Creature Comforts Pet Services, LLC

Compassionate care for your friend

safety

June Highlights the Importance of Pet Safety, Preparedness & Compassion for Animals

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I want to encourage pet lovers to use June’s pet-related observances as a reminder that preparedness can save lives.

From honoring devoted Dog Dads and appreciating veterinary professionals to encouraging shelter cat adoption, June offers multiple opportunities to focus on the health, safety, and well-being of companion animals.

National Dog Dad’s Day – June 14

National Dog Dad’s Day celebrates the special bond between dogs and the people who love and care for them. Pet safety experts encourage Dog Dads to go beyond treats and toys by learning essential life-saving skills such as recognizing heatstroke, choking, poisoning, and how to safely transport an injured pet.

Summer months can bring increased risks for pets due to rising temperatures, travel, outdoor activities, and backyard gatherings.

Veterinary Appreciation Day – June 18

Veterinary Appreciation Day recognizes the veterinarians, veterinary technicians, assistants, receptionists, and support teams who dedicate themselves to animal health.

Emergency preparedness works hand-in-hand with veterinary medicine.

Pet First Aid is never intended to replace veterinary care. Its purpose is to help pet parents recognize emergencies sooner, provide safe temporary care, and seek veterinary attention quickly.

Adopt a Shelter Cat Month

June is also Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, encouraging families to open their hearts and homes to cats in need.

New adopters are encouraged to create a safe home and take simple preparedness measures — such as keeping emergency contacts accessible, recognizing signs of distress, having pet-safe first-aid supplies available, and knowing when immediate veterinary care is needed can make a difference during an emergency.

Creature Comforts Pet Services offers Pet CPCR and First Aid classes. Please contact me for more information.

Back to School Safety Tips 

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As the school year begins, new routines can affect pets, too! Keep them happy and safe with these simple tips:

Around the Bus & Carpool Lane

  • Always keep dogs on leash near school buses and drop-off zones.
  • Teach children never to let pets dart out the door when buses arrive.
  • Remind bus drivers and carpoolers that pets may be nearby.

Managing New Routines

  • Pets may feel anxious when kids suddenly disappear during the day.
  • Ease transitions with extra morning walks and engaging toys while you’re gone.
  • Stick to a consistent feeding and exercise schedule.

Watch for School Supplies

  • Keep backpacks, lunchboxes, crayons, and glue sticks out of reach—many items can be harmful if chewed or swallowed.
  • Remind kids to put away snacks (especially grapes, raisins, chocolate, and sugar-free gum).

After-School Greetings

  • Pets may get overexcited when kids return home.
  • Encourage calm greetings: have kids kneel to pet the dog or wait until paws are on the ground.

Teach & Remind Kids

  • Never tease pets with backpacks, bikes, or lunchboxes.
  • Walk, don’t run, near pets to avoid startling them.
  • Always ask an adult before giving pets food or treats.

What you can expect from Creature Comforts Pet sitting and Dog Walking Services

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There are a lot of bigger companies out there offering pet sitting and dog walking services.  The reality behind those companies is that while they have the means to advertise a smaller company like mine right out of the water they just aren’t personal.  There is little to no vetting of their sitters as far as safety or knowledge of animals and no real accountability.  They take a percentage of the sitter’s rate making it unlikely that the sitters are able to fully dedicate their time to just your pets because they need to do other work in order to make a living.

At Creature Comforts, I am dedicated to the animals I work with.  I got started because of my love of animals and that has never left me.  I do focus on professionalism and good business practices, but that is not the reason I do this.  Here are some of the things you can expect from my experience and dedication to you and your pets.

