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The Champion, Thursday, August 7, 2014
Page 93C
Backyard optional:
City pets need love, exercise
by Colleen Newvine
(AP) Suzanne Cole didn’t
give it a second thought when
she was preparing to move
from Kansas City to New York
City. Of course her Irish setter
would share her 450-square-
foot apartment in Manhattan.
What she didn’t question,
others did, and walking Rudy
drew attention. “I got involved
in so many conversations
where people would ask,
‘How can you live with a dog
that big?”’ Cole said.
Cole so loved sharing her
urban life with Rudy that after
she died, she adopted a sec
ond Irish setter and raised her
in the Dupont Circle neighbor
hood of Washington, D.C.
Now that Cole has moved
back to Kansas and Lucy can
chase opossums and squir
rels, “she couldn’t care less,”
Cole said. “She wants to be
inside, 5 feet from me.”
Having a good city pet ex
perience like Cole’s requires
an honest assessment of your
lifestyle, experts say, as well
as some homework to find the
right animal and a commit
ment to invest the necessary
time.
Jonathan Klein, a Culver
City, Calif., dog trainer, gener
ally advises against herding,
sporting and working dog
breeds for city owners be
cause they require so much
exercise.
But Klein himself shared
an apartment with a border
collie, a corgi and a German
shepherd—all herding dogs—
for several years. That’s
because he considers himself
a dog enthusiast who was
willing to put significant time
into training and exercising his
canines.
“Just because I lived in an
apartment with three dogs,
I’m not recommending other
people do it,” he said.
If you’re a more sedate
person, he said, choose a
mellower breed; surprisingly, a
big dog like a great Dane or a
greyhound might be a fit.
Regardless of breed or
size, Klein emphasized that
every dog needs exercise and
time spent with its owner. Not
having a big backyard isn’t
detrimental to a dog’s well be
ing, he said. More important
is connecting with the owner
through regular walks or prac
ticing tricks.
Jane Hoffman, president
of the Mayor’s Alliance for
NYC’s Animals, a coalition of
more than 160 animal rescue
groups and shelters, said it’s
hard for both human and pet if
an adoption fails, so it’s im
portant to make an informed
choice.
“A lot of people pick a pet
based on color, or because
they like the dog on Frasier,
but they don’t realize Jack
Russells are insane,” Hoffman
said. Jack Russell terriers are
very smart and energetic, she
added, which could also be
great for a city dweller with an
active lifestyle.
For example, Linda Carl
son lives in Seattle with a fox
terrier who needs about five
miles of walking a day, so she
and her husband plan their
days around multiple walks.
If that’s not for you, Hoff
man noted that cats are more
self-sufficient, and adopting
two kittens from the same
litter gives each a playmate
when you’re away.
Not all cats are the same,
however. Hoffman said some
people might hate how vocal
a Siamese is, for example, so
it’s worthwhile to learn about
breed personalities.
And beyond breeds, each
cat has its own personality.
The American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals has a Web site called
Meet Your Match that cat
egorizes adoptable cats into
personality types like secret
admirer, party animal and
sidekick.
Likewise, the ASPCA cat
egorizes dogs into groups like
busy bee, couch potato and
wallflower.
Tracey McTague, author
of the upcoming book City
Puppy: Finding, Training and
Loving your Urban Dog (Over
look Press), said prospective
pet owners shouldn’t dwell
on breed. “It’s distracting and
leads to uninformed general
izations like ‘small breeds are
good for apartments,”’ she
said. Instead, she suggested
talking to shelter staffers
about each particular animal’s
personality.
In addition, McTague said,
“Many people buy breeds
based on some fantasy of
what they would like their life
style to actually become, and
not what time and energy they
actually have to spare—kind
of like a gym membership in
January.”
Fostering a homeless pet
instead of adopting or buy
ing one can be a win-win: It
helps the shelter learn about
the animal to help with a later
adoption, and it helps the
foster “parent” learn more
about what works and what
doesn’t—with a short-term
commitment.
If you rent and don’t know
if you can commit to a pet for
20 years, taking in an animal
for a few weeks might be
more realistic.
Dogs and cats aren’t the
only pet choices, obviously.
Hamsters, guinea pigs, rab
bits, turtles and fish are just
some of the options that might
work well in a small space.
Hoffman recommended
Petfinder.com’s resources,
which include tips before you
adopt a reptile or bird, and
she suggested talking to spe
cialized animal rescue groups,
such as one that specializes
in rodents, if that’s your inter
est.
Paul St. Raymond and
Kim Meng share their home
in New Orleans’ warehouse
district with two dogs, a cat, a
parrot and a well-stocked fish
tank. They keep the menag
erie happy in part by hiring a
dog walker to exercise their
Westies three times a day.
“If we didn’t have help,
we would probably be over
loaded by our foolishness,” St.
Raymond said. Instead, “Our
animals probably live better
than a lot of people.”