Friday, February 20, 2015

National Love Your Pet Day

Doesn't this "holiday" strike you as a bit odd?
Seriously.
I mean, that's a given ... right?
 
Sadly, many of us know people for whom this is not the case.
Pet owners who, frankly, shouldn't be.
I'm not going there today.

Instead, I want to look at us.
Animal advocates, people who love their pets. People whose pets are family.
How might we spend the day?

Consider: we're not immune to the more minor moments of neglect.

Which one of us hasn't ended up so entangled in the tyranny of deadlines and family stresses that we don't do much more than ensure clean litter, fresh water and decent food?

How often have we passed hurriedly by, with a brief pat on the head or scritch behind the ear, promising "...later..." ?

This is the perfect day to slow down - even if for a brief moment.



Remember: pet ownership is a good health choice.

It can increase longevity.
It can reduce the risk of heart disease.
A purr's resonant frequency can actually promote healing.

So take a moment to snuggle. Take your dog for a walk - yes, even in the cold.
Work that red dot or mousie wand toy long enough to make even Faraday feel he's conquered his prey.

There's a term for that: it's called Pet Enrichment.

Because time spent with a loving pet is time that's beneficial to you both.


***

27 comments:

  1. We did the walk and had some fun and now ready for the snuggle bit. Have a fabulous Friday.
    Best wishes Molly
    PS hope you got my message on yesterday's post.

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  2. Lovely. :) you made my eyes a bit leaky that you are going to spend all day with Faraday and that wand toy ;)

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  3. This post really hits home today because as I was just leaving for work Truffles wanted to play. I just didn't have time and promised her we would when I get home. And I *will* keep that promise to her!

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  4. The Farm cats are very spoiled. They know they rule around here

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  5. Pet and human bonding is always top at our house and if Mom gets too busy, we let her know we need attention and we get it :) Hope you get that red dot today!

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  6. We could all take a note from the cats' life philosophy: slow down and R-E-L-A-X! With our kitties, of course!

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  7. Every day is love your pet day around here.....Sam has given us 15 years of fun and we have loved every second of it......through thick and thin we've all been together. I would wish for 15 more years with him but then we'd have to put up with all that publicity from Guinness Book of World Records!

    Hugs to pets everywhere for all they give to US!
    Pam (and Sam)

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  8. It makes each of us break a little inside when we see animals neglected and worse. Those of us in the CB all adore our babies and they are as much of a family to us as any human blood relative. Lots of hugging going on here.

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  9. Absolutely fantastic post and my fave of the day so far. I know I am soooo guilty of not spending the amount of "quality" time that I should with BOTH of my boys. I try (as we all do), but sometimes life gets in the way. The problem is, life goes by too fast! Thank you for this fabulous post.

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  10. Such a great reminder- to slow down and appreciate an extra moment or two with your pet. ~Rascal and Rocco

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  11. SO true. We do love Moosey, Gracie and Zoe each and every day, but we're going to spend a little extra special time today. :)

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  12. What a beautiful post and wonderful reminder. Sometimes the day flies out of control, the wand toys stay tucked away and we forget to take a moment to enjoy how much fun it is to love.
    xo GG

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  13. I think there should be a Pet Enrichment Day, in which humans have to come up with a new way to make our lives better!

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  14. guys....way awesum post yur mom rited....her iz veree wise... inn deed....

    heerz two a corydoras & cherry salmon kinda week oh end ♥♥♥

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  15. Wonderful post ! We're glad that in spite the previous hectic weeks Mum never forgot it ! Your photo makes us think that someone already won a kind of Nose-To-Nose Award MOL ! Purrs

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  16. I'm writing this around Saku who has decided he wants a snuggle right Now! But that's okay because he doesn't often want the attention, so when he does I usually say yes.

    Enjoy your snuggles!

    Eileen (Sasha, Sami, & Saku)

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  17. This really hits home here. It's time for some longer play sessions and less time in front of the computer so that there's uninterrupted laps to fill. Those things are so easy to let slide during hectic everyday life. We hope you had a nice, long chase with that red dot, Faraday. We have a feeling ours is coming shortly.

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  18. Mum loves me every day and she tells me so too. We don't need no calendar purrson telling us that. We loves 365, 366 in leap years!

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  19. Now you made me feel bad for not playing with the cats today. ;)

    Island Cat Mom

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  20. We're glad you didn't "go there"! And we agree, taking the time to love your pets is so important to both two and four legged household members! Efurryone in our home has their allotted time during the course of a day with either myself or my husband and we all look forward to that time in our day! :)

    the critters in the cottage xo

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  21. I try to spoil my kitties every day, but with 15- they don't all get spoiled in the same day.

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  22. What a wonderful post! I'm guilty of those short moments of neglect, but I truly love my girls.

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  23. "Mum! Get away from that keyboard! NOW! You've got to enrich me!!"

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  24. Cutest darn photo with Mom Lisa in it too. We demand our attention from Mom and Dad. It helps that they are retired and don't have more important things to do than give us what we want! Though, more treats would be nice! XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

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  25. My mom-person is guilty of those short moments of neglect !
    But when she have a day off she pay´s back with playtime and snuggle sessions :)

    XOXO

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Coolio! A comment? For US?