Summer Tips for you and your Pets.

Summer is almost here, time for the SPF, and beach days to keep us cool. Our furry little friends need help staying cool this summer too. On these warm summer days pets have a harder time cooling off. Dogs can cool down with the help of their sweat glands on the pads of their feet or panting, but if put into the wrong situation it could turn deadly.

This summer, owners should take precautions against the danger of heat exhaustion and heatstroke of their pets.


- Leaving your pet in a parked car can be a deadly mistake. The temperature inside a car can reach 120 degrees in a few minutes. Even partially opened windows won't protect your pet from heatstroke.

If you see a dog in a car and in distress, take down the car's color, model, make, and license-plate #, have the owner paged inside nearby stores, and call local humane authorities or police.

-Exercise your dog in the morning or evening when temperatures and pavement are cool.

- If your pet is outside during the day, remember to provide protection from the sun, plenty of fresh water and if possible provide a nice wading pool to aid in cooling. Remember the older, short muzzle and over weight dogs are more likely to overheat during hot weather.

- Keep your dog properly groomed. Dogs with longer hair are more susceptible to heat stroke and other hot weather problems.

- Pets indoors should also have cool water throughout the day. Remove insulating bedding from dog crate or bed, such as blankets or pillows. Keep a fan or air conditioner on if the area is likely to heat up during the day. Pull blinds or shades over areas where direct sunlight enters to keep your home cool.

Have a safe and healthy summer!

The Boo-Boo Blog.

Tough Breaks......

Oh...Babushka!!

The wrap art makes it all better. Get well soon! :)

Fun Animal Facts

Here are a few fun animal facts:

Cats....

- A domestic cat sleeps up to 14 hrs a day.

- In a lifetime, the average house cat spends approximately 10,950 hrs purring.

- Cats can make over 100 vocal sounds, while dogs can make only 10.

- A cat uses whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through. They act as antennae, helping to judge the precise width of any passage.

- The majority of cats do not have eyelashes, and just like finger prints every cats nose pad is different.

- A cat sees about 6 times better than a human at night because of the tapetum lucidum, a layer of extra reflecting cells which absorb light.



Dogs....

- There are over 60 million dogs in the U.S.


- Dogs can be trained to detect upcoming epileptic seizures.


- About 30 % of Americans admit to talking to their dogs or leaving messages on their answering machines for their dogs while they are away! :)


- The fastest dog, the greyhound, can reach speeds up to 41.7 mph.


- The Basenji dog is the only dog that is not able to bark.


Here's a couple more tid bits:
- Americans spend around 3 Billion dollars for cat and dog food a year!
- The longest recorded lifespan of a Tapeworm was 35 years.....Eeeewww!!!

Anesthesia and your pet!

We all know that putting our animals under anesthesia can be very scary.

This is why preanesthetic blood tests are so important. These tests can help confirm that your pet's organs are functioning properly and can process and eliminate an anesthetic. It can also find hidden health conditions that could put your pet at risk.

Top four reasons to test your pet before Anesthesia:

1.) Enjoy peace of mind. Testing can significantly reduce medical risk.

2.) Detect hidden illness. Healthy-looking pets may be hiding symptoms of a disease or ailment. Testing helps detect this kind of illness so we can avoid problems with the anesthesia.

3.) Reduce risks and consequences. If the preanesthetic testing results are normal, we can proceed with confidence. If not, we can alter the anesthetic procedure or take other procautions to safeguard your pets health.

4.) Protect your pet's future health. These tests become part of your pet's medical record, providing a baseline for future reference.