Pets

PETS ARE NOT PEOPLE!

October 8, 2008 – 11:28 am

I just got one of those emails that go out all over the Internet picturing dogs in costumes, and without exception, each one of the dogs looked as if he/she were saying “Why are you doing this to me?” The subject line of the email was “Why Dogs Bite People.” After looking at those pictures, I have to say, I would bite my people if I were one those poor animals. While I’m sure, as evidenced by those pictures, everyone does not agree with me, my feeling about dressing dogs or cats or parakeets or hamsters or any other pet in clothes is that if God wanted that, He wouldn’t have supplied them with fur coats. So, while you think it’s cute, consider your pet’s feelings about having booties tied to their feet or a coconut bra strapped to their chest.

As long as we’re on the subject of what is and isn’t good for your dog, let’s talk about feeding Fido people food. I have a Golden Retriever and there is no more pitiful sight than her face when she goes into begging mode while I’m enjoying a chocolate bar. My immediate response, like most people who love their animals, is to give her some. But I don’t because what may benefit my body will harm hers.

The problem with feeding dogs people food is they develop a taste for them and will gorge themselves if allowed, even steal the treats if left open and unguarded. One of the most common “treats” dogs go back for more of is chocolate.

According to http://www.dogownersdigest.com the poisonous element in chocolate is theobromine. Ingestion of this by dogs can lead to hyperthermia, muscle tremors, seizures, coma and even death. Of all the chocolates, white chocolate is the least toxic, but even that is not recommended to be fed to dogs. For more information on the symptoms of chocolate poisoning and the treatment, go to the above website. In the meantime, consider these figures from Dog Owners Digest:

Milk chocolate: 1 ounce per pound of body weight. Approximately one pound of milk chocolate is poisonous to a 20-pound dog; one-half pound for a 10-pound dog. The average chocolate bar contains 2 to 3 ounces of milk chocolate. It would take 2-3 candy bars to poison a 10 pound dog. Semi-sweet chocolate has a similar toxic level.

Sweet cocoa: 0.3 ounces per pound of body weight. One-third of a pound of sweet cocoa is toxic to a 20-pound dog; 1/6 pound for a 10-pound dog.

Baking chocolate: 0.1 ounce per pound body weight. Two one-ounce squares of bakers’ chocolate is toxic to a 20-pound dog; one ounce for a 10-pound dog.

Many dog owners use raisins or grapes as a reward or treat for their dogs. While the dogs love them, what some owners don’t know is that raisins or grapes can be lethal to their dogs, causing renal failure and a very painful death. Read more on this at: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/grapeandraisin.htm

For a complete list of hazards threatening your pets and that abound in your home and yard, go to
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/hazards.htm Even when you’re tempted by that woeful look from your fuzzy child, make sure that it’s not going to harm them more than appease their need to share your food.

Blessings,
Diva Elizabeth

By DivaElizabeth | Comments (1)

Child Safety in Summer (Your Pets, too!)

June 20, 2008 – 9:59 am

Just a reminder now that the hot weather is fast approaching (or here already!) to use extra caution when it comes to your children and pets.

Every year, we hear the painful news about infants and toddlers suffering tragically and dying from hyperthermia in a hot car because they are forgotten in a closed vehicle in the heat. Up to 36 children annually. July usually has the highest death rate.

How does this happen? According to the website, Go San Angelo, the number of deaths has increased due the law requiring child safety seats to be put in the backseat of a car. Often, a parent or caretaker will forget a child is back there. The article goes on to say approximately 340 children have died in hot cars since the mid 1990s.

Jan Null has posted vital information about this topic on GGWeather.com. Here are some of the safety tips:

Never ever leave a child unattended in a vehicle. Not even to do a quick errand. Not because you left something in the house and have to run back in. Not for any reason. Not for second. Temperatures inside a hot vehicle soar quickly, often with deadly consequences.

Be sure that all occupants leave the vehicle when unloading. Don’t overlook sleeping babies. Make “look before you leave” a routine whenever you get out of the car, every time.

