Halloween pet tips
Friends, it is not too early to think about Halloween, which can be a traumatic and even dangerous time for your pets. Here are some common-sense tips to help you protect them:
* Don’t leave your pets out in the yard on Halloween: there are plenty of stories of vicious pranksters who have teased, injured, stolen, even killed pets on this night.
* Trick-or-treat candies are not for pets: chocolate is poisonous to a lot of animals, and tin foil and cellophane candy wrappers can be hazardous if swallowed.
* be careful of pets around a lit pumpkin: pets may knock it over and cause a fire. Curious kittens especially run the risk of getting burned.
* Don’t dress the dog in costume unless you know he loves it. otherwise, it puts a lot of stress on the animal.
* if you do dress up your dog, make sure the costume isn’t constricting, annoying or unsafe.
* be careful not to obstruct his or her vision; even the sweetest dogs can get snappy when they can’t see what’s going on around them.
* all but the most social dogs should be kept in a separate room during trick-or-treat visiting hours; too many strangers in strange garb can be scary for a dog.
* be careful your cat or dog doesn’t dart out through an open door.
While this can be a fun time for people and pets alike, remember that your pets are depending on you to keep them safe from the more dangerous goblins and ghouls that this holiday brings. (Source: ASPCA)
This and that at the shelter: please mark your calendar for Saturday, Oct. 8, at Hollywood Feed from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. for shelter pet adoption day. We’ve had great success adopting out many of our pets in this manner. At this time, we have a wonderful array of small house dogs including small terriers, Chihuahuas, feists, dachshund mix, a tiny red pom, a Jack mix, and a small Australian shepherd with docked tail. Medium size/large dogs include yellow, buff, black and chocolate lab adults and pups, a wonderful Dalmatian mix, several terriers, a shepherd/Pyrenees, heeler mix, a boxer mix, and many more. on the feline side we now have two rare bobtails, a gorgeous blue-eyed Siamese mix, tabbies of all colors, a tuxedo with a ragdoll temperament who loves to flop on his back for a belly rub or snuggle in your arms, torties, a longhaired gray, shorthaired calico, dilutes, a stunning longhaired calico, adults cats and adorable kittens. if you are looking for a new feline friend, please stop by the Pet Stop any day of the week to see a selection of shelter cats and kittens ready for adoption. Check us out on dyerhumane.org or petfinder.com and type 38024 zip to see our pets. we receive over 100 pets a week, so the population is constantly changing.
‘Amanda’ is a beautiful gray-and-white cat who is a “talker” and wants to be where you are. She is very affectionate and sweet. Amanda has been at the shelter for a while and is desperately seeking a home. ‘Bailee’ is a precious dachshund/feist companion doggie who is already housebroken/spayed. She is a sweetheart. ‘Daphne’ is a tri-color feist who is heartworm negative. She is very loving and wants to be your best friend for life. ‘Sylvie’ is one of the cutest pups at the shelter. She is a beautifully marked Australian shepherd with a bobtail. Sylvie loves everyone she meets. Despite its name, the Australian Shepherd was developed in California in the 1800s, although its ancestors include sheepdogs from new Zealand and Australia. the breed has a temperament similar to a golden or lab. It is affectionate and playful but maintains a basic working instinct. (Source: Fogle’s the Encyclopedia of the Dog)
We appreciate and thank you for all donations, whether monetary or otherwise. we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and depend upon your donations to keep our doors open. if you love animals and have a kind heart, we need you as a foster or volunteer and so do the animals. Call or stop by the shelter office for more information. we need volunteers to assist the photographer who takes pictures of the cats and dogs to display on petfinder.com, bathe pets to make them more adoptable, walk dogs, socialize animals, hand out treats and toys and help any way you are able on your own schedule. if you cannot foster or volunteer, please help by donating dog blankets/fleece material, high-quality dry dog/puppy/cat/kitten food, canned pet food, pet bottles/formula, toys, soft cuddly stuffed animals (no beanie babies), treats, Clorox bleach, Germ-ex (hand sanitizer), paper towels, toilet paper, office supplies, etc. if you have old trophies you no longer want, please drop them off at the shelter. we totally refurbish them and top with a dog motif and use as prizes in our Bark in the Park dog show held at Okeena Park in May of each year.
A wonderful way to remember or honor a loved one or pet is to make an honorarium or memorial donation to the shelter. Specify who the donation is to, with complete address where notification or acknowledgment should be sent and your complete address. we will do the rest. Categories are: the Cot Fund (dog beds), the Beagley Fund (heartworm treatment) which seems to stay depleted, General Fund, Champ Lewis Fund (monetary adoption assistance), Save-a-Life Makeover (professional grooming to make a pet more appealing and adoptable), Honorariums and Memorials. Mail to the Dyersburg-Dyer co. Humane Society, P.O. Box 223, Dyersburg, TN 38025-0223. Thank you for helping the animals!
Please visit the shelter between 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday. the shelter is closed to the public on Sunday. our telephone number is 731-285-4889.