Absolute Yorkies

I'll stay safe in my crate, mommy!

TODAY’S TIDBIT:  We hope all of you in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Judy Wright of Rosehill Yorkies returns today with Part 4: “Hunker Down, Shelter In Place!” of our series, “Disaster Planning: Do It Now!”

Shelter In Place
If you’ve been advised to evacuate do so as quickly as possible!  However, if the decision has been made for you to shelter in place if that is the only or best option for you, follow these simple life saving guidelines:

• Bring your dog indoors as soon as local authorities declare imminent disaster.
• Crate your dogs – you don’t want to have to try and find a terrified hiding pet!
• Be sure you have your dog’s collar on her with tags attached.
• If you have a “safe room” be sure to have all your emergency supplies in that area before hand.  No time to stock and arrange the room now!
• If your dog has reacted anxiously to bad weather in the past, administer a sedative as directed that you’ve used previously that your vet has prescribed for her, before the weather turns nasty.
• If you’re going to board your dog while you hunker down at home, you will need to take the following items with your pet to a shelter or boarding facility: collar with ID and rabies tag, copies of health records, ID on all belongings, crate or carrier, harness and leash, food and meds to last at least 5-7 days, their picture with your contact info on back, as well as your pet’s name and vet’s name and a blanket or towel for her to sleep on inside the crate or cage.

After The Storm

• Always keep your pet on a leash after a major storm or event. Scents and landscape have changed and this will be confusing and frightening to your dog.  
• Some pets become very defensive or aggressive during this time of chaos.  
• Be aware that power lines may be down and storm debris scattered in areas that were once safe.  
• Be cautious of any reptiles that may have been washed into your area with flooding and high water.

Awesome information, Judy!  Disasters can be so devastating and confusing for our dogs.  Being prepared is the best defence!  See you on Friday for TODAY’S TIDBIT.

Sources: ASPCA, FEMA, Red Cross and AHF (Animal Health Foundation)
         

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I love my belly band, mommy!

TODAY’S TIDBIT:  Christmas is one month away today!!!  I can hardly believe it!  We’re making our Christmas plans to visit my family in my hometown and I’m thinking about what to pack for the Yorkies.  My parents have carpeting and the last thing I want is a little “Yorkie accident” left behind!

Gideon wears his “Belly Band” — a nice fabric band with a quarter of a Depends pad inside and then secured with velcro around his waist.  So if he doesn’t get to the pee pad in time he has the protection of his Belly Band.

Belly Band

We order our Belly Bands from a talented small business owner in Sugar Land, Texas — Linda from FuFuFashions. She makes lots of cute outfits and accessories for small dogs like Yorkies.  Check out her site before Christmas!

Have a great holiday Friday to our American friends and see everybody back her on Wednesday for TODAY’S TIDBIT.

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TODAY’S TIDBIT:  We’d like to celebrate Christmas again this year at AbsoluteYorkies.com with a fun photo gallery of our furry friends in their favourite Christmas outfits (or maybe I should say “your” favourite outfits for your dog)!  We had lots of wonderful photos last year  and hope that everyone sends their pics in again this year! 

We’re asking you to send us a photo of your dog dressed for Christmas! We love our Yorkies but we’d like to share this invitation with owners of all breeds of dogs.

Just a few quick guidelines:

• One photo per email address.
• More than one dog can be in the photo but no people please.
• Photos should be saved as .jpeg, .bmp, .gif or .png files.
• Deadline for accepting photos is 12:00 midnight (EST) Friday, December 16, 2011.
• Send your photos to kathryn@absoluteyorkies.com or if you have any questions you can contact us at that email address.

So don’t be shy! Share your doggy’s Christmas photo with us. Have a wonderful day everyone and see you on Wednesday for TODAY’S TIDBIT. ***Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the US!  We’ll continue our Disaster Planning Series  with Judy Wright next Wednesday***

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I wish there was a cure for cancer, mommy!

TODAY’S TIDBIT:  When a loved one passes away, we often make a donation to a charity our loved one supports.  My family always honours a loved one’s memory by making a donation in the person’s name to the Ontario Veterinary College’s Pet Trust Fund.

The much needed funds are used to support cancer treatment for sick animals and research to help find a cure for this devastating disease. 

We receive the OVC Pet Trust Fund online newsletter, “Best Friends Newsletter”  full of interesting articles about new cancer treatments for animals and innovative ways people are raising funds.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and see you on Wednesday for TODAY’S TIDBIT.   ***Our important series, “Disaster Planning: Do It Now!”  with Judy Wright continues on Wednesday. Don’t miss it!***

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We have to go don't we, mommy?

