Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Blog the Change – July 15, 2016

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Today we are co-hosting Blog the Change for Animals, a quarterly event where bloggers come together to share ideas and organizations with the purpose of being the change for animals. Please join me and my co-host, Stunning Keisha, you can grab the linky code below.

BlogtheChange

For those of you who are tuning in for Follow-Up Friday, don’t worry, that post is scheduled for today also.

My idea for Be the Change is inspired by a woman in my neighborhood. Sampson has won her over to the dog side and on our afternoon walks we often times stop for a snuggle and a chat. (He gets the snuggle, I get the chat, just in case you’re wondering.) 🙂

Yesterday Karen was sharing with me that her 19-year old cat had passed the week before. It was apparent from the stories she was sharing how much she adored her cat.

So I asked her, “Are you planning on getting another cat?”

And she said, “No, not right now.”

Then she went on to explain that they hadn’t been able to travel, because the cat was unsettled when they left her, so they were going to take the time now and travel a bitThen she said the absolute sweetest thing, she said she was going to take the money she had that would have typically gone to vet bills and pet supplies and make a monthly donation to the Humane Society or ASPCA.

“THAT is a great idea,” I told her, and I even suggested she could find local rescues if she was concerned about keeping her money local.

While many of us might not be able to make a sizable donation (siriusly, some of these people have minimum requirements for donations, which ticks me off to no end) I bet we could add a can of dog food, or a small box of cat food to our grocery list and donate it to a local rescue. Or even skip that Dunkin or Starbucks coffee one day and put that money in the can at the pet store.

Do you have any suggestions for ways to help animals in need?



Help Your Local Shelter – BTC4Animals

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Blog the Change for Animals

Whenever possible, I try and purchase locally. Whether it be for my own food at the Farmer’s Market or food/treats for my dog, at our local, small business pet stores.

One of my favorite stores almost always has a large collection can right at the registers. Coincidentally, they usually have a treat that is on sale right on the counter and they are good about asking, “Would you like to donate a $2 dog or cat treat to the Sadie Mae Foundation?”

This method works. At least on me. Every. Single. Time.

I mean, sometimes I’ll have conversations with the cashier. Like this, “If SnoopDog is donating one dollar for every two dollar treat bar purchased, why doesn’t he just donate the money anyway?” THAT kind of stuff pisses me off, (maybe something I need to tweet Snoop about :-)) but it’s not the dog or cat’s fault, so I always support the effort by purchasing at least one treat/food product.

Isn’t that a simple and easy way to help your local shelter?

Easy steps to get you started:

  • Ask your favorite pet store if they’d be willing to showcase an ‘on sale’ treat or food at the check out counter.
  • Choose your favorite local rescue/shelter etc.
  • Purchase a large trash can (31 Gallon at your local Home Depot for less than $25).
  • Make up a sign to put on the trash can indicating what the local organization is.
  • Make arrangements with the pet store as to when the donated items will be picked up.
  • Deliver the donated items to your favorite rescue!
You think it's cute. I don't, you better watch your back when you're sleeping.

The Mama saved me from a high kill shelter, I’m glad she did. I’m also glad she tries to help others that aren’t as lucky as me.

It’s simple and easy and requires very little time commitment on your part. Plus it’s helping local animals in need.

Check out some other contributions to Be The Change 4 Animals in the blog hop listed below. Many thanks to my co-hosts, Talking Dogs, Pet Faves, and CindyLu’s Muse.



Scanning Your Pet at the Vet

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Today is the 15th of April, and you know what that means.

Did you guess the deadline to file your taxes?  Well yes, that is true today is tax day.  Have you done that yet?  (I just barely squeaked in this year causing myself a WHOLE lot of unnecessary stress.)

Chocolate Lab

Taxes? You can eat those right?

The actual event I was referring to though is Blog the Change for Animals, you know, the quarterly blog hop, where we write about our favorite animal-related causes, read posts, leave comments, and share! And in doing so, we help make a difference in the lives of animals or inspire someone else to get involved or make a difference.
Blog the Change

I decided to write about microchipping your pet.  I know you guys are savvy.  You know a pet that is lost and found by someone else has the best chance of being reunited with their owner when the pet is chipped.

But did you know that some towns, and I won’t say where, (CHICAGO) have reduced their stray hold to three days for dogs and zero days for cats?  It’s true. And it’s sad. And the best chance your pet has at being reunited with you if found by someone else, is the information contained on that precious little chip.

We’ve all heard the stories of pets found hundreds, even thousands of miles away that are eventually reunited with their owners, all because of the microchip.

For the most part, the tiny little chips stay exactly where they are implanted, BUT they are foreign objects and there are times when they may shift a little bit, or even move.  My vet told me of one dog that actually stuck out its tongue with the chip on it.

My suggestion is when you go to the vet for your pet’s annual check up, ask them to scan the pet to make sure the chip is in place.  If the chip isn’t where it’s supposed to be, the vet can continue scanning until they find it.

It’s important to note where that chip might be.

If the unthinkable happens, you’ll be able to share, that Fido is chipped, but the chip has moved slightly and you can share the general area of where the chip is located.

True confession.  Delilah came to us via American Lab Rescue, and she was chipped when we got her. But up until Sampson had his dental cleaning in December of 2013…he wasn’t chipped.

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you why we never did it when he was a puppy, but once I started blogging and discovered the importance of chipping, we did talk about it and I was all for it, until I saw that needle.

Holy shit, I can’t believe they actually call it a needle.  To me it looked like a ballpoint pen refill.  I’ve heard people say, it doesn’t hurt and to that I say, “Bullshit. You try shoving a ball point pen shaft into your shoulder and then tell me if it hurts.”

Go ahead tell me. 

It’s still bullshit.

So when Sampson had his dental cleaning and was under anesthesia, I had him chipped.  When I spoke to my vet about it, she agreed under anesthesia was the way to go and actually confessed that she hated when people insisted on chipping their pet without anesthesia.

So now both dogs are chipped, which brings some peace of mind to me.

Although, I’m pretty sure that anyone who found Delilah would quickly realize she was quite the handful and want to find her rightful owner.

Oh come on, you know it’s true.  Not everybody can handle a dog like Delilah.

Shit, most days, I can’t even handle her.

But Sampson, Sampson is such a good boy, it kind of worries me.  So that little bit of extra insurance is something that helps me sleep a little bit better at night.

Oh who the hell am I kidding?  I sleep with two big dogs, or rather, I try to sleep with two big dogs.  Yesterday morning for reasons known only to her, Delilah barked.

One time.

Once.

And that was it for me, I was awake for the day.

But that’s a rant for another day.

Delilah - 9 years old

Someone touched me with their foot. 

Are you participating in Blog the Change?  Want to participate but not sure what to write about?

Here’s a few ideas.

  • Share what you’ve done to Be the Change for Animals
  • Who do you know who acts tirelessly on animals’ behalf?
  • What favorite cause has a special need right now?

When We Blog the Change, We Become the Change.

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