WelcomeWelcome Animal Science II- Small Animal Care

Why Small Animal Care? It has been estimated that there are 64 million American homes that have pets. (That’s over 60% of homes.) 78 million cats 65 million dogs 192 million fish 40 million birds 13 million small animals 8 million reptiles

It all Adds up! Thousands of jobs are related to small animal care. About $32 billion dollars input into the national economy. Veterinary expenses = $11 billion Dogs require the most vet care Pet food manufacturers produce $9.0 billion in sales

Benefits Parents view small animal ownership as way for children to learn responsibility and social skills. Elderly benefit from improved quality of life and companionship.

Benefits… Pet therapy…assists patients in overcoming illnesses, improve vital signs, relieve depression, and provide a better quality of life for senior citizens and disabled

Uses of animals in society… Dogs are useful as watch dogs, police dogs, & seeing eye dogs. Valuable means of testing new products such as drugs and vaccines. (Hepatitis, diphtheria, tetanus, and polio vaccines were perfected through small animal research)

Entertainment Animals used in petting zoos, circus, parks, etc. increases an appreciation of animals.

Did you Know??? Americans spend about $20.3 Billion annually on their pets. 10,000-11,000 retail pets stores produce over $21 billion in sales Biomedical research uses over 65 million small animals 6 million are used in educational facilities

Whatever your career choice … Odds are very high that at some time in your life you are going to be responsible for a companion animal. The goal of this course is to teach you how to better take care of your animal so that it is healthy, happy, & well-adjusted. (And to make your animal oriented decisions based on fact not opinion) Course Justification

Possible Futures for You: Did you know that people… ___ spent hundreds of dollars on vet care ___ spent thousands on food and toys ___ talk to their pet as if it were a human ___ great their pet before they great their “human family”