by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

OWG went to the dogs! The bi-annual event ‘Dog Days’ held every spring and fall at Old Westbury Gardens was a tail waggin’ success on Saturday, April 13, 2013.   Over 25 pet related vendors and rescue groups, a dog show happening at the same time – judged by David Frei of Westminster, and tons or happy and yappy dogs walking the majestic grounds throughout the day.  If you missed Saturday, you can still go Sunday – but there will not be any vendors, just a beautiful day out to walk your dog and enjoy the grounds. OWG is off limits to dogs the rest of the year, Dog Days is the perfect opportunity to explore the grounds with your favorite pooch.  Bring a camera as there are so many different oppoturnities to capture beautiful pictures of your pup like the ones taken by me below.  Check out the video on our TV channel and many more pictures here too!

MORE PICTURES HERE!!

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

The 2nd Annual ‘Long Island’s Best’ adoption event hosted by ARF (Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons) was held at the Riverhead Polish Hall on Saturday, April 6th, 2013.  In addition to ARF there were other Long Island rescue groups on hand with many adorable dogs, cats, puppies and a couple kittens looking for furever homes.

The rescue groups at the event were:

Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF)
www.arfhamptons.org

Kent Animal Shelter
www.KentAnimalShelter.com

Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter
http://toh.li/animal-shelter

North Fork Animal Welfare League
http://main.nfawl.org

Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation
http://www.southamptonanimalshelter.com

RSVP – Animal Rescue & Welfare Group
http://www.rsvpinc.org

Were you at the adoption event? Did you adopt a pet?  Would love to hear from you in the comments section below!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Now that the snow is melted, the flowers are starting to bloom and the temps are above freezing, it is officially tick season.  If you walk your dog in the woods, along a grassy area, at a park or even if you let Buddy in your yard – chances are your dog can now pick up a few ticks.

It’s time to thoroughly check your dog for ticks each time it comes in the house or before you get back into you car.  Lyme Disease is always a concern for dogs contracting this from ticks, but there are other tick borne illnesses that your dog could get.  In most cases the tick must feed on your dog for 24 hours to infect the dog, so that is why it is good practice and training for your dog to make it a routine to check him.

Be diligent about checking your dogs ears, paws (and I in between the toes), front and back of the neck.  Ticks go anywhere, but those areas seem to be prime real estate for them. The also like moist places, so make sure you look in your dogs ears. And check yourself as well, they can crawl pretty quickly.  You can use a flea comb too to find them and if you are so inclined there are topical monthly treatments to prevent ticks from staying on your dog.  I am not a fan of most of these treatments and prefer holistic alternatives, and and a thorough daily screening of my dog.  This also helps for spotting any abnormalities on your dog that you may have not noticed by just putting monthly drops of a preventative on your dog.

Ticks are everywhere on LI, don’t fool yourself to thinking your well manicured and landscaped property won’t have any.  And check yourself as well, they can crawl pretty quickly.  Ticks are nasty little creatures, but they are a part of life when owning a dog on our infested Island. For more information on ticks click here.   And to see a video to preventing ticks and other saftey tips while out in the park with your dog, click here.

Happy tick hunting? Yes, make it a rountine for your dog and reward him or her afterwards – my old Dobie used to immediately lay down and roll on her side when we got back to the car because she knew it was tick check time.  What a good girl!

What is your best tick prevention or removal method?  Put them in the comments below!

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Do you want to learn how to save your pet in an emergency situation or how to prevent spring and summer pet injuries – sign up for a Pet CPR & First Aid class. If you live on Long Island, you are in luck, the next class hosted by Robyn Elman, President and Founder of In Home Pet Services, who is also a certified Pet Tech is holding her next class onSaturday, April 20, 2013. From 9:30 am – 1:30 pm at the Bid-a-wee Learning Center in Wantagh (3300 Beltagh Avenue, Wantagh, NY 11793). The class is limited to 15 people and a portion of the proceeds will go to Pet Safe Coalition (www.petsafecoalition.org).

This class is offered to pet owners, pet professionals, and anyone that wants to learn these very important pet life saving procedures. Every pet owner and pet professional will benefit from learning these techniques. Using a life sized stuffed animal dog, this class will teach participants how to: restrain an injured or ill pet; CPR and rescue breathing; bleeding injuries; heat element injuries; spring and summer dangers to pets and how to prevent them; bandaging; insect bites and much more. Attendees will learn life saving techniques for their furry loved ones and make is a safer holiday season by being educated in pet first aid and CPR.  

To register for this class, individuals can call (718) 347-7387 or send a check or money order for $85.00 payable to In Home Pet Services, Inc. and mail to: 88-25 247th Street, Bellerose, NY 11426. Each participant will receive a take-home reference manual and a certificate that they completed the course. For more information on this course or about In Home Pet Services, go to:www.InHomePetServices.com. Space is limited.

