Pet ownership requires responsibility, affection and sensitivity to pet's needs

How many pets do you have at your home? There are pets for all applications, but today, too many people make bad choices when it comes to having a pet.

Do you have room for Fluffy the dog to roam outside the house and inside the fenced yard?

Most animal shelters that adopt pets have requirements so the animal will stay contained, out of trouble and harm's way. If you don't have a properly fenced yard, animal fanciers might consider an indoor pet such as a cat, bird, hamster or small dog that can get by with a smaller fenced yard if you aren't prepared to fence all your property.

There needs to be some logic in owning a pet. Pets are not inanimate objects. They are living beings.

My dogs have an acre on which to stretch out and run. It is completely fenced. My larger, long-haired dog spends its nights in a warm, dry dog house, while the short-haired smaller animal beds down in her crate in our living room and spends her days outdoors playing in the yard with her buddy.

Time after time, driving around our communities, I've seen dogs roaming the streets or laying dead on the roadside.

I've even had to report them as people don't seem to even notice or care when their pet goes AWOL. My question is, Why do pet owners have pets when they don't mean much to them?

I say this because most pet owners don't care enough about their missing animals to even bother with a visit to the local animal shelters to see whether Fido is there?

Go visit any animal shelter see how many dogs are waiting to be found.

Then there are the times the family needs to take a vacation. Having pets is a major responsibility as they must be taken care of when the owners are away.

I had a friend tell me recently that her neighbors leave all the time, but nobody is taking care of the dogs in that yard. These people put out food for a day when they leave and expect it to last a week. The condition of the animals was pathetic, but not pathetic enough as they are just inside the controversial zone that dictates what law enforcement can or can't do.

Just like humans, animals deserve a quality life. Sadly, too many are cooped up in tiny quarters for weeks and months on end, never taken out for walks, basically ignored or thrown a bone over the kennel wall now and then. I think pet owners who act like that should spend some quality time inside the kennel with their pet and see how they like sitting in a small caged area looking out and wondering whether they will ever get some exercise.

Too many pet owners, who are otherwise looked upon as every-day good citizens, seem to push aside their ethics when it comes to caring for pets. Perhaps they were simply appeasing the children or a spouse by giving in to the requests of "let's get a pet."

Shelter operators, animal regulation officers and rescue groups pull their hair out with frustration watching how some pets are forced to live.

Some of the best dogs and cats on the face of this earth can be adopted from shelters and rescue groups. I rescued my two dogs and they now have a great life playing in the yard and going out on weekend horseback trip with me throughout the year.

One dog knows something good is about to happen when my pickup truck engine starts. She starts getting really excited when it backs up to the horse trailer. She usually quickly jumps on a platform at the front of the trailer so when the tailgate on the truck drops, she can jump right in.

Now that's a happy dog.

The other one follows and mimics this procedure. When they are hooked to the cross tie behind the truck cab, they know there's going to be a good day ahead.

In the summer months, we ride early in the morning to avoid the heat. The dogs get a mat to lie down on in the bed of the truck for the ride home. Truck beds can absorb summer heat and it is a sensible thing to protect a dog's paws from being burned.

Whether you take your dog on a horseback ride or a stroll on one of this area's great river trails, most dogs will appreciate the opportunity, I guarantee it.

The next time you look at your best canine pal and see its tail wagging, perhaps it is trying to tell you more than just, "Hello."

Exercise is a good thing for the family pet as many animals need a purpose or something to do. Sitting around the house can be a real drag for the average dog when all that dog really wants is to be with you.