Hello. It’s the day after Daylight Savings Time.
Groggy? We’re not!
We can jump out of bed at a second’s notice just to chase a squirrel.
We’re members of the elite group, the Fort Doberdale Squirrel Posse,
and we’re here to remind you to hang in there.
You will get used to the time change soon.
Please take a few minutes to support Florida rescues, shelters, and other animal welfare groups, who diligently microchip the dogs and cats they adopt out in case the animals are abandoned, lost, or stolen. Microchipping is their way home or back to rescue! That’s one of the big things being a rescue. You have a safety net.
Rescues are on a tight shoe-string budget as it is. Passing the task of microchipping solely to veterinarians, as proposed by the Florida Society of Veterinary Medicine, is a greedy move for them to put dollars in their pockets, while taking funds from already stressed out rescues and shelters who will have to pay a vet to microchip instead of being able to do it ourselves as we have been doing. Inserting a microchip doesn’t require a DVM degree, and what this veterinary society is trying to do is outrageous.
Many people have asked over the years, “How can I help rescue?” Here is a BIG chance, we need your help NOW, and it will only take a few minutes of your time.
Here is the e-mail which explains the action to take now.
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Proposed Measure to Strip Animal Shelters & Animal Control Agencies of Their Ability to Microchip Animals
Sponsor(s): Florida Board of Veterinary Medicine
ASPCA Position: Oppose
Action Needed: Please email our letter asking the members of the Florida Board of Veterinary Medicine to reject this proposed measure.
The Florida Board of Veterinary Medicine is currently considering a measure that would strip animal shelters of their ability to microchip animals in their care.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, microchipping has been identified as one of the most effective methods for reuniting pets with their owners. Microchipping by animal shelters is standard practice across the United States, and it ‘s especially important in Florida–perhaps the state most vulnerable to devastating hurricanes. This vital service that shelters provide to Florida residents and their pets must be protected
Microchips are also a vital tool for animal control agencies, aiding in the reunification of owned animals who are picked up and thought to be strays. They are an important tracking mechanism for animal control officers who must impound animals, oftentimes repeatedly, whose owners irresponsibly let them run at large.
The Florida Board of Veterinary Medicine needs to be reminded that the leading cause of death among pets is not disease, parasites or injury. Sadly, it’s the euthanasia of lost pets who cannot be identified.
What You Can Do:
The Florida Board of Veterinary Medicine will be considering this measure at its March 18 meeting. Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center by clicking here.
From the Advocacy Center you can send a letter asking the members of the Florida Board of Veterinary Medicine to express your opposition to their proposed measure to strip animal shelters of their ability to microchip animals in their care. Please remember that it’s important that you use the space provided to add your own words to the form letter. Decision makers are more likely to pay attention to emails containing individual comments.
Thank you for helping animals and supporting the ASPCA.
Luigi and I were practicing our pose for when we win a blue ribbon at a future trial. OK, that’s not the reason were were posing, but it’s what I’m gonna tell you.
Hmmm…all my dogs are sleek. I’m not. I’m going to have to do something about that probably.
Meanwhile, Luigi is not only a hard worker. He is photogenic. Here he is fetching a dumbbell.
Here he is jumping.
And landing.
I’m a clicker trainer.
Luigi learned everything he knows in obedience through my click/treat methods. Though when I’m at drill class, I will use a word like “good!” rather than the clicker. The sound of the clicker is not pleasant to everyone’s ear, so why stir the pot? Some people don’t like clicker training for that very reason – the noise of the clicker. But any noise can be the precision marker telling the dog what he is doing at THAT moment is IT! Then the treat follows the marker. It takes practice marking that exact moment. Luigi knows.
On a side note, years ago, the first dog I used the clicker on was Baby. I was so thrilled when my clicker arrived in the mail. I took it, some treats, and Baby straight outside, and tried it on her. Baby, the Queen Mother Diva, did not appreciate my new clicker. The noise of the first click drove her straight through the opened house door, into the bedroom, and onto her bed, which is sometimes my bed. Ewwkay. She’s grown to appreciate the clicking noise since then, especially as our household has grown. Competition does something special to a Diva. Makes them a little more appreciative of their human. Uh huh. But not that much more. Beauty sleep still outweighs getting up when she’s called…unless she wants to.
