By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

What happens when you combine the talent of a local Long Island Pet Professional and an award winning no-kill animal shelter?  The world gets a revolutionary new way to meet pets that are up for adoption, live right on your computer! Introducing AnimalRoulette.com. AnimalRoulette.com is an incredible new technology that is going to put a new spin on pet adoptions – and transform the way potential adopters can search for pets.  Being launched to go live at Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton, NY this Saturday, July 17th from 1 to 4pm – this new site, the first of its kind in the pet world was designed by Michael Ayalon, CEO of PetWebDesigner.com.

The buzz about this amazing new website has already attracted the media attention from ABC NY News, News 12, Newsday, PetSide.com, Farmingdale Observer, Levittown Tribune, Babylon Beacon and many more.  Ayalon was thinking of a way to use this type of technology to help more animals get adopted, virtually if you will.  After six months of development, Ayalon was ready to a launch the website and happened to meet Pam Green the Director of Kent Animal Shelter at a recent Long Island Pet Professionals networking meeting.  Green was on board and said, “We are always looking for new ways to expand the number of pets adopted, so it makes sense to offer people looking to adopt a pet more than just a photo. They should be able to see the pet’s disposition live in order to determine if the pet would make a good addition to their family. AnimalRoulette.com gives us that ability.”

With technology taking us places we have never before been, why not let it take us to your local animal shelter, or one across state?  This technology enables potential adopters to view animals waiting for that furever home in a live meet and greet video chat online.  Viewers on AnimalRoulette.com just need a webcam and audio hooked up to their computer so they can interact with shelter staff and talk to them about the pet that particular shelter is showing.  If the potential adopter is not really interested in that pet, then they can simply hit “next” and it will bring them to another randomly selected pet in a different live video chat room, hence the “roulette” in the name.  This Saturday, all the pets that will be debuted on AnimalRoulette.com will be pets currently available for adoption at Kent Animal Shelter.  So if you live in NYC and cannot physically get to Kent on Saturday and you want to see how a pet is, presents itself, interacts with shelter staff, other animals, you can do so from the comfort of home on your computer.  All adoptions will go through normal adoption procedures through Kent if you do decide you really want to adopt one of their pets you meet while on AnimalRoulette.com, you can simply fill their an online adoption form on Kent’s website, www.kentanimalshelter.com.  

Another fantastic part of this is that if you have small kids and you can’t make it to a shelter, this will eliminate finding a babysitter as the entire family can “meet” the pet live online.  Also the noise in a shelter on initial visits result in people passing by that dog in the corner of the run or the one that is jumping and barking.  So often overlooked pets will really benefit from this as well.  People will see how great that pet is, once out of its kennel run, and in a quieter room for the live intro online.

Ayalon said, “I know how much shelters in this country struggle to find homes for their animals, and I felt that today’s opportunity of real time on the Internet provided the perfect place for pet lovers all over the country to see what’s available.  We hope to make this video and audio technology improve the adoption rates for shelters all over the United States. Kent Animal Shelter was the perfect partner for the project because of their outstanding work as a no-kill shelter since 1968.”

Due to this great new idea, the ASPCA also recently named Ayalon their first ever “Animal Hero of the Week.” 

So if you have been thinking about adopting a pet and were apprehensive as to what you might find in a local animal shelter, this is the perfect outlet to see the remarkable pets looking for love and a home.  Log onto www.AnimalRoulette.com this Saturday, July 17 from 1 to 4pm and meet your new best friend.

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Recycling to help animal shelters

Most Long Islander’s are accustomed to recycling their plastic and glass bottles, newspaper, aluminum cans and some are even composting. But what about items that you throw away that could be used by our local Animal Shelters? You might be surprised to learn some of the items that are being thrown into our landfills may make a nice warm bed for shelter cats and dogs. In speaking with Joanne Daly of the Town of Islip Animal Shelter she said they could use the following items: newspapers to be used in place of cat litter; clean used blankets, sheets and towels; play pens; and is specifically looking for (2) wooden toy chests. One for storage of dog toys and the other to store leashes. They could also really use dry cat food and puppy food.

What about if you are not a pet owner at all, yet you clip coupons every Sunday? Some local non-profit animal rescue organizations like Forgotten Friends of Long Island (http://www.forgottenfriendsoflongisland.org/Wish_list.html ) and Last Hope Inc. (http://www.lasthopeanimalrescue.org/wish-list.htm) could really use cat and dog food, treat and supply coupons, to help deter their costs. So why not clip the pet coupons and mail to them in, especially if you are not using them.

Other items that are needed range from donating your used car, to used but clean dog and cat carriers and crates, old furniture for “real life” rooms at private animal shelters, to something as simple as used tennis balls. And to help beat the heat kiddie pools in good condition, a dog in a kennel all day long this summer would appreciate a dip in a cool pool.

So if you want to donate, but don’t have the budget to contribute monetarily, there are always ways you can help, and be green while doing so. Call your own local Animal Shelter to see what they may need – it might in your recycle bin or about to be tossed out.

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Huntington Town voted Most pet friendly

In a recent 2-week long poll taken by LIPetPlace.com asking, “What Town do you think is the most Pet Friendly on Long Island?” The Town of Huntington beat out Smithtown and Islip by one vote as being the most pet friendly. While every town was voted for in Suffolk, Babylon surprisingly coming last place, in Nassau only the Town of Oyster Bay, and City of Long Beach got any votes, and all the other Nassau towns didn’t get any – kind of tells you something doesn’t it. It would be great to see every town on Long Island get voted for as being most pet friendly, but as many of you reading this know, it’s not always the case. Growing up in Suffolk county and having dogs, cats, and riding horses, it never even occurred to me that a town or village could be unfriendly towards pet owners, you were pretty much allowed to go anywhere with your pet. Today, there are places that we can no longer go to with our pets, but usually it’s because of an endangered species, (like at certain beaches that used to be more dog friendly), or there are just more restrictions as we get more crowded.

