St Francis of Assisi wrote, “All praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures.”

    Many churches now offer a blessing of the animals, often held to celebrate the feast of St. Francis on October 2. At larger churches, the line may look like that of the animals entering Noah’s Ark!

The Blessing is often the following:

     “Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures. You called forth fish in the sea, birds in the air, and animals on the land. You inspired St. Francis to call all of them his brothers and sisters. We ask you to bless this pet. By the power of your love, enable it to live according to your plan. May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation. Blessed are all your creatures. Amen.”

     As part of the ceremony, church leaders will often speak of the unconditional love offered by pets and the reciprocal bond that forms between people and animals.

AS we prepared for Hurricane Irene, I heard all the shelters were welcoming pets. If you had to go to a shelter and take your pet, what would you take with you? You must ssume that the shelter has NO SUPPLIES for pets and bring your own. Start with the following list: 

• Crate or sturdy carrier for each pet and disposable cage liners, blankets, towels. This will provide a safe haven for your pet. The shelter will most assuredly be crowded and harried.
• Food and water for 3-7 days.
• Medicines and medical records for pets with serious issues.
• For dogs: extra leash and collar, toys and chews.
• For cats: scoopable litter, disposable litter trays (aluminum roasting pans are perfect)
• Paper toweling, disposable garbage bags for clean-up.
• Liquid dish soap and disinfectant.
• Recent photos of your pets (in case you are separated).

This is just a beginning. Take a look at this aspca link for more information. Hurricane season is not over until November, and September is historically the busiest hurricane month.

For  more information about your pet’s safety, check out

Pets-ercise Dog Walking and Pet Sitting at

www.TarasPetsitting.com or call 610-845-WOOF.

Felix

 

Romie

Chloe

Duchess

Bruce

Nitsy

Everyone loves kittens and puppies because they’re cute and playful. And yet it seems like everyone who’s ever raised a kitten or puppy has at least one “horror story” to go along with it! Baby animals are adorable, but there are many loving older pets who need “retirement homes” to call their own. Reasons to adopt an older pet include:

- They’re more mellow and tend to have better house manners. While many are still active, they’re just as content to relax at home with you.

- Senior dogs are better focused and are easier to train – and they may already know some commands. You may have heard the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” Fortunately that’s not true. Puppies tend to have a short attention span, while older dogs learn quickly.

- Senior pets are often already housetrained. Dogs will know how to ask to be let outside when have need to go, and cats will know how to use their litter boxes.

- They’re past the “destructive” stage. Puppies will chew most anything while they’re in their teething stage, and kittens have yet to learn what’s appropriate to scratch and what’s not! Older pets tend to know what is “theirs”, and they’ve often been taught what “no” means.

- You’ll have more time for yourself and to enjoy your pet, instead of cleaning up after them, attending to frequent bathroom breaks, teaching them manners, and all the other stuff that’s necessary when you have a youngster.

- You know what you’re getting. You know how big your pet’s going to be, how he looks, how active he is, and so on. Puppies and kittens have a lot of growing to do and they may develop into an adult that is different from what you expected.

- Most importantly, senior pets have lots of love to give and they’ll form a steadfast bond with their new people. They just need someone to love them in return!