Pet talk

Your responsibilities do not end when you no longer want your pet.  Whether your pet has outgrown its enclosure (like a 10 foot python), or you have to move and can’t take your pet with you, you still need to make sure your pet is properly cared for in your absence.

Simply letting animals go is NEVER the answer no matter how adapted the pet may be to living on its own.  The media is filled with stories of unwanted fish, snakes, alligators, dogs, cats and insects that have been released into the environment only to destroy it by interrupting the normal food chain.  Pythons are eating their way through the delicate eco system of Florida causing several endangered species to be even more threatened.  Feral cats are snatching up our song birds until they too are becoming sparce.  And even wild dogs form packs in large cities and can be a serious threat to school children walking to a bus stop.  All of this is happening because people are too irresponsible to properly manage the care of their pets when they themselves can no longer do it.

Making sure your pet has a home before you give up your duties is a pretty easy task.  Unusual animals are probably the easiest to place.  Is your 700 pound lion too expensive to feed these days?  You would be surprised how many rescue groups are out there able to find him a home.  Is your pet monkey too aggressive now that it is sexually mature and views you as competition?  Plenty of monkey breeders would love the donation.  All it takes is a little effort on your part to find an individual or organization that will find your pet a suitable home.  The internet is full of pet rescues.  Dog and cat rescues are the most common.  These people are dedicated to finding homes for unwanted animals and will place your animal in a loving, well qualified home, even if it is in foster care for a while.

If there just are not any individuals, groups, organizations, zoos, or societies out there willing to take your pet in, then your only other option may be euthanasia.  As a last resort this option is awways available and is much better than putting a litter of kittens in a box and throwing it out of a moving car into a water filled ditch.  I have had the experience of finding such a box and it was one of the saddest days of my life.  Your pets have given you an enormous amount of their time, love and devotion.  They deserve to be treated with dignity when you can no longer care for them yourself.

As a last word, please consider these same groups when deciding to obtain a new pet.  These pets need you more than ever!

As the schools close and jobs are put on hold for the holidays, many families pack up and travel to distant places for vacation.  And so the dilemma: what to do with the pets?

The answer is: it depends.  So much depends on the type of pet, the mode of transportation, the pets personality,and the tolerance of the hosting relatives, that I have a few guidelines to offer.

Some combinations are a no-brainer.  Families going on cruises, to resorts, or other places that are not pet friendly need to leave their pets at home or at a boarding facility–period.

Families going to a tolerant relative’s house have the tempting option of taking the family pet.  While many pets appreciate being brought along as a member of the family, others may not.  Small pets like mice and gerbils are content traveling as long as their enclosure remains the same.  So packing up the cage or aquarium is just fine.  Cats on the other hand tend not to enjoy traveling (as a species, although some individuals might), and may be traumatized by tossing them into a car and taking them on a 4 hour drive.  Trauma for cats is especially common if the host family has a pet of its own.

Even some dogs are overwhelmed with the new surroundings and the onslaught of new people.  Dogs that are well trained and friendly , can make wonderful guests.  Dogs that are shy and fearful of new people are best left at home.

If the trip includes an airplane ride, think very long about taking any pet along.  Pets riding in the cabin along with their owners need a special ticket which means a reservation must be made.  Only a few pets are allowed in the cabin at one time so as to keep passenger allergies to a minimum.  The pet carrier must fit under the seat in front of you and all animals riding in a plane need to have a current health certificate issued by an accredited veterinarian.

If the pet is too large to fit under the seat in front of you, the pet must ride in the belly of the plane along with the luggage.  Although the law says that this compartment must be heated and cooled, it says nothing about having fresh air pumped in constantly.  The airlines calculate the amount of space the luggage should take and then comes up with the remaining amount of air left in the cargo hold.  The animals are then added to the calculations to see how many animals can breathe the exisiting air for the proposed length of the flight.  If the flight is delayed or left circling the airport due to weather, the animals may run out of air and die.

Tranquilizers are rarely, if ever, needed for the pet riding in a plane.  If you think your pet needs one, please have your pet examined and discuss the situation with your veterinarian.  Most animals that get them are over dosed for the cabin pressure and end up having life threatening problems with the drug itself. 