TODAY’S TIDBIT:  Our vitally important “Disaster Planning: Do It Now!”  series continues with Judy Wright of Rosehill Yorkies.  When a disaster is imminent, there are decisions you must make if you’re given enough time and it’s not a mandatory evacuation situation.  You have to decide if you’re going to stay or go.  I’ll cover both circumstances so you can have an idea of what important things you must consider in either of these critical situations.

Let’s GO!!!
You’ve decided to leave and you’re taking your pets with you.  Your emergency medical kit and your disaster kit are assembled and ready to grab and go!  But where are you going to go and how will you get there?  And where will you stay?  Keep in mind, emergency shelters usually don’t allow pets so you must make arrangements for them.  

Prepare Your Evacuation Route
Wherever you live you must consider your evacuation routes in all directions.  In Houston during an evacuation from a hurricane, areas that are susceptible to flooding from storm surge are all categorized.  Evacuations are staged with the most susceptible areas allowed out first, followed by the next most susceptible areas and so on.

We’re instructed to remain in place until the area we live in is told to leave. Each area has its own evacuation route that residents in that area must follow. This is designed to prevent total gridlock of the highways, as millions of residents rush to escape.  You must be aware of evacuation plans in your particular area.  Often times highways that normally have lanes going in both directions will be redirected and all traffic will flow away from the evacuation zone.

Find Pet Friendly Hotels and Motels
Once you’ve picked an escape route you must know how far you’re going to travel. NOW is the time to locate and select pet friendly hotels and motels at varying distances from your starting point along all your chosen evacuation routes.  

You can go online and get a great selection of pet friendly hotels all over the United States and Canada.  Write down the names of the motels and hotels you’ve selected along with their phone numbers and addresses.  I plan almost a week ahead which route I’ll be taking when I leave and will call and make reservations ahead of time so I’m certain I’ll have rooms reserved.

Boarding Your Pet
If staying in a motel is not an option, you must board your pet. Have the phone numbers and the requirements ready for each boarding facility you’ve selected.  Find out what their evacuation plans are!  Locate vet clinics that have boarding facilities.  Be sure your pet’s vaccinations are current.

Make Sure You Have Cash and Gas
Be sure you have a full tank of gas in the car and cash on hand.  In disasters, you are confronted with long lines at every gas station and grocery store you encounter.  Often, ATM machines run out of cash.  Have all this taken care of well in advance so you’re not part of the panic.

LEAVE When The Order Is Given!
When you’re instructed by your city leadership that it’s time to leave, LEAVE!!!  You’ll have everything ready to go – your evacuation plan is chosen as far as route and direction, your destination point is selected and your reservations have been made.  DO NOT CHALLENGE MOTHER NATURE TO SHOW YOU HOW TOUGH SHE IS! LOAD UP AND LEAVE!  Keep the safety of your family and your pets foremost in your mind and arrive alive! 

Next week, we’ll discuss what you need to do if you decide to stay!  Start preparing now everyone and see you on Friday for TODAY’S TIDBIT.

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Photo: US War Dog Association

TODAY’S TIDBIT:  It’s Remembrance Day today, a very important and memorable day when we honour the very special men and women who have risked their own lives so that we can enjoy the freedom we have today. 

While remembering our soldiers, take a moment to think about the courageous canines who gave their lives for us in war.  Last year, we honoured our canine warriors by writing, “Remember Our Courageous Canine Soldiers” and we thought we’d post it again to honour our doggy veterans.

Remember Our Courageous Canine Soldiers
TODAY’S TIDBIT:  November 11 is a day of remembrance and reflection.  We honour the brave men and women who gave up their own lives so that we could live ours.  But soldiers did not fight alone – dogs saved thousands of lives in battle before and are still heroes today.

Canine heroes come in all shapes and sizes.  The muddy trenches were infested with rats so with their natural instinct for hunting and killing rats, terriers were used as “ratters” in WWI to get rid of the disgusting vermin.  One famous ratter, an Irish Terrier named, Norah went with her owner, Private Thomas Radford of the Canadian Veterinary Corp to the front lines and killed thousands of rats during her years at war.

Red Cross Dogs played just as vital a role as ratters.  Carrying medical supplies, these dogs would track the wounded and return to the trenches carrying a wounded soldier’s cap or helmet and then lead the medics back to the injured soldier.  Amazing.   Today, dogs sniff out bombs and weapons in war torn countries. 

Thousands of people owe their lives to these brave canine soldiers.  Lest we forget.

***The United States War Dog Association  honours war dogs and their handlers.  Check out their website.***   

See you on Wednesday for TODAY’S TIDBIT.

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Are you sure I can't bring my froggy costume, mommy?

