to Walmart changed my mind. Before I begin I have to disclose that I am an Animal Person. Yup. For better or worse...I am one of those people who is extremely concerned about the welfare and well-being of animals. Don't get me wrong — I am not one of those people who in not wanting to harm an animal will not eat an animal. I love a nice medium-rare steak, barbecue ribs are AWESOME, and I practically live on grilled chicken and vegetables during the summer...or rather, during my whole year! I will occasionally eat fish. I eat turkey, and yes, I have my protein every morning in the form of an egg.

I will also disclose upfront that I was raised in Upstate New York — Solvay to be exact. My grandparents owned a farm in Camillus, and I was brought up on VERY fresh vegetables, cows my grandpa raised, pigs raised there as well and chickens from the coop. I am no stranger to seeing a chicken chosen for dinner, and I am also no stranger to the boxes of FRESH meat my parents brought home after grandpa had a cow slaughtered.

So, you ask, how can you be a lover of animals? Well, I think the Italians say it best...(and I am paraphrasing here)...If you respect the animal while it is alive, give it a good living and do not mistreat it, then it will respect you when it's dead. I'm talking not injecting antibiotics or growth hormones (my grandpa would be HORRIFIED at doing this)...No cramming 500 chickens into one small space and making them stand there and produce egg after egg.

By "respect" I mean treating the animal well. My grandpa treated all of his animals well. When he brought home the little chicks — the care he took to make sure the coops were heated properly, the time he took "checking" on the chicks...the time he took to make sure the cow was where it was supposed to be and had shelter during the cold (and I mean COLD Upstate NY) winters...and grandma saving every scrap of food for the pigs — THIS is respecting the animal. And I'm not going to even go into the cats on this farm...People would drop their unwanted cats off at my grandparents place and my grandparents would keep them fed. Never brought them inside (well, grandpa did after grandma passed away...but only one. I'm thinking for company!), but they did make sure there was food out there every night. Wild cats: Yes! Taken care of? Of course.

This leads me to pets that people have at home. Cats, dogs, fish, reptiles, birds...some of them really shouldn't be "pets." Snakes, exotic animals (lions, tigers, etc...) these need to be where they should be — in the wild. But dogs? Cats? Well, we like them. Most of the time they make amazing pets. Get past the "Cat Attitude" and most cats are funny, interesting and great to have for company. As far as dogs, I cannot say enough about them. They are truly Man's Best Friend. I have been brought up with dogs (and cats) and would honestly feel lost without having one in my home.

From the time I met my husband we have always owned an animal. Currently, we have Nightingale Christmas (yes we give them middle names), who is a torty cat and 10 years old. Slightly strange, beautifully colored and quite the predator! Delilah Luna is our tuxedo cat. Hands down the funniest cat we've had, with a whole bunch of attitude and not afraid to put on a show of stretching and rolling around in our living room.

But I have to say our "piece d'resistance" is Sunshine Moses. She is our purebred, long-haired german shepherd. And we love her. She is heading into her eleventh year and is stunning. She also has an attitude. We took her to obedience training and, well, none of us got anything out of it! She listens. She is not vicious. She's pretty good with people. And did I mention we love her? She has kept us all company at various times. She is always in the kitchen when we are. She LOVES laying on our love-seat in the music room. And, yes, we allow her to get on the bed with us at night when she wants to (of course, if Delilah is there she will not jump up. Something about Delilah just irritates Sunshine!) She is best buddies with Nightingale. If Nightingale is at the door wanting to come in, Sunshine will stand at the door and whine until we come down to let the cat in.

We have TONS of stories about our animals...where they sleep, how the behave, the quirky things they do. They are inextricably embedded into our lives like a family member. We are distressed at seeing Sunshine have a hard time walking up stairs, but we love it when she is right at the door to greet us.

Now comes my actual "point"...While I was at Walmart, I heard that awful sound of an animal barking in a car. Any time I hear this I get a FIRE in my stomach. I don't care what you're doing. I don't care what the weather is like outside. I don't care. NEVER, EVER should a pet be left in a car while you eat, go shopping, run errands. NEVER. Would you leave your baby/kid in the car like that? Did you know if it is 78 outside a car can heat up to 90 in the shade and 160 in the sun within MINUTES? Rolling down the windows or "cracking" the windows does not help. Dogs do not sweat like human beings. They control their body temperature through sweat glands in their paws. Overheated air does not allow their paws to cool down, therefore, controlling the temp of their bodies. All it takes is 15 minutes in a car in the sun...and you will lose your pet. Only 14 states have laws addressing this issue. Illinois is one of them. The law specifically prohibits leaving an animal in a confined vehicle. The first time you will be charged with a misdemeanor. I'm not really clear on the second time (hopefully, there wouldn't be a second time). If you are interested in looking at this info, I found it at www.animallaw.info.com.

I know when the time comes we will be devastated to lose Sunshine. (And Nightingale and Delilah, as well). But I can guarantee you we will not lose her because of doing something stupid like leaving her in a confined vehicle. She is part of our family (as well as Nightingale and Delilah). We would never treat a family member like that.

We love her. Sunshine makes us happy.

So, the answer is YES, YES, YES, our pets make us happy.

Did I mention we love them?

Thanks for reading. Eat well, be healthy and practice happiness!!!!