Passage 1
Keep Your Family Safe

Owning a pet comes with many responsibilities. While there are benefits to raising a pet, there are also risks involved that many people do not take into consideration. Welcoming an animal into one's home can become a health hazard. So it is important that parents take the appropriate steps to keep their children safe—their furry friends included. That is why children should be monitored when interacting with pets rather than be used as a means of teaching responsibility. Other chores such as mowing the lawn or washing dishes are better for teaching responsibility but caring for pets should not be treated the same way.
Pets can carry harmful germs that can make people sick. The diseases people get from animals are called zoonotic diseases, which are caused by infections that are shared between animals and people. It is hard to know which animals could be carrying zoonotic diseases, especially since animals carrying these germs can often look healthy and normal.
Due to the possibility of passing on diseases from pets to humans, instances that may seem innocent could turn into something bigger. For example, a dog can transmit a bacterial infection if a dog bites a human, which can be especially dangerous for younger children. Diseases caused from dog bites may be rare, but they still happen enough that it is a potential risk. It is vital that parents take immediate action and consult their family's doctor and receive proper treatment.
Having pets can be a wonderful experience, but there are steps families need to take to reduce health risks from animals. Washing hands, keeping pets clean and vaccinated, supervising children during pet interactions, and preventing children from kissing their pets are some steps parents can take to prevent issues from arising due to having pets in the home. Parents should always monitor their children while handling pets as a safety measure.


Passage 2
adapted from The Power of Pets
from NIH News in Health

Nothing compares to the job of coming home to a loyal companion. The unconditional love of a pet can do more than keep you company. An added benefit is that pets may also help children learn responsibility and how to gauge emotional awareness.
Research on human-animal interactions is still relatively new. Studies have shown that the effects of human-animal interactions are mostly positive for the pet and the person. Animals can feel stressed and fatigued, too. So, it is important for kids to be able to recognize signs of stress in their pet and know when not to approach because animal bites can cause serious harm.
"Dog bite prevention is certainly an issue parents need to consider, especially for young children who don't always know the boundaries of what's appropriate to do with a dog," explains a veterinarian. Having a pet will help teach children how to build social awareness and learn how to be a responsible pet owner.
By including children in the care of a pet, children not only learn how to nurture it but also learn that an animal is more than just a toy that they get to play with. Children get to learn that pets are more of a responsibility that depends on the family for food, shelter, and care. For example, helping to bathe and brush a pet can help reinforce a child's own personal hygiene care, too; therefore, they learn to understand that a living creature needs just as much care as humans do. Simultaneously, they learn that by caring for a pet's hygiene, they help prevent skin conditions from forming and illnesses from spreading.
When children realize that their involvement in the care of a pet matters, they learn the importance of responsibility and selflessness. With responsibility, they also gain empathy for other living creatures.


What piece of information in Passage 2 is different from Passage 1?
A.
Dog bite prevention teaches children how to be a good pet owner by handling dogs with care rather than like a toy.
B.
Parents need to be less hands on and allow children to make decisions about caring for pets to teach independence.
C.
Parents need to be better at educating their children about zoonotic diseases that can be passed from pets to owners.
D.
Dog biting incidents can easily be prevented as long as children are supervised by their parents during interactions with dogs.