If you want to learn the truth about veterinary care and nutritional holistic treatment options you will not want to miss the next free Veterinary seminar with Dr. Michel A. Selmer. The South Huntington Library is presenting Dr. Michel A. Selmer of Advanced Animal Care Center, in a live and free educational library seminar for pet owners who want to know the truth about veterinary care and nutritional holistic treatment options. On Thursday, April 25 at 7pm pet owners can ‘Ask the Vet’ about pet nutrition and other questions they may have about their pet’s health.  

Dr. Selmer will be speaking about holistic and preventative veterinary medicine, as well as answer any questions from the audience. Pet owners that are seeking information about alternative options of veterinary care or just want to know more about veterinary treatment today, what may or may not work best for their pet are encouraged to attend this event. Often times, pet owners leave their vet’s office and are not sure if it’s the right course of treatment or feel that their questions went unanswered but may not have another way to get their questions answered. This ‘Ask the Vet’ event will help those pet owners that want to learn how to treat, take care of and help their pets live a longer, healthier life. Dr. Selmer will answer questions and give attendees information that most veterinarians will not want pet owners to know. This is a free library event and for humans only – no pets allowed! To register for this event email Catherine Schmoller at cschmol@suffolk.lib.ny.us or call (631) 549-4411.

Originally published on Long Island Examiner.com!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

UPDATE – see bottom of this post!

Last Friday I went with my friend and fellow LIPP member Ellen Ganci of SnapDog Designs for a walk with our dogs at Belmont Lake State park, and before we even got out of our cars there was a loose, American Eskimo dog speeding across the empty parking lot towards us.  I called the dog over to see if it would come to me, with no apparent owner nearby or person with the dog – but the dog barked and frantically bolted back to the direction where it came from.  We got our dogs out from our cars (Max & Dobby!), and walked away from the direction of where the dog was, equipped with an extra leash just in case she did come over to us.  I kept looking back and the dog was coming in and out of the wooded trail from where she originally came out of and was circling back in that direction.  I said to Ellen, “I hope there isn’t a dead body back there or that it’s owner collapsed in the woods or something.”  As the dog’s behavior was odd – almost Lassie like in the way she kept popping out from the same spot and going back in.  So I called the Town of Babylon Animal Shelter and spoke with their super nice volunteer coordinator Sheryl.  I told her the situation and she said she would send over and Animal Control officer.  Sheryl took my name and number so they could call me back if they couldn’t spot her in the trails.

We proceeded on our walk and before we even finished the first lap around the park, I saw the animal control van going through the parking lot, then wooded trails looking for her.  Ellen said, “That was fast – upstate I wouldn’t even know who to call about a lost dog in the woods – or if anyone would even come to help given the size of the town and personnel to handle it.”  I said, “The town animal control officers down here are usually very good, respond quickly.  I actually some of the Animal Shelter #’s programed into my cell phone – in a just in case emergency.”

When we got over to the parking lot I waved down the van and the Animal Control officer said, she is very skittish and wouldn’t come near me, bolted when she saw me get close.”  I agreed.  He then said, “I will come back with a trap to see if I can get her.” Ellen left, the office left and I took Max for another lap – and didn’t see the dog anywhere. After I left I thought I hope they find her, with Southern State parkway being so close, I was worried she would run out into traffic.

About 45 minutes later in my office, my cell phone rang and it was Sheryl, “Hi, is this Nancy?” Yes I said.  “Nancy we got the dog!”  I think I said, “Holy s**t that was fast, amazing! Thank you for letting me know!” Or something along those lines – so happy they were able to get her – this news made my day.  Sheryl proceeded to tell me that they set a trap by where she was, and she must have been really hungry because she went right in.  Then she told me, she was lactating – and must have recently had puppies.  My heart stopped.  I said, “Maybe that is why she was circling back so much – maybe her puppies are in the woods.  Can you send the AC back to check?”

They went back and a few people along with Sheryl and scoured the woods and didn’t find any puppies. We went back the next day too, and didn’t see anything.  I did go to the shelter to visit the beautiful American Eskimo – and she was very skinny, so she was either loose for a while or had owners and they dumped her there – maybe after her pups were old enough.  I don’t know.

So a simple thing you can do is program all the Town municipal Animal Shelter phone numbers into your cell phone so if this ever happens when you are out and about or on a walk you can call them very quickly.   It’s also helpful if you have a few extra leashes in your car, some extra treats too.  But be very careful approaching a stray or loose dog as they could get scared and run away, bite you or go after your own dog.  It’s best to leave it to the experts – and program the numbers into your phone!  And for your own dogs, be sure you have their dog tags up to date with you cell phone # on it, microchipped and a current picture of your dog just in case he gets loose.

For more information on the American Eskimo call the Town of Babylon Animal Shelter at (631) 643-9270 and her case # ID  13-150.

Here is a list of the town animal shelters & phone #’s now start adding those numbers to your contact lists!

Long Island Town Municipal Shelters:

Town of Babylon Animal Shelter
51 Lamar Street
West Babylon – 11702
631-643-9270