Pet Health

I was driving on a country road and encountered a very disturbing situation with a large, male, intact dog. He was beside the road in a brushy area where an oncoming car could not see it. I flashed my lights at the oncoming car. The dog ran out in the road right in front of the oncoming car, and almost got hit, and then less than a minute later, it almost got hit a second time in a similar manner. I talked to his owner and told him that the dog would not be so likely to run off it he were neutered.

Polly has HUGE feet, HUGE eyes, and HUGE purrs. She is about a year old, friendly, used to other cats, dogs and kids. A real people cat and isn’t she just gorgeous?

It’s getting into the dog days of summer – we know 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. But do you know what to do if you see someone else’s dog alone in a car on a hot day? Two things. Call 911. Then, if the car is near a store or public building find the manager and request an emergency public service announcement about the dog in the car.

What can we say about Marnie? She’s a cat – sort of a layabout to be honest. As you can see, a very good eater. She’s used to other cats, dogs, kids. She’s friendly and likes to be around people, but strictly on her own terms. If she wants affection, give it to her – NOW!

I just took in Bentley, a stray kitten that was hanging around my front porch and I am glad to give him a home. At first he seemed fine. I had him checked by my vet and he is starting his vaccinations. But all of a sudden his poop got all runny and really really stinky. I took him back to the vet and they think he has a parasite called “giardia.”

We’ve featured Trouble before, but he still needs a home where he can romp around and get into, well . . . trouble . . . like any other exuberant and good-hearted teenager. He is a handsome young boy, lively, affectionate, and totally playful. He likes to head butt his foster mom while he purrs his little heart out. He loves the other cats where he lives and he really needs to go to a home that has other cats for him to play with.

I am looking to adopt a puppy and a friend of mine is suggesting that I look for one as young as possible, 4 or 5 weeks, so that the puppy can get his early socialization from me and really bond with me. That sort of makes sense to me, but on the other hand my friend is sort of a “know it all,” if you know what I mean, and is basing his opinion on something he read on the internet.

Buttercup has an interesting story. Sometime in the late spring he manged to get inside the home of his foster mom, unbeknownst to her, and take up residence in the basement. He looked so much like another shy pretty buff-colored resident cat that he was there, maybe for weeks, before she finally realized that she had two shy pretty buff-colored cats living with her. OK, so she was really busy getting ready for the Humane Society Fur Ball and maybe not paying a lot of attention.

You may have noticed, if you check out our Facebook page, our recent efforts to find a good home for Buster, an enthusiastic but somewhat unruly Jack Russell Terrier who had lost his original home because of a family illness. We think we succeeded in that effort and have high hopes that Buster will thrive in his new home. One of the questions that many people asked about Buster (and really all dogs that we have available for adoption) was “How is he with cats?”