Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 5 minutes Raise your hand if you just finished or are in the midst of a major house renovation. Nod your head if your frustration and uncertainty during this ordeal sparked a spat or two with your spouse or made you want to scream out loud. As stressful as these construction projects can be to us, imagine […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Recently I volunteered with my husband and two nieces at a special place: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. It’s the largest no-kill animal refuge in the United States, spanning nearly 3,700 acres of red rock canyon near Kanab, Utah. Hundreds of employees care for roughly 1,600 dogs, cats, horses, pigs, bunnies, parrots, and “wild friends.” Most […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Feeling a little more tired as you age? A little out of breath? The same is likely true for your aging dog or cat. The fact is that organs change with age, and those changes can affect not only day-to-day activities, but also the way our pets respond to anesthesia. Changes related to aging can […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Fourth of July is one of the busiest days of the year for animal control officers. Lost and terrified pets fill shelters. Booming fireworks cause frightened dogs to jump fences they’ve never jumped before; others leap from their owners’ arms and disappear across a busy street. An anxious dog may show subtle or dramatic […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes This month we’ve watched lava flows from Hawaii’s Mt. Kilauea destroy homes and cars. Last month, two tornadoes hit Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the same day. Even if volcanoes don’t erupt down the street from your house and you don’t live in Tornado Alley, natural disasters and emergencies occur somewhere every day. And part of […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes “Daeli receives regular acupuncture sessions. She was once very afraid of the needles and she still gets a little worried right before, but she relaxes as you can see here,” says KristyAnn Brock, DVM, CCRP, CVA, Fear Free associate veterinarian at Viking Veterinary Care in Portland, Oregon. The idea of sticking needles in your dog […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Do you ever wonder what your cat is thinking when she just stares at you unblinkingly while the dog is maniacally bouncing up and down over a ridiculously small treat? In the ‘Ad-dressing of cats’, T.S. Eliot famously stated, ‘So first, your memory I’ll jog, And say: A CAT IS NOT A DOG’. The intriguing […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Moving from San Diego to Dallas a few years ago, I bravely left my being-single comfort zone and joined an online dating service. My biggest concern wasn’t if I would find the person of my dreams, but rather, how dating would emotionally impact my dogs, Kona and Cleo, and my cat, Casey. Seriously. And, I’m […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When you have pets, party planning takes on a whole new meaning, and not necessarily in a good way. Many dogs and cats are spooked by the presence of strangers noisily enjoying themselves in the living room. Similarly, they don’t share any enthusiasm for backyard barbecuing or raucous swimming parties with children shrieking and splashing […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes A surprising number of pet house rabbits live with fear every day because their families, though they may love their rabbits, just don’t understand their needs. Rabbits are sensitive creatures as well as prey animals, and they easily can suffer without their families knowing it or understanding why. Living with fear day to day is […]