CAT

- My family owns a cat and his name is Whiskey (short for Whiskey Jack Horserider Walters!!)

- He is an indoor/outdoor, therefore I don't have a litter box in my home.

- Children are allowed to pet him as he is very affectionate towards people, children especially. If a young child is rough with him, I will teach the child how to touch gently. If Whiskey has enough, he usually leaves (or will start a good game of chase the cat around the house!)

- If I notice that a child is developing an allergic reaction to the cat, then I will insist that the other kids don't pet him around the child. I myself am allergic to cats, but it's only when they are being petted that creates a problem because of any loose hair flying around.

- Our cat goes to the vet regularly for it's shots, is healthy and is on a flea program even though we don't have fleas.

- All the children wash their hands properly before eating any food, and if they were to pet any animal on an outing, they wash their hands immediately upon return in order to prevent the spread of disease.

..DOG

- My family owns a dog, his name is Chimo, which means greetings in ..Inuit.

- He is strictly an outside dog and we keep him in the back yard.

- Chimo is sometimes in the front yard with us (on his lead/chain) as it's good for him to interact with the children and vice versa. As the front yard is the children's play area, I keep this area clean of feces at all times.