Oh, how we love the sound of our four-legged fuzzy family members as they whip through your home at mock speeds or sniffle outside the door when you let them out to pee. Is it not true that your little furry friend is as much a part of the family as little Isabella is? So why should they have to settle for anything less than top shelf when their health is at stake? Give your doggy a break, as well as your wallet and the planet, and reduce your pets paw print with these easy and green steps!

Get your pet tagged

By getting your dog tagged; either with an aluminum ID tag that you can get from your local spay and neuter clinic, or the new age electronic chips, and you will save yourself a lot of heart ache, some trees since you won’t have to print out a bunch of lost dog flyers, and some gas emissions from driving around to look for your pet. I found the cutest tags at www.mommytags.com , and the silver they use is recycled.

Getting a Pet is a full time job!

Even though the little kitten you see at the mall is the cutest thing you have ever scene, and your five year old really wants one, this doesn’t mean you must buy her. Baby kittens grow up, just like baby bunnies and puppies, into full grown animal, that needs food, water, and most of all, lots of your love and time. Unless your entire family is up for a new addition, and understands the long term commitment, then your better off just getting little Sammy a stuffed animal, or taking him to a farm to visit and get his cute animal fix. Pets are not suppose to be impulse buys, or fashion accessories, they are an extension of your family!

Protect the native wildlife and leash your pets

Imagine if you were tweety, just hanging around, scouting for seeds and enjoying your life. Then, BAM, out of no where comes a huge furry ball that gobbles you right up! Talk about a buzz kill, or more like birdie kill. Cats are the big bad wolf to wild habitat, and they spike the bird mortality rate up by double. Unlike the wild predators they become when locked outdoors, indoor cats are always well fed, and

Always keep your dog on a leash when outside, and confine your mangy feline indoors. Topped only perhaps by habitat destruction, cats are the biggest, baddest bird killers of all time. Even wind turbines have got nothing on them. While you may poo-poo high cat-related bird-mortality rates as collateral damage in the great Circle of Life, domestic cats do have an unfair advantage. Unlike wild predators, house cats are always well fed, well rested, and in tip-top fighting shape. They’re also present in more concentrated (and rapidly increasing) numbers than say, the San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike.