12/29/2013
Safety tips to prepare your pets for New Year's Day:
Just a reminder this New Year's Day to be mindful of fireworks with your pets regardless of whether or not it is legal in your area to set them off- there's always going to be those kids down the street that can't resist the urge to blow things up and make the sky pretty colors. Some people will light their's earlier in the day especially since its so dark out so early or even the night before (weird? I know, but I'm speaking from experience and believe me when I say that my neighbors are very strange). With that being said, you are going to want to plan on checking the looseness of their collars and making sure that when you lift the collar up from their neck that it doesn't slide off in advance, BUT make sure you can still fit at least two fingers in between so that it's not too tight. If you do not know how anti anxiety or sleep medications affect your pets DON'T give it to them and ALWAYS check with your vet before administering any medication- even over the counter meds or herbs (some things are toxic to dogs that aren't toxic to us so always check). A quick call can never hurt. Make sure that the pets have been walked well earlier in the day on leash so that throughout the evening you will have less chance of needing to walk them around "boom time". Leashes leashes and leashes. Even if your animal is good at staying around your yard off leash, or is not usually scared of loud noises, you shouldn't put that much faith in that situation. Anything can happen and some results can be tragic. I've known plenty of people who have never had a problem with their dogs or cats going off leash around the yard and being fine with gun shots, but just one day the wrong sound freaked them out or another animal caught their attention, etc. The point is all it takes is one subtle change in routine for them to be lost forever. Microchips make all the difference in the world as well. Microchips have been the difference between life and death for thousands and thousands of animals who were able to return home after just one brief scan. Advocates for Dog and Puppy Wellness and the Mat-Su Animal Shelter do them at a very low cost and handle registration for you. If you have questions about how microchips work, you can visit Home Again's web page ---> http://public.homeagain.com/
Please be safe and have a wonderful holiday!!!
