{"id":307,"date":"2018-02-26T18:03:09","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T18:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/?p=307"},"modified":"2018-02-26T18:03:09","modified_gmt":"2018-02-26T18:03:09","slug":"march-2018-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/march-2018-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"March 2018 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tips on What to Do if You Find a Stray Dog or Cat<\/a>
\nMake Sure to Find a Good Vet When You Bring Home a Pet<\/a>
\nDisabled Pets Need Love and a Great Home<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Tips on What to Do if You Find a Stray Dog or Cat<\/strong>
\nYou\u2019re driving down the road and you spot something out of the corner of your eye. It\u2019s a stray dog or cat. Your stomach is in knots, you are not sure what to do, but you want to help.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not always easy to catch a stray who is scared, hungry and possibly hurt, according to the article, \u201cWhat To Do When You Find a Stray Dog,\u201d at petMD.com. \u201cLoose dogs who appear to be healthy and willingly approach their rescuers can be leashed and taken to a safe location, but if approaching the dog could put you at risk, it\u2019s best to call your local animal control agency,\u201d the article said.<\/p>\n

According to the article, \u201cHow to Help a Stray Pet\u201d at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), it\u2019s best to be safe and ensure the stray animal is safe, too. HSUS offers the following tips:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Be careful and \u201cDon\u2019t cause an accident.\u201d If you see an animal in the rear-view mirror, brake, signal and pull off the road, and then use your hazards.
\n\u2022 Most strays are frightened, so don\u2019t do anything to scare them. Prevent them from darting into traffic.
\n\u2022 Be careful and cautious when approaching.
\n\u2022 Try to \u201clure them into your car.\u201d
\n\u2022 Call a local animal control agency or the local police for help.
\n\u2022 Check local laws about homeless animals if you decide to bring the animal home.
\n\u2022 Search for an owner first and then think clearly about next steps.<\/p>\n

According to the HSUS article, \u201cIf you\u2019re uncertain about whether or not to help or keep an animal you see alongside the road, here’s a final word of advice: First, think of what you would want the finder of your animal to do if they happened to find them injured without their collar.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Make Sure to Find a Good Vet When You Bring Home a Pet<\/strong>
\nYou have a new pet, and one of the most important things you can do is find a veterinarian. What do you look for in a vet and how do you find one?<\/p>\n

A good vet \u201censures better health for your pet and peace of mind for you,\u201d according to the article, \u201cHow to Choose a Veterinarian,\u201d at WebMD.com. Secure a vet early on because \u201cThe worst time to look for a vet is when you really need one,\u201d the article said. Don\u2019t wait until an emergency happens.<\/p>\n

The article advises to research vets if you need one for a new pet, if you are changing vets, or if you are moving to a new area. The article also offers the following:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ask friends or neighbors, and get a reference from someone who cares as much about pets as you do.
\n\u2022 Check credentials by going to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) website, and check the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners website.<\/p>\n

According to the article, \u201cHow to choose the right veterinarian,\u201d at the AAHA website, animal hospitals that are accredited by the AAHA, \u201cshow they are committed to meeting — or exceeding — standards in a variety of different areas (approximately 900 standards, to be exact).\u201d<\/p>\n

Those hospitals are ranked very highly and \u201cmust prove to a third-party (AAHA) that they consistently provide the safest, highest quality care,\u201d the article said. High standards of care include:<\/p>\n

\u2022 emergency services
\n\u2022 pain management
\n\u2022 contagious diseases
\n\u2022 surgery and anesthesia<\/p>\n

The AAHA article suggests a \u201cget acquainted\u201d meeting. You can ask questions and get a feel for the vet, the facility and staff, and see if it\u2019s a good fit. It\u2019s important to have a good vet and a good relationship to ensure your pet\u2019s good health.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Disabled Pets Need Love and a Great Home<\/strong>
\nJust like any other pet, there are many animals who have disabilities. You may have seen them in person or on television: the dog with three legs, the kitty with one eye, and the list goes on. These animals also need loving homes.<\/p>\n

Oftentimes you would never know that a disabled dog or cat has a disability, as it \u201cdetracts little from a pet\u2019s ability to live a normal happy life,\u201d according to the article, \u201cDisabled Dogs & Cats\u201d at Petcentric.com. Puppies and kittens born with a disability don\u2019t know they differ from the others. \u201cThe most common pet disabilities are blindness, deafness or loss of one limb,\u201d the article said.<\/p>\n

\u2022 For blind cats and dogs, there\u2019s not much to do. \u201cDogs and cats use their senses of smell, hearing and touch to get around,\u201d the article said. Leave things in the same place, and don\u2019t place pets unattended high up on a chair or bed.
\n\u2022 Although dogs and cats typically have great hearing, they can adapt well to deafness, the article said, as they \u201cbecome more sensitive to vibrations they feel. And like all dogs and cats, they are excellent readers of body language, so communicating with them is not as difficult as you may imagine.\u201d
\n\u2022 Dogs and cats on three legs can do well. It\u2019s important that they are at a \u201chealthy weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are many products on the market for animals with certain disabilities. According to the article, \u201c10 Ways Handicapped Pets Get Around\u201d at petMD.com, the following products can help:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Dog and cat wheelchairs
\n\u2022 Body wheels
\n\u2022 Prosthetics
\n\u2022 Hip harnesses
\n\u2022 Body harnesses
\n\u2022 Pet stairs
\n\u2022 Dog ramps<\/p>\n

All pets need homes, and the ones that may be slightly \u201cimperfect\u201d tend to make perfectly great family members. They don\u2019t know there\u2019s a problem and neither should you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tips on What to Do if You Find a Stray Dog or Cat Make Sure to Find a Good Vet When You Bring Home a Pet Disabled Pets Need Love and a Great Home Tips on What to Do if You Find a Stray Dog or Cat You\u2019re driving down the road and you spot… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":308,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions\/308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}