Candy/Chocolate Dangers

Holiday Treats, like candy, chocolate and cookies, can be extremely dangerous for pets, if they are consumed. We recommend keeping all of these dangerous treats out of their reach, to ensure their safety. 

Holiday Foods

During the holiday season, it’s important to make sure your pet is safe. Many of the foods we eat for the holidays are dangerous for our pets and could injure them or make them sick. Sugary treats, turkey, and especially turkey bones are things our pets should never eat. Keep an eye on your pet this holiday!

National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

It’s National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, a time to say “thank you” for the great work they do! Donate food, volunteer your time, or just send a message saying “thanks.” It’s time the animal shelter knows how much we appreciate their kindness.

Halloween Pet Safety Tips

Attention, animals lovers, it's almost the spookiest night of the year! The ASPCA recommends taking common sense precautions this Halloween to keep you and your pet saying 'trick or treat' all the way to November 1.

1. No tricks, no treats: That bowl of Candy is for trick-or-treaters, not for Scruffy of Fluffy. Chocolate in all forms, especially dark chocolate, can be very dangerous for dogs and cats.

2. Popular Halloweens plants such as pumpkins and decorative corn are considered to be relatively nontoxic, but they can produce stomach upset in pets who nibble on them.

3. Wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations should be kept out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your pet might suffer cuts or burns.

4. A carved pumpkin certainly is festive, but do exercise caution if you choose to add a candle.

5. Dress up can be a big mess up for some pets. Please don't put your dog or cat in a costume unless you know he or she loves it.

6. If you do dress up your pet, make sure the costume isn't annoying or unsafe.

7. Take a closer look at your pet's costume and make sure it does not have small, dangling or easily chewed off pieces that he could choke on.

8. All but the most social dogs and cats should be kept in a separate from the front door during peak trick-or-treating hours.

9. When opening the door for trick-or-treaters, take care that your cat or dog doesn't dart outside.

10. IDs, please! Always make sure your dog or cat has proper identification.

www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-care-tips/halloween-safety-tips.aspx

Today is Take Your Cat to the Vet Day

How long has it been since your cat visited us at Towne Square Animal Clinic? Today is National "Take Your Cat to the Vet" Day! If your cat is due for a visit, it's time to get them checked. Remember, there's supposed to be 6-12 months between each visit, depending on your pet's age! Regular visits can help your cat live longer, because we can identify and treat problems sooner!

Play With Your Pet

Does your pet often get brushed to the side when you’re family is busy at home? Your pet craves attention from you, and would love to spend a little time playing and bonding with you. Make your pet’s day today, and give them a little play time with the people they love the most.

Over-the-Counter Medications & Pets

Pets are often curious creatures, wanting to check out things around the house. Because of this characteristic, it’s important to always store dangerous substances like medicine far from their reach. Pets have been known to accidentally ingest whole packages of pills and the results are often serious, sometimes fatal. Keep your pet’s safe at home by storing your medicine safely out of their reach.

Pets & Insects

It's time to go outdoors with your pet and check out all flowers and plants. Make sure to keep an eye on your pet in case a bee decides he doesn't want your pet to get up close and personal.

PetFest2012

Join us for PetFest 2012 this Sunday June 24th from 11am to 4pm at Boone Woods Park-Shelter 3. Come out and celebrate pets and raise money for Friends of the Shelter.

 

Pet Appreciation Week

It's Pet Appreciation Week! However you decide to celebrate Pet Appreciation Week, just make sure that you do a little something extra. Your pet deserves the very best that you have to offer them because they give you their very best each and every day of their life.

Pets In Cars

During the hot, summer months, please consider the safety of your pet when you take them for a ride in the car. Remember that even if you’re planning on running into a store for just a minute, it’s too dangerous to leave your pet in the car. Just a few minutes in a car during the summer months can raise the temperature to unbearable levels. Exposure to such extreme heat can result in heatstroke, which can cause brain damage or even death. Leave your pets at home in the air conditioning this summer if it gets too hot.

June is Social PETworking Month

June is Social PETworking Month! This is a month designated to help pair families with homeless pets. The campaign allows Facebook, MySpace and Twitter addicts to put their hours online to good use by advertising adoptable pets to their networks to help get them seen and into loving homes. So if you know of any pets in need of good homes, take to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and get the word out this June!

Animal Friends Humane Society Annual Dog Wash Fundraiser

5 Items in Your Purse that Could Poison Your Pet

 You’ve probably dog-proofed your house…but have you thought about what’s in your purse? Did you know that there are 5 items in your purse that could poison your canine companion?

Here’s a look at the top five most hazardous handbook contents:

Sugarless chewing gum and breath mints

Many women carry chewing gum in their purses and don’t realize that, if ingested by a dog, it can be fatal. Most sugarless gums, including some Trident™, Orbit™, and Ice Breaker™ brands, contain xylitol, a sweetener that is toxic to dogs. Some sugarless mints and flavored multi-vitamins may also be made with xylitol. When ingested, even small amounts of xylitol can result in a life-threatening and rapid drop in blood sugar, and if large amounts are ingested, dogs can suffer from severe liver failure. Signs of xylitol poisoning include vomiting, weakness, difficulty walking, collapse, tremors and seizures.

