When getting your family and your home ready to welcome a furry friend, a few simple steps can go a long way:  

* While your new pet is getting used to his/her surroundings, it’s a good idea to keep them in a defined area of the house. Baby gates are perfect for closing off an area in your house and designating it as the “puppy area.” Having a small rug in your puppy’s play area will not only protect your floors, but also protect your dog from sliding and potentially getting hurt. Think twice about what furniture is included in your puppy area – the more excited they get, the clumsier they get.

* Keeping cleaning supplies on hand will be your greatest ally. The Swiffer Sweeper with new Wet Mopping Cloths are great for wiping up pet “mistakes” and dirt that they might track in the house.

* Don’t forget to brush your new furry friends. Brushing your pet regularly and frequently helps to keep his/her coat in check, especially if they are going through seasonal shedding. Brushing stimulates the skin to keep it naturally moisturized, which can cut back on dander. If possible, brush your pet outside to avoid spreading pet hair in the house.

*Get down to your pet’s level, on your hands and knees, to see what he could get into. Dogs love chew toys, so don’t entice them with a ball of wires from your stereo system. Zip-tie the cords together so they stay neat and tucked behind furniture. Also, cord covers are a great idea for those extension cords running along the floor. Certain types of floor plants can be poisonous if ingested, so be sure to move them up and out of the way.

* Pets, especially puppies, need to expel excess energy by playing with others just as much as children do. When hosting a puppy play-date, keep collars on both dogs. If you need to grab one of the dogs in a hurry, you want to be sure you have something to take hold of. Also, when inviting a four-legged friend over to your home, have the dogs meet outside. This way, your pup won’t feel threatened in his own territory.

It’s no secret that having a pet can benefit a family, but making certain that you and your home are prepared to welcome a four-legged friend will also benefit you. Taking a few simple precautions and making the effort to keep your home pet-friendly will make the transition easy.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

To help in this important effort, Purina ONE has teamed up with Martha Stewart for social network fundraising and the Tour For Heroes, a mobile tour visiting animal shelters coast to coast, providing pet food, supporting pet adoption and helping pets in need.

“My pets are important members of my family and I am deeply committed to helping homeless animals,” says Stewart, founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. “I’m pleased to be working with Purina ONE to support pets in need because I believe this is a worthy cause that can help so many animals across the country.”

All Pet Lovers Can be Heroes
While not every pet lover is able to adopt an animal, people can still help pets in their own community and across the country through online social networks. Purina ONE and Martha Stewart are helping pet lovers make a difference and raise funds for shelters by simply sharing photos of adoptable pets on Facebook.

Sharing is easy. Start by searching for an adoptable pet anywhere in the United States by visiting tourforheroes.marthastewart.com. Choose a pet to help and click to share his or her profile with friends on your Facebook page. Every time a photo is shared, Purina ONE will donate $1 – up to $50,000 – worth of food to feed pets in need in local communities. Pet lovers can share photos until March 31.

Food for Fluffy and Fido
Throughout the month of February, the Purina ONE Tour For Heroes will travel from San Francisco to New York and stop at local animal shelters in 11 cities along the way to set up temporary food banks and hold adoption events. More than 63,000 pounds of dog and cat food – equaling 11,000 bags of food – will be given out to help pets in need.

Whether you’ve lost your job, have large veterinary or medical bills or are struggling to pay your mortgage, no one will be turned away at any of the Tour For Heroes events.

“In tough times, a source of constant companionship can often be your dog or cat,” says Mark Stoddard, brand director for Purina ONE. “We want to lend a hand to pets in need, and by assisting their owners who may need a little extra help these days, we help their pets, too.”

For more information about the Tour For Heroes and to find a tour stop near you, visit tourforheroes.marthastewart.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

(ARA) – When Sunny, a 3-year-old golden retriever, began working for San Diego Unified School District last spring, one of her first students was a fourth-grader with cerebral palsy, mobile only with the aid of a walker.

Adaptive physical education teacher Andrea Bazer says that as soon as this young student met Sunny, she was eager to take Sunny for a walk — first with the help of her walker, then with Bazer helping, and finally without any assistance. This transformation took several months, but once the student knew she could walk Sunny without the walker, she realized she didn’t need a walker at all.

“She walks all over school now,” says Bazer, who has worked as an adaptive physical education teacher for the district for six years. “It’s amazing to see. Sunny gets the kids to do many things that they won’t do for me. When they’re working with Sunny, they forget they can’t do things.”

Therapy animals like Sunny are highly trained and play very active roles in the educational or therapy program they’re involved in. Sunny helps by playing fetch and other interactive games with the students. Children in therapy with horses benefit through interacting with the animals and riding them. A client must be confident to lead and/or train a therapy animal, and this provides an opportunity for growth.

Today, animals help out in educational and health care settings so often that the wide array of roles they play can be a bit confusing. For example, within the ranks of assistance animals, there are therapy dogs like Sunny and also visiting animals, which visit the sick in hospitals or nursing homes, providing a warm, soft head to pat.

Bazer works with about 45 preschool  to sixth grade children with disabilities at five schools, and she said that Sunny is an asset in her class. Sunny recently helped Bazer achieve a breakthrough with a preschool-aged child who was refusing to open up when faced with a stranger – Bazer. “The child’s first word during the assessment was ‘dog,’ as soon as he saw Sunny,” Bazer explains.

Sunny is a hard worker as well; she works 40 hours a week at schools, and then Bazer regularly takes her to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego to give a psychological boost to wounded soldiers receiving treatment.

