Watch Tip: Lawn & Garden Chemicals

Posted on April 29th, 2012 by Anna Nirva

Watch Tip LogoBeware of the deadly dangers of toxic lawn and garden chemicals. Don’t use them and prevent your pets from visiting neighbors who use them. Pesticides, insecticides and rodenticides can kill your pets, especially those that include sweeteners to attract their intended prey. If your neighbors complain about snails/slugs, mice/rats, flies and other pests, and they use toxic products to control them, keep your pets away!

Protect Your Pets: Learn this List of Toxics

  1. Snail baits with metaldehyde 
  2. Rodent poisons with anticoagulants (too many chemicals to list)
  3. Insecticides with disulfoton (for roses)
  4. Fly baits with methomyl
  5. Cocoa bean shell mulch with methylxanthine
  6. Citronella candles - who knew?
  7. Avoid all fertilizers and weed killers
  8. Avoid all swimming pool treatment supplies
  9. Blue-green algae in ponds/lakes is highly toxic, did you know?
  10. Compost piles: keep your pets out!
Remember: Your pets don’t wear clothing or shoes, so toxic products will get on fur and paw pads. The toxins will be ingested when your pets clean themselves.
Keep your pets safe and healthy this summer! Share this list with others; you may save a life.

Posted in Health Warnings, Safety & Health Tips, Watch Tips | 2 Comments »

Watch Tip: Learn Your Pets’ Vital Signs

Posted on April 22nd, 2012 by Anna Nirva

Watch Tip LogoBe better prepared for emergencies involving your pets by learning how to take their normal (healthy) vital signs: pulse rate, respiratory rate, and temperature. You’ll want to know both the resting and active rates. Keep that information in your pet first aid kit, so you will recognize a problem earlier. Optionally, ask your vet to provide that information at your pet’s next exam.

Review: “Pet First Aid & Disaster Response Guide” by PetsAmerica.org founder Elaine Acker

This week’s tip was inspired by Acker’s book (cover pictured at right). You already know that Sunbear Squad encourages animal lovers to be good Samaritans for companion animals, especially neighbors’ pets and lost or abandoned animals in your area. We want every animal lover to be prepared, equipped, and knowledgeable, so we like to recommend helpful resources like this book ($18.95). This is one you want in your first aid kit. But please read it first; you’ll be glad you did.
Click on the book cover to purchase the book.

The distributor introduces the book using this text:

The Pet First Aid & Disaster Response Guide is designed to help pet owners provide temporary, urgent care to pets until they can reach a veterinary or emergency clinic. The text will teach readers to care for their animals before, during, and after an emergency.

The Pet First Aid & Disaster Response Guide includes coverage of:

  • Injury prevention and disaster preparation.
  • Personal safety precautions to help pet owners identify and minimize risks.
  • A wide array of pet emergencies including bleeding and bite wounds, cardiac arrest, choking, burns, poisoning, trauma, and more.

What the distributor doesn’t say about this book is perhaps it’s most helpful feature: design. This guide is thoughtfully designed to be used by ordinary non-medical people like me during an emergency, when you need information fast. It is full color, easy to read (larger than average type size, bold subheadings, instructional text positioned next to clear illustrations) and features printed color tabs allow the reader to navigate to a the preferred section quickly.

The author provides a wealth of information in checklists for easy comprehension and includes set-off tips, which presents some key concepts at a glance. The book is a very portable size and should easily fit into most first-aid kits.

Excellent illustrations give confidence to the reader. The Normal Vital Signs section which inspired our tip above includes three helpful drawings to show three pulse points. I was immediately inspired to try all of them on Maddax who is sleeping beside me as I write this. The same information buried in text-heavy paragraphs would not have prepared me to try. Color illustrations are a significant investment and one that some publishers might have dismissed on cost alone.

Because Lives Depend on It: Making a disaster action plan for pets and people

The author conceptualized the reference in two sections; it’s like two books in one. The disaster planning guide (last quarter of the book) presents essential information in a digest format for easy reading, including checklists and sidebars. She provides three disaster kit lists for companion animals, horses, and people. And if you don’t believe disaster could happen in your neighborhood, check out her A-Z list of “What could possibly go wrong?” Did you miss making a New Year’s resolution in 2012? This is a good one.

PetsAmerica, the organization behind the book

While I can’t comment on the validity of content because I am not a professional in the veterinary field, I have confidence that the information presented is sound advice. The organization Pets America “collaborates closely with the Emergency Care and Safety Institute, Emergency Veterinary Hospitals, the International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society, the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, and other partners to help teach pet owners to better care for their pets before, during, and after an emergency” according to their website. The back cover credits tell us that over 200 veterinary professionals had some role in bringing the book to the public and over 400 were surveyed for input. That’s good enough for me!

A final note: don’t buy this book or any similar reference in electronic format. While I like my Kindle just fine, I won’t assume that I’ll always have power for it during an emergency and neither should you.

Thank you Elaine Acker for masterminding and writing this book, and for founding the organization in the wake of Katrina. It looks like it was a massive project and a true labor of love. I can appreciate how it likely monopolized your life for some years. I’m glad to spread the word.

Posted in Book Reviews, Safety & Health Tips, Watch Tips | 1 Comment »

Watch Tip: Dog Park Tips & Warnings

Posted on April 16th, 2012 by Trish Roman-Aquilino

Watch Tip LogoDog parks have become extremely popular with dog owners for a variety of different reasons, including exercise, opportunities for socializing dogs, and just plain canine fun.  But there are problems to consider, and precautions to be taken, so that “fun” trip to the dog park doesn’t turn into a tragedy.   Following are ten tips and warnings to take heed of, and to distribute to any dog parents you may know!

1.         Do your research first.

Check out the dog park before taking your dog for his or her first outing.  Whether it’s Fido’s first time at this particular park, or visiting a park away from home, it pays to know the “lay of the land” before the first outing, and see what amenities are available (drinking water? separate play areas for small and large dogs?).  Know what the rules of the park are – they will have signs posted, and often a website that goes over the rules in more detail.

2.         Complete basic training.

For your dog’s safety, and your sanity, be sure and at least have a grasp on the basic training commands – sit, stay, come – these are important basics that will give you control during an urgent situation, should one arise.

3.         Make sure your dog is physically ready.

Your pet should not venture to the park without being up-to-date on their immunizations and vaccinations; it would be also be a good idea to make sure they are treated with flea, tick, or wormer treatments to ensure that they do not spread any parasites at the park, and are protected from fleas or ticks that may be lurking there.  Also, do not bring a dog that is not spayed or neutered – an intact dog could very well spark a dogfight, and many dog parks prohibit bringing an intact animal to the park. Do not bring puppies under four months as the risk of disease to them is high (instead arrange play dates with dog pals that you know are disease-free and immunized, until your puppy is fully protected from disease).

4.         Don’t go when the park is overly-crowded.

Try to visit the dog park when it is less crowded, during off-times, if possible.  Crowds ramp up the energy level and could lead to tension and/or dogfights.  Especially if it is your dog’s first time – pick a quiet hour to visit.

5.         Know what a dogfight looks like.

Although playing sometimes looks like fighting, you should be mindful of play that is starting to get too aggressive or when your dog’s patience is wearing thin.  Know the signs of a dogfight brewing:

  • A hard, unwavering, targeted stare.
  • Dominance posturing, such as mounting.
  • Stiff body movements.
  • Extreme body language: the tail held stiffly up or down, lips pulled tight against the teeth.

6.         Keep a vigilant eye on your dog.

Often you will see humans gather in conversation groups while their dogs play without any supervision.  This is a dogfight waiting to happen.  Keep in mind you are at the dog park to enrich your dog’s social life, not your own.  It is imperative you keep a watchful eye on your dog for any problems that may arise.  If at all possible, only take one dog with you at a time, so that you can devote your full attention to your pet, and be sure to turn your mobile phone off, to avoid being distracted.

7.         Know how to break up a fight.

Even friendly, social dogs can end up in a spat with another dog for a variety of reasons.  Know what to do (creating a loud noise, squirting with water) and what not do (putting your hand near their heads to separate them).  Some dog owners bring spray bottles with them to the park, or loud whistles to aid them in an emergency.

8.         Leave kids at home.

Please leave small children at home since you cannot be sure that all dogs at the dog park are kid-friendly and safe; also, you cannot give your dog your full attention if you are also looking after small children.

9.         Outfit your dog properly.

Leave the chain collar at home, if you use one.  It can be a choking hazard.  Also, if you utilize a harness, be sure it is fitted properly and does not chafe when your dog is running – since he is there to play and run!  Also, although many parks include “doggie drinking fountains,” consider bringing your own portable bowl and water, as these fountains are often ground zero for passing on communicable diseases between canines.

10.       Be realistic.

Not all dogs enjoy the dog park – some are fearful, some enjoy only playing with a select few friends, etc.  If your dog exhibits signs that he or she is not enjoying themselves, cheerfully take your dog home, or for a walk outside of the park.  Again, it should be about your dog’s enjoyment and not your own.  Don’t find fault, and if your dog appears to have a behavioral condition that precludes his enjoyment of dog park play, consult a behaviorist and see what kind of help can be given, to help enrich their lives.

Important additional reading:

Give Paw Dog Training Discusses Dog Park Safety: Dog Fight Prevention and Beyond

APDT – Dog Park Tips

Dog Parks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

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Watch Tip: New Cat Introductions

Posted on March 18th, 2012 by Anna Nirva

Watch Tip LogoIf you adopt an adult cat and you already have adult cats living in your home, manage the introduction process carefully to avoid fighting and eventually achieve harmony. Remember that cats are territorial animals and most will reject newcomer cats with extreme drama and noise. Follow these steps when introducing an adult, tame adoptive house cat to your home cat tribe. Your goal is “100% safe acceptance,” no clumps of fur found anywhere, no wounds of any kind, no emergency trips to the vet! If your cats actually become friends who sleep side by side, consider yourself lucky; it doesn’t happen often.

Consider adopting a cat who has lived with other cats to minimize the amount of adjustment time and effort needed.

1. Create a private room for the new resident.

  • Provide the shelter or current owner with two items of bedding (small blankets, towels, t-shirts) a day or two in advance of pickup, with a request that the bedding be placed in your new cat’s sleeping space as bedding. When you pick up your cat, pick up the  bedding too. Put the bedding in your cat’s travel crate.
  • Purchase and feed (until the adjustment period ends) the same food your cat is accustomed to eating.
  • Outfit the private room with a clean kitty litter box, a soft cat bed on top of a bed or chair, food and water dishes and toys. Put one item of bedding on the cat bed to provide a familiar scent.
  • If your private room has been off-limits to your resident cats, bring their scent into the room. Leave a piece of bedding in your home for a few days where your resident cats like to sleep, so that the bedding can pick up their scents. Put the cat bedding on the floor on top of a vinyl boot tray on the floor of the private room. If your new cat urinates on it, remove it, but if not plan to leave it there for the duration of the introduction period.

2. Introduce your resident cats to the new cat’s scent.

  • If possible, enclose your resident cats into a safe part of  your home for a few hours so the adjustment period begins with a period of quiet.
  • Put the second item of bedding with your resident cats, on top of a vinyl boot tray on the floor, away from the litter box and the water dish. If one of them urinates on the bedding, remove it, but otherwise leave it in place for a few weeks.

