Preparing for Emergencies - The Hardest Part of Owning A Pet

 

Regular Veterinary Care

Preparing for Emergencies - The Hardest Part of Owning A Pet

by Amber Polo

Losing a pet is painful, but the worry no one likes to think about is who will care for our pets if we die, are hospitalized, or can no longer keep our dearly loved pets. Some animal lovers even forgo getting a pet because of fear.

How can you insure your dog or cat is prepared for an emergency?

Consider what you can do now to enjoy your pet more and ensure he or she (or they) will stay safe and happy even when you can’t provide all the caregiving.

Health and Safety - Keep pets clean and well-groomed with nails trimmed and up to date with checkups and immunizations. Neuter your pets and be sure they behave well while receiving veterinary treatment. Keep all pets at their ideal healthy weight. License and chip your dog or cat for quick return if lost.

Watch your pet's weight

Good Manners - Dogs need to walk politely on a leash. Proper collars and leashes prevent accidents or strains and make it easier for owners to keep dogs under control. Be sure your dog is comfortable in a crate for sleeping. And crated or safely restrained for travel. Teach commands for safety. “Sit” is useful in many situations. "Come" "Stop" or another word to get your dog out of danger is a life saver. "Back" and "Leave it" are also good commands for safety.

If you and your dog attended obedience classes, from time to time review what you learned. Even if a dog has not been formally trained, consider having your dog certified as a Canine Good Citizen, a test administered by an AKC Evaluator, to help prove to rental agents, etc. that your dog is exactly that.

Canine Good Citizenship Certification

Behavior Problems - Solve excessive barking, chewing, separation anxiety habits. Dogs who jump up on people are dangerous whether the dog is big or small. Even a small dog’s paws can cause serious scratches. All dogs need to be well-behaved with visitors and caregivers. If yours is not, contact a local trainer and ask for in-home lessons or help with behavior problems, then follow her advice consistently. Check for medical reasons for problems.

Outside the home, socialize your dog to a variety of people and situations: busy streets, outdoor cafes, dog parks, unusual noises. A confident dog rides well in a car, takes new places and people in stride, and shows neither fear nor aggression towards strangers, other dogs, cats, etc.

Test runs - Leave your dog for a short time with your pet caregiver. Get your dog accustomed to the new place first for a visit, then for a short time. Feed the dog in the caregiver’s home. Try a sleepover.

Formal and informal long term arrangements for pet care may include a Pet Trust or Letter of Instruction. Talk to friends and family about your wishes. Carefully choose a “godmother,” foster pet parent, or guardian who will love your pet for a short time or forever, if needed.

Disaster Preparedness – If you live in an area at risk for fire or flooding prepare a pet evacuation plan and have a kit of pet food and supplies handy.

Emergency Information - Create or find a form for each pet and write out instructions, veterinary and caregiver contact numbers, feeding, medical information, medication schedule, routines, and all the information needed to care for your pet. Add a photo of yourself with your pet in case an ID is needed. Post in your home in an easy-to-find place along with the location of food, collar, leash and supplies. Carry veterinary contact information and authorization for treatment in your car in case you are in an accident with your pet. Also consider carrying a card in your wallet stating you have pet/s at home and who to notify to for him them.

Hopefully, there won’t be an emergency, but thoughtful preparation will let you rest easy.

Previously published in the August-September issue of Flagstaff-Sedona Dog magazine.

The Dogs of Clarkdale (Arizona) Dog Days of Summer

Clarkdale’s Dog Days of Summer 

 

Clarkdale’s celebration of all things canine included:

• bobbing for hotdogs
• Chihuahua races
• Yappy Hour with chicken broth ice cube shots
• and more... 

Organized and hosted by the Clarkdale Downtown Business Alliance with proceeds to benefit the Verde Valley Humane Society.

Greyhound Pets of Arizona Greyhound rescue

Dogs Bobbing for Hotdogs

 Itsty Bitsy, a Mexican street dog rescue

Bobbing for hotdogs

Teeka enjoying a chicken broth shot

Sedona PD officers Foley  and Dalan

The Shapeshifters' Library Book Trailer

A Movie Premiere for The Shapeshifters' Library

The Shapeshifters' Library

The Movie!

Well, sort of, the books are better but I truly love my book trailer.
Special thanks to Stacie Stopen and S Squared Productions for creating (and nursing) my wonderful book video. Stacie seemed to know just what each book was about and found some images that revealed parts of my characters, even I didn't know. Now, that is one talented videographer!

And getting to meet her offline in person at Buildin' the Dream just made it better.

