As we noted last time, rats can make good pets. If you’re thinking of getting a couple (just one is not a good idea), there are a few things you should know.

Try for adoption first. You’ll be giving the rat a good home, doing the former owner a favor, and making sure you get an animal that’s been cared for and accustomed to humans. Look for a rodent rescue group, like littlemischiefrescue.org. (“Mischief” is the word for a group of rats. The less colorful alternative is “pack”.) Yes, there are rescue groups for just about any kind of animal that’s kept as a pet.

If you can’t find one to adopt, buy from a breeder — NOT a pet store. “The sad truth,” say rat owners George and Debbie of Seattle, “is that most rats seen in pet stores are there to be sold as snake food, not pets.” They are at high risk for disease, developmental problems, and bad behavior.

You’ll need the biggest cage you can afford. George and Debbie recommend Martin’s “because they have multi-level designs, are easy to clean, and have ideal bar spacing to prevent foot injuries.” An aquarium may be tempting, but they’re not built to let air circulate, and toxic fumes can build up quickly.

Likewise, bedding and litter should be dust-free products, preferably made of recycled paper. Pine and cedar can give rats respiratory problems.

Food for rats should be 80% lab blocks, which you can get at pet stores. The other 20% can be treats and people food — as long as it’s healthy. There are a few exceptions: Chocolate, raw potatoes, and nuts are toxic to rats. Peanut butter can cause choking.

Then there’s the fun stuff, like a good quality running wheel of adequate size. George and Debbie recommend Wodent Wheels. Other toys can be bird ladders, cardboard tubes, or anything the rats seem to enjoy.

Remember, what they’ll enjoy most is playing with you.

Exotic pets being abandoned in the wild – how often does that happen? Who would do a thing like that?

When you realize that most fish sold in pet stores are considered “exotics” – it just means they’re not native to the country – you can see it’s really not an unusual event.

At least 185 exotic fish species have been found in U.S. waters, says the U.S. Geological Survey, and over half of those species got there through “release or escape of aquarium fishes”. Lots of people, apparently, have been slipping their unwanted pet fish into the nearest river or lake.

Most of them probably would never dream of dumping a cat or dog in the wilderness. It seems less cruel, somehow, with fish – but that’s an illusion. Releasing a pet fish is always harmful to it or some other creature.

First, 90% of exotic fish don’t survive after being released, as scientist Paul L. Shafland told the U.S.G.S. They’re stressed and an easy target for predators.

The ones that survive may compete with native fish for food, or even prey on the native fish. They may spread exotic diseases or parasites. They also can contribute to overcrowding, especially if they start breeding (75 exotic species have).

If you need to re-home your fish, search online for “fish rescue”. If there’s no fish rescue society in your area, try these U.S.G.S. suggestions:

· Pet stores
· The local zoo or aquarium
· Schools, nursing homes – even prisons might want the fish.

If your fish is sick, a vet can euthanize it if necessary. You can do this yourself simply by putting it in a container of water in the freezer. The U.S.G.S. says, “Because cold temperature is a natural anesthetic to tropical fishes, this is considered a very humane method of euthanasia.” Still, let’s hope you don’t have to do this!

There’s always a better way than abandonment.

Pit bulls have a bad reputation, but is it deserved? A group of pit bull owners and advocates in Vancouver, Canada, says the breed has been misrepresented.

HugABull Advocacy & Rescue Society works to help not only individual dogs, but the entire breed’s image. It also strives to build a community of responsible owners for dogs who often attract the wrong kind.

Many of us have the idea that pit bulls have been bred to be aggressive – and, though they can’t help it, they’re not the kind of dog you’d want to have around. News reports and breed-specific legislation, like Ontario’s restrictions on bull breeds, certainly reinforce that.

It’s true that pit bulls were originally bred to fight bulls, bears, and other dogs as a spectator sport. However, to work with their handlers, they had to be free of aggression toward humans. This resulted in dogs that need close association with their owners. HugABull’s website says:

. . . they are not a good choice if you want a very independent dog. Your pit bull can snooze away the day while you’re at work, but will definitely claim your attention – and your lap – the minute you get home.

Unfortunately, as it also says:

The pit bull’s tough reputation often draws the “wrong” kind of owners. Not surprisingly, these are the same individuals who beat, starve and neglect their animals, eventually abandoning them altogether.

