I'm glad I'm home alone as I write because my heart is still breaking. But in honor of Roman's life and the mistakes I made when I left him in someone else's care, I want to give readers some guidelines and precautions to take for those dreaded times when we have to go away without our beloved animals.
Whether you choose to board or have an in home pet sitter, there is so much more to consider than just cost and facility. Relationships can be utterly destroyed when decisions are made while you are away that you wouldn't have agreed to.
My husband and I went out of the country and left a family member to watch after our farm and the critters we consider our children. Yes, I am without a doubt, a dog person, but I've had a Bengal cat for 6 years who was the love of my life. He was wild. He was crazy. He was funny. He never shut up. He loved to hide from me and scare me to death when I discovered him. And now he's gone... forever.
Roman, being Bengal, was truly half wild animal (Asian leopard) and never took to using a litter box. He would only go potty outside. Every time I opened the door and let him out I knew it was a risk. But I had no choice.
So, the day after we left on our trip, when he came back in the house with what appeared to be a broken leg and was vomiting, I could not blame the sitter. However, the fact that he was left in that condition for 5 days, suffering, and then put back outside, where he was apparently carried off by coyotes or wandered into the woods to die, is unforgivable.
I had left a note with a list of phone numbers and basic instructions, but had not been specific.
Here I will give you a list of questions and topics to discuss in detail with your care giver. If only, I had done this before...
1. Should the caregiver notify you if there is ANY problem? If you do not wish to be contacted, or can not be contacted, then a very specific set of instructions needs to be in writing.
Examples:
Vomitting or diarrhea- go to vet.
Limping, but still walking- just monitor.
Not eating- monitor. After 3 days- call vet.
Urinating on the floor- go to vet.
Blood in stool- call vet.
Eye problems- go to vet. Etc., etc. etc.
2. Who should make the decision if an animal needs medical attention? The care giver? A close friend? Do you trust their judgement? I did. I was sadly mistaken. A better discussion would have been to have the care giver take the animal to the vet and let a medical professional determine how serious the injury/illness is.
3. To what extent should the animal be given medical treatment? A dollar amount? Life saving procedures and treatment only? Comfort treatment? Spare no expense? Hospitalize until owner returns?
4. What if the animal gets away? Does the care giver know how to access local Lost/Found Pet Sights? Does he/she know your pet's favorite words that will lure him back? "Treat!" "Cookie!" "Ride in the car?!?"
Does the care giver have his microchip number? (Get your pets microchipped!) Does the microchip company have your caregiver's phone number?
5. Call your vet and authorize your care giver to consent to treatment and discuss payment.
6. Is the care giver allowed to take your pet off the property- like to the dog park or to a friend's house? Should your pet interact with any other pets?
7. Who is allowed to handle your pet or be on your property? Boyfriend? Sibling? Son or daughter? Are you OK with your pet sitter's 8 year old daughter walking your dog around the block or the kennel worker playing tug o' war with your puppy?
8. In the event of death, which unfortunately happens, what should the care giver do with the body?
Lastly, here's what you need to remember: the person whom you have trusted with your animals is most likely as upset as you are that something has gone wrong. They may be at fault for what happened, but they also may not have been. Things happen. Bad things happen. When animals are not in their usual routines, weird changes can come about both behaviorally and medically. Being angry at someone will not fix the situation. You will be devastated if anything goes wrong. But try not to jump on the blame train.
Take good precautions to cover ALL your bases with safety and communication before you leave. Double check fences, gates, locks and collars.
Make sure your care giver has clear instructions on how to handle every situation you can think of and never assume that they would handle it like you would. Because odds are- they won't. People all are individuals and react differently to the same situations.
And for those of you who are care givers; cover your own bases and ask these questions so that in the event of the unthinkable, you can at least do exactly what the owner would have done if they were home.
I'm sorry Roman~ I'm so so sorry~
RAW- it's what's for dinner at our house. Our dogs eat out of the fridge- not out of the bag.
