Pets During The Cold Winter Months.

I actually hate that I feel the need to write a blog post about this topic.. Why? Because that means this is actually a problem, which angers me to no end.. After seeing this picture ->
on Facebook I knew it was time and I had to address this issue. So even though I do not believe in the concept of ever leaving a pet outside all the time and believe that at the very least every pet should have the right to spend nights in the house. However since I can't control that, and by law as long as your pet is provided food, water and adequate shelter it is not considered animal cruelty (I disagree completely) but what can you do? So if you are one of those people who choose to leave your poor innocent pet outside year around, at least have the decency to prepare your pet to be comfortable (as possible) during these cold winter months.
1. Proper Housing - if you are expecting your pet to live outside in these months, please don't be like the sick disturbed people who let snow gather on their dog like in the picture above, provide a proper house, with a sloped roof so snow will not crush the roof from gathering, and is insulated or if possible providing a heater, blankets are not always ideal unless you change them everyday as when the dog goes to sleep at night and the blankets become wet from the snow, if you leave them there they may freeze and will not help keep your pet warm, but actually colder.
2. Water - make sure you give fresh water everyday, to ensure your pets water has not frozen solid with the weather.
3. Food - if you are keeping your pet(s) outside all winter, remember in the cold the pet will need to be provided extra food because their bodies will be burning extra calories trying to keep themselves warm.
4. You don't need to worry about this if you just let your poor pet inside during the winter months at least for the night :)

Microchipping: Should You? Why?

Microchipping is something that is being done more and more widely everyday, I'm going to share a story that happened the other day and what has made up my mind about it's importance.. As I previously mentioned I have a bunch of pets, 10 currently to be precise, 4 being cats and 1 a dog, one of my cats, Myles a purebred rag doll whom I had intended to be an indoor cat as the breed should be, and also because I had read too many articles on stolen exotic breed cats. He managed to get out the door the other day while opening the door for one of the other 3 cats that are outdoor cats, and I couldn't find him, luckily a very nice neighbour called and said she had a cat on her property, (knowing we had cats) and asked if he belonged to us, so he's back home safe and sound and never allowed to escape again. But next vet trip, needless to say he will be microchipped.
Why? What is it you ask?
Microchipping is an identification tag, that is inserted under the skin on your pet, and is about the size of a grain of rice, this tiny device contains your (as the owner) information, so that you may be contacted if your pet is found, please note that this is not a GPS tracking device it can not find your lost pet, but it can help the pet find his/her way back to you if he/she is turned over to the SPCA or brought into a vet, the microchip will be scanned and you will be contacted. It isn't an expensive procedure, 25$-50$ depending on your vet and can help save the life of your pet, and reunite him/her with you again. To me, any chance I have of getting back a lost loved one, is worth it no matter the cost.
This is a great article to continue reading up on this topic as it is becoming widely used around the world (although it says "kitten" it could refer to a dog or adult cat all the same):
http://www.petmd.com/cat/centers/kitten/health/evr_ct_cat_microchips#.UnunDZH0DwJ

