Carroll County Animal Protection League

               CCAPL - P.O.Box 353-Carrollton, Ohio 44615

 "Help us Build it!"                                                  

From the HSUS:

1). Make sure your pet wears an identification tag to enable him/her to be returned to you if lost.

2.) To Prevent animal behaviorial problems, make sure you enroll your new puppy or dog in behavioral training classes, and visit www.petsforlife.org .(Including the entire family in the classes also helps with behaviorial problems that may arise, especially with children. Spaying or neutering your puppy at an early age can help eliminate a lot of territorial and behavior problems before they get started.)

3.) Animal behavioral problems can be health related. Make sure your pet has a complete medical exam by a veterinarian at least once a year.

4.) Prepare for disasters. Make sure you have a plan for your pet in the event of a hurrican, tornatdo, fire or flood.

5.) Plan for your pet's future in case something happens to you and visit: www.humanesociety.org/petsinwills for more information.

6.) Learn how to avoid dog bites, and how to prevent your dog from biting by going to www.NoDogBites.org .

7.) Have a heart, be smart and make sure your pet is spayed or neutered!

WINTER TIPS FOR DOGS OUTSIDE from the CCAPL:

1.) If your dog is tied outside to a dog box, make sure the dog's box is adequate for the size of dog and it has plenty of bedding and free of drafts along the exterior edges where the sides meet.Caulking these areas really help. Suggestions for bedding are cedar chips or straw. Although straw at times can harbor flea eggs. Blankets or rugs are not recommended as these can become tangled in the chain or rope.  

2.) If you use a chain, make sure the chain has swivels at each end so the chain does not kink. The law requires the chain be at least 8 feet in length.

3.) During the winter months, put vaseline on the inside of water dishes so if the water becomes frozen, it releases easier when dipped in a bucket of warmer water. Water more than once a day especially if the water freezes due to cold conditions. Eating snow is not an option to water. This can cause stomach cramping in dogs and it is very uncomfortable and may require veterinarian care and possibly dehydration in your dog. Eating snow also lowers their body temperature and takes more food and water too keep warmer.

4.) If your dog is an inside dog, watch your dog closely when it is outside so that it does not go off of its territory. Be respectful of your neighbor's property. If your dog does relieve itself, clean it up and dispose of it on your own property or in your own gargage can. 

5.) When there is snow on the ground, or during a snowstorm, it is difficult for your dog to see as well, and also familiar landmarks may not be detected by their nose. It is easier for your dog to get lost during a snowstorm than any other time. Especially the elderly dogs as their senses are not as acute as when they were young or in their prime.

6.) Periodically check the dog's collar for tightness. Two fingers sideways under the collar is adequate. Watch for added hair growth during the winter months and make sure the collar is not to tight.

7.)  If you have a dog tied to a dog box outside, set aside an exercise time when the dog can be free to run and play. Obedience classes help tremendously with control, as does spaying and neutering. If you do not want your dog to run free on its own, put your dog on a soft long rope with a clip on the end attached to the collar while you hold onto the other end. That way you still have control of the dog, and he is at least getting some exercise and so are you and the children!  This is also a good time (after the dog has released some it its pent-up energy from being tied), to teach your dog responsive techniques such as fetching a ball, tug-of-war with a braided rope, or doing some light commands such as coming to you when called by his/her name. Always praise your dog for coming to you!

CAT TRIVIA- DID YOU KNOW?

Excerpts from the 365 Smiles For Cat Lovers - Every Day Thoughts - The Meaning of Meow - 2007 flip calendar.

A black-and-white cat that belongs to the Clintons, Socks, received approximately 75,000 letters and parcels each week while in the White House. "Socks Goes to Washington" the First Cat's autobiography, was published in 1993.

Abraham Lincoln was a cat lover. He had four cats while living in the White House. His cat, Tabby, was the first White House cat.

In ancient Egypt a person could receive the death penalty for killing a cat.

Famous expatriate author Ernest Hemingway had 30 pet cats.

Misty Malarky Ying Yang was a Siamese cat that belonged to President Carter's daughter, Amy. He was First Cat from 1977 to 1981.

Beerbohm, a tabby, was London's longest-serving theater mouser. Beerhohm servedat the Globe Theater from the mid-70s to 1995.

The record for most kittens in a lifetime is held by Dusty. She gave birth to 420 kittens!

Composer Henri Sauguet's cat, Cody, was claimed to be fond of Claude Debussy compositions. The cat became ecstatic when Debussy songs were played on the piano.

Famed English author Thomas Hardy had a Blue Persian named Cobby that was given to him late in life. Cobby vanished after Hardy died in 1928.

Ernest Heminway trusted his cat Mr. Feather Puss so much he allowed the cat to babysit his child.

Felix the Cat was the first animated character to be the subject of a marketing campaign.

The word grimalkin, which is defined as "a domestic cat; esp. an old female cat," originally appeared as the name of the first witch's familiar in Shakespeare's MacBeth.

The staff of the Savoy Hotel in London places a wooden cat named Kasper at tables to avoid seating unlucky parties of 13.

Morris, of 9 Lives fame, was originally called Lucky because he was rescued from an animal shelter near Chicago.

Elizabeth Taylor once gave a Siamese cat named Marcus as a gift to James Dean.

The Master's Cat was a kitten of Charles Dickens' favorite cat, Williamina, and the only kitten of the litter he kept. It is said he would snuff Dickens' reading candle to ge attention.

President Rutherford B. Hayes received a Siamese cat from the American Consul in Bangkok. The cat, Siam, was the first Siamese cat to arrive in the United States.

Famous feline heroine, Scarlett, rescued all five of her kittens from a burning building in New York in 1996.

Sizi lived with humanitarian Albert Schweitzer at his clinic in Africa. Although Schweitzer was left-handed, he would write prescriptions with his right hand if Sizi was sleeping on his left arm.

Teddy Roosevelt had a variety of pets during his stay in the White House. One was a gray tabby named Slippers who had six toes on each foot.

Hodge was Dr. Samuel Johnson's favorite cat. Johnson bought fresh oysters each day to feed his pampered pet.

Nelson, another of Winston Churchill's cats, sat in a chair next to the Prime Minister in both the Cabinet and dining rooms. Nelson was named after Lord Nelson, but wasn't nearly as brave.

Hamlet, a white cat with gray patches and a tabby tail, ws the title character of Val Schaffner's Algonquin Cat. Hamlet was also the mascot of the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan.

Heathcliff, an animated rival of Garfield, was named after a character in Wuthering Heights.

Edgar Allen Poe took his cat, Catarina, everywhere he went. She frequently sat on his shoulder as he wrote, and inspired The Black Cat.

A black-and-white cat named Humphrey was a longtime mascot of the Prime Minister's residence in London.

French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was afflicted with Ailurophobia, or the fear of cats.

The heaviest domestic cat in recorded history, Himmy, was a tabby that weighed 46 pounds, 15.25 ounces.

Calvin, a Maltese stray who took over Harriet Beecher Stowe's house, reportedly sat on Stowe's shoulders while she wrote.