Forever In Our Hearts

We visit lots of dog sites on line.  I especially like 3 Million Dogs and Dog Everywhere on Facebook because we get to meet dogs from all over the world and see what they and their families are doing.  We may live in very different places (our bestest friends live in India and Canada) but we are all very much alike.

We all like treats and walks and spending time with our humans.  Mom reads me the posts all the time and sometimes we find a post about a dog that has crossed over to Rainbow Bridge.  It never fails, Mom cries.

It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t know the dog or the humans, she still cries.  I asked her why and she said that some dogs are extra special (like me and DixieLee) and that when they cross over Rainbow Bridge, their humans are very sad.

Special dogs make their humans so happy that when they cross, they make their humans extra sad.  I think that’s right because when our neighbor Ranger crossed over a few weeks ago her humans were very sad.  Even though she was 15 years old and not feeling good it still hurt them a lot.  It hurt her doggy sister too.  I know because we talked.

Mom said when she lost her first dog the vet said to go and get another right away.  I know, that doesn’t work for most people.  Everyone grieves in their own way, but Dr. Nancy knew Mom forever and getting another dog right away was good for Mom.

Dr. Nancy said the best way to honor the loss of a pet is to give another animal the chance for a good life.  Humans never forget their special pets and another pet is not a replacement.  A new pet is the chance to fill their heart and home with the love of another special pet.

Just yesterday, I noticed that there is a new puppy at our neighbor’s house!  Dad said she is a rescue from the local shelter.  I can’t wait to meet her.

Wishing you all a long life filled with treats and walks and fun times with your humans,

Your friend,

Zeva

P.D.  Blatant self promotion.  Visit our website at pawpalsboutique.com for the best selection of pet gift baskets in the Universe.

Should I Stay or Should I Go Part 2

We go to day care at a facility that offers boarding. Since we already know the place and the people, staying for a longer time would not be so bad.  If you don’t already have first paw knowledge about a kennel, ask your vet or a friend if they know a good one.

 I told you last week that Mom and Dad are going away for a vacation soon and we can’t go with them. They take very good care of us so it is important that we have someone who can take very good care of us while we are away. 

Last week we investigated having a pet sitter come and stay at our house.  Today we are going to investigate going to a boarding kennel.

When our humans go away it is very stressful for us so we need to know that we will be taken care of.  Hey, I’m a dog, the world does revolve around me.

So, if Mom and Dad choose to bring us to a boarding kennel, how do we know we found a good one?

The first step is asking people you trust to recommend a kennel.  about a boarding kennel you should ask friends, neighbors and of course your vet for referrals.

Your humans should visit the kennel.  While they are there, they should look to see:

1.         Is the kennel clean?  Does it look and smell clean?

2.         Is it comfortable?  Is there enough light, is it warm enough or cool enough, how abou ventilation?

3.         Are the staff attentive and caring?

4.         Are all pets required to be up to date with vaccinations, including kennel cough?

5.         Is the kennel area adequate for the size of the dog?  That means inside and outside. 

6.         Is there adequate exercise included in the daily schedule?

7.         What about the feeding schedule?  And treats?

8.         How are medications handled?

9.         Does the kennel have access to emergency veterinary care?

10.       What other services are available?  Grooming, etc.

We like going to day care so I guess if we had to stay overnight, it would be okay.

Many of our friends commented on last week’s blog saying they got to stay at a friend’s house or that a pet sitter got to stay at their house.  They liked the care they got and recommended in house sitting.

We would love to hear about their experiences from dogs who stay at boarding kennels when their humans are away.

Thanks

Zeva

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Should I stay or should I go....

It’s never happened before.  Mom and Dad are going in the car and are going to be gone for a long, long time and this time we can’t go with them.

We have a big decision to make.  Do we get someone to live with us at our house or do we go to our doggie day care and stay over nights too?  This week I am going to investigate pet sitters and next week I am going to check out kennels.  After that, I should be able to decide which is best for DixieLee and me.  Wish me luck.

First of all, how do you find a pet sitter?  The internet is a good place to start.  We found the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters.  A professional pet sitter is a good choice because they have training and a code of ethics which means they are good people.

There are different kinds of pet sitters.  We have one who will come to the house and feed us twice a day but we want one that will stay with us during the day and at night too.

Since we haven’t lived here very long, we don’t know lots of people. At our other house we knew all kinds of people who worked with dogs that we could ask.  Since we don’t know lots of people at our new house be we do know our vet and our friends at the local humane society. They were very helpful.

Our vet told us about a woman who used to work at the clinic.  She said she was good with animals and might be able to help

.

We like the idea of having someone come live with us.  We like our house with our beds and yard.  We have a routine.  We know where we sleep and when we eat.  If someone is staying at our house, they will be able to let us in and out anytime we want.  We would be on our schedule, not the kennels and we like that.

We have to meet her to see if we like each other.  She bakes her own peanut butter cookies so I’m thinking I already like her.

Some things that are important to know.

1.  What kind of training does she have?

2.  Is she associated with a vet in case one of us gets hurt or sick?

3.  Is she bonded?

Mom talked with our neighbors and told them that we are going away and someone will be staying at our house.  Mom asked them to keep an on us and help if our sitter needed any.

