A shy dog by nature, after a couple of trips to the dog park each spring, Emerson becomes more acclimated and social. Sometimes, he even plays with other dogs similar to his own size, or fetches the ball with me. It’s a great bonding experience for us, as well as a good chance for him to stay fit by exercising.

Even though he is fully vaccinated against such diseases as rabies and bordetella, I prefer to bring along my own supply of water for Emerson, along with a travel bowl. I’m always suspicious of what’s in the communal doggie water bowl at my local dog park. More than likely, I have nothing to worry about since Emerson is up to date on his vaccines. However, being that I lean on the side of neurotic (sometimes), I try to steer Emerson clear of the communal water bowl. Dogs can pick up diseases such as giardia from standing water, especially if other dogs have had recent access to it.

In the summer, it’s amazing how many opportunities exist to socialize my 3-year-old Lhasa Apso, Emerson. Granted, I live in the particularly dog-friendly town of Portland, Ore. That said, it seems that as the weather warms up, dogs accompany their owners on more and more activities—sometimes even to the grocery store (though it’s not always allowed and I follow the rules). I do, however, have a hard time leaving Emerson at home when he wants to come along on a jog, a hike or a quick trip to the dog park.

Luckily, Emerson is a champ when it comes to traveling in the car. He will do almost anything to ride along, whether it’s to a family function, a trip to visit my grandmother at her assisted living facility or a road trip. He is more than content to watch the scenery pass by and anticipate the exciting adventures that await him.

Varied exposure to other people and Pets is enriching not only for him, but to those around him. My grandmother’s eyes lit up this weekend when she saw him—a true testament to the fact that Emerson was a bright spot in her day. Of course, Emerson doesn’t always react positively to people. In fact, he can be very suspicious of new faces. One crucial part of being a responsible Pet owner is being in tune with your Pet and anticipating how it will react to certain people/situations. For the first few encounters with a new person, Emerson tends to lean on the side of being slightly territorial—and sometimes, even grumpy. With this in mind, I can take steps to  help create an easier transition for both Emerson and any new people he interacts with.

Sharing new experiences with your Pet is a wonderful way to strengthen your bond, learn more about your Pet’s personality and to promote the positive role Pets can play in our community.

If you haven’t done so before, consider taking your dog to a new setting and introducing him/her to new people and Pets. Remember to exercise caution until you know how your Pet will react in new situations.

Don’t forget to consider the temperature as spring and summer head our way. As it gets warmer outside, I have to use extra caution when bringing Emerson along in the car, as the inside temperatures can reach fatal levels in just a few minutes. If it’s warm outside and I’m leaving the house for a few minutes, or even hours, to run errands, I know he’s much safer at home than sitting in the car.

For the month of April, the Pet Peace of Mind program is competing in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge for a $250,000 grant, which would fund more than one-third of interested hospice programs in 2010. A monthly online voting process determines the winners of the grant. By voting for this program once a day, you can help secure this grant for the Pet Peace of Mind program. It only takes three minutes to register and voting for this project will take less than one minute per day.

To Register and Vote Once a Day

• To register: Go to www.refresheverything.com
• Wait for entire page to load, including the blue bar at the bottom of the page
• Click on “Join Refresh Everything” at lower left corner of blue bar
• A small pop-up window will display-register (your info is not shared by Pepsi) and click on “Done.” The pop-up window will close. Listen for the sound of a Pepsi can opening and being poured. You are now ready to vote!
• Type “Help Hospice Patients Keep Their Pets” in the white search bar at top right of home page. You can also do this for each time you want to vote again.
• The project name will be in a bright pink bar with “HELP HOSPICE PATIENTS KEEP THEIR PETS” above Banfield Charitable Trust. You can look at the details by clicking on the project name or just click on “Vote for this idea”

Please check out our website for further details on Pet Peace of Mind, Pepsi Refresh and how to spread the word!

Emerson

After weaving through several hallways full of every size, shape and breed of dog, I found myself in front of the dog from the ad. Sitting against the wall in the back of his cage, there he was. He was noticeably shy and timid, trembling and hesitant to come up to greet me. After some coaxing, he stood up and slowly meandered to the front of his cage to sniff my hand through the small opening. I was in love. Not one to make impulse decisions, I decided to sleep on it. I would return the next day, and if he were there, I told myself, I would most likely adopt him.