Still today, we are fortunate in Suffolk vs. Nassau to be in a more pet friendly county. Although there are hidden gems in Nassau that not a lot of people know about. In the coming months some of those spots will be explored and rated on LIPetPlace.com. But in the meantime what would you like to see your Town or Village do, to be more pet friendly? How can you help government officials to do so?

July 7, 2010
By Pamela Fitzpatrick, of YourDogWalkers, shihtzu58@optonline.net

HEAT WAVE – HOT WEATHER TIPS

For pet owners, a heat wave like the one we’re currently experiencing requires taking extra care to ensure pet safety. NEVER leave any animal inside a parked car during the summer- a car can heat up to 120 degrees in just a matter of minutes even on a much cooler day than today. Leaving car windows open wont help! Pets can quickly suffer heatstroke, brain damage, and death if left trapped in high temperatures.

Make sure your dog or cat has plenty of fresh, clean water at all times. Consider floating ice cubes in water bowls to help keep the water cool. Keep animals inside, in air conditioning if possible. If you don’t have air conditioning, try placing a large bowl of ice in front of a fan to circulate cooler air.

Dogs are particularly susceptible to heat related problems, in part because they can only cool themselves by panting and sweating through their paw pads. Short nosed breeds, (Boxers, Pugs, Pekinese, Shih Tzu’s etc) and well as longhaired, overweight, and very young or old animals are especially at risk

Signs of heat stress in dogs include:

• Heavy Panting
• Glazed Eyes
• Rapid Pulse
• Unsteadiness
• Vomiting
• Deep red or purple tongue

If your pet does become overheated, you must act quickly to lower their body temperature!

Move the animal into the shade and immediately apply cool (not cold) water over their body to gradually lower the temperature The dog should be taken to the veterinarian’s office or to an emergency veterinary clinic immediately. Most dogs will not drink water at this stage of heat stroke, so don’t waste time trying to get them to drink. Get to the vet’s as quickly as possible.

Remember, if it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for your pet!

June 28, 2010
By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

About 9 years ago, I heard from a fellow pet lover about a new pet store opening in North Babylon, and that I had to go there and check it out. When I asked why, what was so special about it? I was told, just go and see for yourself. So I did. At the time I was shopping at the local big box chain pet store, and wasn’t really impressed but there were not a lot of options to choose from. I remember when I was kid going to the local pet store in Babylon Village where the owner was always very personable and helpful and he seemed to know a heck of a lot about all kinds of pets. I got that same feeling when I walked into Cozy Pet in North Babylon and met the owner, Sue Carmody.

Sue was immediately warm and friendly, had a lot of knowledge about the products in her store and always remembered my dog’s name each time I came in – and gave her extra treats. That personal customer service and attention is what kept me coming back to Cozy Pet. Not to mention that the quality of products were much better than the big box store. So in approaching the 10 year anniversary of Cozy Pet I sat down with Sue to talk about the shop.

What drew you to opening a home town pet boutique? “I started a Mom & Pop type store because I grew up in a small general food store as a child. I have always believed that the small business person is the life-line of this country and you can certainly get a warmer more personal welcomed feeling in such a store.”

What is your background in the pet industry? ”I have long and extensive background in canine, feline and horse care. I worked for a Vet Hospital for several years and I’m an experienced Medical Tech and Registered Medical Assistant. I’ve conducted a 5 year clinical study on dog food, cat food and canine nutrition, gaining extensive knowledge in nutrition, supplements, skin and coat conditions and health related diet problems. I have also worked in animal rescue for over 25 years.”

What is your position on pet foods? “I believe in feeding all-natural foods to our pets because they are not in the wild therefore they can not choose proper nourishment for themselves. We are their caretakers and it is up to us to do what is best for their health and well being. Chemical and animal by-products in their diet can cause many medical problems. Also dogs and cats should eat a meat protein based diet and not a grain one that is in most of the non-natural foods.”

You have grooming at Cozy Pet, what do you do to set Cozy Pet’s grooming apart? “Our grooming is an open door welcome to stay shop. So if you want to stay with your dog while it’s being groomed you are welcome to do so. It is a one-on-one service for your pet, like a hair appointment for yourself. We do not cram dogs into crates and keep them all day for several hours. Our client’s dogs are much more relaxed and have a groomer who is only working on one dog at a time. We do not use cage dryers – we only use hand blowers which is much safer for the dog. All our shampoos are natural, of the best quality and when a dog comes in we can check its skin and coat to use the best shampoo for that dog. We also have Oatmeal and Medicated shampoo that we can use on problem skin. Our rooms are sanitized as well as our equipment so each dog is safe from fleas & kennel cough. All go home with bows, bandannas and treats.

What do you like most about owning your own shop? “The best thing about having this shop is that I am able to talk to people and help to educate them on nutrition for their pet’s diet. My favorite thing is to welcome each dog that comes in for grooming or just to shop with its owner, I love seeing them and giving out a “goody” bone. It makes my day complete to get a kiss and a tail wag!”

Cozy Pet started in smaller store, but has recently expanded into a larger store a few storefronts down from the original location. And if your scratching your head saying, “Isn’t Cozy Pet in Babylon Village?” You would be correct there is a second location operated by her son, and has all the same great qualities as the North Babylon location.

One thing I will say as a customer is that Cozy Pet always gives back to the community through working with different rescues, hosting events and of course with great customer service. And while big box pet stores still pop up, the dedicated customer service of an owner of a mom & pop pet boutique will keep customers coming back, again and again.

www.cozypettlc.com