DixieLee and I like the idea of having someone stay at our house but there are other options that we are going to explore next week.  Stay tuned and if you have an opinion, let us know.  We value and appreciate your input.

Thanks,

Zeva

P.S. W have gift baskets for pets and the people who love them.  You can check them out at pawpalsboutique.com 

The Grass May Be Greener After All

A couple of months ago Zeva wrote a blog (Moo, I Mean Woof) pointing out some of the reason dogs eat grass. Most people think that dogs eat grass to make their tummies want to vomit but as Zeva so eloquently explained, vomiting is not the only reason and not even necessarily the primary reason.

The story is a little different for cats. We eat grass specifically to vomit.

You see, before cats found nice homes to live in where we get nice food served in pretty dishes, we had to go out and kill our dinner. We didn’t have the luxury of savoring every bite in a nice safe house. We needed to gulp down our dinner and get to safety before we became dinner for some other animal.

Instead of fancy feasts of pate liver or chicken or turkey, filet of beef or tuna, we ate birds or mice or other small animals that we were able to catch. Because we had to eat quickly, we ate fur, feathers and bones and, if our dinner contained any parasites, we ate them too. I know, that is really gross but, hey, some humans could brush up on their table manners. Just sayin’.

Grass doesn’t have much nutritional value but it does contain lots of fiber. Unlike dogs, cats don’t have the special enzymes that allow us to digest large amounts of grass. Without the special enzymes, when we eat lots of grass, the grass irritates our tummies and we throw up. I know, I know, throwing up is disgusting but it’s better than getting really sick from some of the stuff we ate.

I know, like me, most of you reading this blog live in nice homes where your humans feed you yummy food from a can or a bag. Personally I like canned food but I do occasionally have to settle for dry and (don’t tell my humans this) some of it is really delicious. Anyway, even though we don’t eat dinners filled with yucky stuff like fur and feathers, we do groom ourselves frequently. In the process of grooming, we ingest our own fur and like the fur we talked about earlier, it needs to get out of our systems.

So even cats who spend all of their lives inside, they need to eat grass some times. Since we live inside and don’t have access to real grass, we tend to munch on the plants we find around the house. Unfortunately, those pretty green things that sit in the window can be super dangerous to cats.

Because they are easy to grow, lots of houses have philodendron, pathos and jade plants. Aloe Vera plants are a staple in many kitchens because they are good for healing burns. The problem is that these plants are harmful to cats.

If you want your cat to be able to eat grasses to help their tummies that are actually good for them, there are lots to choose from. Personally, I LOVE catnip. It’s easy to grow and well, it’s cat nip. Then there are Bee Balm, Lavender, Thyme and Valerian. These plants that are pretty, smell really nice and are good for cats.

Now that you know why we eat grass and vomit on your carpet, keep the tuna and salmon pate coming and plant a little cat nip in the front window and I guarantee we will get along just fine.

Love

Fo

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Sisters Share Secrets

Trying to look innocent. 

Hi Everyone

I'm Zeva's Mom, Marie. She's letting me write her blog this week. If you know Zeva, you know it's a big deal because she loves to talk.

And talking is what this blog is about. A few weeks ago, Zeva wrote a blog entitled “Are You Talking To Me?” in which she talks about how dogs communicate. Well, it seems she may have kept a few “facts” out of her blog.

She talks about how dogs communicate by using their tails and ears etc but I don't think she is telling the whole story. If you've seen the movie The Secret Life Of Pets you know they are not as innocent as they would like us to believe.

Take for instance what happened at our house the other day. DixieLee, Zeva's sister, hasn't had a very good summer. She had a liver infection that had her down for a full month and the other day she started feeling poorly again. Now, they are usually pretty independent, but we noticed that Zeva was hovering over DixieLee all day.

It took us humans another day to realize DixieLee was not feeling well. Luckily we were able to get her a vet appointment right away. The whole time I was getting DixieLee ready to go Zeva would not leave her sister's side. It took a big cookie bribe to get her to let me take DixieLee away while Vic stayed home with her.

I had noticed an unusual behavior before but it seemed to have gotten more and more frequent. The two of them stand nose to nose for a few seconds and then take off together. I understand that when Zeva hits DixieLee on the head with her paw it means she wants to play but there are times when they just look at each other and simultaneously bolt for the door to the pen where they launch into an energetic game of tag or out on the porch to watch for the mailperson.

The minute we returned from the vet Zeva met DixieLee at the door and it sure looked like she was asking DL how things went. I'm sure DixieLee told Zeva about how horrible it was having her temperature taken and thankfully that was the worst part of the visit.   Bottom line, we got some meds and she should be fine in a few days.

I know that we project human characteristics to our pets but I swear they are tele communicating or using some sort of Vulcan mind meld.

I'd be interested in knowing if parents in other multi pet households find their pets communicating in mysterious ways.

Marie

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  Zeva would never forgive me if I didn't put in a good word for Paw Pals Boutique.  Come and check out the largest selection of dog and cat gift baskets on the web at www.pawpalsboutique.com