Pet Health

At first, I was pleased to learn that the city of Oswego just opened its new Dog Park. But to be honest, the more I think about it, I am a bit leery about taking my dogs there. How can I be sure that they will be safe? I see all kinds of potential problems with fighting, fleas, illness, you name it.

Last week, we talked about the dangers of leaving pets in cars in the summer. But, there are a lot of other hot weather issues that you need to be aware of and take sensible precautions. Today we will point out just a few things. We don’t mean to ruin our all too fleeting summers, but problems like heat stroke, burned paws and heart worm would be a lot more ruinous, don’t you think?

Katniss, Peeta, Gale and Primrose are 3 months old and come from District 12, a coal mining community. Must be why they are all shades of greys and blacks. These kittens are available for adoption starting June 1.

Sasha loves being up high and watching her surroundings. She and her best foster pal, Rex, are always playing! Sasha is currently in a foster home with other cats and gets along great with all of them (although her very favorite is Rex. We told you about him last week).

We have written about this issue many times in the past, but it never hurts to say it again. It’s getting into the dog days of summer (finally, but that’s another story). We assume our readers would never leave their dog(s) in a car because they are aware of the dangers of overheating and death. They know that cracking the windows does not prevent deadly heat buildup inside a car and that even on a relatively mild 70 degree day, the inside of a car will quickly reach 90 degrees or hotter.

My dog, Rusty, is my best pal, but he has a terrible habit of stealing things – socks, remotes, towels, magazines, whatever. When I tell him to stop, it turns into a huge chase scene with me yelling at him to put whatever it is down, which he never does. Unless I can corner him and force him to give it back to me I have to wait until he gets distracted by something else before I can (maybe) retrieve it.

Rex is a curious and fun-loving youngster, about 18 months old. As you can see, he is always on the lookout for new places to play and hide. He gets along great with the other cats in his foster home.

Daisy has a sad story and we are counting on you to add a happy ending. She was a much loved cat and lived well until her owner fell ill and was hospitalized. A neighbor took care of Daisy when she could. But, due to a so so diet and sedentary life waiting for her owner to come back, she got a little chunky. Even worse, her owner recently died, so now she is homeless

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, they’re at it again. The United States House Agriculture Committee has approved the addition of language to the Farm Bill that, if passed, could destroy hundreds, if not thousands, of important animal-protection laws.