It Always Costs More...

One of the things I get asked when I do my educational presentations is how much animals cost at HAWS. When I tell kids our adoption fees for certain animals, I invariably hear: "Oh, I could get him. I have (fill in amount here)at home.

While this is what I hear from children, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out that many adults think like this as well. But truthfully the cost of the animal itself is just the beginning and is really the most inexpensive part of having a pet.

When I visited third graders at Hadfield Elementary School I brought Speckles the Guinea Pig with me. And of course the kids were very excited to hear that her adoption fee is only $13.00 and thought that they could afford to adopt her.

It was a great opportunity for me to discuss with them what the actual cost of a guinea pig would be. We had to factor in her cage, water bottle, food dish, chew toys, house, bedding and food -- the last two would be an on-going expense. And I talked about having money saved up in case their guinea pig got sick and needed to go to the vet.

While it's natural for kids to want something without thinking about the cost, I think it's a good idea to plant the seed that having a pet is a long-term financial commitment.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

I gave a tour of HAWS the other day to a group of 8 year old Girl Scouts. One of the girls told me that she had a girl guinea pig and wanted to get a boy guinea pig so that "they can get married and have babies". I asked her what would happen to all the babies, and she responded that she would keep them. I then mentioned that she would need 2 cages -- one for all the girls and one for all the boys so that there wouldn't be even more babies. Her response to this was "I didn't know relatives could get married!"

Research and Responsibility

One of the things I attempt to teach children about being responsible pet owners is that the responsibility begins even before you bring the pet home. Learning as much about a the required care, behavior and handling of an animal before you get it helps a person be prepared to be a good pet owner and be able to provide for the needs of the animal.

Guinea Pigs, for example, are decended from the cavy in the Andes Mountains in South America (cavia aperea). Since they live near the equator the temperature is consistent and fairly warm -- with only about 12 degrees in variation from season to season. Guinea Pigs can very easily become sick if exposed to drafty or cold weather, and it's recommended that they be kept inside in an area away from open windows or air conditioning ducts.

Recently HAWS had some Guinea Pigs surrendered to us, and it was obvious that the owners hadn't done even rudimentary research before they brought them home.

The previous owners told us that they thought Guinea Pigs were outdoor pets, and so they housed them in a fenced in yard with a dog house for shelter and a heating lamp. When he called he said that he thought he had 8 of them to bring in, however after he rounded them up discovered that there were 11 total. It's amazing that they were still alive after being housed outside in Wisconsin in January!

The reason for surrender was that the owners decided that Guinea Pigs just weren't the right pets for them --mainly because they weren't social, however HAWS was told that the guinea pigs weren't ever handled either. Animals can only learn to be social if someone makes an effort to socialize them.

After being treated for lice, mites and fight wounds the males were neutered and are currently being socialized by our small animal volunteers. They are available for adoption -- but will require an adopter who understands that patience will have to be practiced since they are still afraid of people. The females are in foster care for a few months while we wait to see if any are pregnant.

While this scenario is a bit extreme, surrenders because of a lack of education are one of the biggest reasons shelters get animals. People purchase pets because they are cute or cool, and then get home and reality sets in. Shelters will continue to exist as long as there are people who obtain pets they don't know much about.

Animals and Art

Many years ago when I lived in a apartment with my two dogs I became friendly with the neighbor across the hall. We had a lot in common -- my bachelor's degree was in fine arts, and Kristin was an artist who also taught at the Wisconsin Lutheran College. I loved animals and Kristin had a zoo, made up of mostly birds. If I remember correctly at the time Kristin had a cage full of finches, two love-birds, two Amazon Parrots, a conure, a guinea pig and a variety of other animals which I no longer remember.

I moved out of that apartment when I bought my house eight and a half years ago, and Kristin purchased a house shortly thereafter. I now have 3 dogs. Kristin still has many of the same animals, with the addition of a dog, a rabbit and two cats. All these years we've kept in touch.

Today Kristin visited HAWS with students from her Wisconsin Lutheran College classes to paint HAWS animals. One of our rabbit volunteers had our rabbits and our guinea pig set up in our Activity Room in exercise pens. Most of the students opted to paint those animals, while others chose to sit in our kennel and paint the dogs.

This is a great opportunity -- the students get the experience of trying to paint a moving subject, and HAWS has an opportunity to educate young adults on what we do here.

The photo at the top is one of the students, Kirsten Huffman working, and to the right is a close-up of the watercolor she was working on.

Below is the water-color that art professor Kristin Gjerdset completed in just a few short minutes. Kristin is an amazing artist - with her subject matter focusing on nature and animals. Check out her website to see more of her work.