Last weekend Mark and I found ourselves in Philadelphia. It was quite intentional; we drove there, through several hours of rain... 8 hours from when we started, there we were in the city that is now a part of my life. That is where my son, Jesse, lives, works and attends university.

I've written about taking your pets on vacation, but of course sometimes we leave our pets behind with trusted friends, relatives, vets, or boarders, and strike off for some time on our own. The only thing is, I found myself thinking about our three dogs and a parrot quite a bit. Reminders were everywhere and I sensed that Philadelphia is a fairly pet friendly city.

On Saturday morning, Mark and I walked down "Antiques Row" and found this beautiful feline gazing at her kingdom. Doesn't this photo just sing "Spring!"?

In the Arts District area where we were staying, there were two up-scale pet supply stores filled with all sorts of pink and glittery accessories our Chihuahua Jackie would have loved in her area of our closet (next to the dirty laundry hamper...she has an odd fetish).

At Rittenhouse Square park we saw a pug, a St. Bernard, and a few other dogs of indeterminent breeding, along with a table set up by a local rescue organization (a Mingle with the Mutts type event). It was a nice park and a lovely day to take a dog for a walk. I hope at least one dog there found a home that day. Kudos to the women manning the table on behalf of adoptable dogs.

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In "Open Your Heart with Pets: Mastering Life through Love of Animals" I shared with readers ways that we can open our hearts to pets even when we cannot have a pet in our own home. I've noticed that as our understanding and appreciation for animals increases, a feeling of being overwhelmed, or even a feeling of guilt, can then follow, as we soon realize that we cannot adopt them all, save them all, love them all. Our kindness has a limit.

We are limited by the space in our homes, the patience of our families, our pocketbooks, our health. Perhaps even sometimes there is the temptation to think, though perhaps we are not even conscience of thinking it, that it is easiest and best to "find another hobby" and forget about the animals out there that we could help, in some way. In other words, if we can't adopt them, then is it easier not to think about them at all?

Well, of course, if you want to be hard-hearted! If you want to risk the fall-out that shuttering your heart to one being will have on your relationships with all other beings (yourself and the humans around you, for instance).

Opening our hearts to pets is good for pets, but it's really good for us. It enlarges our capability to love (this isn't even taking into account the documented physical benefits of being around animals). Animals teach us about love, forgiveness, patience, living in the moment, along with interesting things like nutrition, biology, behavior, etc.

In fact, I'm not even sure it is possible for a human to be kind to an animal without getting something back for him- or herself! Animals, on the other hand, are often kind with no selfish thought to a return on their investment. (Though I imagine some might debate that… see my previous article, "Can Pets Choose to Do Good?")

When it's "Be Kind to Animals" week and your house cannot fit one more pet in it, what's an animal-loving person to do? Here are 5 suggestions for being kind to animals when you cannot adopt an animal:

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With gas prices and restaurant costs on the rise, some folks might consider foregoing this year's family vacation. Instead of chucking it entirely, consider a few shorter trips, save on pet boarding and bring your pet along. Sometimes a weekend, or four-day trip can be just as rejuvenating as a week or two away, and by spreading several short getaways throughout the summer, you might find it is really more pleasurable than trying to fit everything into one or two weeks.

If you're reading this column, you likely already consider your dog, cat, parrot, or other pet species a part of your family. A short trip is a great way to try out having them come along, and there are many websites with information on safe and fun travel with pets.

Dogs:

The AKC offers "Canine Travel Tips." To find dog-friendly hotels, visit DogFriendly.com, named a Forbes "Best of the Web" site. Canismajor.com also has a good article "Have Leash, Will Travel." If your trip involves air travel, check out "Airline Carriers and their policies on canine travel" also at AKC's site. You might also be interested in this article on sedating your pet (AVMA.org site). See also: "Air Travel, Consumer Reports" by the US government. The TSA's guide is here.

