Help kids make habit of pet care

Q. We bought our daughter a rabbit for Easter, and now she isn't taking care of it. What can we do?

If she won't take care of it, we don't want it.

Derek Janson, Batavia

A. Derek, this is something we hear often at the animal shelter. First, as an open-admission shelter that never refuses an animal in need, we will always make room and do our best to re-home your pet rabbit.

But, since you are writing to me I get the impression you need a little more of an answer than that.

So humor me for a moment, and take a step back and look at this from another angle. In essence, children will promise their parents the world when they want a new pet -- a fuzzy, cute, playful, adorable novelty.

You, as the dad, know that this newness will wear off in record time. You probably were hoping for your daughter to feel a deep sense of responsibility in caring for her new pet, and follow accordingly with diligent care, as you remember doing as a child yourself.

When this didn't happen, you, like many parents, felt that if your child doesn't take care of her pet -- then no more pet!

While that sounds like good, common sense in the hypothetical realm when thinking about toys left on the floor, it turns out not to be quite the lesson you were hoping to teach about responsibility when it comes to a living, breathing pet.

You were absolutely right in believing this could be a great way for your daughter to learn responsibility. But the part we forget is that this behavior is learned by modeling the actions of our parents.

Unfortunately, the one likely mistake here is that when you brought home a pet for your daughter, you were thinking more of the lesson and not that the pet is just as much -- if not more -- yours, and thus your responsibility … oops.

Children have natural empathy, and a natural love for animals, but they do not have a natural instinct to keep a cage clean, and to feed and refresh a pet's water regularly. This, like so many other lessons, comes with the commitment from you to put it into the daily routine.

Your daughter can't do this alone.

Commitment and responsibility are learned behaviors, and she needs you to encourage her and help her with the care, play and love of the rabbit. If the rabbit is important to you, the tone has been set for the rabbit to be important to her, too.

Your daughter will no longer view the rabbit as a toy that has lost its luster, but instead as a member of the family that everyone in the house is committed to.

Set your daughter up for success by filling in some of the blanks with the pet. That deep sense of responsibility will begin to flourish, and she will remember that special rabbit and how to care for the rabbit, or any other pet throughout her lifetime.

There will likely be little memory of your guidance, but instead an ingrained commitment that if an animal becomes a part of your family, you take good care of it.

You may remember your first pet and how responsible you were with it, but think back now. Who set the tone for you?

We realize there are certain instances in which it is the best decision to surrender a pet (cases of economic hardship, severe allergies, aggression, etc.). The decision to surrender a pet is always a very personal and difficult one.

We are not here to judge, but to help. However, it is also our job to ensure that a pet is given every opportunity to remain in its current home, and that surrender is a last resort.

Send questions to animalcontrol@dupageco.org.