Pets Lost and Found

posted by admin on Mar 27

All true human mommies and daddies of cats and dogs will know that there is no greater worry than going on holiday and leaving the animal children at home.

It is impossible to find a kennel and cattery that would cover Mitzi with her “blankie” when she goes to sleep, or to serve Rover and Fifi their decaf in the morning.

We have reverted to doing wild camping, as I can then take all four my dogs with me, and have the peace of mind that I personally take care of them.

Of course, one is not always in the mood for living in a tent, neither does all the seasons allow you to do so. Any information on pets welcome accommodation is a lifesaver.

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posted by Marita on Mar 20

When someone decides to get a pet, they very seldom consider the medical expenses that will be incurred through the lifetime of the pet.

A pet will get ill and injuries will occur, just like with a human child.

After all, if you get a pet, you must be prepared to treat such a pet as a member of the family. Nevertheless, in the excitement of getting a new puppy or kitten, the vet’s bills are the last thing anyone wants to think about.

Keep in mind, when you adopt a pet, you are responsible for its well-being. Not only out of the goodness of your heart, but also by law.

Because people do not budget for such occurrences, the pet often suffers excruciating pain without the necessary medical attention.

With animals, a simple thing like getting a few stitches becomes a huge expense, often far more than the average to low income family can afford.

As the pet will not sit still for the cleaning and stitching of a wound, they cannot just receive a local anaesthetic, they have to undergo general anaesthesia.

Therefore, for a large breed dog, such a simple procedure (for humans) can run up close to a R1000-00 and be even more if the wound is infected and the pet has developed a fever. The cost may run closer to R2000-00 if that is the case.

There has been only one medical aid scheme, that I am aware of, in South Africa for a number of years now.

However, in 2007 a new medical aid scheme entered the market – Medipet SA.

After visiting their website, I was very impressed by their simple straightforward rules and their extremely affordable rates. I signed up all four my dogs immediately.

Of course, there is some “no claim rules”, like cleaning of the pets’ teeth and annual vaccinations, which will not be covered. That is a small price to pay for the amazing benefit of R25,000 cover for your pet per year. You get that for the low monthly premiums from R125 and less. They even give discount if you have multiple pets covered. You only pay the first R250 excess per occurrence.

That means that you can now take your pet to the vet without having to worry about the expense.

If your cash flow situation is critical, you can always ask for an arrangement, with the vet, to pay the balance of the bill when the medical aid pays you out. Be responsible and pay the vet. You will need them again and do not want a poor reputation to spoil your chances of top rate medical treatment for your pet.

We normally pay cash at the vet for all treatments and claim the money back afterwards. I have thus far received my refunds within 10 days, each time I claimed.

Visit the site www.medipetsa.co.za today still and make sure you take out medical cover for your pet.

Do not make your pet suffer sickness and injuries, because for the price of four movie tickets, you can get them fully covered.

posted by Marita on Mar 11

I teach all my dogs to respond to a simple sports whistle. (Referees whistle, available from any sports outlet) We never use the whistle for normal calling. They were taught that when the whistle goes, it is serious business, it is emergency time, no excuses whatsoever will be accepted and they have to come to us that very instant.

I would start them off as follows: When wanting to close the house for the night, I would allow them to go for a run outside. I will give them time to wander off and then suddenly blow the whistle hard. They would come back the first time because they are curious about the strange noise. Those that do not come right away gets locked out for five or six minutes. Those that do come right away, will get a reward in the form of lavish praise and a small bite of something really special, like a piece of biltong or steak. They very quickly learn to come when the whistle blows. I start cutting down on the treats after a while and increase the praise.

Be inventive in your training and use things that your dog really loves to do or to eat to initially get them to respond to the whistle.

If your dog likes to go for a drive, it is also a good time to use the whistle. Blow on the whistle to call the dog to the car. Let him or her get in right away. It is important that they associate the whistle with pleasant experiences. They need to be happy to respond to the whistle quickly, to ensure the success of this method.

We do a lot of wild camping and all our dogs always goes camping with us. We allow them to roam freely and to come and go as they please. However, when “The Whistle” goes, they drop everything and anything that has caught their fancy and come to us immediately, no matter how far they have wandered off, no questions asked. They run !

Recently, on a camping trip, we made a pee-pee stop in the veldt. Pepper, our Merle Great Dane, suddenly dashed after a small buck that jumped out of the short shrub next to the road. This was on the West Coast, with no fences in sight. Now, I tell you with the buck going at the speed of light and the dog as fast as the buck on those long legs, they were a huge distance from us, before anyone of us could even blink. Luckily, I had “The Whistle” on a string around my neck. The first piercing blow had Pepper stopped in her tracks. She came back instantly, although very disappointed. We made her instant obedience a pleasure by praising and giving her one of our sandwiches. She will certainly be obedient again the next time around. All this happened so fast, that the other three dogs did not even realize that Pepper was chasing something.

A few years ago, Caesar Zandberg, a safari tourist operator, lost his dog in a similar occurrence. His dog chased after a herd of Springbok in the Kaokoveld in the North Western parts of Namibia. He radioed for assistance from other operators and people living in the area. They hounded all the villages, kraals and settlements for weeks. The dog was completely lost. He and his wife were devastated. The dog was their only “child”.

posted by Marita on Mar 4

I always like to keep my blog post focused on the positive side of being a pet owner, but from time to time I need a bit of a ‘reality check’ and bring to your attention the uglier side of pet owners. In the process of setting up Pets Lost and Found I was warned about criminal activity that is affecting pet owners today.

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