Guest Post by Owner: Susan Deisher, CPPS from Sit. Stay. Grow. May 21, 2018
People fall into two categories: You are an “animal” person or you are not. Animal people have usually been around animals their entire lives and are not in the least bothered by feces, puke, pee, scooping litter boxes or letting a pet “snot” on them.
As one of those people, I am uniquely qualified for the work I do. My husband is a non-animal person who, although he doesn’t understand my lack of squeamishness, still loves me and tolerates my pets and unusual profession.
Although, I truly believe in this dichotomy among people, I am always amazed by people that have pets but seem to be clueless about dangers they are inadvertently creating for their pal.
My number one “pet peeve” is that people provide inappropriate toys for their pets. Pets should not play unsupervised with anything that they can swallow, tear up, or get wrapped around their necks. Many dogs have rope toys that they can easily shred and consume. Many cats play with small balls of tin foil because they will chase them, bat them around., and their human finds this amusing. That is fine but put them away when the pet will be unsupervised.
Close all open cabinets, closets, toilet lids, open appliances, remove large art on tables and anywhere else a cat or dog might accidentally fall or pull something down on themselves. It sounds ludicrous but pets have drowned in toilets.
People often buy expensive pet food or treats but then dump it into large containers that don’t really seal tightly. Vitamins and minerals degrade quickly and the fats in the food may become rancid before you serve it all. It is much safer to buy smaller bags and seal them between use. Also, it is important to refrigerate any opened wet food!
All pets should be fitted with breakaway collars so they don’t get strangled by something in their environment. If you need a different collar for walks, so be it, but keep in mind that your pet can easily choke or hang itself on door knobs or tree branches when you are not watching.
Occasionally, I am asked to care for an unusual pets. I generally do my “homework” to find out as much about that kind of pet as I can before the sit or I ask someone with experience with that type of animal to perform the sit. I often look to the owner for specifics on care but keep in mind that it is possible for me to improve life conditions for every pet.
Perhaps the most important thing people tend to underestimate is the need for access to clean fresh water, every day. Many people will leave a pet’s water dish uncleaned for many weeks and it grows a biologically hazardous slime on it. Wash the water and pet food bowls; clean the litter box, frequently.
Don’t assume that because you love your pet, everything you do is automatically in her best interest. Do some research. Just because you are an “animal” person, doesn’t mean you know all there is to know about your buddy.
Sit. Stay. Grow. is a Professional Pet and Plant care service in Columbus, Ohio.