companion animals at the Children's Museum of Phoenix

The littles and I were eagerly anticipating our recent visit to The Children's Museum of Phoenix because May is Companion Animal Month (sponsored by Banfield Pet Hospital) at the museum. Since we're all animal lovers and we love the museum, it couldn't get much better! Of course, we first had to dive into...er...climb into the Schuff-Perini Climber, quite possibly the coolest climbing apparatus ever created. The littles spent about 30 minutes exploring and trying to lose and find each other. I went up, too. Unlike the bacteria-laden hamster maze passed off as a play place by the dining establishment with the golden arches, this climber is clean and most spaces are large enough for adults, who are encouraged to climb with their little ones.

The littles really enjoyed the pet-themed art projects in the art studio.

They started by creating "Pet Crayon Rubbings," which Porter really took to. The museum provided all necessary supplies and instructions. It was pretty amazing how many different animals could be made with the simple rubbing outline.

Next, they moved on to make "Pet Stick Puppets," which was a lot of fun. They traced from templates, added details with markers and cut paper, and then glued their creature onto craft sticks. They did a show in the puppet theater with their finished products right there in the art studio.

We came away with some really special handmade treasures.

We set off to explore the museum some more, and in addition to the amazing regular exhibits, we discovered that the hallway leading to the reading nook was full of whimsical animal art by Carolyn Schmitz.

The paintings were hung low enough for the children to view comfortably, and my littles had a ball just spotting the different animals and intricate details in each painting. The juxtaposition of classic realism with a child-like subject matter would please art-goers of any age.

The highlight of our visit to the Children's Museum of Phoenix's Companion Animal Month was the "Ask the Vet" session. Banfield Veterinarian and Chief of Staff at the Tempe Marketplace office, Dr. Ryan Pearce, was on hand to chat with children and answer questions about pets and veterinary medicine.

Dr. Pearce was knowledgeable and great with kids. Not to mention, he brought tattoos and other giveaways so he was "in."

The kids asked about what kind of animals Banfield and Dr. Pearce take care of and learned that they see mostly cats and dogs, but also snakes, lizards, mice, birds, rabbits, hamsters, and other companion animals.

Porter asked, "How does it make you feel when you save an animal's life?"

Dr. Pearce got a big smile on his face and said, "it's really rewarding because we get to see the pets happy and healthy, and especially make the pet's parents happy because they are usually really worried and scared when something happens to their pet. It makes me feel really good to help someone, you know? You should take every opportunity to help someone when you can. It makes you feel really good–sometimes better than the person you helped."

What a great message.

Dr. Pearce and the staff at the Children's Museum of Phoenix also told us about their "Future Vet Camp" program held once every three months for one day. The program, geared for children of elementary school age is a "career discovery program that teaches children about veterinary medicine." Future vets get to interact and learn about procedures from a veterinarian and a therapy dog, and they even earn a stethoscope upon "graduation." I think I know two future vets.

In June, SRP is sponsoring "Safety Month," and the museum has some really fun activities planned, including programming on bike safety and safety around water and electricity.

The museum is celebrating its 5th Birthday with a "Big Birthday Bash" on Friday, June 14th. Marion Wiener, Director of Marketing & Communications, informed me that "general admission gets you all that you love about the more than 300 hands-on, learning experiences at the museum, plus face painting, magic, balloons, birthday crafts, cupcakes, giveaways, and more!"

Our Companion Animal Month experience at the Children's Museum of Phoenix was educational and lots of fun, and I didn't even touch on the regular exhibits, which make up the majority of the museum. It's a place worth coming back to again and again to discover new things, and even the old things become new experiences as the children grow and rediscover.

Disclaimer: I was provided admission to the museum in exchange for my honest opinion.

the big, bad world: enter, ThunderShirt, part 1 (Rex)

There's a lot to be afraid of in this world. I have heard amazing things about the ThunderShirt. Though I'm thankful my dog does not suffer from anxiety issues, I really wanted to find out what all the buzz is about. The product line has expanded since the company's inception, but their flagship product is the ThunderShirt for dogs, which, according to thundershirt.com,

uses gentle hugging to calm your dog or cat. With its patented design, ThunderShirt’s gentle, constant pressure has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs and cats if they are anxious, fearful or overexcited. Based on surveys completed by over two thousand customers, over 80% of dogs and cats show significant improvement in symptoms when using ThunderShirt. ThunderShirt is already helping hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats around the world and is recommended by thousands of veterinarians and trainers. How does ThunderShirt work? Experts believe that pressure has a calming effect on the nervous system, possibly by releasing a calming hormone like endorphins. Using pressure to relieve anxiety in people and animals has been a common practice for years.

