What do I think?

I was telling someone the other day what I did for a living and when I mentioned owning FloridaPets.net, the person asked if I found Florida to be pretty pet-friendly - overall.

I thought about it for a minute or two before replying and decided to use what I had to say as a blog entry. After all, some of you may like to know if I think Florida is generally pet-friendly and if not, what could be improved.

I placed FloridaPets.net online in October, 2001, so one could say I've been in the midst of all things pet-friendly for about a decade. So my answer is that I find Florida to be a bit less pet-friendly than it was nine years ago. There are some areas of the state more OK with dogs in public than others. But I'm noticing more and more public places, such as beaches and parks, closing their doors to the pooches.

Why is that?

The way I see it, the problem doesn't usually involve just the dogs; dogs are too pure and loving to be a problem all by themselves. The main reason places are becoming less pet-friendly is all the dog poop left by humans who don't bother to clean it up.

I have a pretty strong belief that if it were just up to the dogs, most would clean up after themselves and would only be seen in public with well-behaved humans.

So, that's what I think. What do you think?

By the way, we've been using the cool purple biodegradable poop bags shown above and just love them. Check them out!

Another pet food distribution location

WHAT: Pet food bank distribution

WHEN: Saturday, March 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WHERE: Joseph A. Strasser Animal Health and Welfare Building, 6817 Norwood Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida

DETAILS: Administered by First Coast No More Homeless Pets, the food bank is for people struggling to care for their pets due to financial issues. Each pet will receive a month's supply of food, for up to four dogs and five cats per household. While you do not have to be a Duval County resident to receive food, you must present a valid photo ID, proof of income, and proof of pet's sterilization. If your pet is not spayed or neutered, that service will be provided at no charge if you qualify. Please leave your pets at home for the actual food distribution.

MORE INFO: To find out how to qualify - or to donate food for the cause - please call (904) 520-7903 or visit Jacksonville Pet Food Bank.

Fight the blahs - attend a pet friendly event

In case you didn't know, FloridaPets.net keeps a pretty decent Calendar of Events filled with activities that are pet friendly, beneficial to a pet group, or both. One of my dreams when hubby retires is to hit the road with him and our pups for an entire year, attending every single pet event in the state of Florida and meeting as many pet people as possible. It would be awesome to do a special live pod cast sort of thing from each event to entice everyone to stop by and say hi and help out the animals through supporting the event.

Anyway, if you get bored with the month of February like I do (I mean, after the beautiful Valentine's Day card from hubby and the chocolate!) stop by our Calendar and review the events during what's left of February and what we've already got posted for March. We're currently working on adding more, so keep coming back. If you do attend an event, please drop me a note and let me know how it was. Many of these are yearly fundraisers and the more people who attend, the more benefits the animals will enjoy.

Also, if you are a member of an animal-related group and would like to get the word out about your group's activities, feel free to post all your events on our Calendar. It's free and no password is required. Drop me a note if you have any problems with the posting and I'll gladly help!

People with Pets Vote

During the last Presidential campaign, we all heard about one of the candidates who had "allegedly" once strapped the family dog to the top of the family station wagon before heading across country for a family vacation. You know which guy I mean - the family man, of course!

Not only did I find the idea horrifying, I also knew I could never vote someone like that into public office. A man - or woman - with such total disregard for the comfort and safety of an animal under their care would not be able to gain my confidence for doing anything more than changing a roll of toilet paper while behind bars.

The whole thing got me wondering about which politicians were pet friendly and which ones were not. I mean, anyone can borrow a dog for an afternoon's photo shoot to make themselves look like a best friend to companion animals, great and small. But which ones have actually shared their lives with an animal or two for multiple years? Which ones are good, responsible pet parents? Which ones even use the advantage of their office to start some good pro-animal legislation that ends up making the lives of all animals just a little bit easier?

These were the things I wanted to know and so, I started digging and I asked some friends to do some digging too. The results of this research are detailed at Pet Friendly Florida Politicians. There's a lot of information here, gathered from several people's efforts, but if you know something none of us found out, please, please, send it on to me and I'll add it to our list.

Yeast Bread Dough Latest No-No for Pets

Well, it makes sense. Let your dog gobble down a bunch of bread dough - or maybe you don't let him, he just does it - and he can get quite sick.

I knew this on some level; I just didn't know why. Seems once the dough has been eaten, it can rise to the point of causing an intestinal obstruction. Yikes!

The yeast creates another problem, in that it can ferment sugars and that's a whole separate mess because it can cause ethanol (yes, alcohol!) poisoning in an animal.

Seems what's not good for humans isn't good for animals either.

Need help keeping your pet?

If the economy has made you feel like a rubber band and you're currently stretched to the max, please don't think that getting rid of the family pet is the best way to save money. It's during times like this, when you're stressed, even lonely, that having the kind of unconditional love a pet provides is helpful, even downright necessary.

FloridaPets.net has put together a resource page called "Aid for Pets - and Their Pepole." If you need help caring for your pet, we've got some great resources for free or low cost assistance that can help you keep your pet healthy and yourself sane. Here are some of the highlights:

*** Regular and emergency veterinarian care.
*** Low cost or free spaying and/or neutering.
*** Solutions to housing issues.
*** Prescription drugs for pets.
*** Pet food.
*** Dog coats for pets of homeless people.
*** Prescription and dental care for the humans.
*** And much more - for both pets and people.

Happy Holidays!

Paw Patch Shoppe is back!

FloridaPets.net's Paw Patch Shoppe is back with lots of supplies, aids, goodies and more for dogs, cats, birds, and other companion animals. Check it out at Paw Patch Shoppe.