Go Green with Your Pets, too
It's easy to be green.
In early May in New Orleans, one puppy took the term eco-friendly to a new height – he was born green: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6In4cPFqgA4. Word has it that PETA tried to grab immediate rights to his fur and Greenpeace jumped in with a billion dollar offer to make him their mascot. Since the green tinge wears off quickly, this seems unlikely, but he can be a reminder that eco and pet often go hand in hand.
The most obvious way to have an eco-friendly pet is to spay. If you think there’s human overpopulation in the world, consider pet overpopulation – Number of cats and dogs euthanized in U.S. shelters each year: 3-4 million (HSUS estimate.) The dogs most euthanized are pit bulls. In accordance with that, adopting from a shelter greatly helps to control the overpopulation. Breeders often put-down unwanted animals and even purebreds end up in shelters. Some of my favorites – Grey2K, PittieLove, All Dog Rescue.
The next one is probably the number one reason non-pet owners dislike dogs – poopie. If you clean up after your dog, using biodegradable bags, you’re doing more than pleasing your neighbor. You’re protecting the environment from dog waste running off in rain water and melt-off into lakes and rivers. You’re also protecting humans and other dogs from the possible spreading of roundworms and hookworms. If you have a yard, a composting system is an option which you can buy or build yourself – http://www.plantea.com/dog-waste-compost.htm.
When you buy your dog toys, buy them sustainable goods. You can get toys and beds made from recycled materials now, or hemp which lasts forever (unless you have pitbulls). There are also many eco-friendly options for shampoo and health products. An excellent site that sells these things, along with natural food and treats, is www.onlynaturalpet.com.
And, while your pets are working so hard at being eco-friendly, you can return the favor by buying cruelty-free. It used to be very expensive to buy beauty products that did no animal testing but that’s changing. At drugstores, you can get Essence of Beauty products, a line of lotions and soaps which is cruelty-free. You can also get Lumene make-up, Burt’s Bees, and there’s a great product out there for undereye bags (yes, a particular problem of mine) called Eyesential which is cruelty-free (and works!). Now these products are not necessarily all-natural and a visit to an all-natural health store will offer you many options for both but my last lip gloss there ran about $35, so it’s nice to have an alternative.
There are a multitude of cleaning products out there, too, which really work now. Two less-expensive products that I like are Mrs. Meyers and Method. Or you can make your own: www.aboutmyplanet.com/daily-green-tips/cleaning-products/.
And, though I dislike their politics, PETA has a very good cruelty-free product list: http://www.caringconsumer.com/resources_companies.asp.
If we’d leave animals to their own, they’d be in harmony with the environment they live in. But instead they have to adapt to the environment we create. It’s up to us to try to balance things out, to make it a better world, not just for humans, but for animals as well.
