Happy Spring time!

From the ASPCA:

Springtime Safety Tips

Spring has sprung, and with the change of season, our thoughts inevitably turn to Easter celebrations, spring cleaning and much-needed home improvement projects. But the new balmy weather can prove not-so-sunny for curious pets—or their unwitting parents. Before you embark on seasonal chores or outdoor revelry, take inventory of potential springtime hazards for your delicate, furry friend. To help you out, our ASPCA experts have come up with a few seasonal tips that will help prevent mishaps or misfortunes.

• Easter Treats and Decorations Keep Easter lilies and candy bunnies in check—chocolate goodies are toxic to cats, dogs and ferrets, and lilies can be fatal if ingested by our furry friends. And be mindful, kitties love to nibble on colorful plastic grass, which can lead to an obstructed digestive tract, severe vomiting and dehydration. Moreover, while bunnies, chicks and other festive animals are adorable, resist the urge to buy—these cute babies grow up fast and often require specialized care!
    
• Screen Yourself
  Many pet parents welcome the breezy days of spring by opening their windows. Unfortunately, they also unknowingly put their pets at risk—especially cats, who are apt to jump or fall through unscreened windows. Be sure to install snug and sturdy screens in all of your windows. If you have adjustable screens, make sure they are tightly wedged into window frames.
    
• Buckle Up!
  While every pet parent knows dogs love to feel the wind on their furry faces, allowing them to ride in the bed of pick-up trucks or stick their heads out of moving-car windows is dangerous. Flying debris and insects can cause inner ear or eye injuries and lung infections, and abrupt stops or turns can cause major injury, or worse! Pets in cars should always be secured in a crate or wearing a seatbelt harness designed especially for them.
    
• Spring Cleaning
  Spring cleaning is a time-honored tradition in many households, but be sure to keep all cleaners and chemicals out of your pets’ way! Almost all commercially sold cleaning products contain chemicals that are harmful to pets. The key to using them safely is to read and follow label directions for proper use and storage.
    
• Home Improvement 101
  Products such as paints, mineral spirits and solvents can be toxic to your pets and cause severe irritation or chemical burns. Carefully read all labels to see if the product is safe to use around your furry friends. Also, be cautious of physical hazards, including nails, staples, insulation, blades and power tools. It may be wise to confine your dog or cat to a designated pet-friendly room during home improvement projects.
   
• Let Your Garden Grow—With Care
  Pet parents, take care—fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides keep our plants and lawns healthy and green, but their ingredients aren't meant for four-legged consumption and can be fatal if your pet ingests them.  Always store these poisonous products in out-of-the-way places and follow label instructions carefully. Check out our full list of garden care tips.
    
• Poisonous Plants 
  Time to let your garden grow! But beware, many popular springtime plants—including Easter lilies, rhododendron and azaleas—are highly toxic to pets and can easily prove fatal if eaten. Check out our full list—and pics!—of toxic and non-toxic plants for your home and garden.
    
• Ah-Ah-Achoo!
  Like their sneezy human counterparts, pets can be allergic to foods, dust, plants and pollens. Allergic reactions in dogs and cats can cause minor sniffling and sneezing as well as life-threatening anaphylactic shock. If you suspect your pet has a springtime allergy, please visit your veterinarian as soon as possible.
    
• Pesky Little Critters
  April showers bring May flowers—and an onslaught of bugs! Make sure your pet is on year-round heartworm preventive medication, as well as a flea and tick control program. Ask your doctor to recommend a plan designed specifically for your pet.
     
• Out and About
  Warmer weather means more trips to the park, longer walks and more chances for your pet to wander off! Make sure your dog or cat has a microchip for identification and wears a tag imprinted with your home address, cell phone and any other relevant contact information. Canines should wear flat (never choke!) collars, please.

If you suspect your pet may have come in contact with or ingested a potentially poisonous substance, contact your local veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.

Buffy!

Buffy need a home & time is running out, can you help her?

Buffy is only truly happy when she is with
other animals.


Buffy is a doll. She has NEVER shown any signs of aggression, even when
her fear is overwhelming. She is just frightened of everything.
Everything. People, cars, trees, wind, etc. The only thing that she is not
afraid of is another animal. Gets along great with our cat, other dogs,
etc. We have tried behavior modification and medication and nothing has
worked.

She has been with her current owners for 2 years and is about 2.5 years old. Totally healthy.

Please let me know if you think you can help in any way.

The current owners of Buffy are moving in May and MUST find her a home.  Unfortunately she will not be able to make the transition.  Please call our office if you're interested at (973)762-7007, and we will give you the current owner's contact information. 

