Danger: Leaving a pet in a parked car

Have you ever spotted an animal (most commonly a dog) left in a parked car outside a shopping plaza or other public place? Ugh. I hate when that happens. You HAVE to act fast. Quite frankly, an animal left in a car is a life or death situation in which every minute counts.

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Sadly, most pet owners don't know the dangers of leaving their pet in a parked car for just a little bit. They believe that cracking the windows open is sufficient enough for them to run in and make a quick pit stop. THIS IS NOT TRUE. "Automobile temperatures can very quickly rise to dangerous levels; the average temperature increase in a parked car is 40 degrees, and the majority of this increase occurs in the first 15 to 30 minutes," says Dr. Louise Murray, Vice President of ASPCA Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital. When it’s 80 degrees outside, your car will be a staggering 114 degrees after 30 minutes!

Dogs do NOT cool themselves down as easily as people and once they overheat they can suffer organ damage or death.

The steps you should follow if you see a pet abandoned in a car:
Step 1: Try to Locate the Pet Parent
You can ask the store to try to locate the pet parent over the loud speaker. Time is of the essence if you don't think this can be done in a timely manner go ahead and call 911 so they can at least come and work to save the animal while you look for the owners.

Step 2: Educate
Explain the dangers of leaving a pet in a hot car. Many shelters offer pamphlets with more information on them. Go to My Dog Is Cool to download and print, or order fliers that you can pass out with educational information on it.

Step 3: Call 911
This sounds drastic but that's how serious the matter is. 911 is the quickest, if needed they can get you through to your local animal services. Fourteen states have enacted specific laws that protect dogs in hot cars, as have many municipalities—but even in places lacking such a law, leaving an animal in a hot car may constitute cruelty. Click HERE for more information on the laws in those 14 states. I hope Florida becomes state # 15 SOON.

Step 4: Pat Yourself on the Back
Pets are counting on people like you to save their lives.

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Also, be sure to read my post from a few weeks back on Summer Pet Safety for more tips for the summer. You can never be too safe. Keep your furbabies healthy and cool.

Spring Hill Happy Ending

One of my rescue stories popped into mind tonight, and I wanted to share.

I've rescued many a dog off the side of a street. Usually I try to find their owner right then and there, especially if it's near a neighborhood, otherwise, I take them to my local SPCA, or if I am not in my hometown, the nearest shelter.

Last April (2010) as I was headed to Spring Hill to visit one of my sweet friends, my husband(then boyfriend) and I passed what I would say was a border collie mix and another larger breed dog in the median of a main highway. Of course, I freaked out. We pulled off the side of the road, and as I tried to catch them, I prayed they wouldn't get hit right in front of me. The collie was a sweet girl. She came right to my husband and I and actually JUMPED into our car. She was ready for a ride. I left her in the car with my husband (then boyfriend), and ran back to try to catch the other one. I followed for a bit, before I lost him/her. I was upset that the dog got away, but hopeful it was headed home, and thankful that we saved one from being hit. I got back in the car... to the warning of R that "this dog STINKS" and he was NOT lying. WOW. We literally had to drive with all windows down, and my head out the window gagging, bless the poor dogs heart. From the many trips I'd taken to my friends before, I KNEW we'd pass a green SPCA sign coming up. So we followed the trail. And took our new stinky furry friend to the Hernando SPCA, which apparently is a no kill shelter. I did not know that but was excited to hear.

We left the sweet doggie there... and I went home (after the visit with my friend) and made up fliers... I joined all kinds of facebook pages local to that city, and posted the flier all over! Hoping to find the owner. I never did find the owner, however 11 days later I received this email from the shelter:


"Heather- My apologies!  I printed out your flyer and never got around to putting it up.

However, I have good news.  Angel was adopted Saturday by a middle aged couple.  Their dog died a year ago and decided they were ready for another one.  They spent an hour or two with Angel and then made the big decision.  You should have seen that sweet doggie!  He was so happy his tail was going a mile a minute.  The couple was very loving and gentle with Angel.  Three of us went out to the truck with the couple and Angel, and Angel jumped right in the back seat her tail still waggin'.  They are planning on taking some trips and Angel with be right along with them.

I told the adopters about how you found Angel and how he jumped right into your car.  Angel is going to have a good life thanks to you and your friend.

Best regards,
Nancy"

WOW. I cried when I first got that email... and I seriously just teared up again. Angel got a second chance at a furever home. I am so happy he jumped into our car that day, stinky or not, what a blessing it was! See friends? We really CAN make a difference when we try. Had I not stopped that day, there is a really good chance this beautiful dog would have been squashed on the highway.