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An open-hearted person seems more attuned to opportunities to reach out to others, to use his or her talents, to imagine possibilities, and to do good for others, either other individuals or society in general. There is an outwardness, if you will...a sensitivity to fellow beings that accompanies open-heartedness... Yes, we are all selfish to a degree: primarily concerned with ourselves. Still, there is a sense of hope and peace that one must have to be truly open-hearted. It's difficult to be open-hearted when we are depressed, ill, anxious, frightened, or fighting for our lives. Sometimes to be happy, healthy, secure, unafraid, and safe we must be a bit selfish. Hmmm.... It seems a bit of selfishness might be necessary to get to the place of being open-hearted. A paradox, it seems, worthy of minds more philosophical than mine.

But open-heartedness toward pets; that's a subject I can get my mind around. And, conversely, I've wondered, "What about pets. Can they be open-hearted too?"

I wrote about "Farley, the Open-Hearted Mutt" and "Tyler, the Prove-It-To-Me Pekingese," and Jackie, our Chihuahua, whose timidity overrides the urge to be open-hearted. Today I am thinking a bit further about this and considering a book I read last year: "Beauty in the Beasts: True Stories of Animals Who Choose to Do Good" by Kristin von Kreisler.

Ms. Kreisler's book is full of uplifting stories about a variety of animals who choose to do good and even, in some cases, make moral choices. I like that she considered this topic worthy of examination. Apparently, some professionals who work with animals, as the author explains, question whether or not an animal can choose to do good. Everything, they are sure, is motivated by self-interest or instinct. But Ms. Kreisler offers convincing examples, and explains things in a way that a non-scientist like myself can appreciate. I loved her book, and a few months after reading it, saw an example of an animal doing good, for no other reason than to help out another, in my own family.

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The contest this month involves writing a song about your pet. The following is not a song, but a poem...written by a fellow blogger, Jamie Smith. I particularly like the phrase "perpendicular peanut." So, while this wasn't an entry in the contest, I'm putting it out there for all you Bassett lovers! Thanks, Jamie!

Henry is a wayward Basset Hound.
His nose is always to the ground.
He feels the need to announce himself,
to other dogs on a walk, to people, and himself.
Henry prefers to spend his days lounging around.

Henry's nose is long and stout.
It frequently steers him about.
He loses all control
When chasing smells is his goal.
His nose directs his whereabouts.

Henry likes to run away.
He gets caught up in a world of smells day-to-day.
He sneaks out the back,
His owner has a mild heart attack.
He then saunters home in his nonchalant way.

Henry's ears hang down to his toes.
They're almost as long as his banana nose.
They take quick dips in the water bowl
They get ice-covered on walks in the snow
Amazing how he can't hear a thing when his owner scolds.

Henry has three-inch-long legs.
He uses them to look pitiful when he begs.
He whines and he squawks,
'Til he gets what he wants
He makes visitors think he's underfed.

Sometimes Henry's too lazy to go potty.
He hates moving his hovercraft Bassett body.
He'll just go in the driveway
Making his owner deal with the fray
He doesn't care when he's being naughty.

We call him a Perpendicular Peanut
We call him the Tubular Dog
Henry is genuinely one-of-a-kind
with his stubborn little Bassett mind.
He's the sweetest little hound one could ever hope to find.

By Jamie Smith. From www.thoughtsfurpaws.com

(Today's article was written by Elizabeth Rigrish, Marketing Intern, Dreamtime Publishing. Thank you, Liz, for all your help this semester with getting the word out about Open Your Heart with Pets!)

An interesting phenomenon in the dog adoption world has recently become very apparent. Dogs that are large and black, especially labs, shepherd mixes, pit bulls, and rottweilers are passed over time after time for smaller, lighter colored dogs for adoption. Some shelters have even named this phenomenon "Big black dog syndrome" because of its prevalence. Although, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, this problem is not tracked nationally and local shelters keep only limited records on the size, breed, and color of the dogs that are adopted or put down, the problem has become apparent to shelters as they see this reoccurring pattern; big black dogs do not get adopted. At the city animal shelter in Rogers, Arkansas, big black dogs make up the majority of animals that are put down each month. Last month, 13 of the 14 animals put to sleep consisted of big black dogs.

