day/night care

Holiday time brings special anxiety for any dog owner who wants to travel. What to do with the pet during this busy time of the year? A quick check of Craigslist shows that there are plenty of people out there willing to come into your home, either to feed and walk the dog, or even to stay overnight. But only the most desperate are going to turn over an animal (who can't tell you what went on) or a house to a perfect stranger.

There may be kennels in the Greenwich area, but I have yet to meet someone who's willing to recommend one. More often, people ask me who I use, since they know I have multiple animals. More recently, I've been lucky enough to have a close friend stay with them, but since he moved to CA, my only experience is with Kristin, owner of the Canine Athletic Club. Two years ago, when I had only one dog and 4 outdoor cats, she (or someone from her team) came to the house to walk and feed Chessie, taking her to her "day camp" from midmorning to late afternoon. This year, when I thought I would need her services for several days, including Christmas, I contacted her again, and she was very prompt to reply, via email, that she could indeed do the job. She requires extensive documentation, and information about the animal, its habits, its vet, to convince me that she knows how to deal with any emergency. And when I cancelled, she was equally polite. For my money, and for my sanity, I would feel quite comfortable hiring someone who has been in business for at least two years. I would NOT feel the same about someone who is new at the game.

guests

Two situations:

1. You want to travel with your dog. Where to stay?
2. You have guests coming who are allergic to your pets. How to purify your house so they don't end up with a serious medical problem

As it happens, many luxury hotels now accept, and even cater to, pets. But in meeting the needs of pet owners, they also have to make sure they can guarantee clean rooms to those who just don't want to sleep in a room that has been inhabited by a dog or cat. Some of the measures they take to clean up are outlined by The Wall Street Journal.

Estate Planning

What happens when you're gone. Really gone. Who will take care of your dog(s)? Are you sure someone is really going to love your pet enough to find a good kennel when they travel, seek out the best vet, and take it out for a walk in nasty weather? Maybe now is the time to think about the unthinkable, and the Wall Street Journal has put together a few suggestions on how to plan for your pet's care.

looking for a trainer?

There will come a time when you consider a dog trainer. Dog chews when you're out, dog pees on the carpet when your attention is on someone else; dog pulls on the leash when you're out for a walk. But anyone scanning the message board at Pet Pantry for a GOOD trainer is sure to be confused. Which to choose?

The New York Times, in its Thursday Styles page, recently addressed that issue in A Chorus of Dog Whisperers offering some ideas on why there are suddenly so many trainers along with some hints on how to choose the right one (if indeed you need one)

Mega gets a haircut

Yesterday Mega had her back to school hair cut at Vanity Fur and she looks so cute - you can actually see her eyes, now that the floppy long bangs are gone. But she refused to let me take her picutre. As soon as she sees my camera, she runs the other way. Even if I lure her with a treat, she runs when the camera comes out.
Best possible shot is this one - really, she just wanted to get inside because it was dinner time. Bu her tail is down - usually when she is expecting dinner, it's up there, waving away.

Not that this haircut is a proper hand strip, which is what you are supposed to do with your Norwich. There are web sites that describe the process, like this one from a breeder. But if her cut today cost $60.00, and was done by hand, I can only imagine what a true "hand stripping" must run. In fact there are few groomers in the area willing to do the job. The only person I've found so far is someone named Anna at Bandilane in Darien. But she is highly recommended.

Found a nifty new dog bed

Today we spotted the niftiest dog bed at Pet Pantry. It's really nothing but a rectangle with filling, but it's made of a plush fabric so soft, you want to take a nap on it yourself. The bed is made by PetDreams. Another feature: the whole thing goes into the washer and dryer. It always feels like wrestling with an aligator to get most other cushions back into the case after you wash them. This is one bed we've got to try. And if Ches and Mega don't like it, well I'm going to sit on it myself.

return

Karat has to have been the best dog I ever had the chance to call my own. She is beautiful, she is obedient, she stayed by my side, she loves to ride in the car. Chessie is beautiful, but she has a mind of her own. She hates to ride in the car, mostly, I suppose, because it seems to upset her stomach - classic car sickness. But Chessie was jealous. She never used to follow me around, but suddently, she wanted to know why Karat was with me. She watched our every move (how does a partly sighted dog watch? With her nose.) She took every toy I gave Karat, even while in the midst of her favorite game of tug.

So I took her back. It would not have been fair to either dog to force them to share this space. Karat is always going to be submissive. Chessie is always going to take the toys. Karat will find a great home - there must be 200 families on the waiting list. And bottom line, Chess is the dog I love, so she comes first.

