Hello! Welcome to the October edition of Dr. Pet Mom’s Delightful Pet Menagerie (DPM) Newsletter. This month’s edition offers a round up of my top 5 fave blogs for October. Enjoy!
Holiday Fun: Doggy Campgrounds
Dogs love the great outdoors! Pet parents and their furry pets can now enjoy the outdoors safely together. Try a doggy campground designed for canines and their human caregivers.
A few fun places to visit include:
4 Paws Kingdom Campground and Dog Retreat (Rutherfordton, NC) specializing in fun canine activities for the entire family. Pet parents can rent RV space, a yurt or cabin for your dog and your family.
Camp Unleashed (Berkshires, MA/Blue Ridge, GA/Poyntelle, PA). Their tag line is “Where City Dogs Go To Ruff It.” Spend a weekend in your dog’s natural world with activities like scent game and barn hunting, canine water sports, canoeing and dock diving.
Autumn Pet Safety Tips
Fall is in the air! Schools are opening and families are getting ready for the holiday season. Fall is a wonderful time of year, but pet parents should be aware of the hidden hazards that come with cooler weather.
Indoor Pet Hazards
School supplies: Kids are back on school and school supplies can be a hazardous to our pets.
Pencils, glue, and magic markers can be tempting treats for pets to nibble on. These supplies have low toxicity to pets – but these supplies can cause blockages and gastrointestinal problems for your pets, if ingested.
Be safe! Keep any school supplies out of your pet’s reach.
Holiday decorations: Pets are exposed to electrical hazards from hanging lights and burn hazards from open candle flames.
Be alert! Keep your pets away from holiday hazards.
Outdoor Pet Hazards
Darkness and shorter days: Early morning or evening walks may be in complete darkness with shorter days in the fall. Make sure your pets are secure when walking in the dark. Pets can accidentally slip loose and in danger of getting lost or worse.
Be awake! Buy leashes, harnesses, collars and other gear with reflective markings for better visibility.
Cure College Campus Blues: Try Therapy Dogs
School can be fun, but stress is a way of life for most college and university students. Long days of classes and studying can challenge your well being. But time spent with a furry friend can turn a frown upside down. And smiles and joy will do wonders for our mental health!
For example, the University of Wisconsin @ Madison offers space for student well being. Nonprofits like Dogs On Call (DOC) serve to “improve human health through service and therapy animals.”
Dogs and their pet parents from DOC make more than 60 visits a year to the University of Wisconsin. Dogs help students relieve stress, enjoy doggy pets and belly rubs, and head pats. These special animals remind students to smile and have fun.
Pet Health Benefits
It’s a no brainer that pets help our well being – we’re not talking about rocket science. But only recently have colleges and universities recognized the benefits. For example, when students talk about missing family at home, they often miss their pets the most.
Some schools offer “puppy therapy” for stressed out and study-drained students. Yale and Harvard offer a “check out” service from the library where students can visit dogs for 30 minutes at a time. And pet visits in residence halls are another way to relieve stress.
Halloween Pet Safety
Halloween can be a fun time of the year! Pet parents love to dress up their furry friends in costumes of all kinds.
Your pets may want to wear outfits, but pet parents should be aware of some Halloween hazards…
Halloween Treats to Avoid
ANY kind of chocolate. Dark and baker’s chocolate have theobromine which can overstimulate dogs. Chocolate is very harmful to dogs causing a rapid heart rate, shaking, seizures and death.
By comparison, milk chocolate has 44mg of theobromine per ounce and semisweet chocolate has 150mg of theobromine per ounce. Baker’s chocolate has almost 390mg of theobromine per ounce.
Also, cats and birds are highly sensitive to theobromine. A lethal theobromine dose for dogs is around 50mg per pound.
Electricity, Flames, and Sticky Stuff
Candles, Jack O’Lanterns and electrical cords. Any kind of flame can burn a curious pet. Candle holders can be knocked over and start a fire. Birds are attracted to the light, can fly into Jack O’Lanterns and get stuck inside.
Electrical cords can snake all around to power those special Halloween effects. Be sure to keep them hidden.
Better to be safe: Avoid your pet’s curiosity and temptation to chew on loose wires.
Why I Love My Cat, Oscar
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I am open about my anxiety and depression. This week my spouse Dr. Pet Mom, is away in ‘Frostbite Falls’ Minnesota doing some academic stuff.
Enter my cat, Oscar! He’s been great! He is very empathetic, knows when to purr and sit by my side. Thanks Oscar!
The story behind how we got Oscar is quite amazing: He is the result of some sad circumstances and God’s kindness…
We had a very sick kitty named Mr. Bean. We were praying our butts off for him, given that his prognosis was dismal.
Next thing you know, the two of us went to a local pet store for a cat adoption event. We ‘just happened’ to spot this three-ish year old adult cat named Arthur. He was watching over a group of mostly kittens.
We talked about adopting Arthur, but I was hesitant. Later, I decided to email the shelter coordinator and ask if Arthur would be a good therapy cat for Mr. Bean.
I received a nice reply affirming my suspicion about Arthur: He would make an excellent therapy cat. And we decided to adopt him.
Thanks for stopping by!
Dr. Pet Mom
“When it rains on the ocean it rains on fish too.”
–Matshona Dhliwayo