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Dear Pet Lovers:
Time is coming close now for the deadline for the pet song-writing contest. I'd love to have some more entries, and to encourage that, I'm going to share the great song my sister, Joan Phelps, wrote about her parrots. This is the type of entry I am looking for, so write on!

Following the song, are the details of the contest.... I look forward to reading your entry!

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My sister, Joan Phelps, has three parrots: Koby, a Timneh African Grey, Rudy, a Congo African Grey, and Simon, an Eclectus. Simon has been ill recently, and I asked Joan if she would share some thoughts on her experience...

It's really difficult to know when a parrot is sick. They have limited body language when they're in good health; when they are ill or injured, they hide any clues that would reveal to a predator that the parrot was less than whole. Simon is sick.

One day last week, I asked him to step up on my hand so I could take him to the bathroom for his morning shower. He's right-footed. How many people know that parrots can be right- or left-footed? When I waited for his right foot to be placed on my left forefinger, all that moved toward me was a limp leg with four long toes dangling from it. It didn't take an avian vet for me to know something was amiss.

After waiting to see if it was only a transient neuro-blip, I called his vet, who was able to see Simon the next day. While there was no diagnosis for the foot/toe problem, the vet did discover a huge lesion on the underside of his tail--in the exact spot where those beautiful tail feathers grew from: the ones that were royal blue on one side and grass green on the other...with lemon-yellow tips at the end. The vet cleaned and treated the lesion, did a quick bodycheck, and checked his red- and white-blood count . . . normal. Nothing felt or seen that would cause the leg/foot problem, either. I was given (rather, I purchased at the cost of two large Starbuck's) a small bottle of anti-inflammatory drops and given instructions to have these drops find a way into whatever small space I could find between those two huge beak-parts--you know, the ones with more psi than the tires on my car.

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Organization is not everyone's strongpoint, but when we put our minds to it, keeping all pet-related info in one place makes things easier, especially when circumstances are less than serene.

I've created several infosheets to make life a bit easier for pet owners and their "babies." And, now I've posted them on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, in PDF form, for you to print out and use in your home.

You can access these at anytime through the links bar that is always visible on my blog.

The free infosheets are:
Adding a Pet to Your Home
What questions should you and your family consider when choosing the best pet for your family?

In Case of Emergency Sheet
This is a sheet you will want to fill out and copy. Give one copy to a relative, best friend, or neighbor. Keep the other copy with your important household or medical papers. You might even want to ask your attorney if he or she would like a copy. This sheet will let others know your wishes in case of emergencies, small and large.

Boarding Info Sheet
The Boarding Info Sheet is something you can fill out and give to your pet-sitter or boarding facility so that they can do their best to help your pet be happy in your absence.

Pet-Related Expenses Worksheet
There are a lot of things to keep in mind when budgeting for the best pet for your family. This worksheet will help you build a budget and also will help your child understand the financial responsibilities of having a pet.

The Thoughtful Pet Guardian's Checklist
This questionaire contains additional thought-provoking questions to consider before adopting a pet.

Keep checking back, as I will be posting more infosheets for pet lovers in the future.

Congratulations to Chantel Mangat of Pennsylvania, winner of the April "Open Your Heart with Pets" contest. The contest asked for an April Fool's, "Newsbiscuit"-type article, featuring a pet. Here's her entry, featuring a wonderful cat.

Woman Claims Her Cat Is "Morris" Reincarnated...

Interview with the feline reveals, just like the product he endorsed, he really does have "9 Lives." A very aloof cat, Morris isn't at all phased by his celebrity. He states that growing up as a "kitten star" was much like growing up like other child stars. "The limelight really gets to you sometimes," Morris purrs out, "and my naps were disturbed on a constant basis."

I guess fame really does come with a price. In order for Morris to function, he reluctantly tells us how he relied on catnip to get him through some of his days and nights. He stated that this was how he lost his last and 8th life. Now on his 9th and final life, Morris and his owner live a quiet existence in a small house in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Chantel will receive a signed print of "Animals of the World." You can receive a fine prize too... check out each month's contest at Open Your Heart with Pets Blog!