SUMMER SAFETY - REMEMBER YOUR PET

Many of you know and love

our furiend, Stuart.
He is wise, as are most Scotties,
and quite the opinionated wordsmith.
We tend to agree and support him
on everything he says and does.

He owns some wise Peeps
and he had HER send our Mom
a personal email in response
to one of the comments
we left on his most informative blog
about leaving your dog at home.

Since the temperatures are rising
up into the mid - 80's and above,
it's very important to leave you pet at home
if you think you can not take it in
to the place you are visiting.
Stuart says it all so much more
eloquently than we do.
Please go by and check out his advice.

If you've been reading our blog
for the past year,
you might remember what a good time
Lilly and Mom had when they
went to the beach with our cousins.

If you look at this picture,
it might appear that Lilly is just
sitting on Carolyn's lap.
But if you look closer
you will see that Lilly is wearing
a stylish blue harness
that is fitted with a leash
that hooks into the seat belt.

When you are traveling,
it is so important to secure
your pets in the seat
or in a crate.
If you have to come to a sudden stop,
your pet has no way to hold on
and could be seriously injured.

Harnesses and special pet seat belts
are the best way to secure your pet.
Hooking their collar to a seat belt
is a dangerous way to secure them
because a sudden stop could then
cause serious neck injury.

Identify your pet.

Our Mom is slightly anal retentive
on this subject, so if she gets on her soapbox,
we'll try to kick her off.

Microchipping is the best way
to identify your pet and is fairly inexpensive.
In addition to microchipping, we highly recommend
that your pet be identified by a tag on the collar.
And you've heard us say it before -
Boomerang tags are the best!
If you can't order from them,
stop by your local Walmart -
they usually have a machine
where tags can be made in minutes
for just a few bucks.

If your pet were to get separated from you,
the chances of someone
calling a telephone number
found on a collar tag are fairly high.
Many people would never think
to have it checked for a microchip
and that wouldn't happen unless
it was turned over to the authorities.

So we have both -
microchips and tags
and the only place we go without tags
is in the dreaded tub.
No puppy leaves our house
without being identified by a tag
with their name
and a telephone number on it.

Water safety
is another important issue,
especially in the warmer months.
Our little Scottie bodies aren't
designed for swimming,
but even if you are a dog that swims well,
it is important to wear your life-jacket,
especially if you are boating.
Check out Kira an Scampi's blog -
they boat a lot on the
Nauti-dog.
And you will see them practicing
safe habits by wearing their life-jackets
and being attached to a leash
while swimming in the ocean.

Last, but not least,
we've said it before and we'll say it again.
Sunscreen is most important for your dog,
especially if they are light colored dogs.
They can sunburn easily just like humans
and just like humans they can get skin cancer.

Have a fantastic day
and be safe.

XOXO
Lilly, Piper, Carrleigh and Ruairi

PS - we don't know how we forgot
this super important point.
Be sure do drink plenty of water
and stay hydrated -
a heat stroke can affect a dog
just like it can a person.