Pets featured at E.L. event for children

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Reptiles and insects were all the rage Tuesday at the final 2009 Play in the Park interactive children’s entertainment event at Valley Court Park, 201 Hillside Court.

Preuss Pets, a family owned exotic pet store located in Lansing’s Old Town, was the main attraction with an assortment of reptilian creatures, including a Savannah monitor lizard and a 62-year-old South American red-footed tortoise named Fred.

Jessica Howe, a community events intern with the city of East Lansing, organized July’s four Play in the Park events and said Tuesday’s Pets in the Park was unique because audience members were able to interact with animals they might usually only be able to see through the glass in a pet store.

“We’re just going to talk about how (the animals) survive in the wild,” Howe said. “This week is really cool because kids can actually get to touch the animals and see them really up close.”

Megan Shannon, education coordinator for Preuss Pets, showed the animals on the pet store’s behalf. Her job entails traveling to different schools and events to teach kids about the various animals and how to care for them, she said.

“My main focus is to educate kids on how much of a responsibility animals are,” she said. “They feel just like we do, they need things like we do, except they can’t care for themselves.”

Shannon, who has worked at Preuss Pets for five years, said it was important to convey to kids the importance behind being attentive to animals’ needs.

“I’m going to try to get across to them how specific their needs are and how the only way they’re going to get those needs met is if (people) do it for them,” she said.

She said watching the kids interact with the animals and how the animals capture their attention right away is her favorite part of the job.

Okemos resident Amy Lothamer attended Tuesday’s event, which was the first time she took part in any Play in the Park activity this year. She said she would like to see the city hold more events like Play in the Park.

“Because East Lansing is kind of student-oriented, it’s kind of nice in the summer that they have more family things that people can participate in,” she said.

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