Is Your Family Ready To ChooseThe Right Pet? (NAPSA)—Forchildren, having a pet can mean a lot of things, from added responsibility to the unconditional love of a furry playmate. But before parents decide to adopt a four-legged family member, there are a number of questions to consider—to help determine whether everyone, both adults and kids, is ready for the commitment: * Do you have the time? You want to enjoy your pet. But if you have an already-crowded work schedule, and the kids’ days are filled with after-school activities, you may simply not have the time to spend getting to know, care for and love a pet. * Do you know what to get? It’s not enough to say that you want to get a dog or cat. Each comes in a variety of breeds, and you need to determine which breed fits into your lifestyle and that of your family. Some require more attention and stimulation than others. If there are young children in the family, you’ll need to find a pet that won’t turn nasty if subjected to the sort of roughhousing little ones may provide. Are you ready for a longterm commitment? Dogs and cats can live 20 years or more. So before you get one, understand that you are making a huge commitment. Pets are not like cars that you can test-drive, then walk awayfrom if you aren’t happy. Even if your family is unable to adopt a pet, or you feel that your youngster isn’t quite ready for one, there are still ways by which children can learn about animals and the responsibility required to Pet-themed video games can help children learn whatit takes to care for a four-leggedfriend. care for them. For example, Ubisoft’s “Petz Dogz Pack” for the Nintendo DS allows youngplayers to adopt and care for cute, furry pets chosen from manydifferent breeds of dogs. Players can also choose to raise cats or monkeys in “Petz Catz Clan” and “Petz Monkeyz House” for the Nintendo DS system. In “Petz Sports” for the Nintendo Wii, players can adopt a dog from 18 different breeds, develop a strong relationship with their dog and teach and train their pet to do more than 22 tricks. It’s possible to dress up the dog in more than 100 outfits and accessories. And for the first time ever in the Petz series of video games, it’s possible to adopt and create an entire family of dogs, cats and monkeys. Crossbreed and create your own look and personality for your pet. To learn more, visit the Web site at www.petz.com.
