Advice to kids: 

When you pick a pet, make sure it’s a good fit for your home and personality. 

That’s the advice of Kathleen Slocum, a local veterinarian. She often makes talks in schools about what it takes for kids to be a good pet owner. 

“If a kid is real active, he or she might like a larger dog like a golden retriever or a labrador. Or maybe a greyhound. They like and need to run to be healthy,” Slocum said. 

“But, if a child is more quiet, a smaller dog like a spaniel or terrier might be better. Or a cat. They won’t need as much exercise,” she said. 

Of course, she said bigger pets need more room. A big dog might not be right if the family lives in an apartment, she said. Also, big pets are more expensive. 

Slocum said children need to be willing to accept responsibility for pet care. “Remember, your pet is a living thing,” she said. 

One of the main responsibilities a child should assume is regular exercise. Pets should get from 15 to 30 minutes a day. She said this exercise period is also good for the kids. 

“Everyone talks about overweight kids. Exercise will be good for them too,” Slocum said. 

She said children can usually accept responsibilities about the time they are 8 or 9. If a child is younger than that, Slocum recommends a smaller pet such as a hamster. Those require much less personal attention. 

She said many parents like their older children to have pets. “It’s a good way to teach them about responsibility over another living thing,” she said. 

Slocum is at the Brentwood Animal Hospital near Brentwood Blvd. and Manchester Ave. in St. Louis County. She graduated from Kansas State University’s veterinary school. 

She said dogs and cats are the most popular pets for kids. “We don’t recommend either birds or reptiles as pets for kids,” she said. “Both are real hard to take care of as a first pet. Also, they don’t have personalities like dogs or cats,” she added.

Slocum said she recommends picking a grown dog or cat as a pet. “Then, you don’t have  that trouble of helping them get potty trained and other problems of early age,” she said.

She also said she recommends that kids consider getting their pets through the Humane Society or some other shelter. She also favors mixed-breed pets. “They tend to be healthier than pure-breds,” she added. 

Eighty per cent of dogs are in shelters for “silly reasons, not because they were sick,” Slocum said. She added many pets are in shelters simply because previous owners didn’t want them anymore. 

Among the big dogs that Slocum recommends are greyhounds. “They are one of the best kept secrets among pets. They are wonderful with people,” she said. 

When picking a pet, Slocum said a child should visit the shelter and see the proposed pet. “If it’s hiding in a corner of the pen, that may mean it’s been abused previously,” she said. 

Recently, there was a story of several dogs taken away from an owner near St. Louis. Those dogs had been starved and were ill. “Dogs like that probably wouldn’t make good pets for a child,” Slocum said. 

She also said there were some “don’ts” about pet owning. “If you don’t want the responsibility...If you don’t have the space...If you don’t have the money...If you don’t have the time, then, you shouldn’t get a pet,” she said. 

Slocum said kids who take responsibility for feeding and exercising their pets can usually tell when they get sick. 

“They’ll know if they aren’t eating as well. Also, they can tell if they are mopey or moving slow,” Slocum said. 

She said she always urges “the kids to speak up” about the pet’s illness. “Oftentimes, they know about the pet’s medical condition better than the parents,” Slocum said. 

Some other advice about pets: 

“Don’t pick up dogs by the scruff of the neck or by the front legs. That hurts a dog,” she said. She favors cradling the dog with one arm through the front legs and the other supporting the rear portion.

“For cats, you can pick them up by the scruff. That’s how their mothers carry them,” Slocum said.