March is Women’s History Month and March 8th is International Women Celebration Day

March is Women’s history month so let’s talk about a few of the women in history who have had a significant influence on the animal world more specifically pets.

Elin Prince Speyer -1849-1921 Born in Lowell MA, founded the Auxillary American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This was right before the big depression when people were starving and unemployed. Elin worked hard to help the animals and pass laws to protect them.  Today the Association of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is the largest in the world.

The animal shelters around the US  can always use volunteers and donations of all kinds.  Volunteers walk the dogs, play and socialize the cats and kittens, brush and feed the horses, cows, goats and chickens. They also get a variety of animals too many to mention here.  Volunteers are needed to foster dogs and cats to make them more adoptable. 

The animal shelters such as Salem New Hampshire Animal rescue League and Cape Ann Animal Aid look for donations of foods, treats, old towels, sheets and blankets to make the animals more comfortable while they wait to be adopted.  Dog brushes, shampoos, paper towels and cleaning materials are always a welcome addition.  www.funlovingpets.com regularly donate to the animal shelters food, treats, supplements and old sheets.  They will collect from customers to donate to the shelter of choice.

In 1947 in the United States, the Association for Women Veterinarians (AWV) was founded by Mary Knight Dunlap (1910-1992). At that time, the U.S. had about 120 women veterinarians, mainly in and around New York City and in East Lansing, Michigan. this information came from the USDA.gov website.  More and more women are entering into the veterinarian field. Colleges are more accepting of women and women are interested in becoming vets.  Dr. Linda Dixon Reeve found herself as the only woman in her veterinary class at Cornell University in 1961 today there are 46,992 women veterinarians in the USA per the http://www.avma.org/ American Veterinary Medical Association.

Do you see yourself or someone close to you going to veterinary school or helping out at a shelter?

 Tell us which shelters you visit most.

 

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!” ~Robin Williams

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”  ~Robin Williams  Do you love spring?  How I love spring the air is fresh note I do not suffer from allergies. The earth is coming to life again after a winter of hibernation.  The sun rises earlier in the morning and sets later in the day.  The idea of spending more time outside playing fetch with my dog. The Winga by Kurgo is a fun way to play with my dog. He loves to catch the frisbee and return it to me.  Does your labradoodle, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd like to play fetch with a frisbee? The Winga allows you to throw the frisbee farther and is the right size.  www.funlovingepts.com carries the Kurgo Winga. It takes the place of a chuck it no sticky drooling mess.

Where do you like to play with your Rottweiler, Great Dane, Springer Spaniel, Labrador, Yorkie? Do you like the beach? Some of my favorite beaches are the Singing beach in Manchester, MA , Cape Cod National parks, Rye Beach in New Hampshire, San Diego Beaches.  Where do you take your Golden Retriever to play?  If you do not live or vacation near a beach a nice field or dog park is also fun to take your furry friend  (Chihuahua, Beagle, boxer, pug, poodle). The Kurgo Winga is good for throwing the frisbee long distances. If this is not feasible the Humunga Stache is fun to watch your dog carry.  Take a picture of your Cocker Spaniel carrying around what looks like a mustache.

Now to a serious side of walking your Boston Terrier, Great Dane, Toy Poodle, Border Collie out in areas with traffic. Make sure they know how to stay with you and not to run out in the street. The high visibility vest are good for both you and your dog. They even have special sizes for a Grey Hound.  You can pick your favorite color hot pink,     bright safety orange, Bright blue, have matching vests.  This will allow the drivers to see you as you walk. There have been people hit by cars because just as the sun is coming up or going down t hey are blinded and can not see the dog walker walking. I have a friend who lost her dachshund to just this. Someone was racing to Dunkin Donuts and did not see her poor little dog at the end of the leash. She now wears the high visibility vest and stays out-of-the-way of people racing for their coffee at Dunkin Donuts.  Maybe you have seen this happen.   What color do you like?  How do you stay safe when walking your rescue dog?

Additional Winga frisbee's

 

Dog walking in the winter

 

Keep your tags close by and easy Wild Salmon treats