Remember Your Pets This Holiday Season

Check out these dog behavior whining images:

Remember Your Pets This Holiday Season


Image by Sids1
Summer Holiday Travelling Tips

(Southern Hemisphere)

The Christmas holidays are upon us and this often means leaving our beloved pets behind in a kennel or cattery or in

the care of a pet feeder or neighbour.

If your pet is really part of the family, a growing range of accommodation facilities

permits you to take your pet with you.

Some tips for travelling with your pet by car:

It is safer for you and your pet if he or she is confined to a cage or crate while en-route. A boot separation device is

better for all concerned.

Make sure you secure carriers with a seat belt or bungee cord.

Do not allow dogs to hang out the window – it’s dangerous and may cause head, neck and eye injuries as well as

airborne infections.

For dogs, make pit stops at least every two hours for exercise.

Give only half normal food in the morning and feed the remainder when you reach your destination.

Carry fresh cold water and a drinking bowl.

Do not leave your pet in a hot vehicle. Remember, shade moves.

Keep your leash handy and use care when opening doors in heavy traffic areas.

Be aware of your dog’s behaviour when left alone – barking and whining cause stress both to the animal and passers by.

If the weather is warm use your vehicle’s air conditioning.

Always make sure that air is being circulated frequently.

Pack a sturdy leash and well fitted collar with identification tag carrying your phone number.

Pack waste removal bags and a litter tray and litter for cats.

Pack some of your pet’s bedding and favourite toys.

Pack a Pet First Aid kit, which you can purchase from your local vet. It should contain at least:

Tweezers for removing foreign objects from fur or paws,

Cotton swabs for cleaning wounds,

Antibacterial wash, Telfa pads, Wide crepe bandage, Gloves, Scissors, Vet clinic

Phone numbers for your regular vet and the nearest vet while on holiday.

Happy Tails: Gracie, pretty in pink


Image by LollypopFarm
My husband and I came into Lollypop in search of a new best friend, a new member of the family. We walked through each area looking at all the sweet and lonely dogs that were all wagging their tails and jumping saying "pick me!"

And as we pondered the different animals, and talked about the ones that had caught our eye, down the last stretch we saw a solemn looking sleepy yawn of a big, big girl just waking up and looking at us. She was not the prettiest dog there that day, being a black lab and mastiff mix, and she had just been fixed the day or so before, so she was still dealing with her stitches.

She was bigger than we had originally wanted, and it said that she sometimes chewed on things on the papers in front of her. But… when I looked into her eyes, I knew she was already my dog. My heart connected with hers, and so I asked if we could see her. (By the way, that is something so great about Lollypop that they let you spend one on one time in a big space with the animal)

The Lollypop staff brought "Gracie" into the room and she trotted her long legs over to say hi to us. She gave a few wags of her tail, and then she rested her drowsy head onto my lap. Any animal lover knows the feeling I must have got, and I knew that above all the others there that day, she needed us the most, and that we were meant to have her. She seemed a little careless of what was going on, and she whined at the door, and I thought that poor dog must have to go to the bathroom! And when I got home that night, I was right, she was right at our door whining… I tested a few words "Outside?" "Potty?" Potty was the trick. We were out in a flash.

Gracie now spends her days taking up the middle spot in our queen sized bed. She has her own pillow with her name stitched on, and a bed in the closet of our bedroom just in case we have to kick her off of our own. She loves to lay on her back and sleep like a little person, with our arms on each side of her, and she adores every person who walks through our front door.

She never has chewed up a thing like her information said, I guess that was probably just some puppy behavior they had meant. She was only 8 months old (75 pounds!) when we got to her.

She is still rather "aloof" just as her information appeared, and she would much rather sleep with her head on your lap than be running around outside! I’ll admit though, she does like rustling her head into a snow bank here and there, but not for long!

We truly wouldn’t have it any other way. She has brought so much joy into our lives that we couldn’t picture life without her. That day we really did find the member of our family that had been missing. We were meant to have Gracie even before we knew her, and I firmly believe that. She would go to the ends of the Earth for us, and we’d do the same for her to see that goofy look and wagging tail.

Lollypop Farm made adopting Gracie easy and put a lot of care into their facility, and when the time comes again to adopt another animal, we will go there without a second thought.

Mary P.

Remember Your Pets This Holiday Season