Find S Squared on Facebook or their website  

Where books become art one cover or video at a time…

Free Kindle eBook - Book 1 of Shapeshifters' Library

Released

The Shapeshifters' Library: Book 1

Free June 9-12

 If you love dogs and books and light shifter romance... 
Read an excerpt

“Released” is free  on Kindle

A Movie Premiere for The Shapeshifters' Library

Tah dah!

The Shapeshifters' Library

The Movie!

Well, sort of, the books are better but I truly love my book trailer.
Special thanks to Stacie Stopen and S Squared Productions for creating (and nursing) my wonderful book video. Stacie seemed to know just what each book was about and found some images that revealed parts of my characters, even I didn't know. Now, that is one talented videographer!

And getting to meet her offline in person at Buildin' the Dream just made it better.

Find S Squared on Facebook or their website  

Where books become art one cover or video at a time…

My Heroes are Dogs

Some readers love bad boy heroes. Some prefer good boys. My heroes are dogs. And I mean that in a really good way.

I’ve read wonderful books where tortured werewolf heroes draw you in with their angst. My dog-shifter heroes have all the wonderful qualities of your favorite puppy. They’re cute, loyal, and protective, and fall in love at first sight. And very smart. They’re librarians dedicated to preserve knowledge and vanquish book-burning werewolves.

In “Released” my heroine finds a beautiful dog in an abandoned library. They become friends. Then the dog talks. And then the dog turns into a gorgeous, smart guy with a charming English accent. Who wouldn’t fall for him?

In “Retrieved” a hero with male cover model looks changes into a huge English Mastiff who happens to be a brilliant astro-archaeologist. Why not brains and brawn?

Book 3 “Recovered” follows a part werewolf, (a villain in Book 1) as he shepherds his Greyhound love across country to find a buried ancient library and gains his self-respect and a place in the dog-shifter world. Don’t you love a redeemed bad boy rescued by a sweet heroine?

When readers read “Released” the first book in the Shapeshifters Library series, their favorite character besides the Old English Sheepdog hero and the librarian heroine, was Pacifico Lopez, a feisty Chihuahua shifter. He created the Zoogle internet conglomerate and earned money to keep the dog shifters in premium dog food and reference books. He was smart and in “Retrieved” Pacifico started a library services company with the smartest RFID codes ever. 

At last it was time for the smallest and smartest to have his own book. And his own romance. Book 4 “Reprinted” brings to the front the smallest hero. A Chihuahua with the more intelligence and daring as he courts a lovely white werewolf who defies her family to help him track down ebook pirates in the Caribbean and uncover a lost Egyptian secret.

Reprinted 

Read Chapter One

 

Amazon Print

Kindle

Barnes and Noble

Recovered is on sale - $.99 Kindle until 5/22

Follow Bliss the children's librarian who discovers she's a white Greyhound shifter, as she leaves her library to trek cross country  to New Mexico to find the Library of the Ancients - chased by those book-burning werewolves, of course.

Here's the more official blurb:

Recovered (The Shapeshifters' Library: Book Three)

“A fantastic novel" --Midwest Book Review

From the award-winning author of THE SHAPESHIFTERS' LIBRARY series, RELEASED and RETRIEVED, comes the long awaited third installment!

 

Bliss D. Light was just an ordinary children’s librarian until one day she discovered she could grow a tail. Now her life is filled with more magic than any of the fairy tales she tells the children who gather at her feet at the Shipsfeather library. Like many of the other residents of Shipsfeather, Ohio, Bliss is a dog-shifter, and her newly discovered ability to change from human form into that of a sleek white greyhound has left her yearning to know more about her true heritage. The answer to all her questions, she is certain, lies with the dog-shifters’ long lost Library of the Ancients and, undeterred by the fact that thousands before her have searched, she sets out to find it.

Accompanied by her best friend Harry, a disgraced werewolf/dog-shifter mix, and hotly pursued by the evil werewolf team of Sybilla and Blaze, Bliss’s quest takes her across the sacred sites and ancient mounds of the American Southwest. Though kidnapped by dogcatchers, sold into racetrack slavery and forced to fight wolf dogs to survive, Harry and Bliss never lose sight of their goal—or each other. Because the only thing more important than finding the ancient lost treasure might just be preserving what they already have found: an unlikely love that could be the first step toward bringing two ancient enemy races together.

Page Count: 264

Heat level: Sweet

Genre: Light urban fantasy

 

Read Chapter 1

Buy Links
Kindle
Amazon Print
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Did I mention I love reviewers?