Pet Pound Predicament

Sickness, low battle status, and bad names were just a few of the problems I saw with pets being abandoned and left in the pound. I talked to some of my friends about this and one of them replied that she had found a painted pet abandoned in the pound because of its low battle status! Something needs to be done about this! What can we do to help save so many pets from being abandoned? I would like to propose a few tips to keeping your pets healthy, fit, and ready for anything!

Tip One: Feed your pet nice and/or healthy food.

When a pet eats gross food, their mood drops and they stop wanting to interact and do things with you. I made this mistake and my pets became very unhappy with me. When you feed them nice, healthy, even gourmet food, their mood can either stay the same or even sometimes increase. Feeding them healthy food can be good for them but you can also win trophies or become a member of clubs such as the Gourmet Club, so this is a beneficial choice, and it is worth the few extra neopoints!

Tip Two: Switch out your active pet frequently.

When you do not switch out your pets every now and then, the inactive ones become increasingly unhappy and require more food to feed them and more toys to satisfy their growing hunger for attention. In addition to this, your active pet is subject to the misfortunes of the wheels, random events, and especially when your pet runs into misfortune in tombs, dungeons, etc. When you switch out your pets frequently, all the misfortunes are evenly spread and do not cause an increase in unhappy moods as rapidly. With happier pets you can do more things with them, they will be more interested in reading books and even play with toys they would rather not play with normally.

Tip Three: When your pet is sick, do not fret! Ask for help!

When a pet becomes sick, they need to be placed as your active pet. Go to the Healing Springs, you can do this every thirty minutes or so. The Water Faerie is known to heal your pet after you try it a while. IT NORMALLY DOES NOT WORK THE FIRST TIME. Just keep trying! Eventually she will heal them. If you are like me and do not want to wait on the Water Faerie to heal them, ask your friends! You never know if your friends might have the cure you are looking for. If nothing else, you can ask them to help you out by maybe looking for the cheapest price on the shop wizard and the trading post, or maybe even see if they have a few neopoints to spare you! Just because your pet is sick does not mean they will die or make you poor. Just ask for help! Check the trades and shop wizard carefully and more than once, because it might be a few days before someone has the cure you need up on the trading post or in their shop.

Tip Four: When creating a pet, check and then double-check your entries!

Many people make mistakes when creating new pets. Forgetting to change the gender, your pets’ hobbies, battle stats, or even their name are mistakes that can be avoided by simply taking a little extra time to check over what you put. I think if people were more careful and took that extra minute to check back over what they put, that would decrease the number of pets abandoned drastically!

Tip Five: If your pet loses a battle, or you leave a battle that you do not plan on finishing, do not abandon them.

There is no explanation needed for why you should not abandon your pet if they lose a battle. They have zero HP left and they are left on their own because they let you down. These, I feel, are the most abused and neglected of all the abandoned pets. All you need to do to make them better in battle is train them. If you are tight on neopoints, Coltzan's Shrine has been known to increase your pet’s skills and level. When they are trained properly, equip them with good weapons, armor, and battle magic. This combination of skill and equipment is all it takes to win most of the time.

These are just some of the tips that can help you along your way in Neopia. If you are thinking of adding another pet to your family, check the pound! There are so many lovely pets just begging to be given a second chance and a new home! You might even find out that they already have a petpet with them! I would love to see more pets adopted in Neopia because the number of pets in the pound is terrible! If you have to abandon them, transfer them to a friend so they can be taken care of! We need to raise awareness for these mistreated and forgotten pets and give them the homes that they deserve! With time and effort we can make Neopia a better place for everyone, owners and pets alike!

If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to neomail me! My inbox is always open for people to talk to me! I hope to see great things come from everyone here in Neopia, and until next time, your best friend, Alice!