Recently, while searching the web for ideas for our staff meeting I came across a website that listed all the animal related national holidays. There isn’t a single month that doesn’t have at least one or two things to celebrate, serious and tongue in cheek.
Take Your Cat to Work day is June 22. Not many of us bring our cats to work. Even though we have worked hard to make our practice comfortable for felines, we know our cats value their alone time to do whatever they do when we aren’t home. Closely following is Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 23. We are lucky we can celebrate this holiday year round working at an animal hospital. Many of our employees come to work with their dog in tow.
Valentine’s Day fittingly shares February with Love Your Pet Day. March 23rd was National Puppy Day and July 10 will be National Kitten Day. Not only are these good days to adopt a new family member, but if the timing isn’t right for you, look into fostering or volunteering at a pet rescue or humane society.
August 22 is Take Your Cat to the Vet Day. I love that day, even though the number of pet cat ownership now outnumbers pet dog ownership in the United States, cats still aren’t getting to their vet as often as dogs. Happily, it is getting better every year, as we pay attention to keeping a cat and their person more comfortable during their visits using Fear Free and Feline Friendly techniques.
The last Friday in April is Hairball Awareness Day. This makes me giggle, because I think every day I wake up and my cat has left me a hairball directly in the path of where I will walk barefoot is a day of hairball awareness! National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day is in January. This makes me wonder what my cat might ask me. He probably wonders why I show disgust when he leaves me half a snake or rodent in his food bowl to show his appreciation.
No matter what day it is, our pets make our lives better and enjoying the days we spend with them is a gift.
Now that the warm days are finally here I wanted to remind pet owners of warm weather dangers. Of course, hot days and cars are not a good mix for pets. If it is warm and you will need to leave your pet in the car, leave them home. Remember that pavement and sidewalk can get warm in the sun, and our pets aren’t used to warm surfaces. Be mindful of where you walk you pets on sunny days. And finally, be careful if you are using a garden hose to cool off your pet. Water in the hose can get scalding hot when sitting in the sun. Remember to let the water run a minute or so and check it on your skin first.
