Lost and Found

Today is Memorial Day.  Lots of fun things going on but Memorial Day is one of those days when peoples like to shoot off fireworks.  Fireworks are very scary for animals.  Dogs and cats can get so scared that they break out of their pens and run, trying to find a place that has no noise,

They run so fast and so far that they when they do stop, they realize that they don't know where they are or how to get home.  It is a very scary thing.

Meanwhile, back at their home, their humans find that they are missing and they get scared too!

If your humans find that you are missing, there are things that they should do to help you get back home quickly and safely.

They should contact shelters and vet offices.  Not just ones in your town since you could have run very far.  They should give a really good description and get them photos so they can be on the look out for you.

They should call daily to see if you have been found.

As soon as they see you are missing, they should start searching your neighborhood.  Let all your neighbors know you are missing and ask them to check around their houses.  Pets look for places to hide and garages, sheds and under porches look like good places.

They should make up flyers with your photo, description and a phone number so they can call your humans if they see you.  Places like grocery stores, community centers, and pet stores are good places to post the flyers.

Contact local internet services.  In our area Granite State Dog Rescue and Above the Notch Humane Society will post your photo and ask peoples to look for you.

Your chances of being returned to your family are better if you are wearing your collar with up to date rabies tags and town license.  Your Vet and the town peoples know how to find your family real fast. 

Micro chips are also a really good idea.  Any body who finds you can bring you to any Vet and they can use a magic wand to read your chip.  They can contact the chip company who will have the name and address of your family.  (make sure your humans keep this information updated)

The most important thing for you and your humans to remember is never give up looking.  It could take a very long time but with luck you and your humans will find each other and be a family again.

I hope you never get lost but if you do, I hope you get found real fast.

Love,

Zeva

P.S.  For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe check out pawpalsboutique.com

Don't Bug Me!

How can something as small as a tick or a mosquito be such a big problem for pets? 

Mosquitoes can make dogs and cats get sick with Heartworm, West Nile Virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus and other nasty illnesses that can even make a pet died!

A teeny, tiny Tick can make a cat sick with diseases like Lyme, Haemobartonellosis and Tielarema.  Dogs can get those plus Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and more.  All of these sicknesses are very, very bad to get.

Even though we don’t like to use chemicals, Mom does use the drops kind from our Vet but we don’t use any kind of chemicals in our yard.  Instead we plant pet friendly plants that keep bugs away.

There are lots of plants that are pretty to look at that ticks and mosquitoes don’t like.  Every year we fill nice planters with these plants and put them around the outside of our pen.  We could put them inside our pen but DixieLee Lies to dig and I have been known to nibble on grass and sticks.  Most of the plants won’t hurt me but there are some like garlic that are poison to dogs and cats.

Some of our favorite plants to keep ticks away are lavender, sage, mint, lemon grass and eucalyptus. Lavender is a pretty color and sage, mint and eucalyptus smell really nice.

To keep mosquitoes away, we like catnip (cats really like this one), rosemary, basil and citronella.  Mom says rosemary is her favorite because it smells extra good.  She’s not a great cook but she does use rosemary when she cooks chicken sometimes.

If your humans like to cook, they might like having fresh sage and basil right in your yard.

Now that the snow is gone and the grass is growing, it’s time for Mom and Dad to go to the plant store.   We like that plants not only make our yard look pretty, they help keep us safe from some bad bugs.

Love,

Zeva

P.S. Mom helped me spell the extra big words.

P.S. For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe go to pawpalsboutique.com

Home Alone

Mom and Dad are retired so they don’t have to go to work every day for long times like some of your humans do but they do go out sometimes and leave me and DixieLee alone. We don’t like being left alone because there is nobody to let us in and out when we want and there is nobody at home to give us cookies.

Those are really stressful times.

Also, it is our job to help guard the house and when our humans are gone, guarding the house is all OUR responsibility.  A responsibility we take seriously.

Mom says it’s okay for them to be gone because they will come home soon.  Really?  How does she know that we will not have a Zombie Apocalypse while they are gone?

Here are some of the things we do at our house to make being left alone less stressful.

Get a Good Work Out.  When we are sleeping, we are not stressing.  The bestest way to get a good work out is to go for walks.  We love going for walks but long walks are not always possible especially if you live in a place like we do where yucky weather makes going outside not always fun.

When we can’t go outside, we have exercise by playing tug of war or Fetch Extreme. Playing Fetch Extreme is like playing fetch but you have to run up and down the stairs.  Boy, you can get tired easy when stairs are involved. (Not recommended for dogs who are not as fit as DixieLee and me).

Soothing sounds. We keep the television on all the time, even when Mom and Dad are in other rooms or far away like in the yard.  Some humans like music playing all the time. So, when the television is on, we know that everything is okay.  Rumor has it that there are television stations that play dog friendly stuff all day long. I think that is a great idea!

Puzzle toys.  Another good idea!  When we have something to keep us busy, we forget that we are alone. I like puzzle toys but DixieLee gets frustrated and kills them.

Secure spaces. We love our crates!  It’s like having our own room in the house where it is ours alone.  No one bothers us when we are in our crates.  They are big enough so we can stand up and turn around and have comfy blankets and when we are left alone, we have a caribou antler (or other safe toy) to chew on. 

When we are in our crates, Mom said that we only have to protect that space since we can’t get to other parts of the house. 

Our crates are on different sides of the room but the fronts face each other so if DixieLee and I want to talk to each other we can, if not, we can turn our backs and not be bothered.

Hello and Good Bye. We’re really good at the Good Bye part since we get a treat but we do tend to get a little over excited at the Hello. After all, we weren’t sure we would ever see you again.

It's been days, okay, a couple of hours, who keeps track of time, anyway it is annoying when Mom and Dad ignore our pitiful cries and casually let us out of our crates.  No matter how much we carry on, they act like it’s not a big deal. 

Being left alone is not fun but it doesn’t have to be stressful either.  Think of it as a time when you can just chill in your special place and listen to the blah, blah, blah of the TV guy or the singers on the radio and dream about cookies and squirrels.

Chill,

Zeva

P.S. For the bestest pet gift basket in the universe, check out pawpalsboutique.com