  • I always give more than the full time to each visit and walk.
  • I aim to follow your pet’s normal routine to the best of my ability.  It can help ease stress and anxiety to keep routines familiar.
  • I administer medication with the least possible invasive methods, And have lots of patience, kindness, and experience with animal behavior and how to handle gently.
  • I do my utmost to comfort, love, and show kindness towards an animal who is probably missing their person and whose world is a little disturbed. 
  • I keep in close touch with you, for your peace of mind.
  • I can provide a background check if requested so you can rest easy that your home is safe.
  • I keep current Liability and Care, Custody, and Control insurance in case things do not go as planned.
  • I have many years of hands-on experience with many different types of animals and situations that could happen. 
  • I maintain and update an emergency plan in case something were to happen to me. I have done everything in my power to make sure to have a system in place so that animals will get taken care of no matter what.
  • I maintain and update a disaster preparedness plan for how to keep animals safe and cared for.
  • Safety is topmost priority while walking dogs. I do not allow them to interact with other dogs because only you know your dog best and can judge if the situation is safe.
  • I keep up-to-date on the latest practices of good animal care, health, and training and am always happy to share my knowledge with you.
  • Above all, instead of getting caught up in the business and money side of things, I keep one thing in mind.  The reason I do this is my love of animals and that is the most important thing you can expect from my business – Compassionate care for your best friend.

January 2nd is National Pet Travel Safety Day,

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but it is also a great time to assess and upgrade best practices for transporting your dog or cat safely.  Whether you’re heading to the vet or groomer, off to the park, or hitting the road for vacation, travel safely.  Thousands of animals get injured and die in car accidents every year.  During a collision, a 50-lb. dog riding in a 30-mph car will experience 1,500 lbs. of force if thrown from the vehicle. Newton’s first law of motion states, “a body in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force,” so even after brakes are applied, an unrestrained pet will continue 30, 40, 50 mph or more until something stops him. Sadly, what stops him may be the dashboard, seat back, or windshield, all of which can cause devastating injury. 

If the pet survives the accident but is not restrained, he may escape through a window or door, broken or opened by the impact, only to end up being hit by an on-coming vehicle.  According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), animals moving around in cars are the third worst distraction to drivers, ranking behind children and cell phones.  Additionally, if you are injured in an accident, your protective Chihuahua, Poodle or Rottweiler might prevent paramedics from quickly offering aid out of fear of being bitten, so Animal Control may first need to be called to confine your pet. Their protectiveness may delay emergency personnel from providing you much-needed medical assistance, so restraining your pets in motor vehicles is a win-win.

Pets Safety Tips and your Holiday Tree

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Whether artificial or real, you must look out for your pets when decorating for the holidays. To keep dogs and cats safe, here are four pet safety tips concerning the holiday tree:

1) Male dogs and cats pee on trees.  It is that simple, so when their pee station moves indoors, it becomes confusing when you say, “No!”  Consider leaving your tree undecorated for a day or two, teaching pets to stay away before you decorate. Also, choose the location wisely.  Do not place your tree in front of the window Fido watches for the mailman or the windowsill kitty suns herself daily.  To keep pets away, a short white picket fence around the tree may look festive, or giving them their own new and interesting thing to check out may do the trick. 

2) To further dog or catproof your tree, try bitter-scented sprays or position oranges, lemons, or grapefruit underneath, but only if you know these citrus scents are unappealing to your pet.  Attaching the tree, with an invisible fishing line, to a cup hook in your ceiling, could prevent it from falling over should your cat decide to use it as a jungle gym.  Of course, never place candles on the tree and tape down light cords so that pets cannot chew or get caught in them, but always supervise when any fixtures are plugged in. 

3) Never tempt pets by hanging dog biscuits, popcorn garlands, candy canes, or other food items on your tree.  Also, take care with scented packages (i.e. food, soaps, potpourri) placed underneath as well as ribbons, tinsel, ornament hooks, and string.  Any of these objects inside your dog or cat can be CAT-astrophic!  

