Determine qualitiesyou want and get to

know an animal beforebringing it home

By JENNIFER ROUSE

You want to adopt a pet— great! But now you’re atthe shelter, and all thoseadorable furry faces arelooking up at you. How canyou ever pick the right one?

Don’t worry — you’renot alone if you feel over-whelmed by the decision.It’s common for new pet-owners to have concernsabout selecting the rightcompanion.

The trick, animal be-havior experts say, is to domost of the work beforeyou ever step foot out ofyour house.

Evaluate your lifestyleFirst, you need to deter-

mine how much time youhave for pet care.

“We all have the love fora pet,” said Sharon Gakstat-ter, behavior and trainingcoordinator for SafehavenHumane Society. “But loveis not enough. You need tohave the time.”

If you’re not home veryoften and you don’t haveother family members orroommates who can help,then a dog might not be foryou.

“Dogs need consistency,”said Brittany Gardner, di-rector of operations atHeartland Humane Society.“If you can’t provide that,then maybe you need a kitty,or even a fish or a hamster.”

Other considerations in-clude money — Gardner es-timates that basic food andveterinary care for a healthydog or cat will cost about$600 per year — and livingsituation. How big is yourhouse or apartment? If youhave a yard, is it fenced? Ifyou live in a small space andyou choose an active pet,you’ve got to commit to aregular outdoor exerciseschedule, or you’re likely torun into problems.

“If your idea of exerciseis to throw a ball 10 timesand be done, then you’re notgoing to want a border col-lie,” Gakstatter said.

Evaluate your desiresSo what do you want?

What does pet ownershiplook like in your dreams? Doyou want a pet who willsnuggle up in your lap, or doyou want a pet to accompa-ny you on long-distanceruns?

Gakstatter suggests hav-ing each family memberwrite down what qualitiesthey would like in a pet, andthen comparing notes, justso that everyone is on thesame page. It’s a lot easier tofind Mr. or Ms. Right wheneveryone is in agreement onwhat their new pet shouldbe like.

Meet the pet – round oneWhen you visit the shel-

ter, take your time, expertsadvise. There are a lot ofpets there, and in a largegroup an animal might be-have differently than it willone-on-one. If there are afew different pets you aredrawn to, ask the staff forrecommendations.

“Not every staff mem-ber knows every single ani-

mal, but if I don’t knowmuch about a certain ani-mal, I can find someonewho does,” Gardner said.

For one thing, every petthat enters a shelter is giv-en a basic behavioral evalu-ation. How does it respondto strangers? Is it guardedaround food? What does itdo when it hears a knock onthe door? If the pet hasbeen surrendered by a pre-vious owner, staff will like-ly have even more informa-tion. “We have them fill outa huge questionnaire, andwe do have the informationon file, plus informationfrom what we have seen inthe shelter,” Gakstattersaid.

At Heartland, they’reeven planning to roll out anew program styled some-what like an online datingservice. It’s called “MeetYour Match,” and it’s aimedat matching up shelter catswith their ideal owners.

“Every cat undergoes abehavioral evaluation, andthen when people come inlooking for a cat, they fillout a questionnaire that wescore,” Gardner said. Thenumbers get crunched, andthe potential owner is pro-vided with a list of the kit-ties best suited to be thatparticular person’s perfectfeline companion.

Meet the pet – round two(or more)

Once you have an idea ofwhich animal seems tohave the characteristicsyou want, you need tospend time with it. Sheltershave private rooms and

play yards where familiescan interact as much theywant to.

“They should spend asmuch time as they can,”Gardner said. “When ashelter pet gets taken out,it’s so exciting for them.You need to let them calmdown and do their morenormal behaviors.” Garnderalso stressed that it’s im-portant for every personwho is living in the house tocome meet the pet. Somepets are different aroundmen than around women,or around children vs.adults.

When you’re with thepet, watch how it behaves.“Does it like to be petted?Does it crawl in your lap?Really spend some timewith it,” Gakstatter said.