Homeless pit bulls often have trouble getting adopted, not only because of their reputation, but because they’re not at their best in a shelter. Without an owner, a pit bull can grow depressed – or hyperactive.

HugABull helps out by placing pit bulls in foster homes and helping them find permanent homes. It also works to spread accurate information about the breed. To find out more, visit HugABull.com.

This is the season of giving, and some people ponder donating or volunteering time for a charity with a good cause. Why not donate or volunteer for a charity organization that involves animals? Unfortunately, thousands of animals are recklessly abandoned each year, and lots of them end up in animal shelters where many  end up being euthanized.  Even if you don’t want to adopt a new family friend, there are other ways to help make the world a better place for local cats and dogs, like volunteering your time or even donating things like food and animal supplies. Moreover, there are various charities to protect our wildlife and ocean life. Now the only question left is how do you select a good charity or organization? Here’s a few ideas.

1- Do Your Research.
Not all charities and organizations are equal. Before you donate any sum of money to any organization, do your research. Start with Charity Navigator.org, which  not only lists most national and local charities but also gives you the important statistics you need to know to make an educated choice.

2- Give Your Time.
If you don’t have a lot of money or just would like to bond with animals, why not volunteer at your local animal shelter? Whether walking and washing dogs or working in the clerical department, you know that you’re taking an active role in the changing the lives of neglected or abused animals. Time is often the greatest gift of all.

3- Go Local.
It does not matter if it’s your local ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals) or The Humane Society of the United States, they are both nationally known organizations that work locally to save the abandoned pets in your area. They always need money and time. Visit ASPCA.org and HumaneSociety.org for more information.

So, you’ve considered the benefits of owning a pet and have decided a dog would be a nice addition to your home.  You would like to adopt a dog from a humane society or animal shelter but aren’t quite sure what to expect.  You can learn a little bit about the adoption process in this quick video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What is the deal with pedigreed pets? I don’t get it. Why are people willing to pay $800 for a dog? You can get one for free from the pound. And I can pretty much guarantee that the pound dog is going to be more loving and less high maintenance than the purebred.

Everyone I know who has some type of hoity-toity, fancy purebred pet has to go through a laborious care regimen that just doesn’t exist with the real American mutt.  My friend has to spray his English bulldog’s jowls with a special solution to keep him from getting an infection.  You can bathe a real dog by throwing a stick into the pond.

I’m sure there are good reasons that people like purebreds.  I just don’t know what any of them are.  I do know that there are literally millions of good animals put to death each year because there is no one willing to take them in.  I do know that a dog is a dog and a cat is a cat, and  unless you’re entering them into the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, it doesn’t much matter what breed you have.

Sure, there a big dogs and small dogs.  If you want a big dog, one of those shaky little things like Paris Hilton keeps in her purse just won’t do.  If you live in a tiny apartment, a Great Dane probably isn’t the right pet for you.  But there are dozens of choices at any given pound at any given time.  You can find the pet you’re looking for without dropping hundreds of dollars.  And you can save a life while you’re at it.  Sounds like a winning choice to me.

By now, you’ve likely heard of Muffy, the lost dog who was found a thousand miles from home, nine years after she disappeared. She had somehow migrated from Brisbane, Australia, to Melbourne, where she was reported to the RSPCA as neglected. The society found her in “a squalid backyard”. She had fleas, a matted coat, a bad skin condition – and a microchip implanted under her skin.

Muffy’s story has traveled much further than she ever did – and I don’t think it’s just because summer is a slow news season.

For one thing, many of us have had to deal with lost pets – our own or other people’s. We’ve either searched the neighborhood for a missing dog or cat or found a stray and wondered how we could help it. My family once took in a hungry cat that was hanging around, and it was only when we took him to the vet that we found out he had a tattoo in his ear and an owner who’d been missing him for several months.

The story also gets our attention because Muffy beat the odds. Pets.ca tells us that only about 15% of lost dogs and 2% of lost cats ever get home. (Whether cats lack the tracking skills to find their homes, or just don’t feel like going back, is unclear. I’ve written about prowling the block with catnip in search of a missing cat – he came back when he was good and ready.)

It also raises the question of microchipping pets, a technology that gives them built-in ID. It can reunite you with your lost pet – if the pet makes it to a shelter or clinic.

And that affirms something we already know: We need to report abused and neglected animals. The anonymous caller who told the RSPCA about Muffy shares a lot of the credit for this remarkable story.

This week, the Vancouver Sun ran an article about a man who turned out to have a hundred cats living in his barn. None were spayed or neutered, and many had upper respiratory infections. Stories like this are fairly common in the media, but not everyone is aware that this behavior has a name: animal hoarding.

Tufts University, which has sponsored research on animal hoarding, says it consists of:
1. Having more than the “typical” number of pets
2. Inability to care for them adequately
3. Denial that the situation is a problem.

The stereotypical image of an animal hoarder is a single woman sharing a small, filthy house with a crowd of cats, but in real life there are several types. The man with the hundred cats, for example, may be an “overwhelmed caregiver” – he got all those cats “passively” (by letting nature take its course), and he was aware that things might be out of control (he was happy to let the Richmond Animal Protection Society take 25 of them to the shelter).

Other hoarders may say, and feel, that they’re running an actual shelter. Or they’ll take in any animal at risk of being put to sleep. Some just exploit the animals. It’s “poorly understood”, Tufts says, but hoarding animals somehow meets needs some people have.

But the animals’ needs aren’t met – remember, by definition, the hoarder can’t care adequately for them. They often suffer from unsanitary conditions and disease and may even go without enough food or water. A rescue group may eventually be called in and strain its resources trying to help all the animals.

It’s not just the animals that need help. If you think a relative or friend may be an animal hoarder, Tufts University has some tips on dealing with them.

Maybe you’re not financially prepared to adopt a pet. But if that’s the only thing holding you back – if you have a love of animals, a sense of responsibility, enough room in your home, and enough time and energy — maybe you’re ready to foster a pet.

As Kim Croom, Director of the Pet Foster Network, said in an interview with RedPlum: “[Fostering] doesn’t cost the foster home anything at all. Most people just don’t know that.”

Fostering is giving a pet a temporary home as an alternative to an animal shelter. This can last anywhere from a few days to the rest of the animal’s life. Many humane societies and animal rescue organizations run foster programs, and they’re often looking for volunteer families. The organization (or, in some cases, the original owner) keeps ownership of the animal and pays major expenses like vet bills and prescriptions. Some will buy the food and litter, or provide it from in-kind donations they get. Our fostering organization even sent a volunteer to our house to feed the cat while we were away.

Meanwhile, you as a foster “parent” get all the happiness of having a pet. Of course, you have responsibilities, too, on top of its daily care. You’re usually the one who has to get the animal to the vet. You also may have to show it to potential new owners, transport it to adoption events, take phone calls, and do paperwork. And it can be hard saying goodbye. But if you decide you want, and can afford, to adopt your foster pet, you’re usually given preference. The organization may even waive your adoption fee.

Fostering pets means giving your time and love, not your money.

So, you’ve determined that you’re mature, responsible, and caring enough to have a pet. Now, the next question is where is the best place to find a pet?

If you want a low-maintenance pet, such as a fish, bird, rodent, or lizard, the local pet store is your best bet. Not all stores are created equally, though. You may want to look around to find out which stores care for their animals best. Avoid pet stores that look run-down and dirty. Chances are the animals they keep aren’t healthy. Look for a well-lit pet store that with a knowledgeable staff that takes good care of the animals.

Meanwhile, if you want to adopt a dog or cat, consider looking into pet adoption fairs, a shelter, or a humane society. There are many reasons why you should consider adopting a pet from foster care, rescue, or shelter. Among these are:

•    You may be saving the animal’s life

•    You’re helping the organization make room for more animals in need

•    You’re helping with the worldwide problem of pet homelessness

•    It’s more affordable to adopt a dog from shelters

•    The shelter staff knows the personality of their animals so you can ask their advice on which pet would be the perfect match for you

•    Rescued dogs know that they’ve been rescued, they are more loyal as a result

You also can ask local reputable breeders to sell one of their puppies to you. Pet stores also sell cute puppies. Unfortunately, if you look deeply enough you will realize that though these puppies look cute and healthy, they actually came from “puppy farms”. Puppy farms are owned by breeders who don’t care about the living conditions of animals. Their aim is simply to breed as many dogs as fast as possible for profit. Ask your pet store where they source their dogs and try to find out if the breeder has a good reputation before you buy.