Congratulations! If you recently made an addition to your family in the form of a new dog, puppy, cat or kitten here is some friendly advice.
1. Buy some pet health insurance. I can't believe I would ever recommend this, because I have always loathed the day that vet med becomes like the insurance driven industry of human medicine! That said, veterinary health care is extremely expensive, especially emergency care. So as soon as you get your new family member, look into this PRONTO! The urgency is primarily because there are a few pet health insurance companies that will not cover any "pre-existing conditions." Most healthy puppies and kittens do not usually have any pre-existing conditions, so you can get everything covered if you sign them up early while they are healthy.
2. Get them identified! There are several ways to do this and I recommend ALL of them together. First, get them microchipped if they aren't already. If they are already microchipped, be sure to contact the microchip company with your current phone number and a good, detailed description of your animals. Second, get a collar and a name tag with your contact information engraved. Third, get one of the many pet identification tags that are linked to online services such that you can upload pictures of you with your pets, your contact info, etc. Some of these services (eg. www.IDtag.com) will notify shelters and animal control agencies in your area when you notify the company of a lost animal alert. The online database link that allows you to upload pictures of you with your pets is especially important when major catastrophes separate you from your beloved pets. If you recall during and after hurricanes Katrina-Rita in the gulf states there were problems matching lost/found animals with their true owners. Services such as these photo databases can be a big help in situations like natural disasters, etc.
3. Get your new family member on a nutritious and healthy diet. Some veterinarians can be especially helpful with this, unfortunately some can be well intentioned but give less than ideal advice. If things are going well with your pet's current food intake and health, great. If not, make an appointment with Dr. Busch for some serious nutritional counseling. Call 215-287-3206 to schedule.
4. Be sure to give your new dog and cat lots of exercise! Yes, cats need and can get exercise, too. Exercise can be the cure for many disruptive and even destructive behaviors in animals. If you live in Haverford Township and you're interested in joining Dr. Busch's daily dog walking group, please contact her at 215-287-3206. If you can't join her in person, look for flyball dog groups, agility dogs, or even obedience classes to help burn off some of that excess animal energy. It's equally good for us human animals, too!