3. Introduce your new cat to the private room while your resident cats are enclosed.

Then, with the private room door closed, open the travel crate and let out your new cat. Your cat might explore confidently or might hide under the nearest piece of furniture. That’s fine. Talk soothingly and pet your cat if you can.

  • Put your cat in the litter box and on the soft bed if you can.
  • Put out food and water as near the crack of the entry door as is practical.
  • Leave the room and visit every hour or so to give affection and reassurance, but try to leave when he or she is occupied, not interacting with you.
  • Release your cat tribe and be prepared for them to discover the new cat smell. They might crouch near the private room door. Vocalization may commence.

4. Change the mood from mad to glad.

Calmly accept your resident cats’ objections and tantrums. Your new cat will likely vocalize as well. This is normal behavior; expect it. Start a program of mood modification and continue it for at least a week or until all of the cats appear to be interacting mildly, but keep your new cat in the private room.

  • Feed your cats near the entrance to the private room, and do the same for your new cat, so they associate good things in the presence of the other cat.
  • Put stick and string/ribbon-like toys under the private room door to encourage play. Your goal is to get your new cat and one or more of your resident cats playing with the same toy if possible.

5. Introduce your new cat to the home while your resident cats are enclosed.

Bring your resident cats into your bedroom at night and close the door (bring in the litter box). Then open up the door to the private room at night, so your new cat can explore safely. Continue this for a week or more.

6. Introduce your resident cats to the new cat, one at a time.

After all of the cats appear to be reacting to each other with markedly less intensity, bring one cat at a time into the private room for a supervised introduction, or bring your new cat into another room with one of your resident cats. Expect some occasional vocal objections.

  • Provide plenty of treats and toys to distract them and change the mood.
  • Keep a spray bottle full of water at arm’s length to break up a fight. If a fight erupts, go back to the previous steps for another week or two.

7. Open the door to the private room.

Let your cats tell you when they are comfortable. After a few (or many) weeks of supervised interactions, your cats might be ready to mingle freely. Signs of acceptance include eating or playing in the same room; sleeping or resting nearby; lack of jealousy when another cat is being petted.

Leave the private room open and outfitted for your new cat for another month or more, before gradually moving the litter box and feeding station to their permanent places. The transition to a new feeding spot might occur before the litter box or the opposite might also happen! Your goal is “no accidents” and gradual movements of the litter box might be more acceptable to your new cat. Put the litter box outside the door to the private room and close the door before gradually moving the litter box elsewhere.

A final thought.

Remember, your new cat needs careful introductions to your dogs but also to other pets that might be considered prey, including birds, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, snakes, etc. Do your research before you bring your new cat home.

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Watch Tip Classic: Scratching Persistently

Posted on February 26th, 2012 by Anna Nirva

Watch Tip LogoListen and watch for pets who scratch or lick themselves persistently; they might be suffering severely from food allergies, mange, fleas or other parasites. Look at the fur: do you see red, rough patches or skin ulcers? This animal is in perpetual torment. Please take action. Talk to the owner or call the authorities.

“Look at the fur” ==> “Look beneath the fur”

When you watch a dog or cat who persistently scratches, you might make the same common assumption as many others do: the poor thing suffers from fleas or even worse, has developed allergies to flea saliva. If you part the hair and find pin-head sized dark things that dart or jump, and accompanying flakes of dark red “dandruff” (blood), you are correct.  But flea treatments won’t help and can even worsen these other common skin problems:

  • Allergies or reactions to foods, medications, or things in the environment (eczema, hot spots)
  • Poor coat and skin health caused by bad quality dog food
  • Infected wound that stays moist because of wet living conditions (usually outdoors)
  • Parasites other than fleas such as sarcoptic and demodex mites, ticks, deer flies
  • Compulsive licking and scratching caused by separation anxiety or boredom (confinement)
  • Fungi or yeast infections (ringworm).

