Where did May go?????

Hello all my furr guardians, how did the month of May treat you? I can't believe how fast the month flew by, and it's going to be June in a few short days!!!!! Did you receive any good Mothers Day gifts for your furr kids? I personally didn't, but Blackjack made sure to wish me a happy day, and that's a great gift in my eyes. :o)

Your loyal pet sitters had one heck of a busy month, and welcome all our new furr kids and guardians. We had a great time at the 13th Street Cat Rescues annual open house, and was very pleased with the turnout! Hershey the chocolate lab kept everyone entertained weaving in and out of all the attendees with her favorite tennis ball in her mouth with eyes beaming with hope that someone would take the slobber injected ball and play with her. Our dear Coco was in his run because he's not as well behaved as his Sister Hershey, but everyone made their way out there to say hello to him.

I was looking at one of my favorite sites, (http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/) and after watching their informational video, (for the millionth time) checked out some of the other information that was mentioned. These are really, REALLY cool sites and ones that I think anyone who is a furr guardian or for that matter just an animal lover should be made aware of.

freekibblekat.com such a great idea, and can you believe it that a 12 YEAR OLD founded it!!! This is her story...

"Mimi Ausland, a 12 year old girl from Bend, Oregon, wanted to help feed the hungry animals at her local animal shelter. "There are 10's of thousands of dogs and cats in animal shelters across the country, all needing to be fed a good meal". Say hello to freekibble.com and freekibblekat.com!

Freekibble.com's primary mission is to provide good, healthy food to dogs and cats to those shelters who are working so hard to see that none of them go hungry - they need our help. In addition to providing free kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon, we've added 13 new shelters to the program (from Oregon to Florida!) and plan to expand the program to many more! Thanks to everyone for supporting freekibble by playing the trivia game - every piece of kibble counts!

We're happy to say that we're partnering with Castor and Pollux to feed these hungry dogs and cats a very high quality, all natural kibble - a very decent dinner! We also want to make it easy and fun for you to help provide free kibble by playing Meow Trivia - and we hope you learn a few interesting things about dogs and cats along the way. Thanks and enjoy!"

So, basically you go to http://www.freekibblekat.com/, (for cats) or http://www.freekibble.com/, (for dogs) and answer their daily trivia question. This is a daily question, and right or wrong they will still donate 10 pieces of kibble to animal shelters. It takes like one second and you can sign up for daily trivia reminders. I'm always thrilled when children take an active interest in helping out our furr friends, good for you Mimi!

The next site which I found very cool and wonderful is http://www.goodsearch.com/. The following info is edited due to the amount, but it should give you a good understanding what this site is all about.

"We all have a cause we care about - whether it's finding a cure for cancer, saving the environment, finding homes for abandoned pets or so many other worthwhile endeavors. But what we don't all have is the time or money to support these efforts as much as we'd like. So, what if we could raise money for our favorite charities and schools by doing something we do every day - searching the Internet?

GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50-percent of it's revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. It's a simple and compelling concept. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers - the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!

In 2007, GoodSearch was expanded to include GoodShop, an online shipping mall of world-class merchants dedicated to helping fund worthy causes across the country. Each purchase made via the GoodShop mall results in a donation to the user's designated charity or school - averaging approximately 3% of the sale, but going up to 20% or even more."

How totally cool is that! I mean, most of us are on the computer all day long looking up information, shopping, chatting, and we could be using it to help our beloved furr kids, (or any other charity of course).

The weather is getting WARM outside and I wanted to make sure that you have some tips on keeping your furr kids safe and healthy during the scorching summer months:

• Always have a supply of cool, fresh water available for pets.
• Add a few ice cubes to a dish of water for a cool, refreshing treat.
• When on the go, keep a water bottle filled with cold, fresh water for your pet.
• Wait 30 - 60 minutes after meals before taking a pet for its run.
• Walk your dog in grass or keep pavement walks brief. Sensitive paws can quickly burn on hot asphalt; consider paw protectors such as shoes or booties.
• No doggy days at the beach! During extremely hot temperatures, your pet would prefer shade to sunshine. Excessive panting, raspy breath and discolored gums are signs of heatstroke. To treat, get the animal in a shady place, cool it with wet towels and call a veterinarian.
• NEVER leave your animal in a vehicle! Even with the windows open, the temperature in a parked vehicle can reach more than 100 degrees in a matter of minutes.
• Coolant/antifreeze leaks are sweet tasting and attractive to animals. But drinking coolant can be fatal. Use animal-friendly propylene glycol coolant rather than ethylene glycol in your vehicles. Never let your pet drink out of strange puddles.

HELP ON YELP...many of you use Yelp in reviewing local eateries, business, etc, but did you know that your loyal petsitters are on Yelp, and would LOVE more happy reviews! If you're a Yelp, (or Angies List) user please leave a review for us...your furr kids would want you too! :o)

I thought I'd leave you with a "little Nomi" the adorable Yorkie that I'm fortunate enough to visit with twice a week. Until next time, hug your furr kids for me, Nanny Katy, Nanny Chandel, Nanny Allison, Nanny Stacy, Nanny Jennifer and Nanny Maria and we thank you for being part of our family.