Your Hound vs. Your Hummer

Pets, particularly dogs, are the latest to be declared enemies of the environment.

The authors of the book Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living used an estimation of the carbon footprint of your average kibble to determine that a German Shepherd has about twice the annual eco-footprint as a Toyota Land Cruiser. This new ranking below SUVs, the traditional poster children of pollution and excess, has dog lovers tucking their tails between their legs.

We could spend a lot of time nitpicking the math. For example, while the equation did account for the energy required to fuel and to build the Land Cruiser, what about the energy and pollution impact at the end of a car's life? Or all of the chemicals in the materials of a car? What about the carbon footprint of the gas before it reaches the gas station?

But there's no denying the environmental effects of our animals' meat-based diets. And with the pet industry at over $45 billion a year, there's also a lot more than food being consumed by our dogs; all of those toys, beds, and collars have an impact, too.

Even if we were able to work out all the details of all the levels of production and consumption, energy and pollution, the bottom line wouldn't change: Pets have a significant impact on the environment.

Here's what I'm taking away from this debate:

It doesn't matter whether your car or your dog is the bigger environmental villain. Who is really going to look at these statistics and decide they no longer need a dog in their life? It's taken years of solid information to get people to start thinking about changing their driving habits and, with pets, we're talking about family members here, not modes of transportation.

The importance of the Pets vs. Environment debate is to raise consciousness about how the decisions you make on behalf of your animals need just as much consideration as the choices you make for yourself. The good news? A lot of what makes you an eco-conscious pet owner are the same things that make you a responsible pet owner.

Let's start with some of the bad advice that's come out of this debate. The author of Time to Eat the Dog suggests "shared pets." Remember the whole Flex Petz debacle? Dogs are pack animals, and when they don't have a defined pack, it tends to cause stress and related behavior problems. While there are some emotional benefits from short-term exposure to animals, I highly doubt that most people (or the dogs themselves) would settle for a community canine.

Now for the helpful suggestions.

• Keep your cats indoors, walk your dog on leash and pick up after him to protect wildlife and keep the bacteria in your pet's waste out of the environment.
• Spay and neuter your pets.
• Shop with an eco-conscience by choosing eco-friendly toys and other products, and making fewer unnecessary purchases.
• Your pet's diet matters as much as your own. I'm not saying they should go vegetarian because they have different biological needs than we do (and than each other -- vegetarian diets are very risky for cats.) But there are a lot of organic pet foods and treats on the market. You can also bring more local, fresh foods to your pet's bowl. Trade in traditional treats for fruits and vegetables from your farmers market.
• Keep that SUV in the driveway and get to know your local neighborhood parks instead of piling the pack in the car for a drive to larger parks.

We don't need to sacrifice animal welfare in order to be eco-conscious. Besides, dogs aren't entirely bad for the environment. They tend to bring people closer to nature on an emotional level -- they help us connect to non-human species; they get us outdoors; their happiness romping through nature helps us appreciate (and want to protect) parks and nature trails. And we can't underestimate the emotional benefits of pets, and how they make their humans more productive members of society.

Photo: Jason Dunnivant