4) Real trees require water, so cover the tree water securely with foil, plastic wrap, or a plastic lid with an “X” cut through (where the trunk goes).  The oils seeping into the water from the tree are toxic!  Additionally, cut trunks are often coated with preservatives and pesticides, so your pet will get sick and need quick veterinary care if he drinks tree water!  Pine and fir needles are sharp and can cause digestive upsets, so pick up any needles that drop before your pet ingests them or gets them caught in a paw or fur. Fake needles are not safe either if consumed, so monitor pets around ALL holiday decor.  

When you have a dog or cat, you have a furry toddler for their lifetime, so being mindful of potential problems and keeping dangers out of paws and claws reach can keep ‘the merry’ in your holiday season. Make it a New Year’s resolution to sign up for a pet first aid class by contacting Theresa at Creature Comforts or check out www.creature-comforts-pets.com  for 2025 classes!

Top 5 Holiday Safety Tips

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Practice these Top 5 Holiday Pet Safety Tips, and sign up for a Pet First Aid Class so you will have the skills and confidence to help your best friend!   

With Christmas upon us, the chances for ingestion of pet-UNfriendly foods and choking incidents, multiplies, so supervise, supervise, supervise throughout the celebration, and learn pet first aid…  

  • ROUTINE: Walk at your normal walk time, feed on schedule and don’t forget to play — it does a body good (human, canine, or feline).  Don’t forget vitamins, washing bedding, scooping litter. Holidays create added chores, but change can create anxiety in your pet coupled with the intense energy you are giving off at this time of year. Sticking to your normal routine will help. 
  • DECORATIONS:  Don’t let pets access tree water.  Don’t hang edible items on the tree.  Take care with candles and holiday scents which can upset canine and feline noses.  Ribbon, tinsel, and bread dough ornaments can all be hazardous.  When you have a furry child, you have a toddler for life that you must keep safe.  
  • COMPANY:  Dedicate playtime just for you and your dog or cat BEFORE company arrives, and then let kitties retreat to a quiet back bedroom with safe toys to keep them out of mischief — scratching post, kitty tree or chew toys for dogs, maybe even quiet music, or a radio to drowned out noise coming from the boisterous humans. If you feel your pet can make an appearance, let him join in the fun, but remind children (0-99) not to bother pets when they are eating or sleeping, and to never pull ears or tails. If kitty’s ears and whiskers go back or your pup utters a low-gutteral warning, it’s time for socializing to cease. Pheromone sprays (Adaptil for dogs and Feliway for cats) may take the edge off their anxiety.  Also, take care to make sure doors and gates are closed so as not to have a pet escape, and kindly ask overnight guests to keep suitcases closed so that your pet won’t sniff out trouble.  
  • FOOD & WATER:  Anything on the floor is fair game, including toothpicks from hors d’oeuvres!  Designate a place to deposit used cocktail sticks, and safely throw away bones, foil, and plastic wraps. Yeast from bread rising on counter tops will continue to ferment in a pet’s tummy, causing life-threatening bloat, an intestinal blockage and/or alcohol poisoning.  Have pet-safe treats available and avoid giving Fido or Fluffy salty foods, gravies, dark meat and skins, and NO COOKED BONES of any type! With the heat cranked up in our homes and potentially upset tummies brought on by holiday stress, make sure your pets are staying well-hydrated.  
  • QUALITY TIME: Take time out daily to show your furry family members how much you love them!  Drop your purse, briefcase, or backpack when you come home and get on the floor and play; make time for a walk WITHOUT your cell phone so that you tune in to your dog; let your cat curl in your lap and give her your undivided attention. Paying attention is one of the best ways to make sure you pets stay safe – by noticing them and keeping their environment safe.

For those moments when life happens, know where your nearest 24-hour animal emergency hospital is!

Sharing your life with a pet should be among your greatest blessings, so rejoice in knowing a four-legged friend has chosen to share his life with you, and in the New Year, learn or refresh your Pet First Aid skills so that you can help your dog or cat when he or she needs you most!