Pet Health

I have two dogs. One of them, Amanda, loves to go out in the winter, no matter how cold and she runs around happily in the snow until I call her in. She is a mutt of some sort with short hair, so it’s not like she’s a natural winter dog. The other one, Gertie, is a little poodle mix and she acts like snow feels like hot burning coals. I can hardly get her to go out to do her business and then she zips right back to the house.

I just got back from the vet’s office where I took my dog Betsy and my cat Boomer for their annual check up and boy am I mad! She got all grouchy with me and told me they are FAT. Well she used the word obese, like that would be more polite somehow. I just go by the recommendation on their dog and cat food packages and they only get a few treats per day. She wants me to cut that down by a quarter and cut out all treats. They’ll starve. What do you think?

This is the time of year that we usually issue warnings about all the horrible things that can happen to your pets over the holidays. If it’s not poinsettias to worry about (which it is not) then it’s mistletoe (which it is) or chocolate, or grapes or tinsel (yes to all). But you can just go online to any reputable animal welfare site, we like the ASPCA, and read all those depressing and dire warnings. We’re not saying you shouldn’t read up about them. We’re just saying, let’s have fun instead!

My neighbor down the road has a big dog that looks like some kind of shepherd mix. He keeps him tied out beside his house ALL the time. That means 24/7. He has a dog house and he goes in there when it’s really awful out but mostly he just sits there in the yard. I called the dog control officer for my town and she said there is nothing she can do as long as the dog house is adequate and it is.

Winter is here, and as much as I love to be outdoors in the snow, I’’d like to know whether there are some things I should watch out for to keep my pets safe so that we can all enjoy ourselves.

My neighbor got all upset with me yesterday because he saw me putting antifreeze in my car in my driveway and a little bit spilled on the ground and I didn’t have time to clean it up as I was late for work. He started yelling at me about antifreeze killing pets. The upshot was that I cleaned it up to make him stop and I was late for work. Why would an animal lick up antifreeze? Is he just a nut bucket?

Here it is November with snow and a smallish cat just showed up on my back porch a few days ago. I think she is sheltering under the porch, but when I go out to try to approach her and coax her inside she takes off into the woods and I don’t see her again for hours. I have been leaving food and water for her and it is gone every morning. I would let her in and take care of her in a heartbeat. How can I help her survive outside in this weather?

It may have been in the 70s just recently, but we are New Yorkers and we all know that Mother Nature is just toying with us. THE COLD IS COMING. So we wanted to remind dog owners of the New York statute regarding dog houses.