A Message From the President: Responsible Pet Ownership

Pets play an important role in our lives. Their love and dedicated companionship is unconditional and the health benefits of pet ownership is widely known. Their reaction to us rarely changes from day-to-day. They are blind to the worries of our world and it is in their nature to both give and receive love and attention.

Today, people love their children and pets, but not always in that order. Yet that wasn’t always the case. Dogs, for example, have been man’s best friend since before recorded time however it’s only been in the past 60-plus years that the family pet has risen to “family member” status.

This unconditional love comes with it responsibility on our part. We must be responsible pet owners by showing affection and meeting the basic needs of our pets. All pets have four basic needs. For a cat, their maintenance needs might include cat litter or a brush. They have behavioral needs that include items such as toys and cat furniture. Their environmental needs include food and water bowls or a cat bed and all cats have nutritional needs such as food and vitamins.

Being a responsible pet owner means we are meeting all four of their basic needs. And it also means that we are protecting them and keeping them happy and active. This means being aware of some of the following:

• Extreme hot and cold weather safety
• Holiday Safety  “Keeping them away from holiday foods, plants and fireworks
• Identification “ID tag and microchip in the event they get lost
• Health Checkups/Vaccines “Pets need yearly checkups too!”
• Exercise
• Spay/Neuter

Petland also takes its responsibility in our communities seriously. Not only do we educate our customers on their pet’s needs, we also work to help local pets who aren’t so lucky. We’ve launched two support programs that provide families with a gift card if they adopt from a shelter so they can have a little help meeting their new family member’s needs. To learn more about how you can be a more responsible pet owner, stop by your local neighborhood Petland store or visit us at www.petland.com.

Joe Watson- President and CEO of Petland Inc.