(The following information has been pasted along to us by her current owners)

Pet therapy

Last month was pet therapy month, so in honor of pet therapy we wanted to share an article we came across on pet therapy

Pet Therapy Brings a Feeling of Home to the Hospital When Miki Baker walks the hallways of University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro (UMCPP), he holds his head high and chest out, showing off his hospital-issued ID badge.  Everyone who walks by can’t help but smile at the sight of the 4-year-old Pomeranian. "He knows he has a job to do,” says his owner, Tricia Baker of Plainsboro. “And he’s very excited to do it.” Tricia and Miki are participants in the hospital’s growing Pet Therapy Program. Volunteers bring their specially trained animals to the hospital to help comfort patients and to make them feel more at home. Smiles and Tricks Volunteer Anita Quinn of South Brunswick visits the hospital’s Center for Eating Disorders several times a month with Buster, her 3-year-old small standard poodle. Buster is full of tricks—he waves, says prayers and even cleans up his own toys—and he loves attention. “When I walk into a room, all I see are smiles,” Quinn says. “Having a pet in the room brings a sense of warmth and happiness.” Volunteer Barbara von Oehsen of Pennington brings her Labrador retriever, Nelley, to UMCPP’s Center for Pediatric Care and the Edward & Marie Matthews Center for Cancer Care. Nelley is well known for wearing her red vest to meet patients. She will sit or lie down while they pet her. “Pet therapy is such a wonderful way to give comfort and happiness to patients,” she says. “They all want to tell me about the dogs or cats they know and love, especially the ones who are waiting for them at home.” Not Just for Fun In fact, a 2005 study at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center found that levels of epinephrine, a hormone the body produces under stress, dropped by an average of 17 percent when people interacted with therapy dogs.While pet therapy is fun, it’s also therapeutic. Research shows therapy dogs can lower anxiety and stress, helping people recover from illness or injury. Pet therapy can also offer a diversion for people undergoing lengthy treatments in places such as the JoAnn Heffernan-Heisen Infusion Therapy Suite. “People love pets, and they look forward to the visit,” says Judy Neuman, UMCPP’s Director of Cancer Services. “Even the staff gets excited. It makes their day.” More Help Needed The program’s goal is to have enough volunteers to make therapy dogs available to all hospital units that would like them, says Tricia Baker, a certified professional dog trainer, who helps coordinate the program for the hospital’s Volunteer Services Department. Dogs and their owners must first complete therapy animal training, and Baker cautions that not all dogs are appropriate for the program. “You need a dog who’s confident, who enjoys meeting other people,” she says. “Knowing that you can make other people smile just with your little dog—it makes my heart feel good.”

For a fun video check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uZaXjJFD7s

*The article and video was shared via email by University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro

One Plainsboro Road | Plainsboro, NJ 08536A University Hospital Affiliate of UMDNJ – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School*

Faraday!

Hi I’m Faraday!

I am a happy go lucky pup who absolutely LOVES coming to daycare!  I very well could be a spokes person for Preferred Pet Care’s daycare.  I’m a white lab/husky/adorable pup mix. 

I arrived today bright and early as usual.  Mom likes to make sure that I’m nice and tired out.  I was (as always) super excited to go to daycare to see my friends.  I’m part of the high energy puppy group at Preferred Pet Care.  When I arrived I was one of the first pups for daycare.  No big deal, I make friends with everyone I meet.  I have a great smile which is what I think draws everyone to me, that and I do a full body wiggle when I get excited. 

My day began by getting a fabulous green collar, which I have on occasion wanted to bring it home with me (Mom always makes me return it).  I started by going outside when I arrived to hang out with Brian and the boarding pups.  Within an hour though many of my friends were coming it to play with me—they must have heard I was at Preferred Pet Care and asked their parents to bring them in.  Lucy (a white & brown hound mix), Casanova (Golden Retriever), Wilson (White Labradoodle), Percy (Yellow Lab Mix), Sadie (another White Labradoodle), Daisy D (a beautiful tricolor Springer Spaniel), my good friends Spud & Gritz (maybe flat coat retriever mixes?), and Crosby (a GIANT white Golden Doodle) came in all just to see me!  SNOW & all my friends at daycare!  Boy, am I one lucky pup! 

I was romping around in the snow with my friends.  I was delighted that more of my friends came to play like Hogan (a cream Golden Doodle), Mia (a medium sized chocolate LabraDoodle), and Floyd (a rather large brown & white houndish mix).  I also got to meet a lot of new pups today too.  I even had the honor of being one of the first pups for a reintroduction of a crazy black lab named Wally who hasn’t boarded at Preferred Pet Care in awhile.  If dogs don’t come to Preferred Pet Care on a fairly regular basis when the pup comes in for boarding for our safety and the safety of the new dog Preferred Pet Care does another reintroduction.  Since it was a high energy lab Brian did another reintroduction, and knew Wally & I would hit it off and become best buds, and of course, he was right. 

After the introduction was completed it was decided that maybe it would be a good idea to separate some of us and to make two separate playgroups.  As you may have guessed it all the high energy pups came in today.  So I bid farewell to some of my friends and had the opportunity to play with a small group of dogs out in the yard. 

I play and played and well you guessed it played some more.  I played outside and I played inside too- very exciting and exhausting day to say the least, and I still have so much playing to do!  Well, I’m glad that I had a little early afternoon break to tell you all about my day so far, but as you may have guessed it I have a lot more playing to do.  Thanks for hearing about my day so far.