Importance of dental hygiene in pets

Some of you who have cats and dogs as pets may not be aware of the fact that dental hygiene is as important for your pets as it is for humans.

Most often we tend to provide the best of care for our pets but we pay very little or no attention at all to their dental care needs.

This is because most of us are not aware of the fact that animals too must have clean and healthy teeth to stay free of many diseases. Anyway, who can really take time to clean their teeth even if the pets do permit us to do so, would be a common thought among many of us. However, it is important to do whatever we can to ensure clean teeth in our pets because according to experts in the veterinary field, the most common disorder affecting both dogs and cats, is dental disease.They say that about 78 per cent of dogs and 68 per cent of cats examined in the USA are affected by diseases caused due to neglected teeth.

Brushing your pets’ teeth may seem like a joke to most of you but it is a serious matter when it comes to your pets’ good health. Dental disease is associated with kidney and liver disease. Therefore, make it a point to get your pet’s mouth examined by a veterinarian and get regular cleaning done. A build up of tartar and decayed teeth can lead to a lot of problems.

My pet dog

My pet is a dog. Its name is Darlo. It is brown in colour. It has drooping ears.It likes to run. My pet loves me a lot.

Shashindra Jayakody,
Grade 2 Esala,
Sri Dharmaloka College,
Kelaniya.

Stray dogs

Dogs on the streets are thin
They are always hungry
They beg for food from people
Some people give and some don’t
They always roam in the streets
Like street children
They are called stray dogs

Malsha Nuwanthi,
Grade 5,
Sussex College.

I am Maduhansi's old cat

I was born in a house which belonged to a girl named Maduhansi. As I was brown in colour she named me ‘Brown’. There were three of us but two died. My mother loved her new home.

One day she too died and I was very sad and lonely. But Maduhansi spent a lot of her time with me and loved me a lot. I forgot my sadness because of all the love she gave me. She cleaned me every day and gave me tasty food to eat.

I lived very happily because she spent most of her time with me. We lived like brother and sister. I loved her a lot.

One day her friends came home to celebrate her tenth birthday. Her mother made a big birthday cake.I saw the big cake and as I was hungry I ate some of it.

Sometime later her mother came and looked at the cake. She was very angry with me.I tried to explain it to her but she could not understand what I was trying to tell her. She chased me out of the house.

Now I am living alone with no one to care for me. God, please help and protect me .

G.N.Ishani Maduhansi,
Grade 6,
Taxila Central College, Horana.

Topsi is playful

My pet is a cat named Topsi. It has a coat of white fur and it is so beautiful. Topsi catches a lot of rats. Topsi likes to eat fish and drink milk.

Topsi loves to play. My hobby is playing with Topsi. Even though Topsi's claws are very sharp it does not scratch me. When we play it never hurts me. It likes to run and climb trees. It is an interesting cat. I love Topsi and it loves me too.

M.Hassan Ali,
Grade 4,
Silverline College, Gelioya, Kandy.

Pat, the cat

My pet is a cat
Its name is Pat
Pat likes milk and cheese to eat
He sleeps on chairs, and plays with us
But he never catches mice
And never says ‘meow.’

Prabashi Fernando,
Grade 4B,
St. Lawrence’s
Convent, Colombo .

A lonely doggy

The whole town is busy
People are running about
Kicking me aside
As if I am not worth a penny
I know not the reason why
They do so all the time

I'm so hungry and I do feel
So I creep inside a small shop door
Expecting some food from
A kind hearted one
But all I get is a kick on my head
And I go rolling and tumbling
All the way down the road

Are people really what they seem to be?
Why can't anyone think of a poor doggy like me
I put on all my innocent looks
To get something to fill my tummy
But no one really cares about me

Maneka Wijesundara,
Grade 8 M-Science,
Ecole International, Digana.