Dr. Hayden Sears, vice chairman of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Committee on Human-Animal Bond says the impact animals can have on hospital and nursing home patients, people with disabilities, children and the elderly in therapy situations is remarkable to witness. Dr. Sears worked with therapy animals prior to becoming a veterinarian.

“I have also done a lot with horses and people,” Dr. Sears explains. “People with multiple sclerosis, people with broken backs, all the way down to children with cerebral palsy, really benefit from working with a therapy horse.”

Dr. Sears says that while most people associate therapy animals with a psychological boost for patients, the impact can also be very physical. For example, horseback riding is known to stimulate the nervous system and offer strengthening and mobility therapy for the disabled. Research consistently shows that therapy animals are helpful with multiple conditions, including heart disease, substance abuse, schizophrenia and dementia.

The active ingredient in animal therapy is a little-understood concept called the human-animal bond. The AVMA has officially recognized the existence of the human-animal bond since 1982. And the AVMA states that this bond has existed for thousands of years. “Interactions with animals can provide emotional and physical health benefits for diverse human populations, including the elderly, children, physically disabled, deaf, blind, emotionally or physically ill, and the incarcerated,” AVMA policy states.

Therapy animals have a long history, as well. Florence Nightingale recommended the use of a small pet to provide companionship to the sick, and ancient Greeks believed dogs had healing powers.

While most therapy animals are dogs and cats, therapists have found success using chickens and even small ruminants like goats.

“There have been therapy programs that have worked with cattle,” says Carol Davis, executive director of Paws’itive Teams, a California organization that trains both therapy and service animals. Paws’itive Teams is the organization that trained Sunny.

Davis says that over the past decade she’s seen the demand for her animals increase and more diversity in the work these animals are asked to do. Today, therapy animals trained by Paws’itive Teams work with foster children during evaluation sessions and with children who have been victimized.

“We have one dog that works at a county courthouse with children who have been abused and will have to testify against their abuser,” Davis says. “In some cases, the judge will allow the children to take the dog with them onto the stand for support.”

The AVMA policy on therapy animals suggests that the relationship between therapy animals and their human clients must be mutually beneficial, explains Dr. Emily Patterson-Kane of the AVMA Animal Welfare Division.

“People experience great benefits from living or working with therapy animals, and we must make sure that the animals benefit from working with us,” Patterson-Kane says. “The real power of the human-animal bond is that people and animals can make each others’ lives richer and more meaningful.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

(ARA) – We all love our pets and for good reason. They provide a great deal of joy in our lives and offer unconditional love. That’s why whether it’s a routine annual exam, ongoing flea and heartworm control, or a medical treatment for cancer, a growing number of pet owners are making a serious commitment to give their pets the best health and preventive care available. But over time, this care can be expensive.

Recent studies show pet owners now spend $24.5 billion a year on veterinary services, over-the-counter drugs and other health supplies for pets. Tremendous advancements in veterinary technology have helped increase the life span of cats and dogs. For example, expensive medical treatments like cat scans, MRIs and chemotherapy — services once only available for people — are now being used to help save the lives of pets.

Pet owners’ beloved four-legged friends can sometimes face unexpected medical emergencies or illnesses, resulting in the difficult decision whether or not to spend thousands of dollars to save the life of their pet.  Having pet health insurance helps allow pet owners to decide with their hearts, not their wallets, what’s best for their pets in their time of need.

But with so many plans out there, how do you know which one to choose? Here are some factors to consider:

1. Insure young.

The best time to purchase pet insurance is when the animal is young.  Many pet health insurance plans do not cover pre-existing conditions so it is best to insure your pet when it is a puppy or kitten.  Insuring early can also provide coverage for certain initial veterinary procedures such as vaccinations and spaying/neutering.

2. What kind of coverage does the plan offer?

There are many different types of pet health insurance policies available. Some policies cover only accidents, some cover accidents and illnesses, while others offer coverage for accidents, illnesses and preventive care.  The preventive care coverage can include certain customary annual costs of routine vaccinations, flea and heartworm preventative medications, routine annual physical exams and lab tests, and other preventive care as outlined in the policy.  

3. Do I have to pay a deductible?

Just like with human insurance, different plans have different deductibles. PurinaCare pet health insurance, the first pet health insurance under the Purina brand, allows pet owners to choose from four different deductible options: $100, $250, $500 or $1,000. There is a 20-percent co-pay once the annual deductible has been met, and the benefit limit is $20,000 annually.

4. Are certain conditions excluded?

Pet insurance exclusions can vary depending on the policy chosen. Common exclusions include pre-existing medical conditions, cosmetic and elective procedures, fertility and pregnancy.

5. Can I use my own veterinarian?

It depends on the plan. PurinaCare pet health insurance, for example, allows pet owners to take their pet to the veterinarian of their choice, including veterinary specialists such as oncologists, neurologists and allergists, as long as they are licensed in the United States.

“Pet health insurance can help pet owners provide the best care possible for their pets in a time of need. However, less than one percent of pets are currently insured due to a lack of awareness of pet insurance, and dissatisfaction with current plan options. We are excited to use Purina’s pet expertise, innovation, brand trust and experience to deliver simple, comprehensive and easy-to-use pet health insurance that meets the needs of today’s highly involved pet owners,” says David Goodnight, D.V.M., president and chief operating officer of PurinaCare Insurance Services., Inc.

For more information about PurinaCare or to obtain a free, no obligation quote, visit www.purinacare.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent