Thursday, January 19, 2006

Exhibit explores relationship between Americans and their pets

KATRINA JACKSON

The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The gravestone was carved granite, the small plastic casket lined with nylon and lace.

Big Bird.

Jan. 11 1966-Dec. 19 1981.

Sweet Pea.

July 4, 1972-August 22, 1991.

The dog casket and sample gravestone, designed for dogs or birds, are two of more than 200 objects and photographs included in a new exhibit chronicling the long-term relationship Americans have with their animal companions.

"Pets in America: The Story of Our Lives With Animals at Home" is on display at the University of South Carolina's McKissick Museum through April 22 before traveling to other cities nationwide.

The exhibit is unlike anything the museum has done, said Walda Wildman, a former chair of the museum's board of directors. So, she expected to see unusual artifacts. Yet she was taken aback by the dog casket.

"That's just a little over the top," she said. "Personally, I wouldn't do that."

The exhibit was created to illustrate people's changing attitudes toward pets, said Katherine Grier, a guest curator who teaches at the University of Delaware's Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.

She said more than 60 percent of American households keep pets.

"I would argue that that fact alone makes it worth studying from a historical perspective," Grier said. "I've discovered that these ordinary items that have survived really do tell the story of the daily routines that don't show up in the historical records in other ways."

But there's nothing ordinary about some of the items on display.

A wood, iron and brass dog treadmill from the 1890s attracts many who visit the exhibit. Though it resembles a modern day treadmill, dogs powered treadmills that were used in houses and stores to produce energy.

The devices were attached to washing machines, butter churns and grinders.

The "First Prize Dog Power" American dog treadmill, patented in 1884, comes from a private collection, as do most artifacts in the exhibit.

Grier noted that Americans spent an estimated $34 billion on pets and related goods and services in 2004 - a sterling silver dog collar, made by Tiffany and Co. in 1900, is featured in the show.

Not all the items are as pricey or novel. Some are quite practical.

The first bag of commercial Kitty Litter gets a lot of attention because it is commonly used today, Grier said.

The invention of cat litter in the 1940s allowed people to keep cats indoors, according to information provided in the exhibit. By 1970, Americans owned more cats than dogs.

Bob and Pat Wislinski, who visited the show, are self-proclaimed "cat people."

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