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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Easter pets cute but novelty can wane


Frances Hoskin, 91, draws a chick to her face for a kiss Saturday at the Co-Op Supply store in Coeur d'Alene. Hoskin will bring the chick back to her home in a local retirement community as a new pet. The store brought in 1,000 chicks for the annual Chick Daze promotion. 
 (Photos by INGRID LINDEMANN / The Spokesman-Review)
Taryn Brodwater Staff writer

Frances Hoskin held the tiny yellow chick carefully in her hands and nuzzled it against her cheek.

“Oh, my sweet little baby,” the 91-year-old woman said and then kissed the top of the little bird’s head.

Hoskin came to Co-op Supply in Coeur d’Alene on Saturday with her daughter and two great-grandchildren just to see the baby chicks. The store brought in 1,000 chicks this week for its annual “Chick Daze” promotion, which coincides with Easter today. The fuzzy yellow chicks brought back childhood memories for Hoskin’s daughter, 67-year-old Delores Bendocchi. Each Easter, her mother gave every child in the house 10 chicks. Once they got too big to keep inside, the fowl went to the landlord’s farm.

What happens to animals purchased at Easter time – chicks, ducks and rabbits – is of special concern to local animal shelters and animal advocates.

Each year, the Kootenai Humane Society receives a number of pets bought for Easter that are dropped off at the shelter once the novelty wears off.

“It’s usually not right after the holiday,” Executive Director Phil Morgan said. “We see them six months afterward when the kids have lost interest, and the parents are tired of cleaning up after them.”

Spokane resident Tracy Martin, operator of the Web site rabbitron.com, has helped purchase billboard advertisements urging area residents to avoid buying a bunny for their kids.

“They see a rabbit at Northwest Seed & Pet for $6.99 and they think that’s an inexpensive pet, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Martin said. Martin’s ads read “Real rabbits are not Easter toys” and urge people to “Choose Chocolate” bunnies instead of the real thing.

She said people often don’t realize that rabbits have a long life span of 10 to 12 years. An 8-year-old child who receives a rabbit on Easter might not be interested in caring for the pet years down the road – or when they’re headed off to college.

Morgan said he’s concerned about the possibility of people releasing domesticated animals into the wild when they tire of them.

Bunnies breed like crazy, and domesticated chickens and ducks might not be suited for the area’s harsh winters, Martin and Morgan said.

There are restrictions in many areas on how many chickens, ducks and rabbits can be kept as pets. The City of Post Falls allows up to 10 outdoor rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese in city limits, but only if there’s at least three-fourths of an acre of fenced land.

The land the house is actually sitting on can’t be figured into the acreage, according to Animal Safety Officer Christine Weeks.

In Spokane, only four small domestic animals are permitted per household. Coeur d’Alene doesn’t limit the number of small animals residents can keep on their property, but Deputy City Clerk Kathy Lewis said roosters – or at least the crowing of roosters – violates one of the city’s animal control ordinances.

There’s also an odor ordinance, Lewis said, which means any animal excrement has to be cleaned up.

In recent months, Lewis has had an increasing number of calls from people asking about laws regarding chickens. They’re not asking about Easter chicks but rather having hens for fresh eggs.

Co-op Supply employee Duane Simon said there has been an increase in people raising hens for homegrown eggs. The chicks being sold – and given away with qualifying purchases – during the Chicks Daze promotion aren’t laying hens, though.

The fuzzy yellow chicks are the kind meant for eating.

“These right here are a meat bird,” Simon said. “In 8 (to) 10 weeks they’ll be big enough that (customers) can put them in the freezer.”

Simon said he wasn’t sure whether people were buying the chicks for eating or to keep as pets.

“After they leave here, as far as I know, they’re going in the freezer,” he said.

Bendocchi couldn’t resist buying four chicks: Two for each grandchild and two for her mother to take back to her assisted living apartment.

“I can’t believe I’m getting a little chick!” granddaughter Jaidyn Bendocchi, 8, squealed as she held one of the birds in her hand.

Her 5-year-old cousin, Genesis Elmore, said she was going to name her chick “Polly.”

“This is a cute pet,” Genesis said, peering into a small cardboard box with the chicks inside. “Hi Polly, my little gwirly!”

PJ Carter, a 13-year-old from Ritzville, Wash., watched as the little girls played with their new chicks. She was at the store with her aunt, who was buying 100 of the chicks to raise for meat.

“These are butcher chickens,” PJ said. “When they get older, they get mean. These chickens don’t make very good pets.

“When you go into the pen with them, they peck your feet.”