Hot cars kill dogs!!

  
Despite all the media attention and all the warnings it still never ceases to amaze me how silly/blaze/cruel some people can be when it comes to leaving their pets inside a car on a hot over 30 degrees day!!

Today a beautiful little staffy girl was left to overheat inside a car in 30 degrees heat with only 3 fingers of open window!!! 

By the time someone spotted her the poor thing was in a fair amount of distress. 

Fortunately the owner was inside our building waiting for his son who was at the dentist. My curt PA announcement had him quickly running back to his car. Otherwise my next step would have been to call the police. 

Thankfully in this instance the Staffy was ok. Some water and the coolness of an air conditioned environment helped to quickly cool her down. 

The owner even thanked me on his way out. I hope that this will be a lesson to him and that he will never do that again. Leaving your dog in the car on a hot day is a criminal offence!! 

  

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Bring on the summer!!

  
Today the kids had their first swim it’s only October and we are swimming already!! The forecast this year is for a long hot summer, and I for one cannot wait!! 

There is something about summer time that makes you want to smile. Makes you want to be outside sipping Spritz (delicious Italian cocktail) talking and laughing with family and friends. 

Only in Melbourne

Heatstroke!!

Another 40 degree day in Melbourne and as the children prepared to jump into the pool, my dad went out to scoop up any leaves that may have fallen into the water from the wind only to find a poor little noisy miner stuck in the middle of the pool trying desperately to swim to the edge. Dad managed to scoop the poor thing up, we wrapped him in a towel and tried to calm him and give him some water – it didn’t look good for the little bird I must say – shock is a big killer of birds and this little miner was only young. We left the little bird in a cool corner and kept a eye on him from time to time. It took a while but gradually he started to move and then finally he took off. You cannot imagine how relieved we all were that the little bird had survived, hopefully he has been reunited with his Family and will go on to have many more adventures.

It is important this time of year to be extra mindful of our pets and to ensure they are not left outside in the scorching heat. We should also remember our native wildlife and leave plenty of cool fresh water around our gardens for them as well.

If you do suspect that your pet is suffering from heatstroke you must act quickly, heatstroke can kill within minutes.

Learn to read the signs of heatstroke

As Melbourne sweats again during yet another heatwave, I thought it would be beneficial to share some insight on signs to look out for of heatstroke in animals. This helpful poster was posted on Facebook by The Save A Dog organisation as a timely reminder to all pet parents.

School Holidays – the end is near…

School holidays are almost over here in Melbourne, and most of my friends have already gone back to work. Every mother knows that the hardest part of going back to work over the summer holidays is trying to find somewhere to leave your children while you are at work.

Unfortunately there is no childcare service available for primary school aged children around this time of year. Some vacation care programs do exist, but you need to be extremely organised and have those booked in well before school ends in December. Even then the programs only operate from the 20th of January onwards.

I have found myself in this position many times over the years. Fortunately my parents live close by, and now that mum has retired, they are able to have the kids when I have to work. Some people are not that lucky though, so to help out we have been inviting kids over to our house to spend the day with my children. Today there was 6 kids in total and they all had a blast. It gave me the opportunity to do some editing on my novel which is always a bonus.

Fortunately the weather is no where near as hot as it was the week before, so the kids were able to play outside, and not just sit in front of the Xbox all day.

Summer Holidays

The suffocating heat that continues to plague Melbourne has taken its toll. Today the temperature has reached an excessive 44 degrees, and we are all feeling the effects. No energy to do anything but swim in the pool and then relax and surf the blogosphere. Not a bad life really. Loving the summer holidays.

Creepy crawlies

I have a phobia if spiders and bugs and creepy crawlies in general and unfortunately I have passed on this fear to my children. Yesterday the boys spotted a massive cockroach stuck in the air vent in their bedroom.

The logical thing to do would be to spray the cockroach with insecticide but we were so worried that it might drop on to the floor and then get lost in the bedroom that we just closed the door and left it there.

The boys slept on the couch, crazy I know but the alternative seemed scarier. This morning my brave husband went into the bedroom armed with a can of mortein and managed to kill the cockroach, so tonight the boys are back in their rooms.

Next mission the two daddy long legs spiders that have taken up residence in the toilet..

Walking is better when you have a dog

With Spring in the air I can’t help but feel sorry for people who don’t have dogs to walk, in this glorious weather. Whenever I see someone walking on their own or running on their own I always feel so lucky to have my loyal trusty friend beside me.

Sure our walks are more like mad dashes from one tree to the next, with the constant stop in between to check Dexters pee mail along the way, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sometimes the children come along as well, which is always extra fun. However as Dexter hates them being in front, if they are walking or riding bikes or scooters this usually means, yep you guessed it, erratic running down the street to keep up or overtake.

Being a Dalmatian cross King Charles Cavalier means Dexter has the speed and craziness of the Dalmatian with the temperament and loving nature of the Cavalier. Essentially he looks like a mini Dalmatian with a fat body and skinny legs.

I would love to be able to walk him off lead, but unfortunately Dexter has absolutely no road sense. If he were a human I’m sure he would be diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). He could not get past the first level of puppy school, it was not for want of trying because he is always so keen to please but he is over zealous and there were just far too many distraction (other dogs, people, dogs) for him to stay focused.

Still we never wanted a robot dog. Funny that’s what my sister and I always say about the kids too. Guess the moral of the story is be careful what you wish for.

What to do with your pets when you go on holidays

It is a big honour to be asked to look after someone’s pets it means that they really trust you, it is also however an enormous responsibility. For that period of time that the owners are away you become their beloved pets caregiver.

I love looking after my friends pets but there is always an enormous sigh of relief heaved once my friends are back home and I have delivered their beloved pet safely back to them.

A lot of people don’t have friends or family to leave the care of their pets to when they go on leave so these people tend to use places like dog kennels or cattery’s but there are other options too that can provide better alternatives.

Animal shelters like Animal Aid offer a pet minding service at a reduced fee, the benefit of this option is that you can use it for longer extended periods time and it will not cost you a fortune. Also most animal shelters are run by volunteers, people who genuinely have a deep love of animals so you know that your pet will be in good hands.
http://www.animalaid.org.au

Most Vets offer pet minding services although their rates are considerably high so this would not really be your most cost effective option. On the plus side though in the event that your pet does become ill the vet would be on hand to treat them.

There are many organisations such as Top Dog pet minders that actually look after your pets in their own home. They provide a more personal touch where your pets get to be part of someone else family for a little while. These services are very popular as prices are quite reasonable.
http://www.topdogminders.com.au

And finally House Carers not only offer people who will care for your pets but they will also housesit for you as well. House carers are all over the world and in most cases the service is free as you are providing them with accommodation in return for them looking after your pet and home.
http://www.housecarers.com

I’m sure there are many more options available but the best option by far is taking your pet with you on your holiday, unfortunately though this is not always possible.