A new friend

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34037, 29 December 1975, Page 15

A new friend

Pet-shop owners say that parents go to great pains to buy everything the pet could need. There seem to be few cases of underprivileged pets around. Not only do parents buy a puppy, but they buy the harness, lead, dog-basket, blanket, dog-care books, and bonzo bones. Budgies go home with every extra the cage can comfortably accommodate. If anything, budgies are too well-catered for: their cage accessories become distractions. They are so busy climbing ladders and looking in mirrors that they forget to talk. There is no reason for a child to maltreat a pet through ignorance. Pet shops are stocked with everv aid, book, and novelty’that any owner could reasonably want. Pet-shop owners themselves are repositories of miscellaneous animal .information; they are continually on the telephone diagnosing ailments, and offering advice. They often work in close association with vets, and, being pet-lovers themselves, will fight as hard as the owner to save a life.

Care of new pets it not difficult. Dogs eat basically the same meals as their owners, with the addition of pet meat, and without the sweets. A packet of calcium at $1.05 will last about three months, and is advised by some pet-shop owners. Cats are kept healthy on milk and cat food, and scraps of raw meat. Tropical fish are no problem; a pellet of fish food stuck to the side of the tank and a pinch of dry feed is enough for 12 fish a day. If 25 per cent of the water is changed weekly, and drops of water ager are added to the new water, the fish should be kept happy. New fish cost from 40c to $2 for common species, plants about 50c. Goldfish are easier to overfeed than starve. A pinch of fish food on the top of the water every second day is enough for one goldfish. If it is still there after 10 minutes, the fish is being overfed. The answer to pet-care problems is simple: if in doubt, visit a pet shop.