Avoid The Fireworks And Pets Combo

Does your pooch hide under the covers when she hears non-stop loud booming noises, aka fireworks?

Never fear—the ASPCA has some sound strategies for ensuring that your pets remain safe this July 4th weekend. We think the biggest takeaway is to keep your dog at home and preferably indoors, at least during your areas' biggest fireworks displays. If you have a fenced yard where Rover typically roams, you may also want to double check the entire perimeter of the fence to make sure there are no visible escape routes, just in case your pooch is outside when a neighborhood kid sets off some personal firework displays. And don't forget that the ASPCA has a brand new interactive pet parent App with lots of nifty features to help protect your furry best friends.

And just so you know we're not playing favorites, the Humane Society of the United States has some timely tips for your pets' 4th of July safety. Remember: it's not just the loud noises but the flashing lights and strong smells that can scare the dickens out of your dog and give him or her the urge to flee. It helps to keep your home's windows closed and leave on the TV or have soothing music playing to help drown-out the outside commotion.

We hope that you and your pets have a fun and safe July 4th weekend! We'll both be hanging out inside, although fireworks don't seem to bother either of us.

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"Living With Your Pet" Tips: Warm Weather Safety

Two Humane Society of the United States employees keeping Fido cool!

We're only a few weeks away from the official first day of summer, but it's warmed up considerably in most parts of the United States—it's going to hit 86 degrees here in sunny central Ohio today! Because hot weather seems to start earlier each year, we don't always have time to adjust and make plans to ensure that our furry companions remain cool and comfortable. So these tips, posted just a few days ago by the Humane Society of the United States, are a perfectly timed reminder of what you humans should do to make sure that dogs (like me)  and other living creatures don't get overheated when temperatures soar.

The HSUS rounds up the usual suspects of tips—like how quickly cars and outside dog houses can get overheated, but also describes what to include in a disaster plan in case of power outages and how to recognize and treat signs of heat stroke in your companion animals. We think this is a print and save tip sheet that you'll be glad you have posted on your fridge.

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Celebrate National Animal Shelter And Rescue Appreciation Week!

 We're a little late on this...but you still have time to send kudos to your local shelter and/or rescue in appreciation of all of the loving work they do to save those beautiful orphaned animals. Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation week (November 3rd through the 9th) was started by the Humane Society of the United States in 1996, to encourage people to get to know their local shelters and rescues and learn how they can assist their work. Saving lives is a community affair, you know—it takes a village!

Of course, it doesn't have to be this week, but why not show your appreciation by donating your time, money or services in the near future. Heck, you might even want to add a new family member in time for the holidays... And if you want some extra advice on how you can help, check out these top ten ideas from the Humane Society of the United States to help your shelter or rescue.

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A Shelter Dog Is Good For The Soul

     Fabulous photo of me by John Clark of Clark Creative

Today's "Living With Your Pet" tips are pretty simple: Consider adopting a dog or cat from your local shelter or rescue-you'll be glad you did! Our friends at Dog Fancy wrote a piece about the latest campaign from the Shelter Pet Project, a public service advertising campaign that has the video world buzzing.

And yes, we agree with Paul Shaffer, of David Letterman show fame, that adopting a shelter dog is "good for the soul". And lots of other people are with us: The Shelter Pet Project has made it their mission to reduce shelter euthanasia rates to ZERO, and we totally believe that this is an achievable goal. Helped by the Halo Pet Foundation and the Humane Society of the United States, the Shelter Pet Project has released a series of videos featuring celebrities and just plain folk like us, celebrating their wonderful shelter pets. 

"Every happy adoption story encourages other people to open their hearts to a homeless pet," says Rich Avanzino, the president of Maddies Fund, one of the sponsors of the Shelter Pet Project. And Parental Unit knows about this encouragement first hand-she had to be nudged in the direction of shelter adoption, and she couldn't be happier (or at least that's what she tells me)!

Check out the video featuring Paul Shaffer right here, and visit The Shelter Pet Project regularly to see their latest videos. And you never know...you just might be encouraged to save a life and  adopt your very own shelter pet!

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Dog Bite Prevention Week: Know The Essentials

Truth is, I'm always happy...but especially with a ball in my mouth!

But all kidding aside, this week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, and if you're anything like Parental Unit, you're probably not as aware of canine body language or as cautious as you should be when in the company of other dogs. So here are a few timely and important tips from the Humane Society of the United States that explain exactly how to read a dog's body language cues (they're always talking to us) to help you understand whether they're relaxed and happy or tense and anxious-it's not always that easy to tell the difference!

One of the keys is to simply be polite, and not walk up to a strange dog and pet him or her, without asking the owner first and assessing the dogs demeanor. But the best bet is to ignore the dog and let them come to you and give you a good sniff, first. We'll add Cesar Millan's common sense rules here: "No touch, No talk, No eye contact" with a dog that is a stranger to you.

Don't forget to watch the excellent video that accompanies this article, created by The Family Dog.TV, that even includes a short quiz to test your new-found knowledge. Stay safe, this week and every week, by first empowering yourself with solid information!

Can you guess whether I'm tense and anxious or happy and relaxed?

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The Shelter Pet Project

We think this new pet adoption campaign is the coolest thing going! It's called The Shelter Pet Project, and it's the result of the collaborative efforts of The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization, the incredible Maddie's Fund, whose goal is a "no-kill nation", and the Ad Council, the leading producer of public service advertising (PSA) campaigns. The laudable goal of the Shelter Pet Project is "to make shelters the first place potential adopters turn when looking to get a new pet."

Although there has been some progress in recent years: pet adoption from shelters and rescue groups has increased by two percent in the last two years, and euthanasia rates for otherwise healthy adoptable pets has dropped 10% since 2009, the aim of this campaign is to ramp up adoption rates and bring the kill rate of shelter animals to zero. To that end, these illustrious organizations together have launched a massive public service campaign on television, radio, the web and print-encouraging the nearly 17 million Americans who will add a pet to their household this year, to adopt not buy their new family member.

Just go to: www.theshelterpetproject.org where you can search for your new dog or cat from a local shelter or rescue group, read adoption success stories and get great information on pet adoption. Don't forget to watch all of their PSA's produced so far-they're fabulous!

We've brought you a few of our favorites, which are yours?

This fella looks a lot like me, don't ya think? (And according to my shelter records, I was dumped on a road, too!)

And this cat and the Beagle below know more than their humans just like I do-we shelter pets have a lot in common!

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