Why To Adopt From An Animal Shelter

There are so many reasons to buy from an animal shelter versus going to the various internet sites out there targeted to help you find a breeder, or a new addition to the family such as Kijiji, Craigslist, Facebook or the many other sites that I failed to mention. There are so many other sites out there listing reasons as to why you should adopt from an animal shelter versus buying from a breeder, but I feel this is a very important topic that although has already been brought to your attention many times I still feel like people are just not getting it, therefore are still turning their heads when it comes to going out and adopting because they would rather have a "pure breed" (pure breeds end up in shelters too, you know) or just have it as a puppy because they feel the bond will be greater if they get it as a puppy, this however is wrong.
Others feel that shelter animals are "damaged goods" for say. Which hurts me to hear actually, because no single dog is perfect, every dog I'm sure if you look has it's flaws, however most the time the reasons that dogs, cats and other animals end up in a shelter is not a fault of the animals themselves, but rather a fault of the owners.
There are a lot of reasons for animals to end up in shelters from, the previous owners moving away and not able to take their animals with them (which drives me crazy, I would NEVER move to a place that wouldn't accept my babies), to the animals being found as stray.. Which is horrific and beyond sad because that means some people were low enough to actually just toss animals away to fend for themselves, and yes these animals will probably require more socialization training and obedience than animals surrendered from previous caring homes but that does not mean the outcome will be any less rewarding. To me I would think that to rescue a stray and show him love and trust would be more rewarding than any other way of owning an animal. Other reasons may be, their owner passes away or becomes ill and unable to properly care for the animal, maybe the person has run into money problems, maybe even bankruptcy and is unable to provide proper nutrition and vet care and has been forced to turn them into the animal shelter, there are countless situations and yes there will be the animals that will come in from abuse, neglect, or maybe the owners did not understand the needs of the dog so it was uncontrollable for them but may be a perfect fit for you? An example of that would be someone taking in a high energy puppy because they thought the puppy was cute, without looking into the breed or energy level and being a relatively low energy human, the dog will become restless and bored in this environment and may act out, that may include excessive barking, destroying furniture, tugging and being very unpredictable during walks due to excess energy. Which would be a perfect fit for an active family!
So reasons to adopt rather than buy:
1. You will probably save a life.. Most shelters are high-kill which means if they are not adopted within a set time frame the dog will be euthanized. If that right there isn't enough to change your mind, continue reading...
2. The average fee to adopt is around 250$ and this includes their vet check, spray/neuter (if old enough), shots, fleas, worms and tests for conditions. So now, not only are you saving a life, you're saving money too! Think about that before you go to fork out 1,000$ on your new pure breed puppy.
3. When buying from pet stores/breeders you are supporting the mass breeding and overpopulation of animals now because if the breeders/pet stores keep selling they will keep them in stock causing more and more breedings, when a percent of those puppies sold will someday turn up in a shelter or rescue.
4. Adopting an older pet can eliminate any "surprises" your pet will already have their personality predetermined, energy level, their size, fur, vet checked everything so there is less room for error when picking the right one for you!
5. Most importantly the unconditional love your new pet will show you will be one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have. :)
A good site to help assist you in finding the perfect rescue pet for your home in your area is www.petfinder.com. Be sure to stop by and visit your local SPCA and independent rescue groups.

Meet the girl, & her purpose

My name is Erica, I'm a small island girl living in Atlantic Canada. I'm 20 years old and a student 
aspiring to become a Doctor of Veterinarymedicine. I am an animal activist and the reason I want to make this blog happen is to help people understand animals, animal behaviour, and their pets.
As an activist I understand that when it comes to animals, it is not the animal itself but rather the owner of the animal that has a problem, for this reason I believe that some breeds are not suited for everyone, yes but no single breed is "bad" it has just been raised improperly, the owner was not the dominate one and able to control the animal therefore they acted out of dominance only trying to protect their pack (you, as the owner) and hurt someone or another animal or won't listen to you.
I also have 2 male rats, whom I love as if they were my own children. I also aspire to run a rescue rehoming and taking in rats because I feel they are so underestimated, so mistreated, so I plan to provide tons of information on having rats as pets on here, as well as by sharing pictures and videos of my rats.
I have tons of experience with animals, including owning a total of a dog, 7 cats, 3 ferrets, 4 geckos, countless fish, and 2 rats, and still having all but the geckos and 3 of the cats. I spend almost every day of my live devoted to my animals and my dream of being a DVM.
This blog will be a blog providing posts on all kinds of different animals, as well as my personal pets, but also a reflection of my journey to reaching my dream of becoming a DVM, rather that be reflecting on my studies to relieve stress from the pressure, or my findings during all my volunteer work I have been doing to help build a resume. Including a lot of work with dairy cattle.
If you ever have any questions, about anything don't hesitate to comment, or email me and I will do my best to help answer your questions :).