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Pumpkin Season is in Full Swing. Got Treats?

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There is nothing better than the first crisp day of fall. Your dog probably gets more peppy and you might be celebrating the return of seasonal treats. Pumpkin is everywhere. 

So, whether you are doing socially-distanced trick-or-treating or just creating a little Halloween bubble for your own crew, we want you to have some treat options for your pets. 

The American Kennel Club has three easy recipes for making pumpkin-based treats. What do you need to make them? Gather up the following ingredients and you can create three different treats:

  • Canned Pumpkin
  • Banana
  • Eggs
  • Flour
  • Peanut Butter
  • Plain Yogurt

That’s all you need to make three treats: 6 ingredients!

All you after to do after that is pick which one you want to start to make. Choose between Frozen Pumpkin Treats, Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Treats, or Banana Pumpkin Treats. Or make all three if you are in a super, treat making mood. 

Just head on over to the AKC’s site and follow the directions for making these super simple treats: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/3-pumpkin-recipes-for-dogs/

Five Things You May Not Know About Kelci

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Floofins & Co.

Sure, you know that the Floofins staff you interact with LOVE your pet, but have you ever wondered… Is there more to this super-duper, pet-loving person?

To that, we say, YES!

Your Floofins are like family and we want to give you a more rounded picture of our great staff members. So, we dug a little deeper into their psyches to get you the kind of information only Floofins & Co. can provide.

The staff member we are highlighting this month is Kelci. She is a Pet Care Specialist and covers the Elmhurst area.

What is the funniest thing you’ve seen a stranger do? “Probably watching people play Marco polo in stores to find each other. It happens more than you think.”

What is your favorite cheesiest pickup line? “Hey can you hold this? (Then just offers their hand.)”

What is the most beautiful place you’ve been? “St. Croix, the beaches were amazing and the water was hard to leave.”

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? “I wanted to be an author because I constantly had a book in my hands.”

What would be your spirit animal? “I honestly think a raccoon. They may get a bad reputation but they are generous protectors and represent resourcefulness, curiosity, and fearlessness.” 

Looking Ahead to 2021, And Your Floofins All Year

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We want to see your Floofins all year long! If you’ve been a client of Floofins & Co. for a while, you may be familiar with the annual calendar. We like trying new formats and decided to give our clients an opportunity to participate in the creation of the 2021 calendar.

The Rules

Here’s how it will work:

  • Photos must be of Floofins & Co. clients
  • Photos must be posted to our Facebook page
  • The individual photos with the most votes/likes will be selected

How It Works

What does that mean? Well, over the next several days, you will see a Facebook post with the 2020 pet for each month of the year. Your job is to scroll through the thousands and thousands of pet photos on your phone or tablet or laptop and locate one that best fits that particular month. For example, October had a picture of a pet in their Halloween costume. January had a New Year celebration going on with a dog in glasses. Whatever you think represents that month and showcases your floofin…. drop the photo on that post.

From there, the votes/likes will be noted and the winner will be the one with the most likes. Tell your friends and family to vote! We are so excited to be able to let the Floofins Family make their own calendar.

One side note: We will have to go to print in November, so there will be a time limit on the voting and submissions. So, get out there and, as they say in Chicago, vote early and vote often.

When can you post your pictures? Keep an eye out on Facebook. As soon as you see the month uploaded, you can submit your picture. Voting begins as soon as photos are added.

We hope you enjoy this adventure and the opportunity to make your floofin famous. Well, at least among the Floofins & Co. family. Now, start scrolling through those pictures!

Keeping Things Going During This Pandemic

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Maybe you are feeling a little fatigue from this long season of COVID. Someone reminded me that I had originally said that we would be back in the office in a couple of months. You can quote me from SIX months ago. 

Beyond getting a puppy (check), stocking up on disinfectant (check), and cancelling most of my plans (super check), what can a girl do?

What I Am Doing

Here’s something I have been doing pretty frequently for the last two months: frequenting local businesses. I’m not talking about chains or big brand names, though I use them periodically. 

Most mornings, within my budget, I head over to a local coffee shop that makes great lattes and breakfast and lunch items. I do this because the owner is there every single day trying to make things work. And I want her to be around once this thing ends.

This is hard for all of us. We have to manage our resources the best we can. But, the small businesses trying to keep their employees, well frankly, employed, need our help. Even if that means doing things like scheduling a dog walk once or twice a week. Even though you might be able to do it yourself now.

I schedule my dog walker at least once a week when I run errands. Good for socialization, good for my dog walking company, good for the dog walker I want to stay employed and caring for my pet and not looking for another gig. 

What You Can Consider Doing

So, as you consider how to allocate your resources, consider the dog walker who may have been caring for your pet for a year or two. Will they be able to keep doing this job if I don’t bring them in with some regularity? Probably not. Will the dog walking company I use be able to survive if I don’t keep them in rotation? Maybe not. 

While every situation is different, what I most want to see are the people who live in my community and put their heart into their work to still be around in 2021. I know it’s a challenge. (Believe me, I’ve reached out to find some professional help to talk this thing over and the mental toll it has taken.) But, at the end of the day, the thing I have always loved the most about my community is the way hold each other up. The way we come together to help one another. The way we care. 

I won’t go on my soapbox about businesses I boycott, but if I want my life to resemble pre-COVID (hopefully) next year, I know I have to do some work. And that includes keeping those companies that I love going. Even if it is a small once-a-week dog walk when I grab supplies. Just my friendly reminder that even if you don’t see the struggles, these companies are barely hanging on. Let’s do what we can to keep them around. 

And hang in there. You are not alone. We will survive. 

What Do You Know About World Rabies Day?

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When pet owners discuss rabies, we often mention it in reference to vaccinations. Virtually every pet care provider, from groomers to daycare facilities, require the vaccination. 
 
This is great news for the majority of people in the United States. According to the CDC, the U.S. successfully eliminated the canine rabies virus. In order to keep it from returning, dogs and cats still need to be vaccinated to protect our pets from getting rabies from wildlife.
 
World Rabies Day is September 28th and was established in 2007. According to the CDC, rabies is a 100% preventable disease, but more than 59,000 people die around the world annually from it. The goal of major world health organizations is to eliminate rabies by 2030. 
 
To find out more about the work of the CDC’s rabies experts around the world, click here.