So how has everyone’s September been so far? I’m sure a lot of you are getting back into the swing of things, like back to school or back to work; not that I would know, but I can imagine it’s quite the adjustment. I know how I feel when I have to stay in a big cage because my exam room is unavailable and it’s awful!
Now that it’s September, that means Halloween is around the corner and while that is a great time for humans, it’s not so much for many pets out there. First I’ll start out with the obvious… 9 out of 10 pets do not want to be dressed up. I PROMISE. My staff finds it very amusing to torture me by putting various “hats” on my head and then they go the extra mile and take pictures. NOT FUNNY, GUYS. When do you really see happy pets in costumes? Not very often. (Though if you are entering a best costume contest that involves lots of kitty or puppy treats as prizes, I’ll dress up in just about anything.) That being said, costumes can actually be quite frightening. We are used to seeing you one way and then next thing we know, everyone looks different and very scary! All we ask is that you please take that into consideration and if you must dress up like a scary freakazoid, please put us in a part of the house where we don’t have to look at you. Some of us have a wild imagination and have had very real nightmares; food shortage, treat shortage and very menacing ghosts who come out of the wall and take our treats! Double scary! We would be much happier in a nice, quiet room (stocked with treats and toys!). J
Probably the biggest problem with Halloween for pets would be all the candy floating around that we could potentially get into. We all know that many dogs out there are far from prejudiced about food and snacks and they are typically the ones you see at the vet having to regurgitate all of that hard earned candy. That doesn’t mean that cats and other pets are off the hook so definitely be careful about where you store any candy or snacks. Technically, you should always be mindful of where you are putting non-animal friendly items (I hate to say it, but even our food should be where we can’t get it since we do like to help ourselves on occasion. This, however, does not apply to me…). You would be surprised what animals can get into and how quickly something can happen. Make sure you have a number for animal poison control, your veterinarian, and 24-hour emergency facility where it can be easily accessed. Poison control (both human and animal) does cost money so also make sure to have a credit card handy. It’s also very important to keep wrappers, packaging, or have a list of the ingredients with you when you call poison control, as well as taking with you to the vet if at all possible. It is extremely helpful in determining toxicity as well as treatment.
All that being said, I hope all of you two- and four-legged friends had a great summer and a great start to September! Having just expelled all of this intelligence has made me very, very hungry so I must find a staff member to rectify this situation. I keep telling them to just leave my food where I can get it so I don’t have to bother them but they don’t think it’s a good idea!
Meows,
Mason
