Lee County Humane Society

Pet of the Week

"Naoki" is a young black and white Akita mix.  "Akita" is a high-energy, playful dog, who is great with children.  Come by the Lee County Humane Society Tuesday-Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to visit "Naoki" and her canine companions.

Cold Weather Care for your Pets

The cold weather has arrived. In keeping with past years I want to offer a set of cold weather tips to help keep you pets safe and healthy during the colder months.

Some of these tips address snow and ice environments. Now I know we don’t see too much of either here in Alabama but if you travel with your pet where it does snow, these tips are good to know.
Cold weather tips:

• You may want to bring your cat or dog inside for warmth. Keeping dogs with heavy coats in a slightly cooler room or the garage to prevent them from getting too warm and uncomfortable. Short trips inside the house before a long period of cold can give pets a chance to become accustomed to the atmosphere indoors.
• Outside pet shelter should not be too big in order to prevent the loss of insulation and heat. The door should face the south or west to reduce wind gusts. Use clean straw or hay for bedding as blankets tend to get trampled easily and then lose their insulating effect.
• During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. Before stating the engine, bang loudly on the hood to give the cat a chance to escape.
• Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle, and consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol.
• Frostbite can be an issue on the ears, feet and noses of pets. To avoid frostbite do not let your pet out in extreme cold for a long period of time. Chances are that if you get too cold to be outside, it's probably too cold for your pet to stay out much longer as well.
• The older your pet, the more susceptible they are to the cold weather.
• Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm--dogs can lose their scent and easily become lost. More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure they always wear I.D. tags.
• Thoroughly wipe off your dog's legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze or other chemicals while licking his paws and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.
• If your dog spends a lot of time engaged in outdoor activities, increase his supply of food, particularly protein, to keep his fur thick and healthy.

Following these cold weather tips will help keep your pet safe and healthy over the next few months. Need another source of pet care information? Talk with your veterinarian, she or he can help you with the specific needs of your particular pet.

The Humane Society Weekly Wish: We are in need of bath towels in good condition please.

Jack Fisher
Member, Board of Directors

Presidential Pets

The election is over and Barack Obama is the President-elect. So what next for the media? It seems that quite a few are focusing in on the next presidential pet and the promise Barack Obama made his daughters to get them a puppy.

There is a long history of pets in the White House. Here are a few of the more pet friendly Presidents and the list of Presidential pets:

• Theodore Roosevelt- Sailor Boy, a Chesapeake Bay retriever; Manchu, a Pekingese; Skip, a mutt; terriers named Jack and Pete; cats named Tom Quartz and Slippers; Josiah the badger; Algonquin the pony; Eli the macaw; Jonathan the piebald rat; Emily Spinach, a garter snake; twelve horses; five bears; five guinea pigs; other snakes; two kangaroo rats; lizards; roosters; an owl; a flying squirrel; a raccoon; a coyote; a lion; a hyena; a zebra.
• Calvin Coolidge- Peter Pan, a terrier; Paul Pry (née Laddie Buck), an Airedale; Calamity Jane, a sheepdog; Boston Beans, a bulldog; King Cole, a shepherd; Palo Alto, a birder; collies named Rob Roy (née Oshkosh), Prudence Prim, Ruby Rough, and Bessie; chows named Blackberry and Tiny Tim; canaries named Nip, Tuck, and Snowflake; cats named Bounder, Tiger, and Blacky; raccoons named Rebecca and Horace; Ebeneezer, a donkey; Smokey, a bobcat; Old Bill, a thrush; Enoch, a goose; a mockingbird; a bear; an antelope; a wallaby; a pygmy hippo; some lion cubs.
• John F. Kennedy- Tom Kitten the cat; Robin the canary; Zsa Zsa the rabbit; Sardar the horse; ponies named Macaroni, Tex, and Leprechaun; parakeets named Bluebell and Marybelle; hamsters named Debbie and Billie; Charlie, a Welsh terrier, plus dogs named Pushinka, Shannon, Wolf, and Clipper, plus Pushinka and Charlie's pups: Blackie, Butterfly, Streaker, and White Tips.
• Richard Nixon- Checkers, a cocker spaniel; Vicky, a poodle; Pasha, a terrier; King Timahoe, an Irish setter; fish.
• Jimmy Carter- Grits the dog; Misty Malarky Ying Yang, a Siamese cat.
• Ronald Reagan- Rex, a King Charles spaniel; Lucky, a Bouvier des Flandres sheepdog.
• Bill Clinton- Socks the cat; Buddy, a chocolate Labrador retriever.
• George W. Bush- Spot, a Springer spaniel, born in the White House in 1989 to George H. W. Bush's Millie (died Feb. 21, 2004); Barney, a Scottish terrier; India (“Willie”) the cat. The Bushes' orange-striped polydactyl cat Ernie was judged too wild for White House life and now lives with a family in California. In 2004, the President gave his wife Laura a Scottish terrier puppy named Miss Beazley for the First Lady's birthday.

All reports say the Obamas plan to adopt their new Presidential dog from a shelter. That’s good news for the millions of adoptable animals in shelters across the United States.

Send an email and tell me what breed of dog you think they need to adopt and why. I’ll put your responses in a future column. Send your thoughts to jackfisher@zenbe.com.

The Humane Society Weekly Wish: Dry dog food, cat litter and bleach.

Jack Fisher
Member, Board of Directors

Pet Portraits with Santa

Have your pet's portrait made with Santa Claus on Sunday, Nov. 16 at For Paws Boutique.  FlipFlopFoto will make the pet portraits and have packages ranging from $8 to $35 for sale.  These photos make wonderful Christmas gifts and cards.  For Paws Boutique is located at 1747 Ogletree Road in Auburn.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit the animals of the Lee County Humane Society.  Bring your furry friend to visit Santa for some festive fun.

Pet of the Week

"Demi" is a young short hair mix who is kind and loves to cuddle.  To visit "Demi" and her feline friends visit the Lee County Humane Society Tuesday-Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.