Rhys, I've got some either/or questions for you.

Ready?

Let's do it.

Okay.

Dog or cat?

I'd say dog.

Snake or hamster?

Hamster.

And final one.

Bird or rat?

I'll answer that one in a minute.

But for now, let's start the show.

Okay.

Welcome to "More childhood, please.®" A show for kids by kids.

It's part of Akron Children's mission to help you make the most of your time as a kid, with fun ideas, challenges and ways to spend time with friends and family.

I'm Lily.

And I'm Rhys.

And to answer your question, Lily, rats.

Oh, rats.

Like those ones?

Yeah, these are Tiramisu, Rasputia and Gigi.

And they're my pet rats.

And they live in my family room.

Wait, wait, wait, you have pet rats?

Most people are trying to get them out of their house, and you keep them in your family room?

Actually, rats can be really good pets, but in small numbers, of course.

I would never think about having a rat as a pet, but that's why we're here.

We're going to look at how pets can be our friends, how animals help us navigate daily life, and the responsibilities that come along with having pets.

This is "Animal Friends."

You know, pets can do some silly, crazy things.

My dog Daisy gets really excited when my cousin Jaylen comes over.

Has Daisy ever eaten any of your homework?

No, but I wish she would.

Now that I think about it, my rats may have eaten some of mine.

Let's meet some other pets and learn about the crazy things they do.

This is "Meet My Pet."

Hi, I'm Stanley.

This is my dog, Milton.

He's 14 and he's a mixed breed.

I love petting him, feeding him carrots and taking him on walks.

Hello, I'm Dylan and this is Lenny.

He's my corn snake.

He's actually a red factor corn snake.

I love him because he's nice.

And I also like to read with him on my neck.

And I like to play with him all the time.

And he feels really scaly.

And I really appreciate having him.

My goat's name is Halo.

He is a Nigerian Dwarf and I like him because he's cute and noisy and he likes to jump on me.

Hey, I'm Aiden.

This is Chell, my four year old Peacock Slider turtle.

In her enclosure she has a heating lamp for staying warm, she has water for swimming and she has sand to crawl in and play in and lay her unfertilized eggs.

And we feed her daily by feeding her bananas, salmon and shrimp.

This is Turtle.

She's a chicken.

I like her because she's easy to catch.

Is she soft or not soft?

She's soft.

Is she friendly?

Yeah.

Okay.

What else about her?

She's really happy.

Those were some pretty cool pets.

Did those videos give you any ideas for tricks your dog could learn?

Oh, I've got a few ideas, but did you know that animals can actually help kids when they're sick, make them feel happier and even make their lives easier?

We're going to see how members of the Doggie Brigade™ at Akron Children's provide emotional support and a lot more.

Prepare for cuteness.

This is "Therapy Animals."

Hi, I'm Michael, and this is my dog, Lyra.

And we're members of Akron Children's Hospital Doggie Brigade™.

The Doggie Brigade here is a group of volunteers with our own dogs and we have them actually trained before we get here, pass the evaluation, and then we all spend time here at the hospital with kids, making them feel better.

Would you like to say hello to Lyra?

Lyra here is 2.

We've been doing this for a whole year.

Lyra loves coming to Akron Children's and we love doing therapy work.

When Lyra first meets the kids, it's the best.

This is my little girl, Lyra.

Would you like her to come up on the bed with you?

Okay.

I love seeing their eyes light up - the way they look at her, knowing that she's going to be in their arms in just a few minutes and it immediately takes their mind off of everything else and allows them to spend some time with just the right thing, and that's Lyra.

This is Lyra.

Do you want to pet her?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, thank you so much.

Did you know that therapy dogs can reduce stress and anxiety?

It can also reduce blood pressure, your heart rate, and can provide a great level of security.

Awwww.

Well, thank you so much for spending time with us.

Beyond the therapy dogs making the kids feel better, they can also help with their actual movements.

So here at Akron Children's, we also use the Doggie Brigade dogs to help with physical therapy and for rehab, where the kids can get out and move around with the animals.

One of the things that the dogs can do to help is to be physical with the kids.

That means they can throw the ball to them.

They can throw treats to them.

Kick.

That's it.

There you go.

That's good.

Charlie, down.

Charlie, leave it.

Leave it.

Whoa, whoa.

She got it.

