Merry Murphy Pet Sitters

Pet Sitting and Dog Walking in Charlotte, NC

 

            

      

 

Call now to schedule our services! 704-246-4148 or e-mail us at

Trisha@merrymurphypetsitters.com

or go to Merry Murphy Website

 

Dog Socialization Use To Be So Easy

Some of us remember a time when "socializing" a dog came automatically.  Training a dog meant teaching your dog to sit,get the newspaper,your slippers,etc.  When it came to "socializing your dog" that was accomplished without thought as the dog followed the children through the house and out to play into the neighborhood.  Mothers were generally home when the children were at school, and after school, the children were not committed to structured play activities elsewhere.

 

 

Those days have passed day for most of us.  Dogs and other pets,more than ever,  fill a companionship void for families and other urban dwellers.  Dogs are at home alone for great periods of time,and getting into mischief and soon begin to chew rugs,become destructive,or simply depressed.  Many owners realized this, and the professional pet sitters and dog walkers came into exisitance along with the urban and suburban dog parks.  Consequently, the importance of dog training became crucial, and animal associations contantly try to meet the new pet ownership issues such as proclaiming January as the month to train your dog. This campaign has come from the Association of Dog Trainers, and does remind us what we are really responsible for when it comes to owning a dog. Right they are in bringing up training, since winter is the time puppies and rescues have entered new homes (thankfully) in great numbers.  The worry is if these same dogs become behavioral problems,and the owners turn them over to rescue organizations,abandon them,or raise an aggressive, ill-behaved dog.  These are the dogs that can not behave on dog walks, or participate in community activity that involves other people or dogs.

There are so many resources to help with training your dog to properly walk and to engage in dog exercising at an off leash park etc.  If help is needed with exercising and dog walking, a plethora of local pet sitting companies,and dog trainers exist to help  These resources can easily be found on the web.  The current recession has led to a wealth of information on "do-it-yourself dog training",so there is no excuse for us to any longer put off our dog training. Once again, we owe it to our pets.

 

Home Cat Sitting is Critical for the Older Cat!

Consider the following health tips for your older cat, and keep Merry Murphy Pet Sitters in mind when leaving your older pet home alone for an extended period

Unless an older  cat has water placed in different areas of the house,they will put off getting the water they need unless it is placed conveniently in their pathway. We have listed some of the issues to consider with older cats.

• Dehydration of cells and tissues
  
• Reduced oxygen flow to tissues
  
• Decreased ability of cells to maintain their internal environment 
  (homeostasis)
  
• Reduced immune response
  
• Declining efficiency of enzyme systems within the body
  
• Increased incidence of tumor development
  
• Gradual decline in organ function reduced nervous system responsiveness 
  and personality changes
  
• Increased susceptibility to stress and decreased adaptability to 
  environmental changes.

These are good reasons to consider supervised periods with a professional pet sitter.  If you live in the Charlotte,NC area, consider Merry Murphy Pet Sitters for all your pet sitting needs!

Pet Sitting Charlotte

Loving Care for Older Cats. From the pages of Cat Watch

What Are Signs of Aging? An older cat may exhibit the following signs: - Meows more frequently; - Avoids favorite resting place (and finds places to hide instead); - Misses or doesn't use litter box; - Doesn't come when called; - Changes sleeping or eating patterns; - Any change in behavior or health - acute or gradual - warrants a visit to your veterinarian without delay.

via www.vet.cornell.edu

When Pets are Your Family

"Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog."- Sydney Jeanne Seward

 

Imagine you have outlived most of your family  and friends, and the only family member left is your dog or cat.  In many cases the elderly are doing their best to care for these beloved family members, but food and veterinary care is too expensive.  Imagine then the heart break you would feel if forced to give up your sole companion because of the high cost of maintaining a pet.

Thankfully, there are charitable groups trying to meet this need of keeping pets with seniors.  It has been noted by Banfield that seniors were giving their own food to pets. Consequently, Banfield teamed up with Meals on Wheels to provide food and funding so seniors do not have to share their meals with their pets.  Banfield Charitable Trust is committed to keeping pets  and their owners together.  They also work with hospice patients and volunteers through non-profit organizations, who visit these patients to care for the dogs and assist with the adoption of these pets.

There are many organizations who will aid seniors and their pets.  Yet knowledge of these non-profit organizations is not well known, and many senior pet owners suffer needlessly.  If you are aware of a senior who needs help with his pet, contact your local humane society who can tell you what options are available for the senior and his pet.

______from Merry Murphy Pet Sitters, Charlotte,NC

 

 

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Pet Sitting Charlotte

Christmas Eve and the Lore of the Tabby Cat

I remember being entertained (actually believing) that the animals would talk at midnight on Christmas Eve.  Maybe they still do, and those who believe can still actually hear them.  In fact, someone said that to me not too long ago, and I think they meant it.  I wanted to look into the lore of animals and Christmas Eve and found some interesting things I never knew. The story of the tabby cat and Virgin Mary was one bit of lore I had never heard.

 

As the story goes, when Mary was giving birth to the Baby Jesus, a tabby had also just given birth to a litter of kittens.  The Baby was restless and couldn't sleep.  Mary asked the animals in the stable to help soothe the Baby Jesus, but none of them were successful.  Finally, one of the little tabby kittens crawled into the Baby's manger and cuddled next to him, and purred until the Baby fell asleep.  Mary was grateful and blessed the little tabby saying all future born tabbies would bear the initial "M" on the top of their heads in remembrance of that little tabby's act of kindness.

There are many stories of animals and Christmas Eve.  Even if it is just lore, these stories give us a momentary break from the sad ones we hear everyday about mankind and the animals that inhabit this world.

I see a lot of tabbys  in my line of work, and each one is very unique. So now I have the added pleasure of knowing this story as I make new friends and visit the old ones!