By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

The Long Island Pet Expo drew in large crowds from across LI on Saturday, March 5, 2011, and with rain in the forecast for Sunday, expects the same turnout.  There is something for every type of pet or animal lover, whether you like dogs, pot bellied pigs, turtles, snakes, parrots and other wild life – this is the best place to see everything under one roof!

If you are thinking of adding a new pet to be a member of your family – there are rescue groups from all areas of LI with pets that are available for adoption from adorable little Yorkie, cats and kittens, amazing American Pit Bull Terriers, wonderful mixed breeds, ferrets and more.  Stop by each booth and get to know your local rescues, you may just find you new best friend.

One of the sweetest, adorable Pit Bulls looking for a Furever home at the Expo.

There are also fantastic educational shows and demonstrations for kids and families alike, like the Rainforest Reptiles Shows and the Birds of Prey Program.  You will also be oohhh and ahhed watching the flyball, dancing dogs, agility dogs, and the famous poker playing dog “Jilli Dog” and her friends. The bleacher stands were packed full of families watching and cheering on the different shows.  If you love cats, there is a cat show going on at the same time – some cat breeds you may have not seen in person before.  Tons of vendors too – if you are looking to purchase pet products for your pets.

If you were not able to make it today, the Pet Expo is taking place on Sunday, March 6 as well from 10am to 6pm at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, NY.  For more details, cost and directions click here.  Be sure to pick up your complimentary copy of the ‘Pet Press’ published by the Long Island Press.

Also see Sunday’s schedule below.

SUNDAY – March 6

Dog Ring

10:30 AM       Agility & Frisbee Demonstrations by Doggie U

and LI Road Rage

11:15 AM       Dog Pals Dog Trick Show

12:00 Noon    Classic K9’s

12:45 PM       Dancing with Your Dogs

1:00 PM         Jilli Dog

1:30 PM         Agility and Flyball Demonstrations by Doggie U

and LI Road Rage

2:15 PM         Classic K9

3:00 PM         Dog Pals Dog Trick Show

3:45 PM         Dancing with Dogs

4:15 PM         Classic K9 Dog Show

5:00 PM         Agility, Flyball & Frisbee Demonstrations by  Doggie U

and LI Road Rage

Stage

11:00 AM      Rainforest Reptile Show

12:00 Noon   Petland Discounts Traveling Pet Show

12:30 PM      Birds of Prey Program

1:00 PM        Rainforest Reptile Show

1:30 PM        Dog Pals- How to Use Feeding Time to Train your Dog

2:15 PM        Pet Safe Coalition – “Leave No Animal Behind”

3:00 PM        Rainforest Reptile Show

3:30 PM        Petland Discounts Traveling Pet Show

4:00 PM        Birds of Prey Program

5:00 PM        Rainforest Reptile Show

Cat Ring

TICA CAT SHOW 10:00 am will continue all day until conclusion

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Found a lost dog…Now what?

If you see a loose dog, for most pet lovers our first instinct is to stop and see if we can help get the dog back to its owner and back home.  Does the dog have a collar with ID tags and a number to call to reunite the pet with its family?  Many times a dog gets loose with no visible ID, and no way to immediately get it back home.

Very recently a there was a sad story about a lost dog on Fox Five found in Nassau County. When a good samaritan saw the dog loose in the road, he wanted to help the dog out of harms way and get the dog back to its owners.   So the man stopped and coaxed the dog to him and brought him home.  He and his fiancé decided to post the dog in the Pets section of Craigslist.com, and with in a few hours the “owner” contacted them claiming it was her dog.  They met the next day in a shopping center nearby so she could pick up ‘her’ dog.  A couple hours after the dog was reunited with the supposed owner, the real owner contacted them about the dog.  It turns out the real owner only lived five houses away from where the dog was picked up.  So unfortunately the dog was given to someone who is not the real owner.

What you can do if you do find a loose dog with no ID:

• If you find a dog in a neighborhood, first and foremost, knock on some doors, it could be the dog was only a house or so away. (Which was the case here, the dog was only 5 houses away). This also goes hand in hand in getting to know your neighbors, and their pets.
• If the dog has no collar or tags, call or go to your local town animal shelter – the dog may be microchipped and most shelters have scanners to see if the dog has a chip and can help relocating the dog.  If you are leaving the dog at the shelter as a stray, town animal shelters by law have to hold for a period of time (usually seven days) before the dog can be placed for adoption.  This will also give the owner a chance to look to see if there dog is in the local town shelter.

• If the animal shelter is closed, go to your nearest veterinarian office, many vet offices also have scanners.

• If you do post the dog to a community pet section of a website like craigslist or if you post to Facebook – make sure the person claiming the dog is theirs has proof i.e. clear photo’s of the dog, medical records, can identify markings on the dog, maybe a scar from a past injury, if the dog is spayed or neutered or other information that the person can just tell from a picture. (I would ask these questions over the phone before reuniting).

• Watch the dog’s body language during the reuniting – the dog on the video didn’t look overly excited to see its ‘owner’ it almost seemed like it didn’t really know her.  The majority of dogs are so happy, excited, and ecstatic to see their owners again, even after just 5 minutes apart – so watch for that.  Over excitement is not a tell “tail” sign that the dog is theirs, but could help the rescuers spotting a fraud if the dog is acting shy or scared of the person claiming it is their dog.

• Does the dog respond to the name?  The horrible person in the video stealing the dog called the dog “baby” and anyone can call a dog baby.

To prevent the above from happening, dog owners can follow these tips:

• Have a collar or harness with ID tags on your dog at all times, with updated contact information. (Do not use a training collar for this purpose – a flat buckle collar is best.)

• Have your dog licensed with the state (dog licenses are required by state law and can be acquired at your local town clerk’s office), this is another form of ID and easy for town shelters to identify the dog and its owner.

• Does your dog escape, climb over or under your fence?  Be sure you have a secure yard if you know your dog is an escape artist.  Always check to see if your gate is securely closed, and teach your kids this as well.

• If your dog is an escape artist and known for getting out, be sure to get the dog microchipped.

• Is your dog spayed or neutered?  Dogs that are not “fixed” tend to want to get out and mate – so another good reason for spaying and neutering your pets.

• Does your dog know where he or she lives?  This may sound really silly, but if you never walk your dog, and it’s only a house dog or dog that only goes in your yard, the neighborhood could be a whole new big world for your dog to explore, easily get lost, not recognize anything and if you never walk your dog – how does your dog know which house is theirs?  (People who walk their dogs on a regular basis know that their dog could lead them right back home!)

• Get to know your neighbors!  If you know your neighbor has a German Shepherd and you see a loose German Shepherd in your neighborhood, chances are it is their dog.

We are hoping that the woman in the video tape is found comes forward and the dog Lilly is reunited with its owner very soon.  If you know who the person who stole the dog is, call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-8477.

by Pamela Fitzpatrick, of YourDogWalkers, shihtzu58@optonline.net

I recently joined the ranks of the more than 15 million ipad users and stepped into the world of tablet computing.  I am amazed at what the Ipad can do!  Entertainment, productivity, organization;  it is incredible how useful a tool this is.  I am writing this article on my Ipad to test out the word processing functionality. (So far, so good).

Out of curiosity i searched the Apple Itunes store for apps related to “pets” and came up with 128 results.  The majority are games or educational (lots of kids games and cute wallpapers), but there are some interesting and potentially useful ones that petowners might be interested in. I have downloaded some and just read the descriptions of others, so this isn’t a review, just a sampling of what’s out there.

Free apps are the best…Life for Ipad, Humane TV and Daily LOL pets are a few of the free ones I found.  Your preschooler can dress up cartoon cats with Dress Your Cat HD, or feed play and accessorize a puppy (Pet Puppy). Your whole family can enjoy great animal photos on LIFE for Ipad or take the breed quiz on the I know Dogs Breed Guide and quiz game.  Looking for a dog park in NYC?  There’s an app for that. (Long Island would be better, for any app developers out there).

Pet related apps run the gamut; cute, fun, useful, or strange.

Want the security of a barking dog to protect your home? The Barking Dog Home Security App can do that.

For the more organized pet owners among us, there are several options to track your pets medical history and vaccination records.  Check out Dog Medical Agenda for Ipad, I pet Care, or My Dog.  Horse owners may like Horse Medical Agenda for Ipad.

Om Nom?  Can my dog eat it? (or OMG my dog ate it!) looks like a really useful guide either before or after the fact.  i just downloaded it, and at first glance the information looks factual and comprehensive.  Cant be used as a substitute for vet advice, but a handy guide to have.

If you have an Ipad and pet(s) check out the pet and animal apps.  If anyone has any  favorites apps, please let me know.
shihtzu58@optonline.net

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Don’t forget the Pets!