They can also be a reward at the end of a, of a hallway to say, hey, can we walk down to the dog?

They can also offer support.

A child can lean on the dog.

And they can also give them some happy support when they're done to let them know that they've done a nice job at the end of the day.

What I'd like the kids to know about therapy animals is they can help you.

When you need help, they can help you.

When you need somebody to be kind, they can be kind.

Just try to sweep, honey.

Welcome back.

Earlier, we saw dogs that help kids feel better in the hospital.

But there are also animals that help kids in their everyday lives.

Yeah, there are guide dogs, hearing dogs and some can even tell if a seizure is coming.

How cool is that?

Super cool.

Let's check it out.

This is "Service Animals."

My name is Alayna Flack.

I have Type 1 diabetes.

My dog's name is Daniel.

He is my service dog.

He helps to let me and others know if my blood sugar is too high or too low.

This is Daniel.

He's an English Cream golden retriever.

He is a diabetic alert dog.

So he has been trained to sense high and low blood sugars.

And he does that by the smell of her breath.

If her blood sugar is going too high, or if it's dropping too low too fast, he, he can sense that by smell.

So what he does is he'll go up to her and he'll, he kind of pants.

He kind of like, almost like he just got done running.

He's kind of out of breath.

He starts panting and he'll kind of start licking her, licking her arm, licking her leg.

And that, that lets us know that he's saying, "Hey, I'm, I'm smelling something.

I'm smelling a high or a low blood sugar."

Alayna is mostly nonverbal.

She uses a communication device to speak.

So, you know, she, she may have trouble saying, "hey, I don't feel well," or "I'm not feeling so great," or "I feel like my blood sugar is going higher or going low," and so it's nice to have that, extra safety net that we can watch and, and make sure that her blood sugar is okay.

Daniel was also trained for balance, so say for instance, she's playing on the floor.

If she's having a hard time getting up, she can actually put her, her hand or hands on him.

And, and he'll kind of stabilize himself so that she can pull herself up.

He also has a, kind of a harness he can wear as well, so that she has the ability to kind of grab onto that handle if she needs to, or if she's going up and down a step and she just needs the extra support, she can kind of grab on to that handle and hold on to him.

This has given my daughter a companion as well and a and a friend and, it's, it's very sweet.

It's very sweet to watch.

Daniel likes to go on walks.

He lays next to me in my room when I play.

I love my dog, Daniel.

Getting his dinner.

Syrah helps make his dinner.

Two scoops at night.

Sit.

Sit, boy.

Break.

There are so many ways that pets can help their owners, but there are a lot of pets that need help finding a home.

Right, adopting a pet can be a great experience, but there are a lot of things we should consider before bringing a new pet home.

Let's head over to Rescue Village to learn more about what we need to know.

This is "Adopting Pets."

My name is Kenneth Clarke.

I'm the executive director of Rescue Village, based in Novelty, Ohio.

Rescue Village is a humane society on the eastern side of Cleveland, and it provides shelter and veterinary care for homeless animals, like dogs and cats, and it also has a space for domesticated barn animals such as horses, or ducks or even the barn pig.

One of the important parts that Rescue Village does for its community is it provides homeless animals with a deep level of veterinary care.

We have an on-site animal clinic and the veterinarians and the vet techs and everybody working there helps make those animals ready for adoption.

Adopting a pet can impact your life in so many different and wonderful ways.

But there can also be challenges to that if you're not expecting them to demand things from you and want things from you that you would have never guessed.

The most important thing to think about when bringing home an animal is is it going to fit your family's lifestyle?

They're going to demand a whole new level of attention from you that you may not be used to.

They're going to want to eat at times you're not ready to feed them, be it a treat or dinner.

They're going to want to go for many walks.

They're going to want to play.

Really one of the reasons that people get pets is because they're so much fun to have.

But if you're used to a certain routine, and then an animal is demanding a whole new level of love and attention from you, that's a really important part of the consideration when you're adopting.

One of the things to consider is the kind of animal you're adopting, not only the species, but who they are, who their personality is.

So if you're a lower-key family and you get a, say, a Siberian husky, you're going to find yourself out on three or four walks a day And if that's not something you want to do, maybe the husky is not for you.

Maybe you just want to go for a, maybe one of the slower breeds.

If you're thinking about adopting a pet, see if you have an allergy first.

