Man's Best Friend
Having been brought up with a menagerie of furry critters, it was inevitable I would love the company of animals. One variety stood out for me… cats. This was because they were soft and cuddly, portable; I could dress them up and put them in my pram. It was my view from a young age that a house was not right until a feline moved in. My addiction started at an early age. At the age of seven, after my dad moved houses I noticed something was missing so I went about sorting it out. It was close to Christmas, a perfect time for a little shopping. I knew just what to get my dad… Armed with my dollar note I marched down to the Pets Pantry and enquired what type of cat I could purchase with my available funds. To my surprise they were willing to sell me a live kitten, with four paws and a tail no less! Thinking I was on the winning side of this deal, I smartly took the kitten and made haste. Needless to say my father was thrilled the next morning when he opened the brightly wrapped box to find a highly dehydrated, half dead kitten inside. Being a highly creative and original soul I suggest he call the kitten ‘Christmas’; however after further deliberation we settled on Chrissy. For the next 14 years, Chrissy was the next best thing to sliced bread and much better than my Barbie doll. We had so many adventures together, although she may not have strictly consented to participating in all the activities we did. This wee cat set me up for a lifelong love of pets. Other than the ravings of a “mad” pet person, research provides a sound evidence base of the benefits of pets. Take a look at the attached 'The Power of Pets' article written by Simone Sommer for something a little more scientific!
Having been brought up with a menagerie of furry critters, it was inevitable I would love the company of animals. One variety stood out for me… cats. This was because they were soft and cuddly, portable; I could dress them up and put them in my pram. It was my view from a young age that a house was not right until a feline moved in. My addiction started at an early age. At the age of seven, after my dad moved houses I noticed something was missing so I went about sorting it out. It was close to Christmas, a perfect time for a little shopping. I knew just what to get my dad… Armed with my dollar note I marched down to the Pets Pantry and enquired what type of cat I could purchase with my available funds. To my surprise they were willing to sell me a live kitten, with four paws and a tail no less! Thinking I was on the winning side of this deal, I smartly took the kitten and made haste. Needless to say my father was thrilled the next morning when he opened the brightly wrapped box to find a highly dehydrated, half dead kitten inside. Being a highly creative and original soul I suggest he call the kitten ‘Christmas’; however after further deliberation we settled on Chrissy. For the next 14 years, Chrissy was the next best thing to sliced bread and much better than my Barbie doll. We had so many adventures together, although she may not have strictly consented to participating in all the activities we did. This wee cat set me up for a lifelong love of pets. Other than the ravings of a “mad” pet person, research provides a sound evidence base of the benefits of pets. Take a look at the attached 'The Power of Pets' article written by Simone Sommer for something a little more scientific!
Power_of_Pets_Article.pdf [227.65K]
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Permission to use this article was kindly provided by Pet Magazine Editor Vicky Church. If you want up-to-date information about pets check out this great read or visit www.petmag.co.nz.