In fact, don’t be afraid togo home and come backanother day. The staffwon’t mind, and it will giveyou a chance to observe theanimal on different days,when its behavior might bedifferent. “This is not animpulse buy,” Gakstattersaid.

Allow for adjustmentEven once you have

found the pet that seemsright for you, expect thatthings won’t be perfect.

“No one ever fits justright at first,” Gardner said.“Dogs are going to havetraining needs.”

Both Gardner and Gak-statter recommend taking atraining or obedience classwith a new dog. It’s a wayto bond with your pet, andit’s a way to make sure yourpet is going to be a well-be-haved citizen, both at homeand out in public. If youranimal knows how to be-have — and you know howto train it — you’re muchless likely to get into thekinds of frustrating situa-tions that lead people tosurrender their pets.

“You need to consider itabout the same has having achild,” Gakstatter said. “Itwill grow up, into that reallygreat family pet — it justwon’t happen instantly.”

Jennifer Rouse is a freelancewriter who lives in Albany. Shewrites about a variety of topicsrelating to the mid-valley.

PETS Albany Democrat Herald, Albany, Ore.Corvallis Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Ore.

Lebanon Express, Lebanon, Ore.WednesdayMarch 21, 2012

All About Pets

First UnitedMethodist

Town & Country

Corvallis Floor Covering

Heartland Humane Society

OK Country Feed & Supply

Klip’n Kritterz

Take time to find the perfect pet

JESSE SKOUBO | CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES

Kelton and Brady Benson, of Philomath, get to know their newly adopted Staffordshire bull terriermix, Hannah, in the lobby of Heartland Humane Society.

JOY PARIANTE | CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES

Cybil Stockman and her daughter, Faye, bond with Lucky at Safe-haven Humane Society in Albany. It can take a couple of trips to vis-it an animal to determine if it’s a good fit for your family.

By JENNIFER ROUSE

As sunshine re-appearsand the ground starts towarm up, mid-valley gar-deners head outdoors — andso do their furry compan-ions. However, many peopledon’t realize that some ofthe things they’re usingaround their home and gar-den could be toxic to dogsand cats. Here are some vet-erinarian-approved ways tokeep both your garden andyour pets in top condition.

Know what you’re sprayingDid you know that

there’s an easy-to-find spotwhere you can get all kindsof information about anygarden product’s uses, in-gredients, toxicity, and whatto do if you think it’s beeninadvertently ingested?

Yep. It’s called the label.“Always read the label

and save the containers,”said Dr. Michael Peterson,an Albany veterinarian andformer professor of toxicol-ogy at Oregon State Univer-sity’s School of VeterinaryMedicine.

Most fertilizers and her-bicides don’t pose a prob-lem to dogs or cats, butthere are some precautionsyou can take, just to be onthe safe side.

If you have any outdoorfood or water dishes or birdbaths, cover them up beforeyou spray or fertilize. Afteryou’re done, let your lawndry before you let your petswalk on it

A few products in partic-ular that can cause prob-lems for pets:

Rose food is also high iniron and can cause sicknessfor pets, and uncoveredcompost piles are like bac-teria-filled beacons for dogswho like to sniff and rollaround in muck.

Be careful with pesticidesWhen you’ve got pests in

your garden chewing up

your freshly sprouted plant-ings, it can be hard to resistthe urge to blast them out ofexistence. However, ifsomething is toxic to pests,it can be toxic to pets as well.

“You can read the labeland see whether it says it’spet-safe or not,” Petersonsaid. “But even ‘pet-safe’just means less toxic. Thetruth is, everything is toxicif you get too much of it. Ifyou drink too much water,you die. You just have to payattention to the dose.”

Slug and snail bait con-taining metaldehyde is oneparticular item to be carefulwith.

“That stuff is actuallypalatable to dogs and cats,”Peterson said. To make itsafer, watch how you applyit. “What you need to do iscast it,” Peterson said.“Spread it out, so it’s not inlittle piles.” It’s harder foryour dog to poison himself ifhe has to sniff out one singlepellet at a time, rather thanscarfing up an entire pile.

Powdered fly baits can beanother culprit in pet sick-ness. If you use them, putthem in a location wherepets are not likely to walkthrough them.

“Cats tend to do them-selves in this way — theywalk through it, and then

they clean themselves,” Pe-terson said. “When they’relicking it off their feet,that’s how it happens.”

Peterson is especiallypassionate about reducingthe use of a new kind of pes-ticide with the active ingre-dient bromethalin. It’s anespecially potent rodentpoison with no antidote.

“My concern is that youput some baits out in thegarage or the shed, and twoyears later someone forgetsthey’re out there, and thedog gets into them,” Peter-son said. “Why take a risk?”

Standard types of rodentpesticides are anti-coagu-lants, take 24 to 48 hours toact after ingestion, and canbe treated for if they’re ac-cidentally ingested. Any-thing other than this anti-coagulant variety is espe-cially dangerous, he said,

and works more like thenerve gas that’s used inchemical warfare. Unlessyou’re running a seriouscommercial business like adock or a warehouse, hesaid, there’s no need tomove beyond the anti-coagulant pesticides.

“The average homeown-er doesn’t need to go nu-clear,” he said.

Nonchemical pest-con-trol options such as di-atomaceous earth or fer-mented beer can be a com-pletely safe choice for gar-deners concerned about pethealth.

Plants and mulchesItems of lesser concern

are the plants and groundcoverings themselves. Al-though there are some itemsto watch out for, most petswon’t eat a plant or mulch insuch large quantities that it’san area of major concern.

“You’d have a heart at-tack if I went around your

yard and pointed out all thethings that are toxic,” Peter-son said. “The thing to keepin mind is dose. With mostof them, you really have toeat a significant amount be-fore there’s a problem.”

Lilies can be a problem forcats, Peterson said. “It does-n’t take too much of that todo them in,” he said. Theproblem is magnified if thecats are indoor-only and youkeep lilies as house plants.

“Most animals that areable to go outside, if theywant to chew on a plant,they’ll chew on the grass,”he said. “But if they’re in-side, they might chew on ahouse plant.”

Cocoa bark mulch is an-other culprit — the smellcan be attractive to dogs,but the chemicals in the co-coa plant are dangerous.Choose a different mulch

material and you’ll be on thesafe side.

Call if you’re worriedIf you have any concerns

that your pet may have eatensomething dangerous—ifthe animal is vomiting,shaking, has abnormal bow-el movements, or just does-n’t look right — call your vetsooner rather than later.

“Don’t wait to see howbad it’s going to be,” Peter-son said. “With the treat-ments we can do, the effec-tiveness drops after anhour.”

Most of all, just gardenaway and take a few precau-tions before letting pets andchemicals mix.

“These are all common-sense kind of things, butunfortunately commonsense isn’t so common any-more,” Peterson said.

PETSAlbany Democrat Herald, Albany, Ore.Corvallis Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Ore.Lebanon Express, Lebanon, Ore.

WednesdayMarch 21, 2012

Albany Pet Hotel

Animal Crackers

Kitty Meow Meow

KAT adoption

SafeHaven

Sully’s Stay andPlay

House: Parade of Pets

OSU Vet Med

Dogs love to helpin the garden bydigging. Beaware of wherethey’re diggingand make surethey aren’t get-ting into toxicchemicals, poi-sonous plants orroots.

JOY PARIANTECORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES

Take steps to keep your pets safe in the gardenWant more information

about pesticides and what’ssafe for your pets? The Na-tional Pesticide InformationCenter is a storehouse of in-formation, and it happens tobe operated by Oregon StateUniversity.

For more information, callthe hotline at 800-858-7378,email npic@ace.orst.edu, orsee npic.orst.edu to readand/or download a wealth ofinformation on the subject.

AT A GLANCE