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Home > Archive > Oct 3, 2007

Family Educates About Animals
By Ashley Langston
Contributing Editor
Paws & Reflect Pet Center has been operating in Cedar City for almost five years, and exists primarily as a way to fund educational programs about animals.
Cynthia Goularte, the owner, said she grew up in a family of teachers, and education is very important to her. She also loves animals, and raised her children with them.
“I’ve loved animals since I was tiny and I’ve always had animals,” she said.
Cynthia has four children and she raised them on a dairy farm with lots of pets. They also participated in 4-H and Future Farmers of America, she said. Two of her sons traveled around California through the 4-H program, educating people about guide dogs. They have all been very involved with animals.
She and her son, Joey Goularte, now run the store and put on the educational programs together.
The name of the store, Paws & Reflect, is symbolic of the partnership between the store and the educational program, Joey said. “Paws” is for the animals and the word “reflect” is for the education.
When they moved to Cedar City, they saw a need for education about animals. Cynthia said a lot of people didn’t know how to properly care for their pets and there has been a misconception that dogs and cats are the only pets.
They decided to offer a free educational program that they take to schools, scouting groups, church groups, group homes and groups for the disabled.
They can cater their program to the age and the group, Cynthia said. For example, last year a second grade teacher was doing an Australia unit. They took the educational program to her class, and took animals that were native to Australia.
They show kids animals they may not normally see, such as a snake and a large tortoise. They teach them what the animals eat, in what situations they make good or bad pets, where they are from, and what environment they need to live.
Cynthia said many kids have never touched a snake, and they expect it to be slimy. They can touch the snake and learn about its skin. They can also learn about a turtle’s shell and how to treat the animal. It is a good opportunity for kids.
Children can receive more of an exposure to animals through the program, Cynthia said. They can learn about how to care for them and act around them.
The animals in the educational program have generally been donated. They are strictly for the program and are not sold. Paws & Reflect has many animals for sale though, such as iguanas, snakes, turtles and other reptiles, ferrets and birds.
Cynthia said every person who purchases an animal from Paws & Reflect is educated about that animal and how to properly care for it. Even if they don’t have all the answers, they will do the necessary research to make sure the animal can be properly cared for, she said.
Each animal also comes with a health guarantee. When the store receives animals, they keep them “quarantined” for at least seven days to ensure they are healthy and fit to be sold, Cynthia said.
Many of their animals are rehabilitated, often after they are abused or very ill. Cynthia said they never sell an animal before it is ready, and some of their animals cannot be sold. However, they have successfully rehabilitated at least 150 animals, and have vaccinated and sold them.
They also generally stock items to care for the animals they carry. They don’t have any fish products because they don’t currently sell fish, but they do carry a lot of reptile, ferret and bird products.
The store hours are Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They are closed Sundays and holidays. Cynthia said they also sometimes close the store when they are out doing educational programs.
She said the educational aspect of what she does is most important to her, and though the store and the program have built on each other, teaching people about animals takes precedence over the business.
“We’re into education real big,” she said.
They can travel to many areas of Utah with their educational animals, including all of Southern Utah. Anyone who would like to schedule them can call the store at (435) 867-5888.

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