After a sleepless night during which I couldn’t get his brown eyes and tiny nose out of my mind, I woke up early to drive back to the shelter. One of the volunteers placed him in my arms and he cuddled up to my neck. A few moments later, I heard myself telling the volunteer I would take him.

He insisted on riding on my lap on the way home. I know this is not the safest way for dogs to ride, but he was scared and needed some extra comfort. The days following were a blur. I named him Emerson, and as my first dog, he patiently adjusted to the trial and error of my learning curve of dog ownership. During the following months, we tried different foods, crates (later relinquished altogether), toys and training methods. Because I work at the main headquarters of Banfield, I was fortunate to have a constant supply of knowledgeable co-workers, always eager to offer me tips and support.

Two years later, I think we have finally gotten the hang of things. Emerson and I still have our moments of training relapses and adjustments to our routine, but overall, we are bonded buddies. He has come a long way from being a timid, fearful dog with a troubled past, to an outgoing and confident pup. I could not imagine my life without him greeting me at the door every day when I get home, barking at suspicious-sounding noises outside, or poised on his favorite ottoman, gazing out the window.

If you’re considering adopting a Pet, conduct research to determine the best breed/type for you, and then visit PetSmart’s adoption event during the weekend of Feb. 12-14, 2010 at all local stores. Your new Pet might be waiting!

If you do become infected with the H1N1 virus, the same precautions you take to avoid transmitting it to humans should be taken with your Pets. Wash your hands more frequently, use alcohol-based sanitizers and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. If you have questions about your particular situation, speak with your Banfield veterinarian.

I’m sure I’ve come into contact with the virus at some point, but luckily, I have stayed H1N1-free this flu season despite the bugs going around. It’s no secret that I am known to be a frequent user/over-user of the tub of sanitizing wipes my team has roaming around our desks. I hope I am not speaking too soon when I say that my regular hand washing, enthusiastic use of hand sanitizers and heightened preoccupation with home cleaning products has helped keep me (and therefore my Pet) healthy.

What have you been doing to keep yourself and your Pets healthy this Fall? Leave us a comment to share with other Pet lovers.

I’ve posted about him a few times–his age, arthritic condition and his Wisdom Panel test and results from earlier this year. This post is likely the last item I’ll write about him during his lifetime. It is almost certain that we’ll put Niko to sleep this coming weekend if not before. About six weeks ago he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his back left leg. Though the lesion was hardly noticeable on the x-rays, he was in tremendous pain at the time. With the help of several caring veterinarians we were able to find an appropriate and successful short-term pain management regimen that bought us some time to process the devastating news but more importantly allowed Niko to live more of the life he seemed so happy to have. Given that Niko is 12, arthritic and weighs 95 pounds, amputation is not an option. Three-time weekly radiation treatments also were not a viable option for us given the difficulty of getting him in and out of the car in addition to the necessary sedation with each treatment.

A couple of weeks ago the pain worsened and Niko’s condition has deteriorated rapidly since. I won’t go into details, but the days are difficult and his nights are even harder. There doesn’t seem to be anything else we can do for him except make the final decision that will forever remove him from the pain he’s in but also from our daily lives. The first part of that I feel okay about–at least it’s something we can do for him–the latter is something I have yet to comprehend.

Niko is as interwoven into my life as my husband and children. With the exception of that first week in Oregon, I’ve not lived in our house without him. His was the first face I saw when I received the news from my doctor that I had breast cancer. He was the ring bearer at our wedding and the image of him basking in the sun sprawled out, belly-up in the middle of the aisle as we recited our vows, remains one of my most vivid and cherished memories. Niko was sleeping sandwiched in between Rick and me when I received the call in the middle of the night that my sister had died and I specifically remember how before anything else, in that most unbearable of moments I reached for Niko–to feel the comfort his presence has always provided. And, of course, albeit reluctantly at times, Niko is a loyal protector of our two young sons.

