Pet Care For Kids By a Kid
3 Animal Scenarios and How To Help Them
What do you do when you happen upon an animal that someone has abandoned or took from its natural home? Here are three scenarios that might occur in your neighborhood, and how YOU and your family can help them safely.
SCENARIO 1: Abandoned Kittens
“Hey! What are you doing? Mommy! Get your hands off me! Ouch! This bag is dark! HEYYYY! My brothers and sisters are in here too! BUT where is Mommy???! Where are you taking us?!”
You and your husband have just woken up to the sound of mewling that has gotten fainter while you have been getting dressed to go discover the cause of the fainting noise. Outside your front door, you discover a large cardboard box, with now sign of how it got to your front porch, or why it is there. Your husband opens the flaps of the box and you both see what you hoped to not see. You have found a litter of kittens, and it seems they have not yet opened their tiny eyes and ears. Instead of abandoning them as it has seemed someone has already done, your pick up the box and bring it into your living room to decide what to do about this event.
What to do in this event:
STEP 1: Find some blankets or towels that you don’t mind getting a little dirty and lay them in your tub. Set the kittens on the towels.
STEP 2: Get a plastic sandwich bag and heat water in it until the bag is warm, but not hot. Put the baggie in another to ensure it won’t leak. Make two more and place all three in a triangle under the blankets. Place the kittens in the triangle, ON the blankets. Do not let the kittens touch the bags.
STEP 3: Call the veterinarian and ask her or him to schedule an appointment with you to raise the kittens.
SCENARIO 2: Runaway dog
Hungry. Hungry again. Cold. It was so fun while it lasted, running in the park alone, but now I am lost and I have no idea where I am anymore. At least it is warmer out today…
You are taking your daily run around the neighborhood when you see a skinny dog stumbling around. Being the responsible dog owner you are, you grab the leash and dog-treats you keep in your car.
(1) You walk slowly, cautiously, and tall to a spot not far from your car and about 3 feet away from the dog.
(2) You crouch and gently call the dog towards you. When he comes towards you, set a treat on the ground.
(3) You give the dog another treat, but from your hand. Gently talk to him and hold onto his collar.
(4) The dog still seemed calm at the hold of his collar, and so you slip the leash around his neck and treat him again.
(5) You saw that his collar’s tag had a number on it, so you called the owner. (If there was no number, you call animal control and ask them to pick up the dog to see if there was a microchip, or take the dog to the veterinarian).
(6) While waiting for the owner to come pick up the dog, you periodically treated and talked to the dog.
SCENARIO 3: Lost Turtle
Water! Need the water! Darn kid, he picked me up from the water and brought me here. I need the water! Water!
“Is that a turtle? On the sidewalk?” You walk closer. “It is a turtle!” You kneel down and feels that it very dry, and is probably very dehydrated. “Probably should get it back to the water.”
Step 1: Make sure it is not a snapping turtle!
Step 2: Determine the nearest water source, pond, creek, river, etc. If you have a car, drive the turtle there, but make sure you put it on the floor of your car on a towel or something like it. Otherwise, carry the turtle there, and keep a firm hold on the shell. Do not hold the turtle upside down.
Step 3: Gently set the turtle next to the edge of the water, having the turtle touching the water, but not fully in the water.
Thank you so much for reading! Hopefully this article will help an animal you may come across.
~M. Bilhartz