Food allergies or poor quality foods cause many skin problems

Veterinarians will tell you that poor food is a frequent cause of unhealthy skin and itching that results from it. One wrote, “In my thirty-five years of practice, I have seen hundreds of dogs and cats whose lives changed dramatically, and where the pet’s caretakers were shocked and surprised at the remarkable difference in their pets, by the simple act of providing the pet with a high quality, meat-based diet.”

Pay particular attention to the first three items on pet food ingredient lists. You should be suspicious if they include corn, wheat, or any meat by-product meal. Many dogs are allergic to corn; avoid foods that include even small amounts. Cats can’t digest grains or vegetables; they are true carnivores. Remember, food manufacturers are legally entitled to use generic words like “natural” and “complete, balanced nutrition” by maintaining MINIMUM standards.

Living outdoors can create or exacerbate skin problems

Some skin problems can be prevented by keeping animals indoors in dry conditions, away from insects and parasites. Watch “outside” animals in your neighborhood for persistent itching and speak to the owners. Some of them may already be treating itching with a flea collar, wondering why it does not help!

Do you see persistent itching of the ears in particular? Mites, bacteria and fungi are causes as listed above, but are joined by flies who will bite along ear margins, creating red crusty lesions. Both ears will be affected. Again, outside animals are more likely to be affected.

Read more about skin problems here: The Pet Center web site.

Be a Good Samaritan to animals in your neighborhood, remembering that most often ignorance is the cause of suffering. When you are helping an animal, you are also helping your neighbors.

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Watch Tip Classic: Secondhand Smoke Harms Pets

Posted on February 20th, 2012 by Anna Nirva

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Secondhand smoke is a threat to pets—did you know? It is even more toxic for pets than for humans because not only do they breathe the fumes, they lick the cancer-causing residue from their fur while grooming! Cats and short-nosed dogs are most affected, but all pets in smoking households are more likely to develop lung/nasal/mouth cancers and lymphoma.

If you smoke, be aware of the increased risk of cancer for your pets

Have you ever noticed the smoke residue that coats the walls and windows inside the home of a smoker? In addition to coating lung tissues, that toxic airborne residue infiltrates porous materials, such as clothing and pet fur. Secondhand smoke causes cancer in cats and dogs just like it does in non-smokers who are forced to breathe the same air. The smoke can also cause breathing difficulties and eye/skin irritations. Plus, with their sensitive noses, just imagine how dogs and cats must dislike the strong acrid odors. Read the rest of this entry »

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Watch Tip: Learn Signs of Pain in Cats and Dogs

Posted on January 8th, 2012 by Anna Nirva

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Learn to recognize signs of pain in dogs and cats so that you can take appropriate action and prevent extreme suffering. Cats typically mask pain and many dogs do as well. The signs may be subtle but you can recognize them if you are prepared. As you travel through your daily life, be ready to help an animal in distress. You may save a life.

All animals experience pain and deserve treatment to relieve their suffering

You certainly believe that but be aware that many people do not; they will ignore suffering in their animals. For centuries prevailing wisdom advised that the lesser animals did not feel pain like people do, possibly because people didn’t understand how to read the subtle symptoms of pain. Maybe they were taught to discount what signs they did observe. Remember, veterinary science is a recent innovation.

Cat pain or illness symptoms are particularly difficult to discern and a cat might be critically ill by the time the signs are evident. This sadly happened to our dear adopted cat Lucinda a few weeks ago and this post is dedicated to her memory. By the time she quit eating a day before Christmas Eve, she was already terminally ill, but she didn’t act sick. She slept more over the next two days; sleeping and refusing food were the only signs that she didn’t feel good. We took her to the vet the day after Christmas Day; she seemed weak.  She was diagnosed with severe non-regenerative anemia, cause unknown; her hemoglobin reading was the lowest the vet had seen in all his years of practice. We had to say goodbye. The suddenness of her decline and death was stupifying. We were horrified that we hadn’t provided treatment sooner.

