On really hot days and during the really hot summer times, what do you do with your pet. I can think of a couple of things, depending on what kind of pet you have. The first thing I can think of is something you should do for yourself as well. Air conditioning. That will make a huge difference in their comfort and in yours. It doesn’t help much if you don’t have it, though. Guess what. Yep, I don’t have it. Normally I wake up early and open the windows to air the place out and let some of the cooler morning air in to replace the stale air from the evening. I usually open things up in the evening as well when the temperature drops. Then close the windows before I go to sleep, although sometimes I leave them open during the night, just depends how hot it is inside. Besides trying to keep the place cool you can also use frozen water bottles for your pets. Maybe wrap it in a towel and set it someplace where they can lay beside it, of course that only works if you have small pets. Strategically placed fans are another good thing to do. I like to put cold water in front or behind the fans, that helps cool things down inside a bit. Speaking of which, think I will go do that before I melt away.

Depending on the type of pet you have introducing it to a new environment can range from fairly easy to really difficult. Dogs are one of the easier ones I think, but then I don’t have a dog so that is probably why. What would you have to protect against with a dog; chewing, slobber, pulling or digging, noise level and toilet training. Alright, maybe dog wouldn’t be one of the easier pets to deal with. How about a goldfish? That should be pretty easy as it is a confined environment and the goldfish normally don’t wander around much. Plus they are pretty easy to deal with if you have them in a small bowl.

What about the cat, that all important kitty. They are masters of their domain, at least that is often how they act. What do you have to deal with when you introduce a cat to a new environment? Much the same as with a dog I think. You have to worry about chewing, scratching, hair balls, toilet training and, well, slobbering not so much. A cat might actually be easier to introduce to a new environment than a dog. That is of course also heavily influenced by the individual animal, but in general it might be easier to introduce a cat to a new place or a new family than a dog.

Each pet is different, and everyone that has a pet knows that they have individual personalities. Two cats are not the same, two dogs are not the same and neither are two gerbils or two snakes. Each one has a personality, some are very expressive and others just seem to lay there and stare at you. One dog plays, one dog stares… a bit like people.

I think the animal that the majority have as a pet is the dog, closely followed by the cat. I’ve had dogs and cats and for pure just hanging around soaking in the rays I think I prefer a cat, but for exploring outdoors and hiking a dog is good. The smaller animals are good for having in home only. I had gerbils but never rats. I’ve even had rabbits. One of the most annoying things about pets is when you have an unusual one and everyone makes jokes about eating it… should I make jokes about eating your dog or your kid? Basically the same thing I think.

Pets are funny, not in the laugh out loud way, but in a warm fuzzy funny way. Most of us have them, and many of them have us. I think all kids want pets, they just do not really want to take care of them, heck some adults want pets but not the responsibility of taking care of them. All my friends wanted pets, I think we all did. Fuzzy little things are lovable. Sometimes.