Cooper has never worn a license before. The reason is, with his disability, he doesn't go more than two feet away from me at any given time, and he is microchipped, and with all that HOPPING it sounds like jingle bells! But today, I figured I would give it another try. I put his license on, and Charlie immediately started running around the house, barking, thinking there was a strange dog outside, every time Cooper moved. So, that lasted about 30 minutes, and I'd had enough. No license on Cooper!
Charlie Brown and Hobie, on the other hand, always have their licenses on. This is because Charlie is a master escape artist. From the very first moment he lived here, he found the ONLY hole in the fence and left! Ever since then, it's been a regular event to make a section of fence higher, repair a gate, pile bushes and rocks against loose or open areas, and repair, repair, repair. Thankfully, he doesn't go anywhere. He just likes to be wherever I am, and if I go off for a walk without him, he will try to join me.
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| Old pic of the pack... on Cooper's gotcha day! He fit right in. |
As for Hobie, he LOVES long walks but is now hearing-impaired. A couple months ago, Gil turned his back for a second, and Hobie had walked out onto the main road (which isn't that close to our house)!! And we thought our senior dog was slow ha ha ha.
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| We're ready to rock, ma! |
Charlie is microchipped, which is an added bonus. Hobie isn't, because back in the day a decade and a half ago, that hadn't really caught on yet. (Neither did neutering, which means his licensure costs us an additional five bucks a year because he's an intact male.)
Both Hobie's and Charlie's collars smelled like dirty dog times fifty, so off the collars came. I soaked them in a bucket of water and "Joy" dishwashing liquid, rinsed them off, and now they are drying on the back balcony in the sun.
Once they're dry, I'll put the licenses on, and Charlie's brand-new MobiPet tag, that we won from "Stacey and her crazy dogs" (her phrase, not mine!) at CrazyDogLife.com !! Thanks Stacey!!!
Once that is all done, it's time to renew the tick/flea drops. I HATE using that stuff, but the ticks are so incredibly populous here, nothing else works. Charlie, Hobie and the late, great Hector all had tick-borne diseases in the past, so we no longer take any chances. If there's one drawback about living in Massachusetts, especially near the coastline, it's the ticks. YUCK!!
June also kicks off our travel season to and from Cape Cod. Although, this year, with Hobie having such health issues, our trips will be curtailed somewhat. Did I just say Cur-Tailed!! Why, yes, yes, I did!
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| Dog is my co-pilot |
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| Don't ever leave your dog in a hot car (don't worry, that's not what happened here, this is just a funny picture!) |
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| Did someone say RIDE?! My favorite thing! |
So, remember to get your licenses renewed (which usually includes renewed vaccinations -- booo); give your heartworm and flea/tick meds if you need them or live in an area where there is a known problem/epidemic; and make sure your microchip or other tracking devices are up-to-date.
Summer's here!
Your dogs are so cute! But you know I have a soft spot for that Cooper!! Rita often runs around without her license on... She sleeps "naked" and has a walking collar attached to her leash, so I often forget to put her "house collar" - which has her license on it - back on her when we get home from our walk. Luckily she's microchipped, and she's also not an escape artist - but I should really be better about making her wear it! Bummer about the ticks in your area! Ticks are so horrifying!
ReplyDeleteGood advice! So glad that we do not get ticks where I live. I mean, they just aren't in our yard or where ever else we go but they do exist in this part of Texas. Shiner's name tag on her collars doesn't jingle because it's a flat plate that slides onto the collar. Pretty handy!
ReplyDeleteWe had the slide-on name tags too! Until the vet lost Hobie's when he was hospitalized :(. I was so upset that they lost that tag. The pups wear martingale (dale??) collars so you can't slide those tags on. I wish the town would use more "friendly" tagging but I guess it costs more... I hurt my hands putting those license tags onto the collars! Such a wimp haha
DeletePoor Cooper. I can just imagine him running around trying to figure out where that jingling noise is.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of microchipping too. But ID tags are really helpful if your dog wonders just a short distance away. A fearful foster dog that was staying with me slipped out the fence when my husband had his back turned.
Yes, she was microchipped. But her tag meant that some kind strangers walking their dog two blocks away were able to call the SPCA and get my address and phone number within moments.
BTW, some people make little cloth patches for dog tags so they make less noise.
I just found Cooper's old collar, and the license was attached to it! Hmmmm! I used to never put tags on my dogs because I saw a news report that a dog's tag had gotten caught in wood deck slats while the owners were at work, and the dog died from dehydration. Scared me! Hobie and Hector had collars with their name an phone # embroidered on. I still have the collars, but they are all worn out now so they sit in a drawer as a keepsake. I should get two of those made for Coop & Charlie.
DeleteGood reminder on the license. Lucky our county sends me reminders or I'd never remember.
ReplyDeleteThose are really great tips. I seriously need to wash their collars. (Have I even done it since we moved?? Yeesh.) We're going to play it fast-and-loose with their licenses. They expire before we move *yet again* but only by a few weeks. I'm hoping we can skate by!
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