Cats hide pain or illness instinctively. They are unlikely to vocalize when experiencing distress, but some will as pain advances. Know your cat’s routines and habits; be aware of changes. Symptoms of pain or ill health in cats include:

  • Change in routine, personality or activity levels
  • Loss of energy/more sleeping  OR  anxiety/agitation/aggression
  • Sitting on all four paws tucked under body, hunched posture, withdrawn
  • Loss of appetite
  • Rapid breathing or panting, inward expression
  • Favoring of a certain body part; tenderness; licking of sore spot
  • Fur looks unkempt

Read the Colorado State University’s “Feline Acute Pain Scale” to learn more about identifying signs of pain in cats.

Dogs are more variable in their expression of pain. Some dogs and breeds (notably the bully breeds) are stoic while some other individuals will provide many clear evidences of discomfort.

  • Whining or whimpering
  • Panting, rapid breathing, shivering, inward expression
  • Change in routine, personality or activity levels
  • Loss of energy/more sleeping  OR  anxiety/agitation/aggression
  • Loss of appetite
  • Favoring or presentation of a certain body part; tenderness; licking of sore spot

This is the dog version of the Colorado State University’s pain scale.

The most important advice is to know the behavior and habits of your own animals; be watchful and curious. If you are observing possible pain-related behavior of a neighbor’s pet or a stray, advocate for them. Contact your neighbor and describe your observances. Even in a note taped to an entrance works. See the Sunbear Squad “Pocket Poster” you can download and post at your neighbor’s. We have a Spanish language version available too.

If you find a stray that appears to be in pain or ill, take the animal to a vet if you live in an area served by a shelter or pound that you do not trust to uphold humane standards of care. If your area is served by a compassionate organization, contact them.

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Watch Tip: Expecting Families

Posted on January 2nd, 2012 by Anna Nirva

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Be aware that expecting families may be under emotional pressure from family and friends to give away their dogs and cats for safety reasons. This is a very frequent cause of animals entering shelters and pounds. After a few days of stress, confusion and depression, many will sadly lose their lives. With terrible irony, the new human life sometimes results in death to the once-loved family pet.

Advise expecting families that they don’t have to give up their pets

As young families prepare for the most exciting event of their lives, new birth, they are typically deluged with well-meaning advice from every direction. One common piece of advise is to rid the home of dogs and/or cats. Some are concerned that cats will cause health problems with pregnancy. Others are concerned that dogs will attack babies. Still others believe that a new family will not have time or money for pets any longer. If the pet isn’t fully housetrained, that causes clear concern for basic hygiene for everyone but especially for a crawling baby.

Sometimes the expecting families have a change of heart about keeping pets. At the shelter where I volunteer frequently, a pregnant woman callously remarked to staff that “babies and dog hair don’t mix” as she filled out her paperwork to surrender an clearly worried little Corgi mix.  The woman had no empathy for her dog’s feelings of confusion. If only she knew how animals suffer when separated from their family and when they suddenly find themselves trapped in wire cages enveloped by strange noises and smells.

You might be able to offer a different perspective as an animal lover. Our farming heritage provides one such point. Many generations of farmers and herders around the world have managed to raise healthy children surrounded by various animals large and small. While keeping animals is not without risk, adult knowledge and common sense prevails to keep youngsters safe. Young veterinarians provide another perspective; they typically don’t give up their pets when pregnant, yet they are more aware of the risks due to their profession. Remind them that children learn responsibility at a young age by helping to care for family pets; they learn compassion and empathy if guided appropriately by parents and older siblings. They experience the deep joy of connecting with a special animal.

Provide resources to expecting families

If you are close to the expecting family with a pet or pets, think about offering some support. You might be able to walk the dog on a schedule or offer extra help when introducing the pets to the newly arrived baby. You might offer help with housetraining if needed. You might offer to regularly clean the cat box (to prevent exposure to toxoplasmosis), if another family member isn’t available.

