Pets, Yes or No This presentation includes The fair use of copyrighted material

Directions: Click on the link . Watch the video. Be sure to x out of any ads that may appear. Boxer Puppies and Babies

Directions: Click on the link . Watch the video. Be sure to x out of any ads that may appear. Dog Making a Mess

Discussion Questions By raise of hand, how many of you have a pet? If you have a pet, what are your responsibilities regarding taking care of your pet? Make a list of responsibilities on the board or in your notebook.

If you don’t have a pet, have you ever asked your parents if you may have a pet? If they said no, what were their reasons? Make a list of reasons on the board or in your notebook of why you think your parents or other people don’t have pets.

Stop Here Continue rest of presentation next week.

Start Here Assign one boy to read “Richard” Assign one girl to read “Linda” This is an article by Richard & Linda Eyre as they discuss possibly getting a pet.

T-chart Before you read, make a T-chart. On one side write Linda. On the other side write Richard. While you read, write down the REASONS each person gives for having or not having a pet. Linda Richard

Richard So I want to get another dog. We’ve always had a dog and I just feel better when we have one around. Man was meant to have a dog. They comfort me and calm me. We’ve had one dog or another for 40 years! Why can’t we have one now?

Linda We had dogs for the kids – to help teach them responsibility – and now the kids are gone and so are the dogs. By the way, come to think of it, I think I was the one learning responsibility because I was the one taking care of the dog. Besides, we travel too much and the dog would always be at the kennel.

Richard I didn’t think they were the kids’ dogs, I thought they were my dogs, and I miss them. And plus, none of our kids have dogs now, so we need to have one for the grandkids to love.

Linda That should tell you something. Maybe our kids don’t have dogs because they remember how they chewed up their shoes and ate their homework.

Richard Yes, but they did feed the dogs and took care of them; and they got a lot of love from those dogs. And think how much more fun the lake was with a dog. Remember how fun it was to have the dog with us on that motor home trip? And we never tied it on top of the car like Mitt did.

Linda Oh yeah, that was a blast, especially when the dog had puppies in the motor home shower about halfway through the trip and we hadn’t even known she was pregnant. So then we had six kids and seven puppies for the rest of the trip. Do you have good memories of that?

Richard Well, one tends to forget the hard parts. I’m just sayin’ … I mean, I’m just sayin’ …

Linda Forget about it.

Decide Who do you think should win this argument? Linda? Richard? Why? Who had a better argument? (Look back at the article for evidence to SUPPORT your decision.)

Discussion Questions Do pets teach kids responsibility? How do they teach kids responsibility? Do they provide a sense of security and emotional connection for children? How do they provide a sense of security and emotional connections for children? Are they worth the trouble? Why or why not? Which is best, a cat or a dog? Why? Are there other pet alternatives that are less trouble? What are they? How are they easier than dogs or cats?

Works Cited Ogden Standard Examiner, 3-22-2012. Deseret News, 3-18-2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxiESl-VY5E&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active