Keep your kids - and your new animal - safe at home with this baker's dozen list of essential safety rules.
1 Kids under age four should only play with animals with adult supervision. (Puppies have sharp little teeth. And cats get really cranky when three-year-olds try to ride them.)
2 Leave animals alone while they’re eating.
3 Kids under age 8 (depending on your neighborhood, the kid, etc.) can’t walk dogs alone.
4 Don’t snack around dogs. Young kids might lose a finger as well as the snack.
5 Wash your hands after handling an animal or its belongings.
6 Don’t eat food a furry or feathered friend has tasted, or its food.
7 Don’t kiss animals on the mouth or nose.
8 Small children and pregnant women should not clean litter boxes, and young kids and the immune-compromised should not clean aquariums. (Check out
Preventing Zoonotic Diseases
for more on this.)
9 Always wear rubber gloves when coming in contact with animal excrement, whether changing the litter box, doing pooper scooper duty, or cleaning up accidents.
10 Keep sandboxes covered when not in use so birds and kitties don’t poop there.
11 Keep your animals healthy and their vaccinations up to date.
12 Do not roughhouse with animals - it might provoke bites or scratches.
13 Keep animals indoors when they’re not on a leash. Those who stay solely indoors are unlikely to be exposed to bacteria and diseases and less likely to pass them along to your family.
