Trusting your pet

Kim Carvalho, DVM Veterinarian, shares advice for parents on how they can tell whether they should trust their your pet around your young kids and what kind of body language should set off red flags
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Trusting your pet

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A good way to know if you can trust your pet around your children is to go by gut instinct. If your pet preceded your baby, then you've already seen subtle warning signs that your pet is in pain or distress. It could be the ears tucked back. It could be the tail tucked under. It could be a little hiss or a growl. These are things you need to teach your children to recognize ahead of time. Sometimes pets are in pain and need pain medication. Make sure you take them to a veterinarian so they can be examined. The best thing you can do is to realize that, even with the most well-adjusted pet, your children are still at risk for getting bitten. These are animals and we can't fully predict their behavior.

Kim Carvalho, DVM Veterinarian, shares advice for parents on how they can tell whether they should trust their your pet around your young kids and what kind of body language should set off red flags

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Kim Carvalho, DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Kimberly Carvalho attended the University of California at Davis for her undergraduate studies, then went on to graduate from Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1992. She completed a small animal medicine and surgical internship at California Animal Hospital in 1993 and went on to become a partner at Brentwood Animal Hospital in West Los Angeles. Dr. Carvalho became a Board-Certified Diplomat of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in 2002 and is a Clinical Associate Professor at Western University's College of Veterinary Medicine in Pomona, California.

Dr. Carvalho has served on the Medical Advisory Board of PetDrx Corporation, is currently serving as a member of the Medical Advisory Board of Veterinary Centers of America (VCA corporation), and donates a lot of her time and resources to the Friends of Animals Foundation. She also currently serves on the board of The John Thomas Dye School Parent's Association.

Dr. Carvalho is a native of Hawaii and resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. When not working in the office or at her children's schools, she enjoys the outdoors, traveling and golfing.

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Transcription: 
A good way to know if you can trust your pet around your children is to go by gut instinct. If your pet preceded your baby, then you've already seen subtle warning signs that your pet is in pain or distress. It could be the ears tucked back. It could be the tail tucked under. It could be a little hiss or a growl. These are things you need to teach your children to recognize ahead of time. Sometimes pets are in pain and need pain medication. Make sure you take them to a veterinarian so they can be examined. The best thing you can do is to realize that, even with the most well-adjusted pet, your children are still at risk for getting bitten. These are animals and we can't fully predict their behavior.