The American Humane Society is offering for free download a book called Pet Meets Baby, written to help families safely introduce babies and children to various pets.

The AHA, which for the last 134 years has been at the forefront of advances that protect children, pets, and farm animals from cruelty, abuse, disasters, and neglect, says many families give up pets when babies come in order to keep their children safe - but says there are ways to safely introduce animals and small children that work for people and pets alike. Pet Meets Baby provides practical tips on how to:

• prepare your pet for possible re-location to another room
• encourage careful first introductions
• understand when a pet becomes stressed; and
• adjust so that children and pets can grow up together  and form strong bonds.

"Introducing a new baby to your family pet can be a beautiful thing," says Victoria Stilwell, star of Animal Planet's It's Me or The Dog, and a national ambassador for AHA. "The bond that can develop between children and their pets is priceless if it is built on safe practices, mutual respect and love. Bringing home a new baby can be stressful for pets. If that process is not managed and successfully prepared for, the consequences can range from the mildly annoying to tragic. Pet Meets Baby is a great resource I recommend to my clients to make sure they know what to expect and how best to minimize the risks associated with introducing new family members - whether they have four legs or two."