Reggie, the 13-year-old lab mix and
Jingles, the 16-month-old yellow kitty,
companions to Sal Gianfortune of Viera,
welcome you to the April issue of the
NewsPetter.
Congratulations to the Humane
Society of Bay County which is
celebrating its third year anniversary as a
no-kill facility.
We're all a-Twitter. Are you? Yes, we've
decided to Twitter FloridaPets.net and
now
you can follow us daily if you'd like. Go to
FloridaPets.net, scroll to the bottom of
the
page until you see "Twitter Updates" and
click on the link, "Follow us on Twitter."
Do you understand pet trusts and how they
can help you care for your pet long after
you're gone? Fellow NewsPetter reader,
Danny E. Meek, Esq.,
kindly shares his expertise on pet trusts and more.
An FYI to those of you on vacation or living
here part of the year: it's vital to have
your pet tested for heartworm and receive
preventative medication year around. In the
southeastern
U.S., the infection rate is as high as 35 per
cent. Humans and cats can also get canine
heartworm! Read more here.
There's a movement afoot, or should I say
apaw, to pass an amendment to the
current doggie dining law (known in
Tallahassee evidently, as the "DBPR / Dog
Friendly Dining Regulation") which would
remove the pilot project language and the
sunset language and subsequently make
the program permanent. Go here for more info and
what you can do to help.
Speaking of animal legislation, I need to
tell you
about something of a
sensitive
nature, but it's important, so click here to read about it.
FloridaPets.net has been designated a
Constant Contact Star for
following "responsible, successful email
best practices." We're proud as punch and
you can see our new stamp of approval at
the end of this column.
There's a petition available for your
signature if you'd like to see pit bull hustling considered a
crime. (Page is slow to load; please be
patient.) These hustlers browse papers or
online classifieds for "free pet" ads in
order to acquire bait dogs for dog fighting
organizations. Once this horrible activity is
deemed illegal, police would have the
authority to monitor these criminals and
follow and arrest them when they go pick
up an animal.
Alachua County's Environmental
Protection Department has the right idea:
a new public awareness campaign
called "Scoop it. Bag it. Trash it." The
purpose of the effort is to fight "poo-lution"
by getting residents to pick up after their
pets. I've always said doggie doo doo
will take away the pet-friendliness of
Florida quicker than anything else. We all
know non-pet people just waiting to
complain about something. Let's not give
them anything!
I had a lot of fun on the radio last month. If
you recall, I was a guest with Flash
Silvermoon, a very experienced
animal communicator and healer, on her
weekly show.
We discussed her work and
FloridaPets.net's Aid for Pets page which lists
resources
for people having problems keeping their
pets in this tough economic climate.
You can listen to the show, or parts of it, at
What the Animals
Tell Me. (Scroll down the page; click
on the left side of the March 25 box.)
Does anyone know what happened to the
Florida Feline magazine? I
enjoyed that publication and the publisher,
Jenny, was always so kind. She was a
former advertiser and I'd love to say hello.
That's it for this month. Thanks for
continuing to "tail along" with
FloridaPets.net. Please drop us
a note anytime you have a comment or
suggestion, or would like us to feature your
pet or a pet-friendly event in your area.
