How it originated – Pet Sitters International (PSI) created and have celebrated annually Pet Sitters Week since 1995. Patti J Moran, the owner and president claim this week is to celebrate the professional pet sitters that work hard to make sure our pets are taken care of. It also is a great week for someone interested to find out more about the pet sitting business and how they can get started as a Professional Pet Sitter.

Why Celebrate – Is your dog sitting by the window watching intently waiting for your arrival? There are many people utilizing the services of Pet Sitters for dogs and many other pets, some full-time and others may use them for vacations or a weekend away. 

Hiring a Pet Sitter is a way to leave your dogs at home and not have to send them to a boarding kennel if the vacation you are planning is not exactly pet-friendly or someone to let your dog out and spend some social time with your pets while you are at work.

Have you ever used a Pet Sitter or considered using one? I know we use a Pet Sitter all the time here at The Wood Hound as we have too many dogs to try to board somewhere or take to daycare.

Having someone we can rely on and trust to take care of our pack when we have to be gone, sets our mind at ease and we do not spend the whole time worrying about our fur babies.

That for us is a perfect reason to celebrate and show our Pet Sitter how much we appreciate them.

If you already have a Pet Sitter then it is time to start celebrating. Make sure that your Pet Sitter knows how much you appreciate them taking great care of your pets. You can do this by giving them an extra tip or taking the time to pick out that special gift you know they will love.

I am sure if you are reading this it is because you love animals and If you are thinking about becoming a Pet Sitter then you can find out more by visiting Pet Sitter International. Check them out and see what they have to offer in the way of education and getting started in your own Pet Sitting business. 

What could your dog do with thumbs and what kind of mischief could they get into?

I think as pet parents we can see many benefits and many drawbacks to our canine friends having thumbs. I am sure they can be of great help and accomplishing things would be so much easier for them to do. I bet you are thinking right now, “Oh my, the trouble that they could get into!” I know that was one of the things that crossed my mind when thinking about this holiday. 

Many of our hounds use their nose, teeth, and paws to accomplish what they want, I know my Treeing Walker Coonhound can already manage to open our back door and let him and his brothers and sisters in the house. The only way I can keep him from doing this is to lock the door, if he had thumbs he would be able to manage that lock and come and go as he pleases, not to mention leaving the house when he wants or letting people in that may not be welcome. 

Another scenario that comes to mind is we keep everything sealed up in containers so that our furry friends are not able to access them, with thumbs they can open up that treat jar and have a fun-filled feast.

Take today to spend time with your thumbless best friend by teaching them to open the refrigerator door to bring you that soda that you ask for. If they had thumbs this would be easy for them; however, they have to use their teeth so grab that kitchen towel or rope and tie it to the fridge handle so they can open the door and hopefully you don’t mind that dog mucked can of soda.

Another great way to celebrate is to imagine all the things they could do good and bad if only they had thumbs and post them on your social media. By posting everyone can have a lot of fun at the quirky things we come up with that your dog could do. You can also leave a comment below or comment on the post on Facebook on The Wood Hound’s Facebook page.

We understand as responsible dog parents that we need to do what it takes to keep our fur babies from mischief to keep them safe. They just do not realize that many times we do the things we do to protect them. While celebrating this holiday think about the mischief your dog could get into and think about how hard it would be to keep them safe on this wacky fun-filled holiday.

These dogs fight right alongside our military providing service and sacrafice for our freedom throughout our history. These K-9 heroes and their handlers are trained in many different areas to help our military stay safe while serving our county.

Some of the different tactical services these dogs perform are, sniffing out bombs, fighting in combat, warning handlers of enemy troops, transporting food ammo and guns to along with messages during wartime and working to find soldiers that have been downed in the snow or inaccessible locations.

As you can see our Military Dogs are definitely soldiers and should be celebrated for their sacrifice and service for our country. Here is a quote that sums up the importance and dedication of our service dogs.

You may be wondering how to celebrate and I have a few suggestions for you…

Celebrate our canine heroes by sharing a post on social media to show your support and appreciation for these K-9 Veterans. You can create your own or share the one on our Facebook page that will be posted on March 13th.

The human-dog bond grows deep especially after sharing the battlefield with one of these heroic canine partners. American Humane is working to bring those bonded pairs back together again by reuniting the K-9 veteran with their beloved handlers. You can read more about how a Veteran reunited with their K-9 counterpart.

After returning from duty many of these canine heroes are adopted to either their immediate handlers in the line of duty or other homes willing to provide a great retirement for these Dogs.

You can help with these medical expenses by supporting the K-9 Courage foundation that works to provide $300 per year to these deserving canine vets to help their adoptive families with veterinary expenses.

This day was created to help find adoptive parents for our millions of homeless puppies that are born every year and to educate people on puppy mills and to reach out to others encouraging them not to buy from puppy mills. 

Let’s face it puppies are adorable and just the sight of one might bring on a bought of puppy fever. I know I get that from time to time; however, puppies do grow up and if you are not prepared to accept the responsibilities of a lifetime commitment please rethink your whim of getting that cute bundle of joy. The last thing we want is for that puppy to end up back at the shelter because it did not work out.

These puppies or even when they become adults love you unconditionally and do not understand why someone drops them off and never comes back to get them. What people may not understand is when this happens, even though these shelters work very hard to find great pet parents for these abandoned dogs, due to the overpopulation healthy dogs are being euthanized because there are not enough homes of loving families to take them in.

If you are ready to adopt a puppy and reap the benefits of becoming a pet parent there are many out there just waiting for a loving family and responsible home to provide them with love, shelter, food and vet care that they will need throughout their lifetime.

This brings us to the endless struggle of closing down puppy mills made up of greedy people that do not care about their dogs and in it just for the money. These people do not care how the continuous breeding and horrendous environments affect the health and well-being of these unfortunate canine creatures. I commend the organizations that take the challenge to end puppy mills once and for all and ask that if you plan to buy a puppy, please do not buy from puppy mills.

Please note puppy mills are different from responsible breeders. I am not against responsible breeders, that take pride in their dog’s health, welfare and provide a loving and clean environment for their dogs and puppies that they bred. These are ones that make sure all puppies go to great homes and never worry that they will end up at the local shelter, without them, we would not have any purebred dogs anymore.

How to celebrate – To celebrate National Puppy Day get educated and understand how your love and support of an abandoned puppy can save its life. If you plan to bring a new puppy into your home take the time to see what type of puppy might be best for you and your family depending on your lifestyle.

After determining what breeds of puppies you feel will fit in with your family, this may lead you to the local shelter to find that perfect puppy to love and take care of for many years to come. This is a great way to celebrate National Puppy Day and you have the benefits of receiving unconditional love and lots of laughs from your new furry friend.

If you already have a puppy in your home spend the day having fun with your puppy and teach it a new trick. Puppies love to learn and it can help you and your puppy create a stronger bond and love everlasting.

Another great way to celebrate this day is to post pictures of your new puppy or a puppy already living in your home. This will be a fun day and a major dose of cuteness on social media. I love looking at puppy pictures and looking forward to celebrating with all my friends on social media.

Most of these dogs are normally bred in a puppy mill solely for profit, and the female dogs are kept in small kennels and made to produce litter after litter with no medical attention, decent food or adequate water. The result of these breeding conditions can lead to sick and unsocialized puppies.