A Kenneling Alternative

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Consider Microchipping Your Pet

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In the chaos of moving from a house in the suburbs to a condo in the city, I missed one very important step. In the hundreds of updates, decisions, and changes that relocating can involve, I had forgotten microchipping. I hadn’t updated the contact information registered to my dog’s microchip.

When adopting from a shelter, microchipping is a given in most instances.  However, if you haven’t microchipped your pet you might want to consider doing so. It is a great way to ensure identification of your pet in the event a collar breaks, your pet panics and runs away during fireworks, or if your pet is lost during a natural disaster. [Read more…] about Consider Microchipping Your Pet

Pet Poison Prevention Week

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The third week of March has been designated as Pet Poison Prevention Week for over 50 years.

How often do you think about what might be poisonous to your pet? Before you bring them into your home? After they’ve eaten something that has fallen on the floor? Immediately upon reentering the room after leaving a pan of brownies on the stove in what should have been a safe distance to find half the pan eaten and your dog’s guilty grin greeting you?

Let’s take a moment to consider what might cause dire harm or death to your pet upon ingestion and what actions you can or should take if that occurs.

There’s a very handy search engine on https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poisons/. Type in the item ingested and get information on what to do.

Further, Pet Poison Helpline is a 24-hour pet poison control center. There is a fee involved if you use their services. Or, they can help you locate an emergency vet near you.

Their website includes guides on pet safety and how to spot potential poisons in each room of your house and even by holidays.With Easter approaching, you can read about possible poisonings that can occur during that time frame at https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-owners/seasons/easter/.

The top dog poison is chocolate and the top cat poison is lilies. See the complete list by clicking here.

Top Pet Names of 2019

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Maybe you got a pet over the holiday. Maybe you are thinking about bringing one into your home this year. No matter when you bring a new pet home, one thing you always need is a name!

Rover.com compiled a list of the most popular pet names for 2019. If you need a little help naming your floofin or you are just curious, check out their data at https://www.rover.com/blog/dog-names/.

According to rover.com :

Top Male Dog Names:

  1. Max
  2. Charlie
  3. Cooper
  4. Buddy
  5. Rocky

Top Female Dog Names:

  1. Bella
  2. Luna
  3. Lucy
  4. Daisy
  5. Lily

Top Male Cat Names:

  1. Oliver
  2. Leo
  3. Milo
  4. Charlie
  5. Max

Top Female Cat Names:

  1. Luna
  2. Bella
  3. Oliver
  4. Kitty
  5. Charlie

In addition to these names, they also have breakouts of food names, rockstar names, Game of Thrones names, and others. You can even use their dog name generator to come up with options.

Last Minute Gift Ideas For Pets

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Maybe you are the type who loves the adrenaline rush of being the last shopper out on Christmas Eve. Maybe you are like me and over the years have found time flying by and suddenly you realize the holiday gift season is already here. To help, I’m going to offer up some last minute pet gift ideas.

Since I’m a dog person, I’ll mix it up and make my first recommendation for the cat or kitten in your life. (Did I mention that my niece now has two cats? Turns out the her first cat needed a companion, so they are now a two-cat household.) [Read more…] about Last Minute Gift Ideas For Pets

Giving Thanks For Challenging Pets

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Despite griping about the weather, the challenges at my day job, and the general obstacles that life throws my way (yeah, I’m talking about you chipped-from-a-rock windshield), I’m extremely fortunate. So, when Thanksgiving rolls around, and we as a country pause to count the blessings of our comfortable lives, I probably name off the same general things everyone else does: family, friends, and the abundances in my life. 

But, I gave it some thought and have to admit that I’m not going to do that this year.  This year, I’m giving thanks for the gift of challenging pets.

Everyone who sees my dog, Ginger, tells me how sweet, cute, well-behaved, or any other variety of complimentary adjectives she is. And the pictures of her on social media are along the same ilk. But, you don’t see the moments that try my patience (of which, I will admit, I have very little to being with): [Read more…] about Giving Thanks For Challenging Pets