What’s your pet’s tale?

A family pet can be a parent’s best friend. It helps teach kids responsibility, brings focus to the family and can be a catalyst for memorable adventures and stories that unfold in the reciprocal human-animal bond that develops.

No wonder I’ve been riveted by the new book “Saved: Rescued Animals and the Lives They Transform” by award-winning journalist Karin Winegar ( www.dacapopress.com).

In her descriptive writing style, Winegar tells 28 stories of how animals have enriched the lives of the people who rescued them. With broad appeal for all ages, the heart and soul of the book comes out of her childhood love of animals.

Believing that rescuing and helping are a natural impulse, she relates that she had a salamander hospital and rescued baby birds, snakes and frogs. “I spent more time on the floor with various dachshunds than with people,” she said. “I knew the geography of their inner ears, the topography of their hide, their voices and moods better than I knew my backyard.”

As for her love of writing about animals, “the most natural thing in the world for kids to write about is their pet,” she says. Here are some of her writing tips for young animal fans in your home:

1. Encourage your children to describe their cat or dog, ferret, fish, rabbit or bird. Say: Tell me about his eyes. How does his nose look? Can you describe his fur? What about his tail?

2. Just like people, animals have a history. Trigger memories with questions such as: Where did we get our cat? Do you remember when he was born, when we went to the Humane Society or Grandpa’s farm and got him? Was he little, big, smelly? What did he eat? Some kids might want to be like reporters and stick to facts, while others might want to create fiction. Either way is fun.

3. Young girls in particular dream of horses or ponies, and enjoy creating a fantasy story. Prompt them with questions such as: What breed is it? What is its name? Where does it live, and how do you feed it? Where do you ride? Do you ride with anyone else?

“The grandkids are coming!”

Tip: If your grandchildren are too young to write, encourage them to draw a picture of their favorite pet. They’ll be following a tradition of our early ancestors, who drew animals on walls of caves 30,000 years ago!