I carry a very nice treat bag around for clicker training. It is the best one I’ve found. The opening snaps open and shut, so there’s no messing with strings, clips, or other closing mechanisms when you want to get to that treat fast. Good timing is everything in the clicker world. This is a stock photo. The treat is way too big for clicker treating, by the way. They need to taste a treat, not have a meal, as while doing a clicker session, the handler will be doling out lots of treats.
Remember, when the handler doles out treats during training or otherwise during the day, those calories should be considered when doling out other meals. (Note to self: that goes for the human, too.)
I use a humane choke collar when I take my kids off the Fort Doberdale campus to train. This is a collar that can be adjusted to the exact size of the dog’s neck. When the dog pulls, it will not choke him like a traditional choke collar will. This is a stock photo from Coastal, which is the company that makes this particular collar. Others are made with cloth instead of chain. These collars are shamefully not allowed in the AKC obedience rings. Either a buckle collar or a traditional choke collar is allowed there.
Back to Luigi. After he and I finish a training session, he loves playing ball solo with me. That’s the best treat for him. (Baby’s is a Frisbee.)
I like playing ball with my boy, too. There’s something fun about playing fetch with a dog who brings the toy back, just to chase it again. Not all of the FDSP has that innate behavior. <coughBabycoughDivacough> Differences makes the world go ’round.
Helen
I have been getting the message that one of Raven’s favorite toys is getting well worn.
Leissl inspected it after laying it atop a border rock.
Then Raven took it over again and frankly, it had been raining. And when she brought that soggy, well-worn toy into the house, I had to take it and throw it in the washing machine.
Horrors to Raven! Her beloved toy was in that machine again? So I thought it time to break open a new box of these wonderfully strong soft toys. I got a bunch when they were on a good good sale.
(New toys are great, but that doesn’t mean the old ones won’t be put to use after they come out of the washing machine. Like worn shoes that fit right, old toys are comfortable.)
But Raven liked what she saw in that box. Especially the ring.
The ring is Raven’s favorite of all time. She can play tug-o-war best with it. But Luigi had his eye on it, and his name!
As long as Raven had her say, though, that ring was hers!
Meanwhile, Baby looked cute as usual. She is always good for a photo opp. As for these toys, well, Baby says if they’re not flying discs, they’re not toys.
Annie found out she liked the red tube.
Yes, she did.
And Lilian was into the blue fish.
These Tuffies Pet Toys last a long time here at Fort Doberdale, which is a good thing because the Fort Doberdale Squirrel Posse put their toys to work everyday and we need long-lasting toys.
Helen
Baby is 10-3/4 years old, and has some bad arthritis in her back. A vet sent us home with some Arthrimaxx in October, 3 month’s worth, but it didn’t help. Baby stands slanted sometimes due to the discomfort.
I have been giving Baby 1500 mg of Glucosamine in the morning and at night since the Arthrimaxx, which has done a better job for her. I had heard about another product called Platinum Performance Plus, which is supposed to be excellent. So I called the company to find out the size of tub I should order for Baby.
According to the website, Baby would need 2 TBS a day, but the wonderful people on the Platinum Performance phone lines told me that is a maintenance dose. Baby needs a therapeutic dose, so for two weeks, she will get 2 TBS in the morning and 2 TBS at night. Week three, and thereafter, she will get 3 TBS in the morning and 3 TBS at night. So we got a 10-pound tub. It arrived today, hence my posting.
I thought it was going to be white, but when I opened the lid tonight to give Baby her first serving, surprise! It’s brown.
It has a little blue scoop inside, too. One full scoop is 1 TBS. There is a line within the scoop that measures tsp-sized servings too. It’s very convenient.
The website says to use the product within 5 months. Fresh is better. The phone support person, told me to keep it in the refrigerator for better freshness.
Baby had her first dose in her dinner tonight and liked it. I did, too, much better than the Arthrimaxx. I didn’t like the way Arthrimaxx tasted. Platinum Peformance looks and smells like something you could put in yogurt…there’s no scent! Maybe I’ll try it.
The bucket came in the mail solo. That saves on shipping costs and paper usage because no need to put the product in a box to mail. I called the company when I found out there was no packing slip/invoice attached to the bucket. They told me it would come in the mail.
Baby is going to keep us informed on how Platinum Performance does for her. She’s always willing to give a product review. OK, she is a Diva, so maybe not always. But when she feels like it, and eventually she’ll feel like it.
Helen, Baby’s mom