But why and how??? Here's some basics in case your tired of scary recalls and high prices and sick dogs...
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Let's start with the WHY:
1. Dog food you buy at the store or vet office- even top quality/expensive/ fancy commercial dog food- is made in a plant somewhere far away. It is processed. Regardless of how safe and how meticulous the process, it is processed. And because it contains "meat"- and I use that term loosely- it has preservatives of some sort. Most of your hard earned dollars are paying for the process- not the food. Bags and packages, marketing, labor, factory overhead, shipping- that's what you're paying for! And to keep the food from costing more than your house mortgage, they use the cheapest forms of ingredients- yes even your expensive food with the wild animal on the bag.
2. WHY: Your dog itches, his ears smell gross, he licks his paws, his skin is red, his eyes are weepy, his hair is thin, he has no energy, he's always hungry, he has no focus or attention span, is hyper and he poops several times a day, etc. etc. etc. The WHY is because your dog's body is expending all it's good stuff trying to figure out how to un-process and use the garbage that was in his bowl.
SO now here's the HOW (and it's much simpler than you think.)
I've heard comments like "I don't have time to cook for my dog." Um, that's why it's called "RAW." You don't cook it!
I've also heard "Doesn't it cost way too much?"
The answer is NO! It costs around $7/week to feed a relatively large dog, which in most cases is much less than expensive store bought dog food.
So, how do you figure out what to feed?
1. Think like a dog. If we did not feed them, they would catch and eat animals- raw. They munch on grasses and some vegetation. But the majority of their diet would be high quality protein. They do not whip out their cell phone and check calorie counts and nutrient charts. It's not that complicated!
2. How much to feed? A good rule of thumb (or paw) is about 1/2lb of food per 25lbs. of dog, but their metabolisms and exercise levels are all different, so that varies. Ninja- the dog pictured raiding the refrigerator was way too thin when we got him, but has gained 9lbs. in 2 months on raw. Steel, my little pork chop has lost 5lbs because we focus more on fiber and low fat content.
3. My ingredients: Blood bone meats like turkey necks, ox tails, chicken quarters, salmon, sardines (packed in water- not soy oil) and eggs. I also get scraps from the meat plants for free which include nice big femur bones, unbleached tripe and gross organs that are icky to look at but SO GOOD for your dog.
I throw in a smorgasbord of veggies and fruits, bananas, apples, green beans, broccoli, carrots, etc. And then some good mushy stuff- plain greek yogurt and pumpkin.
I throw the veggies in a food processor to rough chop and give it some crunch and then throw everything else in the blender to make a grool.
Then I fill a pitcher with it and store it in the fridge. I can make 3 gallons of food in 10 minutes. And it's up to you how high quality your ingredients are. Personally, I'm on an Aldi's budget, but organic or fresh is awesome if you can afford it!
*You do have to be sure to treat their food as you would yours. Don't leave it out. Keep it frozen or refrigerated. Wash your hands and dog dishes after each meal. The good news is that dogs' digestive systems are much more acidic than humans' so they are not as prone to things like salmonella.
Each dog gets a piece of meat (bones included) and a cup of grool.
Coconut oil and sardines are wonderful for older dogs with urine incontinence and dementia! Oatmeal can be added to firm up stools. Natural peanut butter can add calories. You can play with your recipe gradually till you find the perfect combination that makes your dog shine!
As always, check with your veterinarian and google ingredients and be sure you're not feeding anything toxic like grapes or raisins. Many vets are not on board with the RAW diet yet, but contemporary veterinarians are seeing the benefits and encouraging a raw diet.
When you first introduce your dog to raw, start slowly! Add one ingredient at a time, so if something doesn't agree with him, you will know which one it is. Occasionally dogs get diarrhea at first, but just go slow- unless you have billy goats like mine that can eat anything!
And lastly, don't back track by feeding garbage treats! There is so much poison in those store bought things. Home made whole treats are much cheaper and healthier!
