Lois and Clark’s leading man is a single father to son Christopher and three dogs Lady, Sasha and Bonkers. He tells us the best way to be a hero is to be a responsible parent and pet parent.
Dean Cain, who plays Clark Kent/Superman in the series Lois and Clark has a simpler life than his superhero persona. A single father, Cain enjoys watching son Christopher, three years old, interact with his dogs Lady, a yellow lab, Sasha, a Golden retriever, and Bonkers, a Bernese Mountain dog. He is concerned about the responsibilities of parenting – both people parenting and pet parenting, and he believes that they go hand in hand.
Cain is the spokesperson for Bayer Advantage(R) Pet Parent Program, an information service for pet parents who want to stay informed of the latest medical research on pet health issues and how to best care for their pets. Dean knows how important it is to raise your child to care for animals and teach them to interact. He says, “When you raise a child, it’s so important to teach the child how to be gentle to animals. You have to teach him that things hurt and how to be sweet and how to be gentle. My son is so gentle.”
“Having three large dogs and an infant in one’s household requires a lot of responsibility.” I was very careful introducing the dogs to Chris. You have to monitor it very well. It’s unbelievable to watch – for a child to learn to pet a dog and to care for a dog – it’s an invaluable teaching tool for life.” Cain recollects when he caught his son mimicking him – scolding the dogs just as Cain himself does – driving home the point that children pick up on the way adults treat others and replicate their actions. Cain also grew up with pets – a dog named Lovey (who liked to surf with him!). “One time my brother and I went surfing. All of the sudden we look over as there was a lull between waves and there is Lovey paddling out to join us!”
Cain is careful to be sure that everyone in his house stays healthy. “Being a father of a child, having dogs and being such an advocate for having pets at home, I have to take care of my dogs so I don’t let my son get sick.”
His dogs Lady, Sasha, and Bonkers (“I hesitate to say their names because I sound like such a sissy.”) are outdoor dogs who enjoy romping in his 2-1/2 acre backyard in California. Cain says Lady is obsessive-compulsive, getting her exercise by chasing her tennis ball. He has to use a plastic arm to pick up the tennis ball and throw it, as Cain admits, “it is so disgusting – she drops it in her water bowl and in the mud.” Sasha, the Golden, just loves being loved, but it is Bonkers with whom Dean’s son Christopher has the strongest relationship. “Bonkers will just let Christopher lay all over him.” Cain still misses Bosco, a Rottweiler mix who passed away at ten years, four months old. “He was my soul mate. He was loyal, protective, sweet, loving. He was my special dog.”
Certainly you are wondering how Cain (superhero, compassionate father, good looking, animal lover) could possibly be single – without his human soul mate – without his Lois. He laughs, “I think my type is a woman akin to an Italian greyhound. Graceful, delicate-featured and with skinny ankles. I have a thing about skinny ankles.”
For more information about the Bayer Advantage(R) Pet Parent Program, go to www.petparents.com.
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