Be considerate of your pets during hot weather

Happy Summer Solstice Sonoma! Very hot days out there folks, so please take your pets into consideration.|

Happy Summer Solstice Sonoma! Very hot days out there folks, so please take your pets into consideration.

As far as dog walking is concerned, the five-second rule applies. If you can’t keep your hand on the pavement for five seconds because it’s too hot, then your dog shouldn’t either. Sometimes all dogs need is a bathroom break during the heat of the day and exercise can wait until the cool of the early morning or later in the evening.

These days with 90 to 100 degree temps, I wait until at least after 7 p.m. and sometimes 8. Doc, who usually loves to run, is OK with not doing all that much in this heat. And, of course, please don’t ever leave them in the car. Please!

Sonoma lost another gem of a human being recently with the passing of Pam Grant.

She was taken from us much too soon and we here at Pets Lifeline are sending out big love and warm wishes to her family and friends. Pam’s husband, Paul Grant, is the owner of the Granary, our neighbor and a true friend to animals everywhere – as was Pammie.

I first met Pam when the Granary and Pets Lifeline would team up for the 4th of July parade and always delighted in running into her. She always had a smile and a laugh to share. She was an amazing human being with a huge heart and a warm giving spirit. She will truly be missed.

Here’s another story of a warm and giving nature. About a month ago, I saw this young man and young woman (late teens) walking into the shelter. The young man was holding a dog and they headed up to the adoption center. I didn’t see them after that.

I discovered later they found the dog up around the Sonoma Cinemas on Siesta Way and after spending about an hour knocking on doors in the neighborhood looking for the owner, they walked all the way over to Pets Lifeline on Eighth Street East to bring the dog to us.

Now, I think those two people are very special individuals to do that. The good news is that the dog was micro-chipped and we found the owner. I love a happy ending.

We had an emergency preparedness drill here at the shelter on June 20 and I am so glad we did. We still have a ways to go to be totally prepared but we definitely learned a lot about setting up a mobile shelter. Our goal is to continue our training, have all the supplies and be able to go set up a mobile shelter anywhere we need to in the event of a disaster.

If, for example (God forbid), there is a fire and homes are evacuated, we would work with first responders to set up in a safe location for a mobile shelter that can take in pets in need. Or we can set up here for homeowners to bring their pets if they are evacuated and cannot bring pets wherever they need to go.

Whatever the circumstance, we want to be ready for our community of pets and this was our first step to doing that. If you would like to be involved in our emergency preparedness process, please contact Lissette Valdez, our volunteer coordinator at 996-4577, ext. 104.

We have kittens coming out of our ears right now. A freelance reporter from the Index-Tribune called last week about a story she was working on asking if there were more kittens coming into the shelter because of the drought. We hadn’t really connected the dots on that one, but when we looked over our stats, this year has indeed had the highest kitten intake to date.

Just a reminder, if you see kittens out in the vineyard or around the ranch, we have humane traps to help with catching them.

Their life expectancy in the wild as kittens is seriously threatened and we’d rather they come here where we can at least vaccinate and spay or neuter them. If they are truly feral, they can be re-released to their natural environment. If they are able to be socialized, we will find them a good home.

Let’s try to help these poor kitties that need us.

Our 10th annual Summer Camp is in full swing and we still have a few spots left. By the numbers we’ve been getting, it must be one the kids favorite camps. Not that I am biased at all. Sign up now as we have six more weeks of fun with the animals here at the Pets Lifeline summer camp.

Until we meet again ... peace, love and paws.

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