I’ve had dogs most of my life–Max and Indy were my other beloved dogs and losing them both was incredibly difficult. Making the decision to end the life of a loved one is agonizing. Niko’s on a lot of medication now so it’s harder for us to guess how much he understands what’s happening. While I believe Niko’s spirit is struggling to survive, his body is failing him. And so my head is telling me that Niko’s time has come. Rick has also recently arrived at that conclusion as well. So now it seems the last things to do are to convince my heart that it’s okay to remove from this world our own piece of perfection and then to say goodbye.

On a side note I want to say goodbye, too, to Norton, Winnnie, Biji, Kodai, Ruby, Zeus, Pearl and Meggie—good kitties and doggies (well most of them anyway—you know who you are) from my Banfield family who are loved & missed and deserve to have their names in the archive.

Niko, December 2008

While there are a lot of things I loved about living beyond the city, one major downside to it was that we would often find a lot of abandoned or stray Pets. People often drive Pets out to the ‘country’ and turn them loose when they’re no longer wanted. I have adopted two cats this way in the past. They were kittens at the time and Ebony as I named her, had stunted growth which I’m almost certain was due to the malnutrition she endured before finding us. Ttoz was much younger when we found him and he grew to a healthy adult size. There were also a number of Pets we found that we brought to the local humane society in the hopes of finding them new homes since our house was full at the time with 4 dogs and 4 cats.

I found my cat, Toast, after having moved to the city and my current Pets Beatle, Turtle and Tomato were all adopted from local shelters. Since I’ve received so much benefit from local shelters, I’m passionate about trying to give back to them—especially during harder economic times, when Pets tend to suffer in great numbers, too.

In addition to adopting or donating to a local shelter, there are other ways to help Pets and support your local shelter community. Here are just a few to consider:

• Buy supplies from a shelter
• Volunteer to help at the shelter or help with shelter outreach programs
• Sponsor or foster Pets waiting for adoption
• Donate supplies (food/cat litter/blankets/towels) to a shelter
• Attend training classes
• Attend education classes
• Tour a Pet shelter
• Encourage friends and family to adopt from a shelter
• Participate in a fund-raising event (local walk/runs auctions, and larger events)

Encouraging school-aged kids to prepare a report on Pets, shelters and charities is another great way to help youngsters learn about ways to help Pets, too. Any support from the community, no matter how large or small helps these organizations continue to provide their much-needed services.

And, if you’re in the market for a new Pet of your own, http://www.petfinder.com/, is a great place to start.

While at 12, this knowledge doesn’t much change the way we’ll care for Niko-if he were younger I truly believe this information would be extremely useful in helping to manage his health and care-it has been fun exploring the detail of the individual breeds that compose our dog. In addition to receiving a call from our vet and having a conversation about the results, we also received a results packet directly from Wisdom Panel. It contains information about the nature of the test itself and the amount at which each identified breed is detected, followed by some of the breed-specific information we’ve had so much fun digesting since receiving the news.

We’ve certainly found a multitude of Niko’s characteristics consistent with each of the three breeds and then there are some that, well, just seem unique to Niko. Part of that I imagine stems from environmental factors-those first critical nine months of his life spent with his original owners followed by the three months at the Oregon Humane Society. And while we would do anything to undo the wrong that was done to Niko when he was a young puppy (we’ve spent the past 11 years trying), we couldn’t imagine one thing different about him.

Signs of Niko’s age are showing everywhere-his arthritis flares up more frequently and severely and we’re finding our regular methods of increased care don’t seem to have the same level of effect. He’s also suffering from hearing loss and slight incontinence. When he’s in pain it’s hard to keep thoughts from racing to the worst, but much of the time he’s happy, otherwise healthy, loving his walks, friends, family and food. Which brings me to our second promise-our ritual birthday steak dinner. My husband made a special trip to the store and selected a choice cut of meat. Following dinner we took Niko for his evening stroll and afterward he lay out in the fading Oregon evening sun, which is when I snapped the photo below.

So, we now know where our loving, loyal, furry, squirrel-chasing dog came from and he reminds us that each day is precious and to be taken as it comes. I was going to close this posting by suggesting a new designer breed of Siberian husky, Doberman and Flat-coated Retriever, which could be called something cutesy like €˜FlatCoberMusky.’ But there’s no duplicating perfection-Niko broke that mold.