Prevent a child from climbing into your unoccupied hot car and then getting trapped inside by always locking your car when not in use; ensure children do not have access to keys or remote entry devices. If a child is missing, check the car first, including the trunk. Teach your children that vehicles are never to be used as a play area.

Keep a stuffed animal in the car seat and when the child is put in the seat, place the animal in the front with the driver. It serves as a reminder.

Place your purse or briefcase in the back seat as a reminder that you have your child in the car.

Have a plan that your childcare provider will call you if your child does not show up for school.

Please check out ggweather.com for more information so that we can all be sure that our children are kept save.

E. Panduro, a nurse in Florida, offers these tips:

If you do see a child in a hot car, call 911.

If you happen to get the child out of the vehicle before medics arrive, offer the child fluids, get him to a cool place, and cool him down with a cool cloth (using what you have).

Watch for signs of stress (i.e., dehydration, hyperthermia) such as dizziness, headaches, lethargy, difficulty breathing, pulse that seems too fast or too slow. Relay those to the medics, or to the ER staff, if you go.

Prevention is key.

While we’re on subject of safety, never leave a child unattended near water. From a half-full mop-bucket of water on your kitchen floor, to the bathtub, to a lake, ocean, or pool. Drowning happens in a moment, while your back is turned for just a second, and it happens in dead silence.

Pet Safety

The same goes for your pets, too. Leaving a pet in a hot car is cruel, even with the car’s window opened a crack, parked in the shade. This is still not an option. It’s torture for your pet.

Take care of your pets in the heat. Provide plenty of water and shade. And if you take your dog for a walk, pay attention to the pavement. Pavement gets scalding hot in the heat of the day, under the hot sun. If the sidewalk, street, or pavement is too hot for your bare feet and will burn you, then it’s too hot for your pet’s feet as well.

Have a wonderful, safe summer! –Diva Kimbling

Related News Stories

Child Rescued from Hot Car

Nancy Grace Transcript: Two Children Die in a Hot Car

…When Kids Die in Hot Cars

By DivaKimberly | Also posted in Heart & Soul, Kidlings, Well-being & Fitness | Comments (1)

A Heads-Up For Pet Owners . . .

June 7, 2008 – 9:47 am

Remember the beef marrow bones that your grandmother and mother used to make stock for soup? They seem like a pretty harmless thing to give your dog, right? Wrong.

A few weeks ago, I walked into our den and our eighteen-month-old Golden Retriever, Lily, was sitting beside my husband’s chair with a marrow bone that had been around for sometime in her mouth. She looked up at me for her usual recognition-pet(I have to at least touch her whenever I pass close to her.) So, I patted her head and went on to my own chair. A few hours later, we went to bed.

The following morning, I woke up and found Lily sitting beside my side of the bed looking at me with her big mournful eyes and with the bone still in her mouth. I found nothing odd about her still having the bone because she will often latch onto something to keep our Collie, Ripley, from getting it. However, on closer inspection, I found that she’d slipped her lower jaw through the hole in the bone and gotten it stuck behind her canine teeth (those are the really long teeth toward the front of their jaw). When I realized that she’d probably been stuck that way since the evening before, my heart broke for her. The poor thing hadn’t been able to eat or drink for hours. Lily’s such a docile thing that she never indicated she was in pain. She was just plain stuck and suffered in silence.

I immediately got my husband, and it took the two of us nearly twenty minutes to free her. Bless her heart, she just stood their, as if she knew we were trying to help, while we pried and wiggled and pried some more. I just thank God she wasn’t outside when it happened and wasn’t in a position to have to defend herself.

Most marrow bones are about a 4 to 5 inch section of the cow’s leg and can be purchased in any supermarket meat department or in most pet departments. When a dog is given a marrow bone, the first thing they do is eat the marrow that fills the hole in the center of the bone. They do this by snaking their tongue in and out of the hole until it’s clean, then use the bone for chewing.

