Make these explicit promises to your four-legged family. Strengthen your capacity for providing deeply responsible care for your pets, whose lives are quite literally resting in your hands and heart. They depend on you for everything during their entire lives. You chose to travel this lifetime with animals by your side. You chose it knowing that your heart will break when they die all too soon, because their life cycles are much smaller than ours. You chose it knowing that sometimes trouble will come, sadness will come, expenses will come. What we learn from our pets will make us better people, enriching all within our reaches. So keep the promises with full and radiant hearts.

The Principles	Your Pets’ Rights	Your Promises
Daily sustenance	Biological needs are met	My pets will receive appropriate amounts of good-quality food and continuous access to clean water.
	Solid shelter is provided	My pets will have dry, wind-proof, shaded shelter, a soft clean bed, and sturdy fencing when needed.
	Good health is supported	My pets will receive annual checkups and year-around parasite control, and health issues will be promptly addressed with veterinarian support.
	Exercise is provided	My pets will receive daily moderate exercise totalling at least one hour.
	Elimination is enabled	My pets are allowed appropriate daily opportunities to eliminate bodily wastes. If my pets are having accidents, I will devote time to reward-based training activities and seeking out expert advice.
Security and safety	Training and guidance is provided	My pets will receive positive reinforcement training to become cooperative members of the household, as well as ongoing guidance that encourages good behavior.
	Self and family protection is allowed	My pets may protect themselves and family members from harm under reasonable circumstances without risk of euthanasia.
	Evacuation is guaranteed	In disasters, my pets will be evacuated with other members of the family.
Companionship	Affection is regularly offered	My pets will be dedicated a minimum of two daily 10-minute periods of affectionate one-on-one interaction with family members.
	Pet companions are provided	My pets will be provided with other pet companions if they are without human attention for long periods on a regular basis.
	Comfort is freely offered	My pets will be comforted when frightened, have suffered a loss, or are suffering from health problems.
	Fun is provided	My pets will be provided with the mental and emotional stimulation of toys, games, and playing with family members on a daily basis.
Respect	Divine life embodied in our pets is recognized	All pets will be considered worthy of our humble respect, because we share the divine energy of life. My pets won’t be euthanized for any reason, except to avoid needless suffering.
	Pet intelligence is appreciated	My pets will be respected for their special intelligences and unique talents that have cooperatively evolved with our own mental gifts.
	Pet feelings are respected	My pets’ feelings of exuberance, fear, affection, aggression, and other feelings, will be recognized and and responded to with appropriate guidance, to support good citizenship in the family.
	Pet diversity is appreciated	Each of my pets are unique in so many ways, and I will place equal values on all types and individuals.