“
“
here once was a time when there
were virtually no sick pets. There
were no annual checkups, no vaccine
requirements, no parasite preventa-
tives or commercial pet foods. How did
our pets ever survive that?
After thousands of years, our domes-
tic pets developed into useful tools in
our daily lives. Felines were allowed
and encouraged to inhabit the struc-
tures where our food was stored. They
offered protection against rats, mice
and other vermin that would steal and
contaminate our food stores. With this
continuous contact with humans, a
bond was created.
Dogs, being the
scavengers they
are,
introduced
themselves
as
the bullies on
the block. They
began by intim-
idating humans
but were easily
willing to accept
our food instead
of us for their
meals. It’s obvi-
ous that this did not apply to the dom-
inant pack members but to those “lone
wolf” individuals that were intimidated
by their place in the pack.
We learned quickly that these crea-
tures were highly intelligent and train-
able. We exploited these traits to our
benefit. From teaching them to guard
our life and property to various work
functions like herding our livestock,
pulling wagons, helping us hunt for
game and retrieving it and much more
today.
The whole pet lifestyle changed in
1864 when the first local “dog tax” was
initiated in Henrietta, NY. This was fol-
lowed when New York State adopted
the first dog license law on March 8,
1894, in New York City. At that time,
the government engaged in a pet’s
life. Is it just a coincidence that the
American Veterinary Medical Associa-
tion was formed in 1863?
This was the start of the
change in pet care from a
pet parent to that of a vet-
erinary business model. With
rabies vaccines in the 1920’s,
the care of our pets was al-
tered forever. As more vac-
cines were developed, the
veterinary industry used this
to market what they consid-
ered essentials in pet health.
The idea that only a doctor
can be trusted with health was being
conveyed to us as people and then ex-
tended to our pets.
During this time period, commercial
pet foods entered the market to sup-
plement our leftover foods and scraps
that were the bulk of the pet diet. The
25
PETJUNCTION411.COM
The whole pet
lifestyle changed
in 1864 when
the first local
“dog tax” was
initiated in
Henrietta, NY