WelcomeWelcomeWelcomeWelcome

Animal Science II-Animal Science II-

Small Animal CareSmall Animal Care

Why Small Animal Care?It has been estimated that there are

64 million American homes that have pets.

(That’s over 60% of homes.)

78 million cats

65 million dogs

192 million fish

40 million birds

13 million small animals

8 million reptiles

It all Adds up!• Thousands of jobs are related to

small animal care.• About $32 billion dollars input into

the national economy.• Veterinary expenses = $11 billion• Dogs require the most vet care• Pet food manufacturers produce

$9.0 billion in sales

Benefits• Parents view small animal

ownership as way for children to learn responsibility and social skills.

• Elderly benefit from improved quality of life and companionship.

Benefits…• Pet therapy…assists patients in

overcoming illnesses, improve vital signs, relieve depression, and provide a better quality of life for senior citizens and disabled

Uses of animals in society…

• Dogs are useful as watch dogs, police dogs, & seeing eye dogs.

• Valuable means of testing new products such as drugs and vaccines.(Hepatitis, diphtheria, tetanus, and polio vaccines were perfected through small animal research)

Entertainment• Animals used in petting zoos,

circus, parks, etc. increases an appreciation of animals.

Did you Know???• Americans spend about $20.3

Billion annually on their pets.• 10,000-11,000 retail pets stores

produce over $21 billion in sales• Biomedical research uses over 65

million small animals• 6 million are used in educational

facilities

Whatever your career choice …

Odds are very high that at some time in your life you are going to be responsible for a companion animal.

The goal of this course is to teach you how to better take care of your animal so that it is healthy, happy, & well-adjusted.

(And to make your animal oriented decisions based on fact not opinion)

Course Justification

Possible Futures for You:

Did you know that people…

___ spent hundreds of dollars on vet care

___ spent thousands on food and toys

___ talk to their pet as if it were a human

___ great their pet before they great their “human family”