One positive outcome - besides increasing my high respect for the professionalism of the Guiding Eyes people - I had to buy a new water/food dish. I took Karat and Mega down to at Pet Pantry to see what we could find. And because they no longer carried my usual choice, a round hard plastic "crock" model, I chose a new kind. It's made by PetMate. The one I have is called the FreshFlow model, and it's just heavy enough to stay in place when the dogs eat from it. The bottom edge has a scallop shape cut out of each side, which makes it easy to pick up.

vets in the Greenwich area

We have visited Dr. Gardner in Port Chester more or less continuously since moving to Connecticut in 1992. He runs a one man office, and in the past year replaced his receptionist who could sometimes seem like she wanted you to go away. He doens't have a web site, but he can be reached at 914 937-2200.

There are several vets right in Greenwich, but we have never felt the need to go elsewhere (except for about a year, when above mentioned receptionist drove us crazy and we went up to Dr. Whittington in Armonk). The Greenwich Veterinary Hospitalon the Post Road on the west side of town has a friendly office, and it's web site has a few neat videos about how to clean your dog's ears and teeth.

Creating a Good Dog

This morning I took my recently adopted retired guide dog to Pet Pantry in Greenwich to meet Peg Munves from The Good Dog Foundation, She had come to town to "evaluate" potential dogs and their people for her set of classes preliminary to serving as therapy dogs in local facilities - nursing homes, etc.
Peg was there, on time, and brought us down one of the aisles, all the while watching to see how Karat (my lab) behaved and responded to my requests. Actually since she's so new to me, I didn't know what to expect. But she did sit, stay, and drop on command. She's not the fastest, but she does obey.

bees are pets too

So: dogs are a lot of work. Cats are easier but they do require feeding. Bees, on the other hand, pretty much take care of themselves once you've got the basic set up. For a $600 investment, you're set. And if everything goes well, at the end of the summer you could have 30-60 lbs of honey. That means: no more shopping for gifts at Christmas. Everyone appreciates a bottle of local honey.

The go-to person re: bees in Greenwich has got to be Ellen Zampino. She's hard to catch, but she does give one session classes each semester for The Greenwich Continuing Education program.

Anyway, one of the grand treats of summer is to pull in the drive and see all those bees in the sunlight, flying into and out of the hives. You can check out the hives at Greenwich Audubon Center, too, just above the apple orchard.

a good shampoo and haircut

There comes a time when a dog needs to see a groomer. Not because she's a total mess, but little things are beyond an owner's control: Hair in the eyes. Long nails. Mats behind the ears. It's just too much for someone who is challenged by her own head of hair.

Where to turn? There are at least 6 grooming shops in Greenwich. There are the Mobile groomers. Groomers who pick up. Groomers who come INTO your home And there is PetsMart, in Norwalk or Port Chester.
Several less than happy experiences in Byram and Port Chester left me wondering what to do. Then I read the front page article in The Greenwich Time about Vanity Fur, on North Water Street in Byram, whose owner was employing high school kids from the Byram Archibold program. Now there's a lady with a heart, thought I, who knows the secret of hidden treasures.
I called, and she actually answered the phone with a smile in her voice. Many times, when you call a groomer, you get an answering machine, presumably because everyone in the shop's hands are full and they are too harrassed to talk.

She had openings within a week (a grooming shop around the corner had NO openings until August, and someone in the shop made an unnecessary comment that she would HATE to see MY dog if she hadn't had a professional bath since last fall. Did I really want to hear that? Chessie might be a little fluffy, but she certainly looked and smelled clean.)

So we signed up: puppy cut for Mega(bitz) the 6 year old female Norwich terrier (lets admit it, her hair WAS pretty long and shaggy; her hair was hanging in her eyes) and a shampoo and comb out for Chessie the 3 year old female blue merle collie.

They were dropped off at around 8:30 a.m., opening time. Not home, no calls by 3:30. Worried? you bet. Called in. Said they would be done "later in the afternoon". No calls by 5. Called back at 5:10, said "I"m coming". She said, "Okay, come on down."

What a surprise! Mega was a New Lady! Chipper and cute, I would NOT have recognized her. Last visit to a groomer was SUPPOSED to have been a hand striping, which is what you're supposed to do to a Norwich but it's tedious and very labor intensive. I paid $130 and she looked like someone had taken kitchen scissors to her hair and cut it straight around like Moe's from the Three Stooges. I could have done the same in 10 minutes.

Chessie glowed! The assistant groomer showed me the barrel full of hair she had combed out because she was "blowing her coat". You bet she was! I had no idea you could get that much hair off my dog.

The total price for both dogs was a very very reasonable $165. The girls looked good and looked happy. I was happy. We'll be back.

Contact Vanity Fur at:
203 531-4306
18 North Water Street (across from Wachovia Bank)
owner: Kathy Valentino