ASPCAOffers Interactive Web Experience To Educate Pet Owners About Household Poisons (NAPSA)—When a child first learns to crawl or otherwise move about independently, one of the first steps families generally take to “childproof” the homeis to lock away chemicals, cleaners and other household products that can be poisonous—orat the veryleast, make sure they’re out of reach. What manyfamilies may notrealize is that similar steps should be taken to protect their pets. There are a number of everyday household products that are poisonousto animals. Now,to help pet owners identify these toxins, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has launched a newinteractive feature called “Make Your Pet’s Home Poison Safe” on its Website. The online experience lets users walk through an animated model of a house and search for poisonous items in four rooms: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and garage. Each room features five to six hazardous items frequently found in the home (medications, cleaning products, foods, plants, etc.). The user can mouse over the item and click to safely store or remove it from the room. Simultaneously, information about the danger will pop up. Onceall of the items are cleaned in a room, the user will automati- cally move on to the next room until all four rooms are cleaned. When the homeis free of toxins a poserSa FOISON ANIMAL POISON ASPCA CONTROL CENTER, 888-426-4435.WhereknowledgelsyourUfeling”™ @ An interactive Web site helps pet owners identify substances that could hurt animals. reward screen will pop up and ask the user if they would like to play again or offer additional information on household toxins. The home is fun for all ages and the informa- tion providedis timeless. Users have a faithful companion in “Cooper the Careful Canine,” an animated character who appears throughout the interactive experience. Cooper uses expressive behaviors such as barking, nodding and panting asvisitors click on the various toxic items—helping users keep on track. For more than 25 years, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has been the premier animal poison control center in North America. The specially trained staff provides assistance to pet owners and specific analysis and treatment recommendations to veterinarians pertaining to toxic chemicals and dangerous plants, products or substances. In 2002, the center handled over 73,000 cases. For more information, visit www.apcc.aspca.org.
