Petpourri
Animal news, product reviews, and other useful information for pet owners.
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- Written by: DJ Geribo
- Category: Petpourri
During the holidays we are all focused on buying gifts for our family and friends. Our pets are always on our Christmas list and every year finds them more spoiled than the previous year. I am so happy that I can provide such a nice home with every imaginable comfort for our three dogs and our Cockatoo. But other dogs, cats, and other pets aren’t as fortunate. Many more are in shelters with minimal care and comfort.
It might be a nice idea to add “helping at my local shelter” to your holiday list. Visiting a dog or cat, walking them, playing with them, giving them the much needed attention that they thrive on would be a wonderful, loving act of kindness for the animals at your local shelter.
Jim and I used to visit our local shelter in Exeter, NH and ask them for their ‘wish list’ - they all have one, you just have to ask for it. We would go to BJs and purchase as many things on the list as our vehicle would hold. We were known as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus for several years and we know how much they appreciated everything we did for their shelter. Although we both worked full-time and had little time to ourselves, we still did what we could to help the animals less fortunate than ours in the best way we could at that time.
So, remember the shelter animals this holiday season. Contact your local shelter and find out how you can help. Just a few minutes of your time can make a world of difference to a homeless dog or cat.
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- Written by: DJ Geribo
- Category: Petpourri
Shelters often find they have an overabundance of black dogs and cats and reasons for this go beyond superstitions. Several reasons people do not often adopt a black dog or cat follow:
- Black pets are harder to see and to photograph. This is true – we had a black Pomeranian (see my blog about losing our precious Binka) and whenever I turned the camera on her the camera would not focus on her because it couldn't pick her up as being more than a shadow and she would come out blurry. When people are adopting from a shelter, a black dog or cat hiding in a corner may simply have a case of shyness that may be mistaken for having a more sinister appearance and disposition.
- TV and movies don't do anything to help the case for black dogs and cats often portraying them as dangerous and evil. The lighter colored dogs and cats are the friendly, helpful, loveable animals. Also, it is easier to read the expressions on lighter colored pets. But when you see a black cat in a movie it often portends that something bad is about to happen.
You can help the case for adopting black dogs and cats by adopting one yourself and then showing your friends how loveable they really are. Our tiny Binka was the sweetest little girl and when I brought her outside, she photographed just fine. I have some wonderful pictures of her and paintings that I have done over the years that I will cherish forever.
pastel painting of Binka
photograph of Binka
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- Written by: DJ Geribo
- Category: Petpourri
Although we are concerned about and know that we can catch the flu from other people and our kids, did you know that you can also pass the flu onto your pet? Known as “reverse zoonosis” researchers believe people have passed the H1N1 flu virus to cats and other animals and in some cases the animals have died.
The first recorded case of human-to-pet transmission of the H1N1 flu virus occurred in 2009 when a pet owner came down with the flu and while in the hospital, her cat died of pneumonia caused by the same virus.
The main concern is that when the virus moves to a new species, a mutation could occur causing the virus to take on a more dangerous form.
Take all precautions: when you start developing flu-like symptoms, stay away from your pets.
(Read in timesunion.com by Dana Guthrie)
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- Written by: DJ Geribo
- Category: Petpourri
Almost 11 years ago we bought our Pomeranian, Meko, from a breeder in Oregon. Therefore, she had to travel to us by air and we picked her up at the airport. She also had to change planes! Now, I remember being concerned about her well-being since I heard a lot of stories about it getting so hot in the baggage area that dogs or cats shipped by plane were dying. Fortunately, she arrived safe and sound with no apparent trauma due to an unsafe flying situation.
Recently, an article in Psychology Today told a story about a woman who had her dogs shipped on United Airlines. When the couple went to pick up the dogs, one of the dogs was dead. They were given a run around and the couple had a difficult time retrieving their animal. There was also a lack of any emotion from the airline personnel over the traumatic event. When the couple was finally able to get their dog back and have their vet perform an autopsy to determine cause of death, the findings suggested that death was from heatstroke.
When our Meko was shipped to us, there was a lot of good publicity about Delta airlines saying that they were more considerate of pets being flown across the country than the other airlines. The author of the article in PT did a study based on number of passengers flying. US Air came out first with the lowest incidence of pet deaths with United the second safest.
But the good news is, with over 600,000 pets flying each year, the chance of your pet dying, getting lost, or suffering any injury is 0.009 percent. You have to decide if that percentage is more of a risk than you are willing to take.
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- Written by: DJ Geribo
- Category: Petpourri
A recent article in the Boston Globe talked about the overweight epidemic in our country. The author wasn’t talking about people, she was talking about dogs and cats. The article states that at least 35 percent of household dogs and cats are above their ideal weight. Apparently we show our love for our pets the same way we give ourselves love, by overindulging in cookies and other snacks.
The problem is most owners don’t think their pets are overweight. Therefore, a vet needs to handle the situation in a delicate manner in order to get the pet back on a healthy track. For dogs, you should be able to feel padding around the rib cage about as thick as the back of your hand. And for cats, if there is a fat pad in the abdomen between the back legs, your cat has an overweight problem.
Remember, just like us, our pets can develop health problems that stem from being overweight. Feed your pet a healthy diet and go easy on the treats.