Safety Tips For the Dog Days of Summer
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- Written by Daniel Love
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With this week’s temperatures expected to remain in the high 80’s and low 90s and high humidity making it feel even hotter, it is important to make sure you are taking the necessary steps to avoid heat related illness for yourself and your dogs.
Dogs don’t sweat the same way as people do. They sweat through glands in their paw pads and can become easily overheated. Therefore, it is critical to make sure they are getting enough water and shade throughout the day and to monitor them for signs of dehydration like dry gums, heavy panting, excessive drooling, vomiting or diarrhea.
You should try to walk your dog in the early morning or late evening to avoid the mid-day heat. If they do need to go out in the middle of the day, try to find shaded paths and test to see if the pavement is too hot for your dog’s paws. You can do this by touching the pavement with the back of your hand and holding it there for seven seconds. If you can't hold out for the full seven seconds, then it's too hot for your dog's paws. After a walk, you can cool down paws after a walk with cool water or a wet cloth.
Late summer and early fall are the most active time for fleas and ticks so make sure you keep your pet on medication for flea and tick prevention. Check your dogs regularly including their feet, ears, face and neck for ticks by combing through their fur and feeling for any bumps. If you find a tick, use tweezers to grab the tick as close to your dog’s skin as you can and pull upward. Once you’ve removed it seal it in a bag or jar in case your vet needs to test it. Clean the bitten area and contact your veterinarian if your dog seems unwell.
Finally, never leave your dog inside a car. Even if your dog loves to come with you for car rides, if you can’t take your dogs with you to your destination it is better to leave them at home. It only takes 10 minutes for the temperature inside of a closed car to increase to an additional 20 degrees higher than the outside temperature making it very easy to cause heat exhaustion to dogs left inside the vehicle.
Maggie's Paws
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- Written by Andrea Seiden
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(This was written by Andrea Seiden of Greenacres Avenue.) We should have guessed that Maggie would be a big dog given her large paws. During our evening walks, our neighbors with their dogs in tow, would stop and comment, “Wow. What a cutie, but look at those paws! She is going to be huge.” Even our vet seemed a bit surprised. While checking between her toes during her first well-puppy check, he looked up and said, “For a little pup, she sure has big feet!” In no time she doubled in size and weight and then doubled again and again.
Feeling a little defensive about Maggie’s size, I insisted to anyone who asked, that her parents only weighed about 30 lbs. But what did I know about her lineage? (After all I never met her father). Was she really a Golden Doodle or rather, a Shetland pony? Would little kids want to saddle her up and ride her around the Greenacres school yard?
Like Clifford the big red dog, Maggie has grown on a steady diet of love and care. As predicted, she is physically big, but her largest feature is her loving heart. Her size is only exceeded by her sweet disposition. We adore every inch of Maggie and are grateful for the large imprint her paws have already made on our lives.
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Archie Rules the Roost
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The following was submitted by Gregory Seiden of Greenacres Avenue:
Archie, our 11 year-old golden doodle, has a long list of well-deserved nicknames: (Fluff-ball, sheep dog, butterball, Mr. D). But King is the most appropriate of all the names we shuffle through each day. It is not just that he rules the roost, but how he rules. Archie is regal. In his slightly pompous way, he demands love and attention from everyone he meets. The mailman wouldn’t dare come to our home without dog treats and most delivery men spend a few minutes giving Archie a belly rub before dropping off their packages. Archie parades through dog parks with his head held high, keeping pace with my mother (his human mother) demanding respect and appreciation from the other dog owners. Neighborhood dogs are eager to play with him, but Archie generally ignores them – instead favoring his human subjects.
Showcase your pet on the Pet of the Week on Scarsdale10583.com. Email your story and photo to scarsdalecomments@gmail.com.
Pet of the Week Ruby: Look for Her in the Dining Tent
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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My name is Ruby and I am a 6 year old Cavapoo. I love to hang out with my Dad Marvin under the tent in Scarsdale and enjoy an occasional latte at Starbucks. I hate it when my people leave me at home - I make a sad dog face and they cave.
Me also likes long walks, squirrels, and bunny rabbits. I sun bath every morning in my courtyard at my house in Edgemont. And I love to watch Animal Planet on TV when they leave me home alone. The favorite part of my day is when my people come home and I squeal with joy and kiss them all over.
Your friend Ruby,
Submitted by Ruby’s mom.
Lynn Hamberg, long time resident of Edgemont
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Macey Mends Broken Hearts Plus Foster Dog Needs a Home
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- Written by Katy Goldman and Dara Gruenberg
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When the Solers’ beloved 14 year old Cocker Spaniel, Lily, passed away in February of 2021, parents Felicia and John thought that they, and their boys Dillon (10) and Reed (7), wouldn’t be ready to welcome a new pup into the family for a long time. After a couple of months though, it became clear that a new puppy’s love, cuddles and kisses might be exactly what the family needed to mend their broken hearts. Since the Covid-induced demand for puppies was still incredibly high, and because Felicia and John knew that they wanted another Cocker Spaniel (which are hard to find), the search for the family’s new puppy involved numerous phone calls, emails, waitlists, and persistent follow ups.
Enter Macey Coco Soler (quickly nicknamed “Ma-hoo” by Dillon and Reed), born on April 10, 2021 in Fulton, New York, near the Canadian border. After an almost 5 hour drive up to Fulton, the Solers picked up baby Macey on June 10 and brought her back to their Greenacres home, which the family had fully stocked with doggy gates, play pens, doggy beds and new dog toys in anticipation of Macey’s arrival. It had been nearly 15 years since the couple had a puppy in the house, and it didn’t take long to remember that raising a puppy meant many sleepless nights, many bathroom training accidents, and many chewed dirty socks!
But it also didn’t take the family long to remember the feeling of companionship, love and happiness that only comes with dog ownership. Despite the many differences between Lily and Macey that the Solers have noted over the last year since they picked Macey up – Lily was buff colored, a city dog at heart (e.g., tried to pick up used cigarettes, peed on concrete and loved social visits to the dog park) and fiercely independent (it was hard to get a single lick out of her), while Macey is white with red markings, a suburban girl through and through (e.g., only pees on grass and, although very interested in other dogs, is a bit more shy) and a Velcro dog (there is no shortage of cuddles and kisses for the family and she never wants to be excluded from any family activity) – Lily and Macey share the same ability to make the Solers feel incredibly lucky and loved. Macey is a bundle of love, and Dillon and Reed have already developed a very special relationship with her!
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Pet Needs a Home:
(From a reader) We are fostering Alex, a 5-yr old Australian shepherd mix, through NY-petrescue. Alex was rescued from a kill shelter in Georgia a few months ago. He is a sweet guy who is completely housebroken, loves to go for walks, plays with his toys, and will cuddle with you on the couch. Alex needs to find his forever family. If interested, please go to https://ny-petrescue.org/Adopt-Dogs/details/1477/Alex to learn more.
