Pet Advocate Teaches Kids to be Nice to all Creatures

<!--StartFragment --> THOUSAND PALMS -- Guinea pigs Peanut, Truffle and Miss Piggy have been Paulette Mullinax’s travel companions for years.

The guinea pigs accompany Mullinax, Animal Samaritans SPCA Inc. director of education, to Coachella Valley schools where she teaches children how to properly care for animals.

"We talk about kindness and compassion toward all living things," she said.

"It’s very important for them to understand that it’s not OK to hurt animals."

The most rewarding part of her job is when the students take what they learned and act on it.

"Last year we had a little boy who brought a kitten in that he had rescued from some other children who were wanting to use the kitten as bait in training for their pit bull," she said.

The boy couldn’t keep the kitten and brought it to Animal Samaritans.

"He said, ‘A lady came into our class and talked to us about how to take good care of animals and how important it was to be kind to them.’ That was me," she said.

In an effort to stop the abuse of animals, Mullinax brought the Stop Abuse and Violence Early program to Shelter From The Storm, a service provider to abused women and children, and to juveniles at the Riverside County Day Treatment Center.

"There’s a cycle of cruelty that children who are abused when they are young tend to grow up to be abusers of both people and animals," she said.

Another topic she touches on in educational programs is dog-bite prevention.

"I see so many children who are terrified of dogs. I see children who go running up to dogs and I cringe because I’m so afraid they’re going to get bitten," she said.

Mullinax also tells children that having a pet is a lifetime commitment. "Animals are not throwaway items," she said.

"Having an animal companion is a big job. It’s a big responsibility. You don’t go out and get a pet on impulse. It has to be a family decision. It has to be an animal that everyone agrees on," she said.

Mullinax has always been an animal lover, mainly having cats and dogs as pets.

"I was always the kid that brought home the stray animals. I didn’t always get to keep them," she said.

In past jobs she’s worked with people who have developmental or physical disabilities.

After six years at Animal Samaritans, she’ll be leaving at the end of November for Virginia where she will be closer to her children and grandchildren.

She’ll miss this job.

"I think it is the greatest job. It feels like you’re making a difference for both children and for animals and it’s very hard to leave that," said Mullinax.

[size=+2]Pet care and safety[/size]

Keep your pet safe.



<LI>All dogs and cats need a collar and name tag. Micro-chipping will implant a computer chip that will provide a permanent identification for your companion animal.

<LI>A leash keeps dogs from getting lost or stolen, being hit by cars, getting into fights, being attacked by other animals, or being picked up by Animal Control.

<LI>Cats will live longer and safer lives if kept indoors -- especially at night.

Give your pets regular shots and check-ups to prevent diseases that can kill them. Be kind to your pet. Training is a kind way to control your dog, keep your dog safe and a pleasure to have around. The most effective dog training uses praise and rewards, NOT hitting, yelling at, or punishing a dog. Children learn kind and compassionate behavior by watching you treat your pet right.

Make a lifetime commitment to your pet. Dogs and cats can live 15 to 20 years, and some birds and reptiles can live much longer. Be sure you have the time, money and dedication to be responsible for a pet before you bring one into your home.

Keep your children safe around pets. Many adults know that dogs are most likely to bite when they are angry, scared, sick or hurt, or when they are guarding something or someone. But children often don’t know this, and so children get bitten not only by strange dogs but even by their own pets. Teach your children to stay away from pet dogs when they are eating, injured or sick, or even when they get too excited while playing or jumping to get a treat.

Spay and neuter your pets. Keep your pets from reproducing. Spaying or neutering will help your pet live longer and healthier, be gentler, easier to train, and less likely to bite. This surgery can also put an end to the deliberate killing of more than 3,600 dogs and cats each year in the Coachella Valley alone because there are not enough homes for them.

Source: Animal Samaritans SPCA, Inc.