Airplane travel for pets is NEVER recommended. A much better option for all pets is to be left in their own home.  Quality pet sitters can be found through your attending veterinarian’s office.  There are no licenses issued for pet sitting, but only consider those that are bonded.  Not only are they professionals at pet care, they will collect your mail and some even shovel snow.  It doesnt get any better than coming home to your healthy, happy pets and a shoveled driveway!

My former next door neighbor, Annie Germani, is a pet psychic.  Well, she was “just” a psychic until she realized that she also could use her extraordinary talent on pets.  This past February she was invited to the prestigious West Minister dog show in New York to hone her skills even further.  She had fun giving pet readings to both the winners and the losers.  She reported back saying that she had a blast and learned a lot about what animals are really thinking at those high stress, high stakes shows.

My pets have never had a reading.  But I, on the other hand, have had numerous personal readings throughout my life.  One in particular with Annie is very memorable.  While telling me about things that had already happened in my life, (how did she know that?), and some things that were yet to happen, she said something that struck a nerve in me. 

I told her about the new horse I had just bought.  He was a mild mannered 4 year old stallion whose owner had grown too ill to take care of him any more.  The owner was saddened that I wanted to geld (castrate) the horse as she pictured him as the proud sire of hundreds of horse show champions.  I had considered the move as a more practical one for both the horse and I.  Generally speaking, stallions are kept separate from other horses except for breeding.  Normally they are confined in sturdy facilities which provide strict isolation to keep the animal from injuring himself or others.  They are not allowed in many boarding stables and events and are only exposed to expert adults who are familiar with the unpredictability of a 1000 pound breeding animal.

After telling her about him she stared blankly for a few seconds and then told me that she could see him in her minds eye.  Then she seemed to awaken from the fog and looked me right in the eyes.  She said that my new horse was, “so very lonely…….desperately lonely.”  And that did it for me.  I immediately made the decision to allow him to be a normal, happy herd member and had him gelded.

He now is a happy horse turned out every day with his best buddy.  He is allowed to be petted by anyone and gladly takes carrots from friends and strangers alike.  Did Annie really read his thougts?  I can’t say.  But what I do know is that Annie is not a horse person and certainly not an expert in equine behavior.  Yet she picked up on the most common affliction known to stallions (as expressed in their abnormal behavior): loneliness.  And that is good enough for me.

Have you ever had a pet reading?  If so was it accurate?  Would you do it again?  Write me and let me know.

Sit.  Stay.  Stop that!  Get off the couch!  Sound familiar?  We talk to our pets all the time.  Well, some of us mostly yell at them rather than talk to them.  Yet do you listen to what your pets are trying to tell you?  Do they have to knock you down before you realize that the water bowl is empty or that they want to play?

Many years ago, I flew to another state to attend a training course.  I was gone for two weeks and ended up flying back into Detriot Metropolitan Airport.  At that time, Metro was nearly three hours south of my home and the plan was for my then husband to come and pick me up.

Being such a long drive, my husband decided that it would be nice to have some company along for the ride.  So he leashed up my American Staffordshire Terrier, Krieger, and set off to pick me up from the airport.

Now Krieger was a veteran passenger.  In fact, riding in the car was his absolute most favorite thing to do.  He would sit up and watch the scenery pass for about a mile or so, then lay down.  Within ten miles that dog would be snoring and rarely would he move from his position.  If the engine drone changed pitch, or if someone swerved violently he might raise his head to see what was going on, but normally that dog was out like a light.

So it was strange that at about the fifty mile mark, Krieger was sitting up and anxiously looking out the window.  Soon after that he began to pant.  It was even stranger that in another half hour he was not only standing up, and panting loudly, but he was leaning against the front seat positioning himself so that his big head filled the image in the rear view mirror.

Miles later and still panting, Krieger’s legs began to shake.  Whether it was the vibration coming from the back seat or the constant loud panting, my husband finally pulled himself away from the songs on radio, and actually took a look at him.  Watching him standing there panting, and shaking in the backseat of the car was a jolt back to reality.  Panic set in.  Krieger was having a heart attack!

Seeing a rest area sign saying that one was just a mile ahead, my husband floored the accelerator in hopes of being able to get to a phone and find an emergency clinic to take in the obviously very ill dog.  He flew into the rest area and threw the car into park.  But it was too late.  Krieger squatted and let go a steady steam of urine until the pool overflowed on to the carpet below.  Poor Krieger had to go.  And he finally got his owners attention.  Yes he did.