Could it be true? I asked around, and one of my clients, Leah, was happy to sing ThunderShirt's praises. She rescued her pooch, Rex, from a year of neglect, where he had very little contact with people, and no contact with other animals. Since it was the first year of his life, she had to start over with him. "While he is very intelligent," she explained, "the world doesn't quite make sense to him." Leah helped Rex become happier and healthier, but there were still things that scared him and caused him stress. She sought the help of a behaviorist who taught Rex coping techniques that he used–and still uses–to his benefit. The techniques helped Rex work through the stress, but the stress, itself, was still there. Leah decided to try the ThunderShirt to minimize Rex's stress. She admits that she was skeptical, but was familiar with the use of pressure vests for people with autism, so she was willing to give it a try. She started by putting it on Rex for brief periods absent of stress, and by the second or third time she put it on him (calling it his "shirt" each time), he was comfortable with it. Soon after, a large monsoon–a major stressor for Rex–rolled through. Leah noticed Rex beginning to get anxious, so she asked him if he wanted to wear his "shirt." He gave her his "yes" response. Leah explained,

He calmed down long enough for me to slip the ThunderShirt onto him...it didn't seem to be helping. However, when I asked him if he wanted me to take off his 'shirt' and started to take it off, he gave me his 'no' response...After the storm had passed, he positioned himself as he had when I put the vest on him, clearly ready for it to be removed, so I asked him if he wanted me to take his 'shirt' off, and got a 'yes.'

As monsoon season goes here in the Phoenix area, she soon experienced a similar situation with Rex. She saw even more improvement when using the ThunderShirt.

The third monsoon of the season approached, and, this time, Rex recognized the benefit of the ThunderShirt, himself. He found his "shirt" and brought it to Leah, asking her for help. Leah reported that it didn't calm him 100%, but she saw definite improvement.

She started putting the ThunderShirt on Rex whenever there was a stress trigger. He really liked wearing his "shirt" at these times, as tightly as Leah could get it. She reported that if it wasn't tight enough, "he would stay put, waiting for me to fix it." Smart guy!

Then New Year's Eve rolled around. Leah recalled,

Fireworks are one of the things that stress him out, and between the various local fireworks (shows) and neighbors with fireworks, there were BOOMS galore. At first, I had forgotten to put his ThunderShirt on him, and he was very stressed. He was running laps of stress through the house, barking and generally agitated. Once I remembered...I asked him if he wanted his 'shirt' and got a 'yes!' So I grabbed his ThunderShirt and put it on him. He gave me a big kiss and laid down on the sofa next to me, and within a few minutes, he was enjoying a nice calm nap, as the fireworks continued.

Rex continues to have success with his Thundershirt. After hearing his story and others, I decided I wanted to see for myself. Stay tuned.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ThunderShirt in exchange for my honest opinion.

kids and animals: instilling respect

My children have been junior pet sitters at Well Minded since before they knew they were junior pet sitters, traveling with me to care for all kinds of animals from typical house pets to reptiles, to farm animals. In addition to teaching them that our clients' homes are to be respected in every way, I have taught them how to treat animals and how to be safe around them. At ages six and four, my children can read animal language better than most, so I feel confident and secure in their ability to practice self control and gentle love. Even so, the most important rule for children and animals is to never leave them alone with an animal, especially if that animal is unfamiliar to them. I must confess that I do leave my children alone with our animals–a risk I am willing to take since I feel that I can trust all parties. Both animals and children are unpredictable, however, so I realize that there is always a chance something could go wrong. I never leave my children alone with a client's pet, both for the safety of the pet and my children.

Teaching children how to behave in various animal encounters is not only important for their safety, but also for the animal's safety.

