First Aid Kits for Pets
At Club Pet and Club Pet Too, we enroll all our staff in Pet First Aid courses as a part of their job training. Many of our employees have commented that one of their favorite parts of the course was learning how to build a pet first aid kit. Many of us now have them in our homes and cars.
We use the online course available at pethealthacademy.com — Anyone can enroll!
Below is a list of the contents of a basic pet first aid kit:
- At least two slip-leads
- Bottled water
- Very tasty dog treats or canned food (hint: most dogs can’t resist canned cat food) with a pull-top
- A container for water, a plate for food
- Plastic baggies
- Safety pin (to poke a hole in Diphenhydramine capsules, or for sliver removal)
- Emergency blanket
- (Muzzle-set) You can make a muzzle from a slip-lead if you don’t want to commit to this one!
- Gauze roll
- Non-stick gauze pads
- Gauze or cotton pads (get a big stack, used to control bleeding)
- Adhesive tape
- Q-Tips (long handled are better)
- Tongue depressor(s)
- Digital thermometer (since nobody reads the old-fashioned ones anymore)
- Spare battery for your thermometer
- Bandage scissors
- Tweezers
- Syringe (100mL)
- Pen light
- Antibiotic Ointment
- Topical Steroid Cream
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Lubricant, such as petroleum jelly
- Saline Solution
- Styptic powder
- Pepcid (10 mg recommended)
- Diphenhydramine capsules (for quick action)
EXAMINE YOUR KIT TWICE A YEAR FOR EXPIRATION DATES & TO RE-STOCK!
Club Pet Groomer Rescues Alligator
Puff, the magic escape artist alligator, is back home in Milford Township after an adventure on Thursday.
“He’s my buddy,” said James Kozub, who has owned the American alligator for 20 years and has lived with him in Milford Township for the past eight years. “He’s never been a problem.”
Kozub admits Puff was “a mad gator” on Thursday after he broke loose from a tether he had been left on in the front yard of their home in the 2000 block of East Commerce. The four-foot alligator then took a stroll at ended up at a yard in the 1900 block of East Commerce.
On his way, he was spotted by Dawn Stuebben, who had just left work at the nearby Club Pet, a dog boarding facility where she is a groomer.
The Plymouth resident was on her way home and couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“It was scary,” she said. “It looked like a big monitor lizard walking across a front yard. I said, ‘What the hell is that? Is that real?'”
Stuebben pulled into the parking lot of St. Mary’s Church and said people in the driveway of the home looked unfazed. She then realized they hadn’t yet seen what she now recognized as an alligator.
Moments later, they were calling the police, who responded at 4:35 p.m. July 18.
Stuebben said she and a man at the neighbor’s home worked together to capture the animal. She tied together three dog leashes while he got a pole and makeshift hook. Stuebben, hands shaking, then lassoed the alligator under his jaw.
“He was upset and hissing, but not trying to come at us,” she said. “There was a drainage ditch that goes under the road and he was heading that way. We knew we’d never get him out if he got that far.”
Puff still had a small harness around the front of his body, with a broken wire attached.
According to the police report, the neighbor was aware that Kozub owned a pet alligator. Police were able to reach Kozub, who was at a Madison Heights water park with his family, and he arrived about an hour later, taping Puff’s mouth shut and carrying him home. He put him in his above ground swimming pool to cool off.
Kozub said he was in high school when he bought Puff from House of Pets in Dearborn Heights 20 years ago. He has since lived in Westland, Redford, and for the past 8 years, in Milford Township. He said he has legally owned his pet in every place he has been, and even informed township officials of Puff when he moved here.
Puff has a cage in Kozub’s home. Young children also live at the home, as well as Kozub’s 11-month-old Great Dane/Mastiff mix Zeus.
Kozub is also a beekeeper and has had a variety of interesting pets over the years, including chickens, pigs, and birds, but Puff has outlived them all.
While he can’t cuddle Puff, he enjoys him, calling the alligator “hardy, and fun to watch,” as well as listen to with the noises he makes. He keeps Puff’s size in check by controlling the temperatures to which he is exposed.
What does an alligator eat? Kozub says, “everything.”
“It’s hard for people to understand,” he said. “People judging me don’t know about alligators. They make good pets.”
Kozub emphasized it is not against state law or DNR regulations to own an alligator and in the police report, an animal control officer confirmed that to police.
Kozub was issued a citation for failing to maintain a reasonable control/leash law in Milford Township.
*Article originally appeared on hometownlife.com
Enrichment Activities for Your Dog
Can’t make it to daycare? Here are some enrichment activities to entertain your dogs that go beyond the basics of tug-of-war, fetch, and walks. Activities that offer mental stimulation can calm anxious dogs, curb unwanted behaviors, and improve communication between you and your dog.
1. Bones: Both natural and synthetic bones provide dogs an outlet through chewing, and dogs’ latent prey instincts are activated by the smells and flavors of the treats. Until you know your dogs’ chewing habits, don’t leave them unattended with bones!
2. Stuffed Kongs: If you have the time, pop them in the freezer after you stuff them. Your dogs will stay busy licking, digging & chewing the tasty treats out of the center. Popular stuffers are peanut butter, cheese, broths, and pumpkin. These can also be mixed with favorite treats or food. BEWARE OF XYLITOL — this is a common sweetener in human food products that is toxic to dogs!
3. Food Dispensing Toys: as dogs bump and knock the toy around, kibble falls out. Dogs will work hard to get all the food out. The food also falls out in an unpredictable way, and that added challenge provides more stimulation.
4. Snuffle Mats (nose work): Dogs explore the world with their noses. Introducing them to interesting smells is like teaching them a new language! Certain herbs and spices, the scent of other animals, and of course, food, can all be infused into snuffle mats, toys and bedding. If your dog shows a real interest in using their sniffer, you can take it a step further and play hide and seek with the new smells.
5. Bubbles: Dogs are wowed by the bubbles bobbing in the air, catching them in their mouth, watching, chasing. They are unpredictable (like prey) and that adds a level of mental stimulation that chasing a ball lacks. You can even get scented bubbles!
6. Laser Pointer or Toys on a String (just like the cats like): Get your dog moving from the comfort of a chair!
7. Sound Enrichment: Certain kinds of music, wind chimes, or specially produced “dog soundtracks” can break up the monotony of a too-familiar environment.
8. Massage: Slow, intentional touch, where you pet or massage your dog in a pattern, carefully holding or massaging specific spots on their bodies, takes thought. Your dog will also be thinking about how you’re handling them, and therefore, this kind of touch becomes an enrichment activity.
9. Casual Walks: Allow dogs some purposeless walks, where they can wander and sniff entirely at their own pace!