So what are your pets telling you?  Are they telling you to take time out of your day to play?  Are they trying to let you know that they love you?  Do your pets have a sense of humor?  Write in and share your stories! 

As I struggle this holiday season to find the “perfect” gift for everybody on my list, I think back to some of the great gifts I have gotten over the years.  Of course nothing beats that beat up, nearly antique western saddle I got for one Christmas.  (I had to ride my pony bareback for the first 6 months until I got that saddle!).  But the gifts I liked almost as much were the books I got.  And because I enjoyed them so much, I am suggesting them for the animal lover on your list.

The one book I enjoyed the most is really a series of books by author James Herriot.  The original four are still the best:  All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Wise and Wonderful, All Things Bright and Beautiful, and The Lord God Made Them All.  These are WONDERFUL books about a veterinarian working in a mixed practice in rural England.  The books are a sometimes humorous look at veterinary medicine at its finest.  They are only suitable for older children though, as they do address death in some of the most beloved pets. 

Another great series of books for children is the Black Stallion books written by Walter Farley.  What is more fun than curling up in your favorite chair and reading about the adventures of a boy and his horse?  The books kept me coming back for more until I had read all of the books in the entire series.  There are a lot of books in the series, so my mother rarely saw me at all that summer.

For adults, the selections are almost endless.  The two most recent reads that I strongly recommend are Marley & Me, by John Grogan and Animals in Translation, by Temple Grandin.  John Grogan’s book is about a man and his “free spirit” of a dog, Marley.  It is easy to read and very insightful into what might happen if you are planning on getting a big dog anytime soon.

Temple Grandin’s book on the other hand, is a more academic approach to animal behavior.  It is a fascinating proposal that compares the ways animal learn to austistic people.  Although it gets technical at times, it is well worth the mental workout.  You will have a much greater appreciation of the animal psyche after its completion.

If your gift list includes pets, (and whose list doesn’t?), I suggest treats.  OK, you caught me!  That suggestion actually came from my Boxer Tigger.  In his opinion, treats are the answer to all your gift giving dilemmas.  Unfortunately, Tigger is rather single minded, and his answer to EVERY problem is treats.  But that is another blog for another time.  As for now go give a treat to your pets.  Then sit down at your computer and order some great books for yourself and the animal lovers on your list.

The holidays are a great time for being human!  With all the food and decorations, it is truly a wonderful time of the year.  But for pets, it can be a dangerous time of the year as well.

Cats and dogs love the shiny tree with its tinsel and lights.  And if they eat the tinsel, that could mean spending Christmas day at the emergency clinic instead of playing with all your new toys.  Tinsel gets caught in the intestine and can cause death pretty quickly.  Also the chemicals in the water that the tree is sitting in can be toxic to animals depending on what is used and how much is consumed.

Food is also a huge problem for pets.  Many common foods are poisonous to animals and therefore can not be eaten at all.  Grapes, raisins, (that means fruitcake too!) onions, garlic, chcolate, and macadamia nuts are all very toxic to dogs.  Depending on yur dog’s size, even a smal chocolate bar can be lethal.  Avocados are bad for birds and pet mice.

Even foods that are eaten every day by animals become a problem at times.  For instance milk causes diarrhea in many animals especially cats who can’t tolerate it.  Fatty foods such as yummy turkey skin, or gravy can cause pancreatitis if eaten in excess.  Table scraps containing bones are a serious no-no and should be avoided at all costs.  They splinter while being chewed cutting the mouth, esophagus, and intestines like shards of glass.  Although I have pulled out bones that have been stuck in mouths and rectums, most of them pass into the stomach and can only be removed by costly surgery.

Left unsupervised, regular household items can cause problems for animals as well.  Toys, sewing needles, yarn, plants (watch those poinsettias!), and trash are incredibly attractive to curious pets.  One day while working in a small animal practice I walked past a colleague of mine who was examining a dog in the surgical prep area.  Because the dog was there, looking so very sick and forlorn, I could tell right away that something was seriously wrong.  As I walked up to the dog I exclaimed, “Gee, that dog REALLY looks sick!”  To that my colleague replied, “Yah well, you’d look sick too if you ate a pair of panty hose and a tampon.”  Yep, I would be.

So go ahead and enjoy your holiday.  But take special care to watch your pets and make sure they enjoy the season without ingesting it.  It really only takes diligence on your part to make a joyful holiday for everyone.  

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