TODAY’S TIDBIT:  Our series, “Disaster Planning: Do It Now!”  by Judy Wright of Rosehill Yorkies continues today.  If an evacuation order comes to you abruptly in the middle of the night, would you know what to grab first?  It could very well be a matter of life or death and you may only have minutes to get out.

Advanced planning is paramount – it can save you and your dog’s life!  Having an evacuation plan in place will make an emergency situation much less stressful for everyone involved.

Prior to an emergency, you must do the following:

1. Have a pet carrier for each pet.
2. Make sure all of your dogs are microchipped!
3. Have a harness for each pet (we don’t use collars on our Yorkies) with their rabies tag, tag with your name, address and cell phone number on it plus your vet’s number and a tag with your pet’s name and vet’s phone number – a total of three tags on that harness (keep your “Emergency Harness” in a zip lock bag in your Pet Disaster Kit).
4. Prepare a Pet Disaster Kit.

Here’s a list of what to include in your Pet Disaster Kit:

• Food for seven days with a pop-top type of can and don’t forget to bring kibble
• Bottled water, 1 gallon per pet, should last a week for a small dog
• Medication your dog takes
• Tagged harness in a zip lock bag
• Leashes for each pet in a zip lock bag
• Copy of each pet’s health record, vaccination record and current picture of each pet in a zip lock bag
• Your vet’s phone number, emergency vet clinic phone number, boarding kennel phone number and list of pet friendly motels in a zip lock bag
• Plastic bags for dog waste
• Diaper wipes
• Blue plastic tarp
• Exercise pen for pets

Collect all the above items and put your Pet Disaster Kit, Pet First Aid Kit  that we talked about last month and your carriers all in one place, together, where you can snatch them all up in a hurry and go!

Wow!  Awesome information, Judy.  Join us next week for Part 3 of our series, “Disaster Planning: Do It Now!”  Have a great day everybody and see you on Friday for TODAY’S TIDBIT.

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Are we going to cuddle, mommy?

TODAY’S TIDBIT:  Now that the cooler weather’s here, I LOVE wrapping myself in a cozy blanket and cuddling up to my Yorkies while reading a good book.  Last winter I spotted the book, Stay by Allie Larkin in Chapters.  And I’m glad I did.

On a whim, broken hearted Savannah buys a dog from a foreign country over the internet after the man she’s been in love with forever marries her best friend.  She soon begins to realize that this big dog that only understands Slovak will always be loyal to her no matter what. 

That’s all I’m going to say!  I really liked Stay and I hope you do too.  Have a wonderful weekend everybody and we’ll see you back here on Wednesday for TODAY’S TIDBIT.

***Don’t forget Judy Wright’s important series, “Disaster Planning: Do It Now!” continues on Wednesday*** 

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Are we ready, mommy?

TODAY’S TIDBIT:  We hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween.  Today, our guest writer, Judy Wright of Rosehill Yorkiesis starting an exciting new series, “Disaster Planning: Do It Now!”  It’s important for all of us to be ready in an emergency.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking a disaster couldn’t strike your hometown!

Part 1:  Introduction to Disaster Planning

It’s 3 a.m. on a hot summer Texas night.  The house is quiet and everyone is sleeping soundly.  Suddenly, you are jarred out of bed by the booming voice over a bullhorn – “This is the Police!  You must get out immediately!  Evacuate immediately!  The forest is on fire and it is spreading this way.  You have approximately 5 minutes to evacuate the area!” 

This nightmare was a reality for more than 1500 families last month as central Texas burned.  Hundreds of millions of dollars were lost in homes, forests and livestock.  What would YOU do if that command to, “evacuate the area immediately” became your reality?  Could you be jarred from a deep sleep and have the ability to wrap your mind around everything you know you must grab in 5 minutes or less? 

Of course, the family and pets come to mind immediately.  What about supplies you will need for possibly a week or longer away from home?  Crates?   Leashes?   Health records?   Medications?  Special diets?  Important phone numbers?  Could you make it happen in 5 minutes???

We’re going to try and help you organize what you’re going to need should a disaster strike.  You need an action plan for your pets.  Hopefully, you have already made an emergency plan for your family and your important personal papers and items. 

The key to success is to do these things NOW before that dreaded wake up call!  You can then immediately spring into action, fuelled by adrenalin, memory and instinct.  You’ll be panic free and able to get everyone out safely with everything you’ll need for your pets for at least a week.

Thanks, Judy for this awesome information!  Don’t miss “Part 2: Disaster Planning: Evacuation!” next Wednesday!  Have a great day everybody and see you on Friday for TODAY’S TIDBIT.

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