If you've been around an animal and you start sneezing, your eyes get watery or itchy, you start coughing or break out in hives, you could be allergic.

In that case, it would be a good idea to see an allergist or consider an alternate pet.

One of the things that people don't necessarily think about when they're adopting a pet is just how much time that pet is going to take in order to be a part of their lives.

When your pet comes home to your house, they're not going to be immediately at home.

They're used to being somewhere else.

And there's something that we talk about at humane societies, which is three, three, three.

Three days, three weeks, three months.

Your animal is going to go through a transition of adjusting to being with you and learning to trust you and you them.

And so you should see, after the first three days, your animal settle in a little more, and then after three weeks and sometimes it takes up to three months for you to truly understand who your animal is and what your relationship with that pet is going to be.

They need your time, they need your understanding, and they need your patience in order to adjust to you while you adjust to them.

Owning a pet is one of the most rewarding things that any family and any person can do.

It teaches children responsibility, but it also gives them an amazing companion.

It's a beautiful thing to see.

We heard that adopting a pet comes with some responsibilities, like feeding, exercise, vet visits, changing water if you have a fish or cleaning the cage if you have rats.

It can be a lot, but it's totally worth it because you can learn a ton in the process.

Let's see what some kids do to keep their pets happy and healthy.

This is "Caring for My Pet."

Hi, my name is Hannah.

I'm 12 years old and this is my cat, Comet.

Comet is 3 years old and we adopted him when he was a kitten.

A fun fact about Comet is that he only has three legs.

You wouldn't know he's a tripod when he runs because he zooms all over the house.

I do a lot of things to care for Comet.

I give him some medicine with his wet food in the morning.

He also begs for it.

Sit.

Go.

Good boy.

I also scoop his litter box.

It can be a real mess sometimes.

Comet!

Comet, door open!

I also open the back door so he can look at birds and animals.

Chipmunks really drive him wild.

I give him lots of pets and scratches because he loves them.

He loves laying in a leg canoe, which is where we put a blanket over our legs for him to sit in.

He also loves to sleep in his little window bed.

I also play with him.

His favorite toys are a string, a laser and a plastic witch finger for some reason.

I carry him around so he can sniff things that are high up.

I call it giving him a sniff tour.

Sit.

He gets a supplement every night.

Good boy.

Because being a tripod can make it hard on his joints.

I also go with him to some of his vet appointments because he gets really nervous there.

Comet is a great cat, and I love taking care of him.

Having a cat is the best.

This is my pony.

His name's J.D.

He is, well, very short, but he causes a lot of mischief outside when he plays.

That's kind of my favorite thing about him.

But he's really sweet.

He'll let you kiss him on the nose.

We feed him grain and hay.

Mostly hay.

We usually throw hay down about four to five times a day into these hay nets to make sure they always have food in front of them.

He loves peppermints the best, I would say.

These are his ear puffies.

They stop him from hearing loud noises so he doesn't get scared because he's just a little scaredy-cat.

This is fly spray and it helps protect him from any flies that try to bite him during riding and it makes him happier and me happier.

Right now I'm grooming him, which gets all the dirt off you.

And so if it rubs on to the saddle pad, it can get really itchy for him.

So that's why we brush him and make sure he's all nice and clean.

Right now, what I'm putting on him is his saddle pad, which makes sure his skin doesn't get irritated while we put the saddle on.

And he personally hates this step, so he might try to bite me while putting it on.

So right now, I'm bridling him so I can control him while I'm riding.

So he doesn't run off.

Taking care of a pet can teach kids valuable life skills.

They can learn responsibility by feeding, walking, playing and even cleaning up after their pets.

Pets can also help foster empathy and can assist with emotion regulation.

We use rubbing alcohol to help absorb the sweat and evaporate it.

But if that doesn't work, we will have to use a hose and rinse these little guys off.

My pony is the best.

When I take care of him, he takes care of me.

If your dog could talk, what would she say?

I'm pretty sure it would just be something like, "Food, food, food.

Where's my food?

Oh, my gosh, I'm hungry.

Bring it right now."

Well, in this next segment, we're going to find out what's really on their minds.

Whoa.

Did you build a doggy mind reader?

Yes.

And it works on people, too.

And you're next Lily.

Oh.

This is "Ask a Pet."

Hi, Odie.

Bye, Odie.

Welcome back.

