If Anything Happened to Me, What Would Happen to My Pet(s)?
The other day during an appointment at the Geisinger Medical Center a doctor told me that when his mother-in-law died, he and his wife promised her they would give her cat a home. She is a calico, he told me, and now she sleeps in bed between him and his wife. When he gets home she greets him with a demand for a special neck massage. She knows the word for treats, too. No, he didn’t pull out a picture of the newest family member for me to see but did tell me that he and his wife had purchased a new vacuum cleaner especially for the cat hair. It is great on upholstery, he said. As I left, his cell phone–or perhaps it was his pager–sounded. It is probably the cat, I commented. He smiled at me and nodded. She knows our voices on the phone, he said, and can tell if it is his or his wife’s.
And so this question. I wonder if more cats than dogs go into forever homes when their owners pass or can no longer care for them? After all, cats are easier to care for–or so we have been led to believe. ( I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a feline myth.) But, it may be the reason we see more pictures of older dogs in need of homes–the picture of two ten-year-old Beagles haunts me as do the other pictures of geriatric dogs. BUT if dogs had canine good citizen certificates they would be more adoptable! And, if more puppies had Marjean AKC S.T.A.R. 6 weeks of classes they would be easier to re-home. Keep the CGC certificates and all training/graduation papers with your valuables. They may just guarantee your pet a “forever home” if you can’t.
GATHERINGS. Westminster celebration begins on Sunday the 14th with an art show, with the lead exhibit being the brass and leather collar worn by Charles Dickens’ dog! It is valued between $4,000 and $6,000.
FISH OIL REDUX. I received an e-mail from a Cornell nutritionist who said he believes fish oil helps arthritis more than glucosamine!
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER CONFERENCE. There is a BEST FRIENDS FOREVER CONFERENCE scheduled for August 5-8. Pia Silvani is one of the participants. For those of you who own a copy of the CGC videotape she is a participant and was an early advocate of the program–along with her then “boss” Ed Sayres Jr. Sayres is now the president of the ASPCA. When the CGC tape was made they both were at St. Huberts Giralda. Pia helped to write a series of training manuals. Puppy kindergarten included the CGC. You might call it the first S.T.A.R. program. The ASPCA has joined the animal relief coalition of Haiti (ARCH) with plans to deploy mobile clinics to help serve the estimated 5 million head of livestock as well as the stray and companion dog population and native wildlife affected by the recent earthquake.
PAWABILITIES 2010 is March 13-14 at the PA Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.
The CANINE PARTNERS PROGRAM FOR MIXED BREED DOGS starts April 1st. Dogs with AKC partners listing will be eligible to participate in the SAME AKC agility, obedience and rally trials as purebreeds and earn the same titles. Dogs must be enrolled in AKC canine partners. ($35 fee)
TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY 2010 will be June 25th.
Feb 07, 2010 | | Uncategorized