Archive for January, 2010

The baby kitty picture shown below is my little (older) brother Sam the cat taken in 1998, and shows his little sister, Nikki the puppy who was the newest family member. Both pets were less than 1 year old at the time and would play for hours wrestling like best friends.

The photo of them hiding happened one day as they were playing. A storm blew in and a ferocious boom sounded as thunder followed lightning very near their home. Scared witless, the two took off on the wooden floor spinning in place trying to get a grip. Side by side they spun across the floor like in a cartoon with barely enough traction to make any progress.

Mom and Dad had to search to find out where they went, and found them in the bedroom huddled side by side under a stand near the bed. Lifting the cover as shown revealed the cuteness of cat and dog buddies hiding together like best friends. Nikki passed away within a year of this photo from a rare congenital blood disease that mystified the vet. At 11 years old Sam still has the same cuteness except those huge ears look tiny now on his adult head.

The very familiar formula for calculating dog age in human years is their actual age times 7. While this provides a fair measure of the equivalent chronological age in the earlier years, the calculation is inaccurate for combined variables of age plus dog size. Larger dogs age faster and an accurate formula is not linear, so the years times 7 is very general.

Try the following table instead for pets aged 1 through 20 years old as adapted from a poster in my veterinarian’s office that listed estimates for up to 25 years old. 20 seemed sufficient, so for ages or weights not shown, you may want to contact the Guiness Book of World Records!

Table for Cat or Dog Age in Human Years

*Note: Values extracted from a poster at our vet’s office with data by Fred L. Metzger, DVM DABVP

Yes, the estimate works for cats or kittens, too! You can use the same table, yet for your cat you should only need the small dog 0-20 lbs data. Having a small breed puppy or mutt and a pet kitten born around the same time while maintaining reasonable health would mean having pets that should age at the same rate in human years.

This week marks one year in my forever home since being rescued from doggy jail. The photo shown is me just over a year old and my favorite for 2009 and was originally taken in color. Who could imagine that cute face being dumped on the street and discarded like yesterday’s newspaper?

It happens to pets every day worldwide. The economy nosedive to rock bottom and the worst conditions in nearly 100 years explains why.

Humans are forced to cut costs and choose between paying bills for basic necessities and that unconditional love and loyalty from their dog. Cats get dumped, too. I get it. Being a responsible pet owner means if you must surrender your pet in the face of unforseen and extreme financial difficulties there’s a right way to do it.

A year ago my groomer was telling my guardians that people bring pets to their grooming business, open the door, toss the pet inside, and then close the door and run. Why? They know pet groomers are pet lovers and will have a slightly better chance than just being tossed on the street (like I was). The situation is worse when the pet is let loose outside the business and must be chased down in a parking lot or traffic!

If you must surrender your pet, take it to a pet shelter or rescue organization. When you voluntarily give up your pet you can at least share health or other issues so caregivers know what is needed. PLEASE. Do not dump your pets. They were family members and have a better chance of survival to find a forever home and family if you do the right thing.