Pet Parent Day

You already know that there is a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day, but did you know that there is ‘pet parent day?’

Yes, there is, how fantastic is that? And why not, you have a special bond and connection with your pet/pets whether they are small and fluffy or large and smooth, have scales or a slithery skin, feathery wings or hard shell, you love them as part of the family and they love you just the same.

Here is a list of things to make the day extra special between you and your pet:

• Give extra kisses and cuddles.
• Look through photos to see how they have grown.
• Brush them
• clean their area.
• Spend quality time with them.
• A nice long walk.
• Go over the field and throw a ball.

There are many more things you could do, but remember to do it safely and responsibly and lovingly, this is what makes you #theperfectpetparent

If your pet/pets could talk to you, what would they say?

Do you think your pet would say thank you for being their parent?

• Would your dog say, ‘Thank you for walking me?’
• Would your cat say, ‘Thank you for feeding me?’
• Would your fish say, ‘Thank you for cleaning out my tank?’
• Would your rabbit say, ‘Thank you for kisses and cuddles?’
• Would your hamster say, ‘Thank you for my toys?’

I think each of them would most definatley say, ‘Thank you for being the best parent and I love you very much.’

Would you like a challenge? are you up for it? Yes, I hear you say! Fantastic! Well, I want you to think of one of your pets and imagine what it would be like to be them!

Think about things like:

• Their viewpoint – Do they see from low down nearer the ground or from high up?
• What do they eat? – Varied food or the same thing every day?
• Do they stay in all day or go out? – Are they bored?
• Where do they sleep? – Is it comfortable?

Those were just a few things to get you started and I’m guessing you can come up with a lot more ideas. Write down all your answers.

After you have done that, do you think your pet is living their best life? If yes, then you are the best pet parent, but if you think that maybe you could do better to make your pets live happier and more content then you must make the changes straight away, your pet will love you even more and you will be so happy knowing that you are doing the best for your pet.

Whatever it is that you decide to do today, I hope you have lots of fun and remember:

Always be #theperfectpetparent

National Pet Month

If you know what your pet was thinking and how your pet was feeling, Would you look after them better? Do you think your pet would be happy or sad if you didn’t take care of them?

National Pet Month is from the 1st April to 10th May 2020 it is a time to think about all of our pets and how we should be responsible for them. Click Here to find out how you can get involved.

Do you have any pets? I hope you do as they can bring lots of joy to your life. Some children have no brothers or sisters and research shows that pets help children develop greater empathy, higher self-esteem, and that helps them feel good enough to take part in social and physical activities. That sounds fantastic doesn’t it?

You can get small pets like a fish or a hamster to big pets like a large dog or a horse, all of these different animals need lots of love and affection from you.

Pets are apart of our lives every day and should be considered just like any other family member. They make our lives happy and can teach us about unconditional love.

Your pet loves you very much and will be loyal to you, so we need to make sure they are kept healthy, and that they eat nutritious food and their basic needs are met every day!

Being Responsible: When you get a pet you will always have to take care of it, and it will rely entirely on you for all that it needs. You will need to always keep a watchful eye on your pet. Having a pet will make you more responsible, so the level of commitment and care from you will reflect on your pet.

Making time: Having a pet is a big commitment and you have to be sure you make time during the day for your little/big friend. Getting organised is a good idea, as they will need to come first in your life, this will help to develop time managing abilities.

Nurturing & Bonding: The more time spent with your pet you will find that you become more nurturing and will understand that living beings have needs and that these needs have to be taken care of, because of this you will also become more caring, this will most probably show in other areas of your life. The act of looking after your pet will create an emotional and special bond between you that you will always remember. People will notice how more loving and caring you have become.

Health: A lot of pet owners, especially ones that have dogs, find they are much healthier as they are more active, dogs need walking every day and sometimes twice a day, Phew! that is a lot of walking, running and playing isn’t it? Research has shown that sharing a strong relationship bond with your pets lowers stress levels and that can prevent some illness related to these conditions.

Always remember to be:

#theperfectpetparent

Why We Need Bees.

At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society of London, the Earthwatch Institute concluded that Bees were declared the most important living beings on the planet. Bees have been on the decline these past few years, they say the main reason is uncontrolled use of pesticides, this is a substance used for destroying insects harmful to plants or to animals. Deforestation, this is the action of clearing a wide area of trees.

Why do you think bees are important?

Well, we need bees for agriculture! this means working on cultivating crops and plantations, you do this by preparing the land for production of food and goods such as fibres, biofuels, animal feed etc.

We need bees to pollinate! this means to carry pollen to and deposit pollen on (a stigma, ovule, flower, or plant) for fertilization.

A lot of plants we need for food relies on pollination, especially by bees: from almonds and vanilla and apples to squashes. Bees also pollinate around 80% of wildflowers so our countryside would be far less interesting and beautiful without them.

We must protect these hard-working creatures, we should immediately stop the use of pesticides, promote completely natural agricultural and we should carefully monitor the bees health and welfare.

How can you help? Below are a few suggestions:

Providing Food

Bees need a wide range of plants that flower from spring to autumn to feed from. These include:

• alyssum, cornflower, sunflower, michaelmas daisy and sweet william for nectar in summer
• bluebells, rosemary, geranium and honeysuckle
• ivy and shrub willows provide food in early and late parts of the year

Creating shelters

Bumblebees need to find places to nest and hibernate in.

You can help by:

• creating patches of bare earth in warm sheltered spaces for nesting sites
• leaving a pile of stones, dead plant stems, fallen leaves and log piles for bumble bees to hibernate in over winter
• buying a ready-made bumble bee box

Pesticide use

You can help by:

• considering natural alternatives, for example, planting onion, garlic or marigolds
• if you must use pesticides, only spraying in the early morning or evening when the bees and other insects will be less active
• always storing pesticides in a secure, cool dry place and away from small children.

Wildlife Crossings.

Have you ever said, “Look, there is a deer crossing the road?” I bet you have! but in fact, it is the road crossing their home! Think about that for a moment. We have chopped down forests and woods, we’ve dug up huge fields to build roads, houses and schools and a lot more besides, you must remember that this is where the animals lived, and now they have to cross a road with cars going very fast, it must be so scary for them and very dangerous, not just for the animal but also the people in the car.

Animals need to roam free for several reasons, it could be for shelter, food and to find a mate, So the next time you see a deer or badger or even a fox crossing the road, remember that they are crossing their once beautiful home.

The first animal crossing was built in France in the 1950s.

Other countries thought it was such a great idea they also decided to build wildlife crossings. Some are built like a bridge and go over and some are built like an underpass and go under. Below are a few crossing from around the world.

Wildlife crossings allow animals to connect or reconnect with each other. They help prevent accidents between animals and cars, also lorries and motorbikes which may kill or injure wildlife but may also cause injury to humans.