Human medications
Many purses contain pill bottles and dispensers. They are irresistible to some dogs, as they resemble toys that rattle. Each year, nearly half of the calls to Pet Poison Helpline concern ingestions of potentially toxic human medications. Common drugs including NSAIDs (e.g. Advil®, Aleve® and Motrin®), acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol®) and antidepressants (e.g. Effexor®, Cymbalta®, Prozac®) can cause serious harm to dogs and cats when ingested. NSAIDs such as Advil can cause stomach and intestinal ulcers as well as kidney failure, especially in cats. A single Tylenol tablet containing acetaminophen can be fatal to a cat, and in dogs, a larger ingestion can lead to severe liver failure. Of all medications, antidepressants account for the highest number of calls to Pet Poison Helpline, and can cause neurological problems like sedation, incoordination, agitation, tremors and seizures.
Asthma inhalers (albuterol)

While asthma inhalers are often used in veterinary medicine for cats and dogs, when accidentally chewed and punctured by dogs, they can cause severe, life-threatening, acute poisoning. Because inhalers often contain concentrated doses (often 200 doses in one small vial) of beta-agonist drugs (e.g., albuterol) or steroids (e.g., fluticasone), dogs that chew into them are exposed to massive amounts of the drugs all at once. This can lead to severe poisoning, resulting in life-threatening heart arrhythmias, agitation, vomiting, collapse and death.

Cigarettes

As few as three cigarettes can be fatal to a small dog, depending on the strength or “lightness” of the cigarettes. After ingestion, clinical signs of distress can become apparent in as little as 15 minutes. Cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and even gum (Nicorette®) contain nicotine, which is toxic to dogs and cats. Exposure causes high heart and respiratory rates, neurological overstimulation, uncontrolled urination/defecation, tremors, seizures, paralysis and death.

Hand Sanitizer

In recent years, hand sanitizer has become a common item in millions of handbags. Many hand sanitizers claim to kill almost 100 percent of germs, and this possible because they contain high amounts of alcohol (ethanol) – sometimes up to 95 percent. Therefore, when a dog ingests a small bottle of hand sanitizer, it can have the same effect as a shot of hard liquor. This can cause a severe drop in blood sugar, incoordination, a drop in body temperature, neurological depression, coma and death.

Whether you are the host or a guest at a holiday party, be sure that purses are placed in a safe location and out of the reach of pets. When in doubt, hang it up.

Mobilize the Earth for Earth Day 2012

The first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life to speak out against the deterioration of the environment and demand change. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency was created, the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts were passed,and the modern environmental movement was born.

Today, more than 1 billion people in 192 countries participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. This year, in the face of global inaction on pressing environmental problems, we must harness that power.

Earth Day Network is calling upon individuals, organizations, businesses and governments to Mobilize the Earth™ and demand that environmental issues become a top priority.

Pets & Allergies

Is your pet itching and scratching and feeling miserable? They could be experiencing a case of seasonal allergies. When our pets suffer from allergies, it's a little different from when we do. They don't sniffle and sneeze, they itch! Their skin may become inflamed and flaky, and they need a little extra loving care. We'll be glad to give you our advice for how to care for allergy symptoms in your pet. Call us today! 

Pets & Easter Lilies

Lilies are a popular Easter flower, but did you know that they can actually be toxic to your pet? Like the Christmas poinsettias, lilies can attract the attention of your pet, especially cats, and then have a toxic effect when ingested. Keep those Easter lilies far from your pet's reach this season, or look into artificial options. The art of artificial flowers have gotten so advanced that your guests won't be able to tell the difference...and your pet will be safe.

Golfing for Animals at the UPF Golf Classic

The United Pet Fund is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit started by us in 2010 to help Cincinnati area Animal Care and Service Organizations. You are all welcome to participate in the 3rd Annual United Pet Fund Golf Classic this coming September 17th, 2012. It will be held again at the O'Bannon Creek Golf Club in Loveland, Ohio. A great place to enjoy a round of golf! This year we will be raising funds again to support our mission of 'Empowering All Those Who Help Needy Animals!" One of the recipients of monies raised at the Classic will be The HEARTT Animal Sanctuary in Reading as we help them get a better ventilation system for their shelter. Other uses for the funds will be for the Pet Health Day held in OTR at the St. Francis Seraph Church on Liberty and Vine, and an important seminar on Social Media use to improve adoptions this coming November.

Our host for the Classic this year will be well known Cincinnati comedian Steve Caminiti. Other well known guests will be announced in the next couple of months. You can find out more info about UPF and the Classic held last year at www.unitedpetfund.org. We value our relationships with a number of rescues and shelters in the Greater Cincinnati area. Come help us provide more resources for them and empower them as they do all the hard work in taking care of temporarily homeless animals.  If you would like to be a golfer at the Classic, Sponsor or Donor, feel free to e-mail me at tsacvet@gmail.com.

American Kennel Club Announces Most Popular Dogs in the U.S.

2011 Most Popular Dogs in the U.S.	2010 Ranking
1. Labrador Retriever	1. Labrador Retriever
2. German Shepherd Dog	2. German Shepherd Dog
3. Beagle	3. Yorkshire Terrier
4. Golden Retriever	4. Beagle
5. Yorkshire Terrier	5. Golden Retriever
6. Bulldog	6. Bulldog
7. Boxer	7. Boxer
8. Poodle	8. Dachshund
9. Dachshund	9. Poodle
10. Rottweiler	10. Shih Tzu