A Terrific Source Re: Pets and Hurricane Sandy

Flickr: doxella

I've been sorting through my email today, and I came across one from DogChannel.com listing their article "How You Can Help Pets Affected By Sandy."  Now, I've gotten a bunch of similar messages since the storm, but this one is really helpful if you want to know who's doing what.  For example, the American Kennel Club's new Sandy Fund is providing grant money to clubs in the areas hit by the storm.  DogChannel.com has links for all of the 15 organizations leading the charge to provide relief to those who need it.

I should also mention that theanimalrescuesite.com is involved in relief efforts as well.  If you've never been to the site, you should try it.  You can help FOR FREE by clicking on the page!  No, it's not a scam.  The site donates the ad money generated by your click to shelters, and throughout November, all donations are going to Sandy relief.

And, while I'm at it (and considering that Thanksgiving is less than a week away), once you've clicked on theanimalrescuesite, click on each of the tabs on the top of the page to give similar help to relieve human hunger, help homeless vets, and other worthy causes via the Greater Good Network. 

Thanks.

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Dogs: Don't Eat This!

A double whammy for dogs:  Chocolate-covered macadamia nuts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I thought I had a good handle on people foods that are toxic for dogs, but WebMD alerted me to a few that I had never heard of in this context, including avocados and animal fat.  Best of all, they tell you precisely why these foods are "Dangerous for Dogs." Avocados (persea Americana) contain persin, which is toxic for dogs, and animal fat -- cooked or raw-- can cause pancreatitis.  So, it's worth a look.  Strangely enough, the theobromine in chocolate that is toxic for dogs is also toxic for humans, but we would have to eat quite a bit at one time (the figure I've read on this is 25 lbs!) to be poisoned.

I think I've mentioned before that I was horrified to learn (some years ago) that the macadamia nuts I occasionally shared with Tony, my Pomeranian, before he gained weight, which led to his diabetes, were extremely toxic for dogs.  He never had many, but he was really crazy about them.  Which suggests that if you have any, keep them where the dog can't get at them.

What am I saying?!!  You've probably already got them in a secret hiding place to keep them from your greedy loved ones.

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Hurricane Sandy: Time to Check your Emergency Readiness

Hurricane Sandy Redecoration (Photo credit: dakine kane)

My inbox is full of messages in connection with Hurricane Sandy, including a request for a donation from the ASPCA.  As usual, I'm broke, so I can't oblige them right now.  I hope you can.  They're doing a lot of work that is Sandy-related, and it's all laid out on their blog.  It's a real relief to me to read about people doing good things for pets, as opposed to all the animal abuse stories I keep hearing.

The fact that the hurricane hit Manhattan (I've always wondered why this hasn't happened before) brings home a reminder that disasters can happen anywhere, anytime.  I lived in central Florida for most of the 1980s, and we were warned every May/June about preparing for hurricane season by all the different media that were available then -- even paper grocery bags had tracking maps and lists of emergency supplies listed on them.  I now live in the midwest, and while we don't have hurricanes, we do have floods and tornados, but these don't seem to get the kind of advance attention as hurricanes, probably because they don't have a season per se.

So, my advice for today is to think of what you would need if disaster struck for your family, including your pets, whether you were to stay in your home (with or without electricity) or evacuate.  If you have an emergency kit, go over it to see if anything else is needed.  If you don't have one, get on the stick!  One thing that I bought after Tony was diagnosed with diabetes was a little cooler pack for his insulin, just for such an emergency.  I think you can see why you'd need this, so I won't belabor the obvious.  These run around $20, and there are different kinds of cooling involved, but I haven't seen any that are good for more than 45 hours (that would be the Frio Cooling Wallet, which gets soaked in water to activate a gel that keeps it cold, so you don't have to keep cold packs in your freezer if you don't want to).  Once you've bought one, REMEMBER WHERE YOU PUT IT.  In an emergency, there may not be time to do more than put the insulin in the pack.

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