fuzzis
12-14-2007, 05:20 PM
Who Invited the Dog? (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/fashion/13pet.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&em&en=20db315739e9a40f&ex=1197781200)
...Difficult guests are no longer limited to humans. The boundaries between humans and animals have been so eaten away by pet therapists, pet designer outfits and pet bar mitzvahs, that it has reached a point where devoted owners, who treat their animals as privileged children, lose all perspective on the pet’s role in their social lives.
More American households have pets than ever — 68.7 million of them in 2006, according to a new survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association, up 12.4 percent from 2001.
Among dog owners, 53.5 percent considered their pets to be members of the family, the survey found. For cats, the number was 49.2 percent.
And the term “family member” should not be used lightly. Ari Henry Barnes, who works in a New York law firm, is so devoted to his cat, Romeo, that he wipes the animal’s behind every time he does “a stinky boom boom.”
When the cat became an extended houseguest at the home of good friends, Mr. Barnes found it stressful, because despite his wishes, the cat was allowed outside. “I think anybody who is taking care of someone else’s child or pet, they should protect the parent’s wishes.”
Many four-legged family members are routine travelers.
Derek Welsh, the president of www.bringyourpet.com, a “pet-friendly” hotel and lodging directory, estimates the number at roughly 10 million a year.
Mr. Welsh also said that in a Bring Your Pet survey of 100,000 self-selected pet owners, 38.5 percent said they had difficulty finding pet-friendly lodging.
This means there’s a very good chance they may be visiting soon. And so, for animal owners and those on the hosting end of the equation, a guide....
I travel with Cobbler. I've traveled with the cats before. I always ask, though, if it's OK to bring the "kids" with me...and I make sure to clean up after them. Like, when the cats and I made our trip back home to NV the first year I was here, or when we evacuated because of a hurricane, I kept them confined to the room I slept in, brought my dust-buster to vacuum up cat litter, etc. This trip home at Thanksgiving, saw Cobbler bleed on a friend's carpet, so I cleaned that immediately, and then I left them money to have the carpet cleaned. She ate their dog's food, so I bought them a bag.
I know, though, that Cob doesn't get to go out to the MS parents' because she plays a little rough with their boxer. (he plays a little rough with her, too, but since it makes them uncomfortable, even though they didn't say I couldn't bring her back out to play, I won't take her back there)
I don't ever want anyone to tell us we can't come back.
...Difficult guests are no longer limited to humans. The boundaries between humans and animals have been so eaten away by pet therapists, pet designer outfits and pet bar mitzvahs, that it has reached a point where devoted owners, who treat their animals as privileged children, lose all perspective on the pet’s role in their social lives.
More American households have pets than ever — 68.7 million of them in 2006, according to a new survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association, up 12.4 percent from 2001.
Among dog owners, 53.5 percent considered their pets to be members of the family, the survey found. For cats, the number was 49.2 percent.
And the term “family member” should not be used lightly. Ari Henry Barnes, who works in a New York law firm, is so devoted to his cat, Romeo, that he wipes the animal’s behind every time he does “a stinky boom boom.”
When the cat became an extended houseguest at the home of good friends, Mr. Barnes found it stressful, because despite his wishes, the cat was allowed outside. “I think anybody who is taking care of someone else’s child or pet, they should protect the parent’s wishes.”
Many four-legged family members are routine travelers.
Derek Welsh, the president of www.bringyourpet.com, a “pet-friendly” hotel and lodging directory, estimates the number at roughly 10 million a year.
Mr. Welsh also said that in a Bring Your Pet survey of 100,000 self-selected pet owners, 38.5 percent said they had difficulty finding pet-friendly lodging.
This means there’s a very good chance they may be visiting soon. And so, for animal owners and those on the hosting end of the equation, a guide....
I travel with Cobbler. I've traveled with the cats before. I always ask, though, if it's OK to bring the "kids" with me...and I make sure to clean up after them. Like, when the cats and I made our trip back home to NV the first year I was here, or when we evacuated because of a hurricane, I kept them confined to the room I slept in, brought my dust-buster to vacuum up cat litter, etc. This trip home at Thanksgiving, saw Cobbler bleed on a friend's carpet, so I cleaned that immediately, and then I left them money to have the carpet cleaned. She ate their dog's food, so I bought them a bag.
I know, though, that Cob doesn't get to go out to the MS parents' because she plays a little rough with their boxer. (he plays a little rough with her, too, but since it makes them uncomfortable, even though they didn't say I couldn't bring her back out to play, I won't take her back there)
I don't ever want anyone to tell us we can't come back.