I never saw any problem with them having the bone after the marrow was gone, but I sure do now. Lily and Ripley get knuckle bones now. These bones still have a small amount of marrow and they still get to gnaw on the bone, but the marrow hole doesn’t go all the way through, so there’s no danger of a repeat of what poor Lily suffered.

I have to say, I am much more alert to both dogs now. They are, after all, my furry babies.

Blessings,
Diva Elizabeth

By DivaElizabeth | Also posted in Well-being & Fitness | Comments (0)

Sweet Molly

October 16, 2007 – 3:59 pm

You’re going to love my wonderful dog. She’s three and a half years old and as smart as any dog you’re ever gonna see. This is her puppy picture.

alfiepuppy alfiepuppy

(See? I told you, you were gonna love Molly girl. I’ll post her grown up picture someday soon.)

We rescued her from the Kansas City Ks. police pound when she was less than 24 hours away from becoming non-existent. In fact, when she didn’t pass the tests we put her through to see if she would be compatible with our family, my son and I left, confident that someone else would save her, then turned around and went back less than a half hour later and brought her home. We just couldn’t risk it.

Anyway, though Molly didn’t pass our ‘tests’ and does have some problems we haven’t figured out how to fix–yes, I’ll take all the advice I can get on that subject–she’s as smart as they come and we’ve taught her a lot of stupid dog tricks.

She knows how to: sit, shake, greet (sit and shake together when we come in the house–the idea was to get her to greet visitors, but that hasn’t happened) sit-up pretty, speak, whisper, come, roll over, happy dance, stay and BANG (play dead). She doesn’t like that one much but she’s hilarious when you do it because first, she looks at you like, “do I have to?” and then she slo-o-o-o-wly lays down, glancing up at you along the way to see if you’ll change your mind along the way. It’s a crack up.

So what should we teach her next? Any bright ideas?

Next, I’ll be asking you how we solve her problems, since I doubt I can get the Dog Whisperer at my house anytime soon.

By DivaAlfie | Also posted in Well-being & Fitness | Comments (3)

A Collie, a Golden Retriever and a Jack Russell . . . Oh my!

October 15, 2007 – 11:28 am

My son recently moved in with us during a transition to his new digs after a divorce.  He brought his dog Jake with him.  Jake is an adorable Jack Russell with a serious OCD ball obsession.  He is also very small, especially when he stands next to our Collie, Ripley, and our Golden Retriever, Lily.  Needless to say, life has not been the same around the Smith house.  It’s like being trapped in a furry kindergarten with uncontrollable kids. Need I say that jealousy reins supreme?  If one gets petted, they all want to be petted, and I’ve spent many long, painful moments with three dogs vying for space in my lap.

The ball, which Jake looks at as just as necessary to his survival as his next breath, has become a “bone” of contention. He carries it in his mouth all the time and only puts it down to eat or drink or to have you throw it — over and over and over and over and . . . Well, you get the idea.  I’ve even witnessed him doing . . . his business with it clutched in his mouth. That’s devotion. Unfortunately, Lily also wants the ball.  Not to play with, but rather, I’m convinced, just to keep Jake from having it.

Ripley has quietly watched this battle for possession of that yellow, fuzzy sphere.  To keep Jake from making us nuts, after having thrown the ball for him several thousand times, my husband hides it in his chair by shoving it down between the cushions.

Last night, he did just that, then went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.  I watched as Ripley, the oldest of the group, climbed into the chair, dug until she retrieved the ball, got down and laid beside the chair with the ball resting on her paws. When Lily tried to take the ball, Ripley grabbed it and, I swear, glared at Lily.  Then along came Jake, and Ripley laid the ball down and hit it with her nose to roll it to Jake, who snatched it up and pranced happily away. 

And they say animals aren’t smart.

The Dog Mommy,

Diva Elizabeth

By DivaElizabeth | Also posted in Well-being & Fitness | Comments (1)