Important Pet Resources

I like to provide useful information to my blog readers.  There are many resources available, and I want to share some of them with you.

Have you ever considered taking a dog first aid class? Especially if you have a multi-dog household, it's really a necessity.  I took one last year here locally.  Check with your veterinarian to see if they offer a class. I took mine at an 24-hour emergency pet hospital.  It was very informative.  It lasted about 3-4 hours, and was hands on as well as lecture by the hospital owner.  Everybody got an American Red Cross Dog First Aid book and we were able to learn how to properly perform CPR and live doggies were there also to teach restraint and first aid bandaging and splinting.  You can go to http://www.redcross.org to find a class if your area.

It is also important to have the phone number of your veterinarian at hand, and know where the emergency pet hospitals are in your area.  Have them written down and posted in an easily accessible location, and know how to get there....it can pay to plan ahead.

Be familiar with your local shelters and rescue organizations, you never know when you may need to solicit the services of one of these places.  Know who can provide emergency boarding as well.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a great resource for pet owners.  You can look at their website to obtain valuable information.  They have a free sticker you can get to put on a glass door or window at your house to inform emergency personnel that you have pets inside.  They also have information about toxic plants.  The link for that is: www.aspca.org/toxicplants.  They also have an Animal Poison Control Center, 1-888-426-4435 should you need it.  You can check out all these things and more at their website at www.aspca.org.

Hopefully this is information you will never need, but so much can happen.  It really is beneficial and necessary that you know this before, because should something transpire, already knowing what to do can make all the difference in saving a life vs. tragedy.  There are many more areas to cover, and as I come upon them, I will certainly share them with you in this blog.

Thank you all for your support of this blog.  Feel free to email me at ChiLadyInIndy@att.net if you have questions or would like to me to blog about some canine related issue.