Now that we asked a pet a few questions, we have some for our experts, too.

Today we're joined by Doctor Sammon and Doctor Weith.

Can you guys tell us a little bit about what you do for Akron Children's?

Thank you for having us here today.

I'm Doctor Sammon and I'm the Director of Allergy and Immunology at Akron Children's Hospital.

Hi, I'm Doctor Weith and I'm a pediatric psychologist at Akron Children's Hospital.

So, Doctor Weith, who's your friend here?

This is Odie.

He's my pup.

And he's actually on the Doggie Brigade™ at the hospital, too.

So we're going to ask you guys some questions.

And our first one is, how does having a pet help a kid learn and grow?

Good question.

Pets are awesome at helping kids feel comfortable and calm, and they can even help kids feel better if they're feeling down or feeling a little bit anxious.

Studies have actually shown that spending time with a dog like Odie for even just 10 minutes or so can help kids feel less anxious and feel better.

So even just by petting a dog like Odie, you might find that you feel more relaxed.

Do you want to give it a try?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Hi there, buddy.

Who's a good boy?

Aww.

He loves some good scratches.

And pets are great at teaching responsibility, too.

When I had a pet growing up, I had to make sure I walked the dog several times a day and make sure she had her food and water.

I have a toddler at home, and we're already having him help feed Odie, and he loves giving his dog some treats.

What should kids do if they adopt a pet and they start seeing signs of being allergic to it?

So some signs of allergy include itching of your eyes and nose.

Some kids might start sneezing or having a little swelling of the eyes and coughing.

Allergies, though, can be from many different things, too.

There's a lot of children that have allergies to pollen, and pets like to be outdoors, so that can sometimes be brought inside and cause those symptoms.

If you're not sure exactly, you know, what you're allergic to, your neighborhood friendly allergist is always happy to help and do testing for allergies to try to determine if you have allergies to pets or something else.

And then together, we'll come up with a plan to reduce your symptoms and decide what we need to do to help you feel your best.

I've heard of hypoallergenic dogs.

And what's the deal with those?

Yeah, that is actually quite a myth.

There's actually no hypoallergenic dogs.

The reason being is even the dog's saliva, when the dog licks you, can still cause reactions in some patients.

So what can kids or families do if they can't have a dog or cat because of allergies, or if they live in an apartment where those pets aren't allowed?

There are so many great pet alternatives.

Reptiles include turtles and geckos and snakes.

Fish are great, too.

The axolotl is one of my personal favorites.

And sometimes if you don't have access to some of those other animals, you can even go to a shelter and volunteer.

You can walk the animals there.

Or maybe you have a friend that has an animal that you can hang out with for a little bit.

Sometimes people even have pets in their classrooms.

There's a lot of pets around.

We saw earlier how pets can help kids feel calmer and more comfortable.

Are there other ways pets can help kids heal?

Oh, for sure.

I know Odie is just kind of lounging today, but I promise he does a lot of really important work at the hospital.

Because we're at the hospital, he's able to help kids if they need to get pokes or IVs.

Even just hanging out, he can provide distraction, or it can be calming to pet him before or after.

He can also help kids who are injured who need help getting up and moving a little more.

So he can walk alongside them, or they can even try to give him some treats and have him do some tricks.

He's also helped some kids be really brave.

Like if there's something they're nervous about, even like getting on the elevator, he can help them and show them that it's not so scary.

What are some of Odie's favorite things to do when he's not volunteering at the hospital?

Oh, well, he spends a lot of time just catching up on his sleep.

He also has two cat siblings at home that he spends a lot of time cuddling with.

But he actually really loves to play and get outside.

His favorite treats are salmon treats and so he really likes getting some special treats.

Well, those are all the questions we have for today.

Thank you both for coming on the show and talking to us.

Thanks.

Thank you for having us.

We'll be right back after a "Moment of Childhood."

We've learned a lot about pets, how they can help us and how we can care for them, too.

If you've been thinking about adopting a pet, hopefully you feel more prepared for it after watching this episode.

And if you have any ideas on what you'd like to see on future episodes, message us on Facebook or Instagram.

We'll see you next time.

Bye!

Since rats do make great pets, what do you think would make an interesting pet?

Probably a raccoon.

Oh, yeah.

Foxes.

Like, bison.

Coyotes.

Pigs.

Oh, yeah.

Hyenas.