be a responsible pet parent

WHEN YOU DRIVE!

In order to practice safe driving techniques, the following has been provided to you for FREE via Danielle Vasta, owner of Bella’s House & Pet Sitting. 

TIPS FOR DRIVING SAFE WITH YOUR PET:

Always have your pet secured to a harness in the back of the vehicle. Pets who are on your lap or in the front seat could cause accidents, or be killed if the airbag was ever to deploy.

Never let your pets head hang out the widow! This is a simple was to avoid injury to your pet. Rocks, debris, or bugs could fly into their eyes, nose, or ears causing problems.

Prepare for the ride with letting your pet go potty before you begin your journey. Take bottled water and bowls. Take a greenie or chew toy to help occupy them so they do not distract you, the driver!

Bella’s House & Pet Sitting is a Nationally Award winning pet sitting service operating in Scottsdale, AZ. Bonded and Insured they offer day visits, walks, overnights, pet taxi’s and more. Call (480) 330-4552 www.BellasHouseAndPets.com

I received some great information from one of my clients who actually just did an online course on this subject. I thought the information was great so I am passing it along as PART TWO of driving safe with your pets!

Use common sense! Keep the fur babies in the back! No matter how much the pet enjoys it. Do we allow small children to ride in the front seat?  Pets in the front seat can be thrown into the dashboard or ejected from the vehicle during an accident or sudden stop.  Pets will also climb on your lap and interfere with driving or fall down by the gas and brake pedals, risking an accident.

Airbags  Launch at a speed of 150 – 200 mph in two-tenths of a second. In addition to the accident, the airbag impact alone can cause serious injury to a pet.

Safety restraints When driving at 35 MPH, an unrestrained, ejected 50 pound dog can cause an impact of over 2000 pounds to the driver (and itself) in the event of an accident. This can cause serious injury – or death – to both your pet and vehicle occupants.  

The most common type of collision is on the front driver’s-side.  This type of impact will throw everything in the vehicle straight at the driver, including pets, occupants or objects.  It is imperative that pets be restrained in a vehicle at all times.  

NOTE: During or following a collision, the risk of a pet escaping, running into traffic or worse is a very real concern. Animal owners can reduce this risk significantly through the use of a pet restraint such as a safety harness, cabin divider, or specially designed carry case. These can be purchased inexpensively at any major pet store.  Unrestrained, frightened or injured  pets can impede the ability of first responders to rescue vehicle occupants – and your pet.

The hot seat  Even though you’ll only be gone ‘for just a second’, a few seconds is all it takes for the temperature inside your vehicle to climb to extreme levels, creating a potentially deadly situation for children and pets. 

According to a General Motors study, temperatures inside a recently air-conditioned vehicle can exceed 122 degrees in 20 minutes on a 95-degree day, and continue to rise from there. Temperatures at this dangerous level will quickly overwhelm your pet’s ability to regulate it’s own body temperature, causing serious injury or worse. …and don’t even THINK about leaving a window slightly open or “cracked”, according to the same study, this will do little or nothing to cool your pet.

Information compiled by Scottsdale-based eLearning company, The Learning Design Group. www.TheLearningDesignGroup.com 

Just last month as I was driving around McDowell Mountain Ranch doing my morning visits, I spotted a small terrier mix sprinting around the neighborhood. It was only 9AM, but it was already at least one hundred degrees outside. I stopped my car and did the trick of, “Here little buddy! Do you want a  treat?” He came to me and I checked the blue collar around his neck for identification.  There was nothing there. Just a collar. I scooped the little guy up put him in my air conditioned car and drove him to Dr. Sosnow at North Scottsdale Animal Hospital (that office is great!) We scanned the little guy for a mico chip and he didn’t have one. So now I had a dog who’s owner I did not know and I was not about to surrender it to Animal Control. 

This type of situation happens all of the time.  If you are one of Bella’s House & Pet Sitting clients, chances are you have heard our speech about ID YOUR PET! Accidents happen, that is why we have car and health insurance. If your door ever opens in your home, or you take your pet for a walk, then there is a possibility that your pet will escape. Without proper identification, your chances of finding them are slim.

If your pet escapes:

-          Wildlife could harm or kill your pets if they get loose.

-          Someone may be bold enough to just keep your pet and assume you don’t want it. I have heard some stories!

-          Your pet could end up with Animal Control. If you do not go to the facility every day to check to see if your pet turned up, they could put your pet down after the third day!!! Did you know that Arizona pet overpopulation is so bad that 75% of sheltered animals are put down! (Don’t buy, adopt a pet!)

Luckily this story ended happily. When I found the dog, I contacted the Debbie the activities director and she put a bulletin on the community TV Channel. The owner walked in the office just a few minutes later looking for “Smokey” and the owner and pet were happily reunited.  Please consider this a serious warning about IDing your pets. Not all stories end happily.

This information has been provided to you by Danielle Vasta, Owner of Bella’s House & Pet Sitting. Please contact her at: (480)330-4552 or www.BellasHouseAndPets.com for any of your pet sitting needs!

Halloween Tips for your Pets!

Halloween is a fun time for children and adults, but for your pet it could be scary, dangerous or traumatic. Keep the following tips in mind this Halloween from the Humane Society of the United States–

1)      Keep your pet in a quiet place, away from the noises of Trick-or-treaters. If you haven’t learned from the Pizza Hut commercials, dogs know to aim for the door when the bell rings! Try to keep your pet(s) in a contained area of your home with music or a noise distraction so that they do not get scared or go into protection mode each time the bell rings. This is an opportunity for Fido or Fluffy to bolt out the door so be sure to contain them in a separate part of your home.

2)      Keep flame decorations, like jack-o-lanterns out of your pet’s reach. Pets are curious, they will try to sniff and possible burn their snout. If they don’t sniff they may knock over a candle or pumpkin and cause a fire.

3)      Keep candy away from pets – Candy, especially chocolate can be toxic to pets. Wrappers can also be harmful if swallowed. Be sure to keep it out of reach from your four legged loved ones!

4)      Resist the urge to put your pet in a costume unless they are used to it on a regular basis. Most pets do not like the constraint of a costume. If you do decide to dress them up, make sure the costume does not constrain their movement, hearing or ability to breathe. Check the costume for parts that your pet could chew off and possibly choke on.

5)      Leave the dog home when you take the kids out trick or treating. Your pooch could get scared by costumes or frightened by the numerous people trying to pet them.

6)      Be aware that your pet may not recognize you in your Halloween costume. Pets are very sensitive to different appearances. Even during some pet sits, pets take a minute to remember me if I have something as simple as a ball cap on!

Please keep these important tips in mind when handing out candy or trick or treating on Halloween.

This information has been provided to you by Danielle Vasta, Owner of Bella’s House & Pet Sitting. Please contact her at: (480)330-4552 or www.BellasHouseAndPets.com for any of your pet sitting needs!