Addison Independent, Monday, November 15, 2010 — PAGE 17
What’s your
Pet Style?
Giving pet a tag lets others know it’s loved
LOOKING ANXIOUS, FOSTER, the Sweeney family’s first sugar glider, sits on a branch in daylight. Typically, these Australian marsupials sleep throughout the day and only move around at night.
Caitie Sweeney
Gliders make sweet companions Student says miniature marsupials have full-size personalities By TAMARA HILMES MIDDLEBURY — Though koalas and kangaroos are generally outlawed as pets, there is another furry marsupial that the state of Vermont has deemed legal for regular citizens to own — sugar gliders. Sugar gliders resemble a cross between a flying squirrel and a bush baby, and are a good alternative to a hamster, gerbil or guinea pig, according to Middlebury College senior and Short Shannon Street resident Frank Sweeney. “It’s just the nicest little thing,” said Sweeney, the proud owner of two sugar gliders. “You feed it yogurt drops and it just hangs out on you and wants to be pet all the time.” Sweeney, 21, first heard of cuddly pets that grow only as big as the size of one’s palm from his mother and sister, who happened upon a sugar glider vendor at a mall kiosk near their home in Canastota, N.Y. Sweeney’s sister, Caitie, immediately fell for the tiny creatures and ordered one from a Texas breeder named Priscilla she found online. Sugar gliders did not enter the United States until 1993 and were originally imported from Australia. The Sweeneys got their first one this summer. Foster, as they dubbed the first gliders, quickly became a family
Frank Sweeney favorite. Caitie claimed Foster as her own and began taking the nocturnal animal to school with her in a little fleece pouch. Foster would sleep peacefully in Caitie’s locker while she was in class. “Foster Luna is her name,” Frank Sweeney said. “She was the original. She’s generation X.” But Caitie Sweeney was not the only one who the little sugar glider managed to charm. Their mother, too,
could not get enough of the new pet. “My mom was like, ‘Oh, we need to get more!’ because my mom is obsessive compulsive and needs 7 million animals to take care of,” Frank Sweeney said. “We have four dogs, a koi pond and we had two cats. And now we have six sugar gliders. No, five sugar gliders, excuse me. Five. One we gave away.” The Sweeney family’s new obsession quickly became a slippery slope. They ordered a second glider just one week after receiving Foster. This time, Sweeney’s mom opted for a glider of the “platinum” variety. “For the platinum one, the price isn’t listed on the website,” said Taryn Tilton, one of Frank’s housemates. “You have to call and ask.” The all-white glider arrived the following week, but unlike Foster, whose mild temperament made her a friend of anyone she encountered, the new female was not quite so social. “We subsequently named it Lucifer because it’s the meanest thing in the world,” Sweeney said. “First of all, it’s huge. It’s like the size of my face — huge. It’s a girl. You can’t even put your fingers near it — it starts crabbing.” “Crabbing,” explained Sweeney, is the term for sugar glider crying. “They sound like little raptors,” (See Gliders, Page 18)
ADDISON COUNTY — Did you and taken to a shelter. Without an ID know that one out of every three pets tag, he/she could be mistaken for a will get lost in his lifetime? Each year homeless stray. the Addison County Humane Society A tag tells the staff that your cat has takes in more than 500 lost or stray an owner who loves him and wants animals. Sadly, for many of these him back. animals, the chance of reuniting them Your pet’s tag should have your with their families never arrives. name, address, and a telephone numThe Addison County Humane ber where you can be easily reached. Society is asking all pet owners to It is also a good idea to include sechelp us reduce the number of animals ond telephone number or the number in our shelter and help us reunite your of a friend or relative in case you are lost pets with your family. Almost ev- unavailable. Lastly, you should check eryday, we have a dog or cat brought your pet’s ID tag regularly to make to our shelter as a stray sure it’s still readable — and immediately, we Your pet’s tag a heavily scratched or know that this animal has should have broken tag won’t do any been lost and their famgood. And, of course, if ily is probably frantically your name, your contact information address, and changes, you should upsearching for them. Unfortunately, most a telephone date the tag immediately. of these animals do not number A second form of idenhave identification (pet where you tification is a microchip. tags or microchips), so microchip is a small, can be easily A we are forced to wait for electronic chip (approxithe owner to contact us to reached. mately the size of a grain report that they have lost of rice) that is implanted their family pet. Even more distress- just under your pet’s skin. It is ading is that many of these animals’ ministered quickly and painlessly owners do not contact us and thus by a simple injection. Microchips they are separated from their fami- each have an identification number lies forever. To further complicate the associated with them. Along with issue, some frightened animals may this ID number, your name, address, travel several miles away from their and phone number are entered into a homes, making it even less likely that computer database. If your pet gets their families will come searching for lost, animal shelters or city pounds them. equipped with scanners will be able An ID tag is your pet’s ticket home. to scan your pet’s body to quickly loIf you’re lucky, a neighbor will find cate the ID number of the microchip him and return him to you right away. along with the corresponding owner But your pet could be picked up by a information. Most shelters and veterstranger or an animal control officer (See Tags, Page 19)
Pets need preventive medical care This summer I took my cats, en masse, to the vets’ to be checked after not having done so for four years, thinking that because they were indoors cats that they’d be in almost perfect health. Not so! Several of the cats are older and needed extensive dental work, as it turned out they had been in silent pain for quite awhile. Needless to say, this made me feel terrible! It also cost quite a lot of money, none of which I begrudge to the wonderful team at my animal hospital. I would like to recommend, though, that in order to avoid having your pets and check books go through all this, to take your
animal in yearly as a combination check-up/prevention trip. It will make for both a happy pet and a happy owner. Pets need not be expensive if you take care of them properly. Also, ask your vet about credit plans, I found out about one that allows you to charge your pet’s (and your) health care should you be dead broke. I know that some people are giving up their pets because they think that they’re too expensive to take care of. That’s a dreadful thing to do to an animal that has come to love and depend on you. Please don’t dump your animals. Carolyn Van Vleck New Haven