I really hope Angel is enjoying his new family, and many, many, car trips.

Bufo Toads - deadly to pets

I saw an article in my local Sunday paper that caught my attention. 

It was about Bufo toads and just how poisonous they are to pets, especially small dogs.

I had no clue.

Naturally the first thing I did was google, and this is what I found:

Earth Clinic: Bufo Toads       This site had a ton of personal stories of what happened when an animal messed with a Bufo toad, and some at home remedies you can try ASAP as you rush your pet to the ER vet.

History of Bufo Toad

Bufo Toads deadly to pets the first article I saw about this.

The Bufo toad was introduced into Florida in 1936. It is also referred to as the marine toad, cane toad, and giant toad. Fully grown, the toads are larger than normal, 6-9in, but can be larger. BUT, as young and adolescent toads, they are the size of a normal toad. So, looks can be deceiving. The Bufo toad (bufo marinus) does not have knobs on its head as the similar Southern Toad (bufo terrestris) does.

Photo Credit(s)

After reading these various articles I am kind of wigged out. My puppies are like my children. I have 4 total in my household, 2 are mine, as you see frequently, Bullseye and Chico, and 2 are my Dad's. They are all small doggies, so definitely at risk. I've never had a problem with toads, I actually tend to like them, however now I think if I see one, I will be removing it. I don't know if I will necessarily kill it, or just take it to a lake(y) area. I just don't want to take the chance of any of my dogs running into the wrong toad. Apparently the Southern toad, which is more popular, is not nearly as toxic, but still toxic nonetheless.

So, beware. Toads are not a dogs best friend.

Saturday Funday.

Sunday Saturday Funday.

Since I have to work tomorrow, there will be no Sunday funday with the doggies, so we took them out today. :)

Unfortunately, even at 830am, it was already to hot. The Florida heat is just too much. It was already 80, BUT the humidity is what zapped us. It was 75%. My goal was to get a mile in with them, but we only made two laps, totaling a half mile. Their tongues were already dropped to the ground, and they were slowing down. Even though we had plenty of cold water for them, I don't take any chances, especially since heat can induce a seizure and Chico already suffers from seizures.

We had fun though, for our short little outing that we had. The boys enjoyed the walk, and more importantly, the drive. 

Oh, and for those that asked, Bullseye's eye is doing MUCH better. At his recheck on Thursday the vet said she didn't even see the scratch anymore. YAY! He is down to drops twice a day instead of every four hours. Much easier to handle.

Dog VS Cat. Cat-1, Dog-0

Ah, the innocence of a playful puppy.

Thursday afternoon I was busy baking brownies for a bake sale to raise money for a precious young girl who is losing her battle with a congenital heart defect. You can read more on my personal blog by clicking HERE. 

Meanwhile, as I was baking, Bullseye was harassing one of my cats. I had just got done telling him to leave the cat alone, before he got smacked.... I went back to baking, and BAM, literally right after I turned my head YELLLLLLLLP!! Yup. The cat got him. And he got him GOOD.

I went over to check on him, to see where he got scratched at.... And it wasn't his nose. It was his right eye. And there was blood. OUCH! And I could see a spot on his actual eyeball that wasn't typically there. Thankfully, it was a little after 5pm, and my vet is a 3 minute drive away, and open til 6pm. I called to ask if they thought I should bring him in, or wait til tomorrow. They said they've seen eye scratches left untreated turn very bad, and to bring him on in... SO, away we went (not the best timing as I was due to have the above brownies at a friends house by 5:30pm, that didn't happen, I personally delivered them to the bake sale location the next morning). But anyways, we got to the vet, got right in, and bless his puppy heart, they did all the same miserable things there at the vet that they did to me at the eye doctor the week before. UCK!

The vet gave him numbing drops, and then dye, and she even let me see where the scratch was. The cat got him literally clear across the eye. The green dye showed a cut that started in the inner corner, and reached all the way across, up to near his ear is, which is where the blood was coming from.

We left with some pain killers, and eye drops that I have to give him every 4 hours for a week. Yup, every 4 hours, and she stressed how important it was that I give it to him, even in the middle of the night. Oiii. So, Thursday and Friday night have been quite interesting.

You can see a hint of the blood

Not a happy camper

Got him to lay down :D Rubbed his belly

I'm happy to say, Bullseye seems to be doing fine. He's biting my toes as I type this. Sigh. He's not a fan of the drops, but hey, it will help the eye heal quicker. And, he definitely did not learn.  He was messing with the same cat that same evening.