You obviously don't want your child to pull a tail or hit an animal–these things should be easy to teach, unless your child has a bit of Lucifer inside, in which case, it's best so steer clear of animals until an exorcism can be performed. Assuming your child's soul is pure with delightful intentions, here are a few suggestions:

• I recommend exposing your child to animals at an early age, if only just to observe. The more your child sees animals, the more comfortable and familiar they will be with animals. And I don't just mean picture books. Make sure your child is comfortable around all family pets, and vice-versa. Take your baby to the zoo and talk about the animals. Take opportunities to interact with friends' pets.

• Talk to your child about how the animals feel in a given situation. Jumping next to a napping cat may produce a reaction in the cat that is hilarious to the child, but the cat has been startled and will most likely steer clear of the child in the future, breaking a possible bond. Explain that the cat feels scared and startled. Most children are born with a natural compassion for animals. If that tendency is fostered, it is easy for a child to respect an animal's feelings and space.

• Model good behavior around animals, and explain what you are doing, even if it seems mundane. "This dog likes it when I pet him from the top of his head to the middle of his back. He doesn't like his nose touched. I'm going to pet him the way he likes it so that we can be great friends."

• No matter the situation, children need to be calm around animals. Unless it's a game of fetch in the backyard with the family dog, keeping a calm, confident energy around all animals is important. Animals pick up on human energy in an instant and are often leery around children making erratic movements, squealing, or being careless. Kids will be kids, and I don't want to take all the fun out of being around an animal, but if treated with respect and care, an animal will show you it's best side, which is much more fun for everyone.

• Teach your children how to restrain themselves around animals. All kids want to do is touch and pet and love, with the best of intentions, but some animals can be shy or standoffish, or even scared. Pushing the animal to interact is a big mistake. I teach my children to be calm and ignore a barking dog. I teach them not to chase a cat who wants privacy. And with enough practice, they have grown to restrain themselves on their own.

• Learn about and teach your children animal language, even if it's just the basics. What does a cat's hiss mean? Why is the dog's hair standing on end? Why did the tortoise pull into his shell? All of these are warning signs and children should be taught to recognize them.

Children and animals go together like pb & j. Foster your child's natural curiosity. If you take every opportunity early on, your kids will grow to love animals and treat them with the respect they deserve.

Original content by well minded word.

our sidekick, "barf bowl"

The single best thing about working from home as a professional pet sitter is that I get to be with my kids. That's only a problem when one of them is sick, because I can't call in sick to play nurse for the day. Porter woke up at precisely 4:43 a.m. this morning, barfing his brains out. No school. Instead, he gets to go to work with mommy. Thankfully, this mostly means we get to cuddle on the couch while I work away on the laptop, but today we had to venture out to see a few animals. The poor guy didn't want to go at all, and asked if I could call someone to take care of him, but with such short notice, that just wasn't a possibility. So we ventured out with our sidekick, "barf bowl" and completed our visits.

Oh, and if I saw your animal today, rest assured that he saved the actual barfing for when we were just blocks away from home.

keeping the pups hydrated

Temps are on the rise, especially here in Phoenix. Everyone in our family carries a water bottle everywhere, and it's just as important to keep our pooches from becoming dehydrated. I use a foldable bowl by Outward Hound. I love the convenience of the foldable bowl because it weighs next to nothing and folds down so small that I can easily fit it in my pocket or purse, and, of course, my hiking backpack for our family or Tails on Trails hikes. Though lightweight, the bowl can withstand a beating because it's made of heavy-duty canvas. Though the pups prefer it when I hold the water for them, catering to their every whim, our bowl has been in dirt and on rocks and the like countless times and doesn't look at all worse for the wear.

The bowls come in different sizes, but I got a fairly small one so that it would be most portable. It just means that sometimes the lager dogs ask for seconds, which I'm happy to provide.

The bowl was particularly helpful when we went to the Phoenix Pet Expo and our canine companion refused to drink out of the community dog bowls that were placed around the event. Who could blame her? I think the ratio of drool to water was off the charts.

I also love the collapsable, reusable bowls because they help us keep things green. Instead of using store-bought water bottles, we fill our reusable bottles and, in turn, refill the dog bowl. Again and again!

Cheers!