See these resources online and share with expecting families:

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Watch Tip Classic: Fireworks and Holidays

Posted on December 25th, 2011 by Anna Nirva

Weekly Watch Tip for week of Dec. 25:

Watch and listen for stray pets who panic when holiday fireworks detonate—they may bolt through traffic or get lost. They might eat live or spent fireworks casings left on the ground. Be alert for violent cruelty to animals during this holiday in particular, when some troubled people become overexcited or aggressive!

Holidays are always high-risk for pets. Be vigilant.

What effects do all holidays have on your household? Holiday event schedules are busy and stressful. Your home might fill up with visitors and special dishes. Entrance doors and gates swing open and shut more often, and with so many distractions, tempting foods may be left out on counters. Spills occur and containers of cleaning supplies appear. New and unfamiliar people visit at odd hours. Interesting (sometimes fragrant) wrapped gifts and packages are sitting out.

Your dogs and cats are very attuned to these changes and they may become anxious or overexcited. They may be unsupervised in all of the hubbub and explore what they shouldn’t. It’s no wonder that accidents happen around holidays, and companion animals are so often involved.

Veterinarians will tell you that clinics are especially busy after any major holiday, and some of the stories are very sad—and almost always, the accidents preventable. Shelters and rescues will tell you that they get more calls to surrender dogs and cats around the holidays as well, often for behavior (lack of training) issues relating to holiday activities. This anxious adolescent puppy (pictured) was dumped on a SW Wisconsin county road just before a holiday. (She was adopted by a more responsible and loving family.)

Please be vigilant in your neighborhood and advocate for those who have no voice during any holiday. Be proactive in your home. If you expect visitors, crate your dogs and keep your cats in a safe room.

Remember, holidays are not celebrated for companion animals. They actually don’t mix well at all!

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Watch Tip Classic: Cold Snaps Down South

Posted on December 11th, 2011 by Trish Roman-Aquilino

Watch Tip LogoThis Watch tip was originally written and posted by Anna Nirva.

Urgent: Extreme cold kills outside tethered dogs and cats, especially those animals without heavy coats, the malnourished, the very young and the elderly. Tethered animals in southern regions are at higher risk for hypothermia because they have not grown heavier coats over time like they would have in cooler climates. Watch for animals that don’t have adequate shelter; speak with owners or call the authorities immediately.

Short-hair pets in the south need hay or straw bedding during cold snaps. Fur is not enough! While all dogs and cats have outer fur and inner fur, the quantity of outer hairs of the fur compared to the inner hairs of the fur (ratio) varies by breed and individual. The texture varies as well. Age matters: it takes six months on average for puppies to grow a complete fur covering of inner and outer fur, if they are healthy. Some breeds can tolerate extreme cold if individuals are healthy and shelter from freezing winds is available.

In addition to breed and health, environment matters too. Individual dogs and cats living outdoors in cooler northern climates will grow longer, fluffier inner fur as daylight shortens that will help hold body heat. But pets in the mid- and far south have not experienced wide swings of seasonal cooling. Their sparse, short inner fur is completely inadequate for sudden winter cold snaps, freezing winds, and snow storms. Short-hair dogs are very vulnerable to hypothermia.

In other words, during a cold snap in Mississippi, that bouncy little Boxer puppy down the street that is tied to a tree 24/7 could be found dead in the morning. Those skinny hunting hounds kept in tiny outdoor pens could suffer from hypothermia and frostbite and the old ones might die. And those skeletal, near-feral pit bulls tied to stakes that sleep in hard hollows dug in the earth? They have never known a kindness. They may be released from their long suffering.

Do you have access to bales of hay or straw? Can you give hay beds to short-hair outside dogs in your neighborhood when a cold snap is on the way? A simple bale of hay can mean the difference between life and death to a dog or cat down south when the cold winds blow. Owners probably will not object. Please help those outside animals.

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