National Pet Week Pets Families.com

Not only is this week (May 6-12) designated Be Kind to Animals Week, it’s also National Pet Week. The American Veterinary Medical Association and the Auxiliary to the American Veterinary Medical Association started it 26 years ago, in 1981. Together, their goal is to “promote responsible pet ownership, celebrate the human-animal bond, and promote public awareness of veterinary medicine.”

They even have a website dedicated to the week. It’s chock full of both useful and fun information.

Under the Pet Health Care, tab they provide a plethora of complimentary downloadable brochures. (In both English and Spanish.) They have 20 pamphlets on a variety of topics, including cancer in pets, household hazards, choosing a vet, euthanasia, and dealing with the grief of a pet’s passing.

Under the Fun/Games tab, they have four games to choose from. They even award prizes! (Screensavers and wallpaper for your computer.) The interesting thing about the games is they’re a combo of information, fun, and sponsor promotion. For instance, Subaru happens to be one of the site’s sponsors. In the Great Pet Race game, you get to choose one of two drivers, Fast Frankie the dog or Crash Cathy the cat, to drive –again, your pick—one of Subaru’s three newest models.

There’s a few other tabs, including ones for Educators that includes lesson plans and printable posters to hang in the classroom.

I have to admit, when I first researched what this week was about and why it was instituted, I was a little dismayed by what I found. It seemed it was just a way for the American Veterinary Medical Association to promote vets. I thought a more apropos name for the week would have been National Veterinarian Appreciation Week.

However, when I stopped to think about it a little more, vets have played a crucial part in the well being of all of my pets’ lives and our time together. It’s because they know what vaccinations my dogs and cats need, and that spaying and neutering will keep them healthier longer, that I have the healthy and happy pets I have.

Not only that, but thank heavens for them when emergencies strike, as it has time and again with Tabby. (i.e. When I found her, during her complications –no thanks to me– after her spay surgery, and the erupting pus incident.)

So here’s to the pets that enrich my life, and to the pets in your life that do the same. And here’s to the vets that ensure the good times with our four-legged, furry, scaly, feathery, fishy, and otherwise non-human family members!