We have all hopefully survived the 80 hours of below freezing temperatures. At least there wasn’t any measurable ice or snow with it. But it was a wakeup call to remind us to be prepared.
I like to tell the story of a former nurse who lived very close by, drove a small sports car, and had a large Great Dane that came to work every day. She seldom wore a coat even in cold weather, because “she lived so close”. And she didn’t travel with a leash because the dog was well trained. Well, one day we had freezing rain that turned to ice right at sundown, and she slid off Garden Ridge into a field while driving home. Her phone battery was dead, so she couldn’t call for help. Fortunately, one of our clients recognized her standing by her car without a coat, with her dog, got her out of cold, allowed her huge 150# dog in her car, and let her use her phone to call for help. Every year after that when we would talk about weather preparedness, we had that employee remind us all to carry a coat & leash, keep your phone charged. And maybe carry a bag of cat litter in the trunk to sprinkle if your tires need traction on ice.
Another common problem I see as a vet AFTER a spell of cold or rainy weather is dogs with urinary tract infections or constipation. Many dogs simply don’t want to “go” outside then, retain urine & feces longer than normal, and can set themselves up for problems. The solution is to encourage your dog to go outside anyway, even if that means going with them, carrying an umbrella, wrapping them in a blanket, taking them for a short walk, whatever it takes to make sure they eliminate urine & feces regularly.
If we have more icy weather, the last reminder is to make sure you are stocked up on your pet’s special foods and medicines. I don’t want Fluffy to run out of heart medicines, or Fido to be out of special kidney diets.
In the event of icy weather, I can’t guarantee we will open at 7:30 AM, or stay open until 6 PM. I insist my staff be safe. We want you to be safe too. In years past, there have been a few days when we opened at 9, or closed early at 5 due to weather conditions, but we try to alert all owners that have pets here or appointments if special circumstances arrive, just like the schools do. We actually watch the school districts decision to help make ours.
Watch the weather, and be safe out there.