Niko on his birthday

Just after moving back to Oregon from the East coast in 1998, Rick and I adopted Niko from the Oregon Humane Society when he was about a year old. The adoption fee at the time for a dog his age and size was $40. On the way home from the shelter, we loaded up on supplies at PetSmart (this is before I worked at Banfield) and headed home. The first time we left Niko home alone, he ate our house— literally in four hours he chewed up everything in our house— walls, floors, furniture, curtains, you name it he tore it up. We spent $40 to adopt the dog and within two days were out a few thousand. We quickly learned that Niko had been abused by his previous owners and that a kennel was the best way to protect him (and our house) when left alone. At that point Rick and I made a promise to support Niko and help undo the wrong that was done to him in the early part of his life.

Niko is a gentle soul— you can see it in his eyes— he’s always been low-key and mellow— unless he’s left alone or you’re a squirrel and then all bets are off. He is everything we’d ever want in a dog. He is our best friend— he is likely my husband’s soul mate, and he’s as sensitive as any creature I’ve ever known. Our family and friends joke that Niko hit the jackpot when we rescued him but we’re convinced it’s the other way around. I’m sure it sounds silly to some but Niko has been our rock, making it easier to face some of life’s greatest challenges. We’ve often remarked that we don’t know what we would do without Niko.

Which brings me back to the harsh reality that Niko is 12. His age is showing in so many ways. He’s still having fun, loves his walks, treats, our boys and the dogs that live across the street. But his life is getting harder and each day is unfortunately a reminder that we will at some point have to face life without Niko— a reality none of us are ready for.

I’m thinking that aside from the steak dinner we’ll have for Niko’s birthday this year, I’m going to run a Wisdom Panel- on him. A Wisdom Panel is one of the available DNA tests for mixed-breed dogs designed to identify their breed composition— the results can provide insight into their behavior, appearance and help with customized care. Though it will be fun to find out what makes up the dog that has brought infinite joy and true companionship to our lives, there’s one thing it won’t tell us that we already know— Niko is truly handsome, inside and out.

If you have thoughts as to Niko’s breeds, I’d love to hear them. And I’ll keep you posted with the results later this summer.

Niko, December 2008

I’m sure he/she had a name but I don’t remember it, the swan was the Pet of an island resident. You may not know that swans mate for life and after the surviving its mate that had died suddenly and unexpectedly he/she had refused to eat for several days and just sat in one place looking forlornly. The Pet owner was worried that this swan might die of a broken heart so he brought it to the veterinarian to see what she could do for it. If you’ve never been close up to a swan you would likely be shocked at how big they really are. With no better place to set her up with food and water, the only bathroom in the house became her living quarters. People moved in and out of the bathroom all day long and the swan sat unmoving and seemingly uncaring about any of the activity around it. We all worried about the swan and hoped her heart would mend before she too got sick and died. At first, going into the bathroom was a little intimidating as the swan seemed “hard to read”. After a few days it became no big deal as he/she never seemed to pay attention to anyone or anything. That is until I became a victim of swan frustration/anger or whatever it is I experienced.

One afternoon I rushed into the bathroom to use the facilities, turned around to drop my pants and with lightening speed got nailed repeatedly and with intent (literally like an out of control staple gun) on the backside by the swan’s beak. After a second of wondering what hit me, I scooted around to the other side of the toilet and out of the swans reach. So there I was-trapped in a bathroom behind a toilet by the biggest bird I had ever seen! The previously demure swan was glaring right at me and I was afraid to move and was certainly not going to try and run past her because I knew I wouldn’t make it unscathed. No telephone, cell phone, or megaphone within sight my only choice was to stay put, so I crouched down and waited for rescue. Finally after what seems like hours someone tried to turn the doorknob and found it locked. I relayed my dilemma, a key was found and I was finally able to leave the bathroom as someone distracted the swan. After all that activity he/she promptly at a meal and started to preen (groom)-a good sign. Her owner was called to report the swan had recovered and was ready to go home. I have never ever looked at a swan in quite the same way as I did before the “incident”.