Watch Tip for week of May 8:
Watch for kids (your kids and others) who might play in your yard and unthinkingly leave open your fence gates or your entry doors. Your pets might escape and run loose or the kids might get into other trouble with your pets. Tragedies could result. Padlock your fence gates to keep your pets and kids safer. Remember bad things can happen in the best of neighborhoods.
Roaming Pets = Danger
Just about everyone can tell a story about a cat or dog that accidentally escaped from a fenced yard and was injured or killed. Your daily life may feel safe, but this world is definitely not safe for companion animals. You must be very protective of your pets. Review this comprehensive list of dangers:
- Danger of being hit by a moving vehicle and killed or critically injured
- Danger of being harmed or killed by neighbors or mentally-ill individuals they come into contact with—burned by fire or acid, beaten, hung by ropes, thrown against walls, drowned, shot
- Danger of being stolen for use by dog-fighters, sold to labs for experiments, or for sexual abuse
- Danger of consuming something poisonous or inedible
- Danger of suffering an attack by wildlife, especially small breeds (coyote, snakebite, javelina, owls, etc.)
- Danger of being picked up by animal control—could incur fines and fees to retrieve, possibly euthanized if not retrieved in time
- Danger of picking up parasites, fleas, ticks and other vermin from adjacent properties or open fields
- Danger of being attacked by other dogs or cats
- Danger of your dog biting someone out of fear—quarantined, lawsuits
- Danger of losing their way home after chasing animals or wandering away from home/familiar scents
Resolve to install padlocks to your gates and spring hinges or other self-closing parts to your entry doors. Consider installing stout fences if you haven’t already.
If you know of a household that is not protecting their pets from roaming, mail them a copy of this list today.
If you dont have much time in your hands dont attempt to take care of them at the same time. It all boils down to the right choice for pet setting rules and good administration……….The first step to it all is to make sure that your pet and child are ready for each other. Train your pet..Kids cannot be taught what to do or not to do especially if they are two years old or younger.
Keith, that’s a thoughtful comment and I’m so glad you responded. I do think that parents can teach their children to think critically at a somewhat young age (certainly not a toddler though!). I had a pony at age 7 and his care was completely mine for the next umpteen years. My parents weren’t into horses, so I couldn’t turn to them for guidance or support. Starting as a 7-year-old, I walked a half-mile through the snow-filled pasture every day all winter long to feed and water my pony after school, and it was dark out too. That level of responsibility made me resolute and careful years earlier than some of my classmates.