Halloween and your Pet

Dogs are smart but they can not always tell who is inside that costume, don't put your pets, yourself or others at risk. 

When dressing for Halloween, (you or your children) have your dog (s) present for the whole process and if it is upsetting them, confine them for the evening. You know who is under the make up but with all the scents in the make up and the costume on top your dog may not and might decide to protect you from the dangerous alien, monster etc. 

When giving out candy at the door, if your pet is nervous, scared or acting protective, confine them for the evening in another room. 

Pets are at risk on Halloween from a number of sources, at risk of biting a person or child in costume, at risk of being injured or killed by sadistic people and pranksters, at risk of running off in fear and becoming lost, hurt or worse and at risk of illness or death from eating candy, treats, costume pieces, make up and other items that may be around that could be toxic to them. 

Some pets are able to be dressed up and participate in a fun evening, great for them (as long as they keep out of the people treats) Others are not able to handle it. 

If confining the pet for the evening indoors is best, or where you can keep an eye, or camera on them to protect them from pranksters. 

You know your pets best, do what is best for them.

Have a Safe and Fun Halloween. 

We have been busy as bees all summer and are full (again). Miss Princess's puppies are coming available for adoption, since she had six and we were unsure of breed we had a DNA test done. The results were surprising. We knew mom was a small breed mix, Lhasa Apso, and had all sorts of guesses as to what she was a mix with, poodle, shih tzu etc, it seems she is Lhasa and Cocker. Not one that was guessed. Even more surprising was the babies it appears she bred with a full Keeshond. So the puppies are 1. Keeshond  2. Lhasa Apso and 3. Cocker Spaniel. This certainly explains their wonderful thick soft coats and friendly outgoing personalities. These are three pictures of Keeshonds taken from the web for those who are unfamiliar with the breed.

A member of the spitz group of dogs, the Keeshond in American Kennel Club (AKC) standard is 17 inches (43 cm) to 18 inches (46 cm) tall and 19.25 inches (48.9 cm) ± 2.4 inches (6.1 cm) in the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) standard and weighs 35 pounds (16 kg) to 45 pounds (20 kg).

 Her pups should all be of medium/small size, five are male one is female and three have the thick coat. This is a picture of Princess and her pups when they were eighteen days old:
They will be eight weeks old Saturday, September 15 and available for adoption. Updated pictures will be posted on the web once they are fully available for adoption (immunization/deworm etc).

Ducklings and Goslings do not usually wander far from their families, sometimes one will stray. If you find one of these stragglers look for their family, then put the baby in the water and it will swim back to them. If you find a nest, leave it alone as the adults will leave the nest to draw away preditors, they will come back after you are gone.
Fawns: The doe will hide her fawn in a field or edge of brush, she then goes off to graze, she has not abandoned the baby, she will be back for it around dusk. Leave the baby where it is and do not touch it. If you are really concerned you could watch with binoculars from about a half a mile away. If mom sees anything threatening near her baby she will not approach. WHY?? Well, fawns do not have an odor and if they stay still a predator will not see or smell them, and don't worry Mom will not forget where she has left them.

Matted Pets

• A reminder to all who have "no-shed" or long coated pets.
•  GROOMING: not a difficult thing. A brush, A comb, and a few minutes a day of your time. 

Heck, i groom my pets while listening to music, they may not have appreciated it in the beginning but they now see it as affection and ask to be brushed. 

• Visit your groomer once a month for a nail trim and touch up and every three months for a clipping: 

• YES: your pet can be groomed in the winter as well... just not shaved down. Take them in for a brush and comb out. It is cheaper in the long run and you have a happier healthier pet. 

• Groomers charge way less for regular maintenance on a pet who is a regular client than for a shave down of a matted, neglected pet who is in pain, stressed and can take from four hours to multiple visits to help.

•   If your pet is matted, do the right thing, have them done and then KEEP UP with REGULAR grooming. 

 
For those who do not want the "hassle" of a high maintenance pet pick a different breed of pet or get a fish!!!


WARNING! SOME PICTURES ARE GRAPHIC!

An Extremely Matted Dog

What a disgrace! This picture looks exaggerated, but it is what he really looked like when he was found. Matty was a good dog gone bad because of his condition. Matty tried to be nice but probably because of his discomfort, did not allow anyone to go near him. His coat probably weighed more than his body. The owner never came looking for Matty. He would have never been returned to the owner if they had come forward.


Although not as severely matted as Matty, Benji who is also a Lhasa Apso, had to be shaved completely. Benji obviously felt much more comfortable after he had been shaved. He was later adopted by a new family that promised to groom him routinely.


This cocker spaniel is another example of massive matting. As you can see, he looks much happier after his haircut!

Think twice if you see an animal that is neglected in this manner. This is indeed a form of abuse and something should be done about it immediately. An Animal Control Officer should be contacted. The animal may need to be removed from the owner. 



The above are pictures from the City of Boston but we have seen this, as has every groomer out there and every shelter out there....If you care for your pet you would have this fixed and NEVER let it happen again....IT IS NEGLECT AND ABUSE TO DO NOTHING, doing nothing will only make it worse and can lead to criminal charges...so what if you are embarrassed FIX the problem AND KEEP IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN!!! Matting is painful, health threatening, it can lead to loss of blood flow, loss of limb, loss of eyesight, loss of eyes, all types of ear infections, parasites, and many more problems.

• Humane Society

A photo taken by a passer-by shows a cat with severely matted fur on the steps of a trailer home along Bay Drive. The picture was sent to the Humane Society of Douglas County. Last month the owner of the cat was cited for animal cruelty by Chris Wagner, humane officer for the Superior Police Department. The cat was euthanized. (Submitted photo)

It has been very busy lately, it is spring again. We are again at capacity. When this happens it reminds me of why we need a new facility so badly, it is heartbreaking to turn away pets in need, but we have to if we do not have the space for them. So far, we have a piece of land and fifty thousand in the building fund, we have a ways to go yet, but it will happen, it is just when.
The plan is:
Phase One: Fencing, water system, septic. (150.000)+
Phase Two: Foundation, walls and a roof. (300.000)+
Phase Three: necessities: internet, phones, washrooms, storage. (15.000)+
Phase Four: Dog Kennels, Cat Kennels, and move what we have here to there. (75000)+
Phase Five: Finish all areas of the building. (no estimate yet)
Then: Dog Park. (no estimate yet)
The above is an abbreviated list of what needs to be accomplished. As you can see being able to move does not happen until Phase Four. So to all those who keep asking when we will move the answer is: when we reach Four. When that will be I do not yet know. Money, Money, Money, If only it grew on trees LOL. All I do  know for sure is that the sooner we can do it the more pets we can save.

Yes, it is true...Thanks to a bequethment we were able to purchase a little over five and a half acres of land. There is no building, no septic, and we need to figure out water supply. It is a start though. We will be applying for a matching grant which means we need to raise half the funds (250 thousand dollars). Once this is done we can start working on our new location. I wish it would happen overnight but realistically it will probably be a few years.
As everyone knows we are in an old building and out of space on a regular basis, so we are very motivated. As we know more we will let you know. Once we have the building design and quotes we can apply for the grant.
Our first big fund raiser for this will be in March.