With barely a day left to shop for Christmas, don’t forget gifts for the pets or pet lovers in your life.  Going to a Holiday party to someone’s house that has a cat, dog or bird?  Instead of the dreaded fruitcake or another needless dessert, bring the hostess a gift that is for their pet.  Giving a pet owner a fabulous pet product for their beloved pet will go a long way, they will remember that probably more than another sweater!  So with that said, here are some suggestions for you to go out and get today for that pet owner you have absolutely no idea what to get.

If you know what their favorite local pet store is or who their groomer is – why not get them a gift certificate.  Or if you know they will appreciate a donation made in their name to a local non-for-profit animal rescue, you will be giving more than one present that way.  Some great pet non-for-profits here on Long Island are:

Amaryllis Horse Farm; Kent Animal Shelter; Long Island Parrot Society; Long Island Dog Owners Group; Pet Safe Coalition; Shelter Link; The Shelter Connection and one close to my heart is, Special Needs Dobermans, not based on LI, but have helped many Dobermans on our Island over the years.

Did a loved one adopt a new dog or puppy recently?  Maybe that pup needs some training, or in most cases the owners need the training – get them a gift certificate for a dog trainer or dog training school to help them with their new dog. Long Island is lucky to have some fantastic trainers, so really there is no excuse for a bad dog owner!  You can also let them know about a free dog training and education class the Town of Islip offers once a month to all residents on LI.

Some fail safe pet products that any pet owner will love are: Organic or holistic treats for their dog, cat or bird.  A new pet bed – try to find a bed that will match or compliment the owner’s house.  Set up a photo session with a professional pet photographer to capture precious moments of one’s pets.  Or frame a picture you have taken of their pet in a beautiful frame that they will be proud to display.  Quality products that are a must have for any dog owner are:

The Furminator is a great product for de-shedding your pet, keeping his coat healthy and tangle free – especially in between a grooming appointment.  Furminator also has a new short hair deshedder which is designed for dogs with hair length of 2-inches or shorter.  Works great on my Pit Bull, and he loves, loves, loves to be “furminated.”  The Kong toy is a classic for any dog owner.  The Kong comes in different sizes and toughness based on the chew power of your dog or puppy.  It is a wonderful product to keep your dog active, mentally stimulated and busy.  Both products can be easily found at local pet shops.  Or if you have a dog walker or trainer you are looking to get a great gift for, check out this reflective cap made by WalkMeWear™ for anyone out walking their dog in low or no light.

Don’t forget to shop at smaller pet mom & pop type pet stores you will get much better customer service, better prices and have knowledgeable staff and/or owners at the store to help guide you.  Pets are our family members, and while they may not “know” it’s the Holiday’s, they do know when they are getting something just for them!  So don’t forget the pet owners in your life and get them a nice gift for their beloved pet.  Happy Holidays!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Did you know that cats that are exposed to 2nd hand smoke have a higher incidence of getting lymphoma, skin cancer and mouth cancer?  According to a Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine study which found a strong connection between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and oral and skin cancer in cats. Cats living with smokers had higher incidence of these types of cancer and cats living with more than one smoker and exposed to ETS for a period longer than five years have an even higher incidence of these cancers.

Mouth cancer may seem strange for a cat to get due to 2nd hand smoke, but because cats groom themselves daily, a cat living in a smoking housed hold can lick up carcinogens that have landed on their fur.  If a cat is exposed to 2nd hand smoke over a long period of time they can be exposed to carcinogens in dangerous amounts.

With dogs, 2nd hand smoke is associated more with nasal sinus cancer, especially in breeds that have longer noses such as Dobermans, Greyhounds or Collies. According to a study done by Colorado State University found that the risk of nasal cancer was significantly higher for long-nosed dogs exposed to household ETS than for unexposed animals, although there was no evidence of an increase in risk for short-nosed breeds. 

While primary lung cancer is not common in cats and dogs, according to Dr.
Keith Niesenbaum of www.CrawfordDogandCatHospital.com in Garden City Park said, “I have definitely seen pets with chronic airway disease that I believe is caused or exacerbated by poor environmental air quality. This includes stuffy, moldy, stale air and second hand smoke.  We have seen clinical improvements in patients as a result of cleaning up the environment [in which the pet lives in].”

While it can be extremely difficult for humans to quit smoking, but pets don’t have a choice if they are living in a smoking household.  Thursday, November 18, 2010 is the 35th Annual National Smoke Out encouraging smoker’s trying to quit, to not smoke the entire day.  Hopefully pet owners that happen to smoke and want to quit will make a healthier choice for themselves and their pets on the 18th.