National Pet Day
National Pet Day was founded 15 years ago in 2006 by a lady called Coleen Paige. Colleen’s aim was to raise awareness of the joy that our pets bring to us humans and also highlight the needs of animals who are in our rescue shelters. National Pet Day originated in the US but is now celebrated internationally in may other countries around the world including here in the UK. This blog looks at 5 ways you can celebrate National Pet Day with your furry friends.
Pip
Tell your pet you love them
One of the best and easiest ways to celebrate and honour National Pet Day is to tell your furry friend you love them. I would imagine most pet owners tell their furbaby they love them daily but why not tell them again, whilst giving them big warm cuddles and perhaps grooming their fur coat, which is a great time to bond with your furry friend.
Figaro having cuddles
Give your pet a new toy and play with them
Any excuse for a shopping trip for your pet is always welcome! Try being inventive and buy a different type of toy that they haven’t had before, something a bit different that will really peak their interest and make sure you set some time aside to play with them with the new toy. Help your pet discover the new toy and all the ways in which they can interact with it. Perhaps play a game of hide and seek with the new toy to add in some extra fun and really get your pet’s brain working that bit harder.
Post on social media about the benefits of adopting a rescue rather than buying a pet from a breeder
Whilst a lot of people do still like to buy a puppy or kitten from breeders there are still thousands of beautiful furbabies waiting to be adopted in rescue shelters all over the world. Every furbaby deserves a warm and safe home with loving pet parents so please strongly consider adopting a pet before your go searching for breeders. There are many advantages to adopting a rescue that you don’t get when you buy from a breeder, one of the main ones being your pet will have been professionally assessed by a veterinary team to ensure they are healthy or any health issues are identified and treated. Also, you furry friend will have been professional assessed by an animal behaviourist so they will know if your new pet will cope well with children, are they a reactive dog, does the cat get on with dogs as well or would they prefer to be an only pet. These are all really important things to consider when welcoming a pet into your family and home. Why not post the benefits of adopting a pet on social media to help educate others about the huge benefits so they consider rescuing a pet instead of buying from a breeder.
Review your own pet’s needs, are they up to date with their flea and worming treatment, vaccinations, are they healthy, are they a healthy weight?
Regularly reviewing your own pet’s needs is very important. We can all get caught up with our fast paced and often stressful lives and miss this months flea treatment or forget that your dog was due for their vaccination booster a couple of weeks ago, you were meaning to get them booked in at the vets but it slipped your mind. Have you checked that your furry friend is a healthy weight, does their coat look healthy are they happy in themselves and playing happily as usual or have you noticed any changes in their behaviour. National Pet Day is a great time to review all of these things and put in place a monthly date to review this going forward so you are on top of everything.
Overweight cat that would benefit from losing the excess weight and becoming healthier
Sit and write down how your pet positively impacts your life and remind yourself of how much they really mean to you.
This is a lovely exercise to do that can be done of an evening while you are watching tv snuggled up on the sofa having cuddles with your furry friend. You might be quite surprised how long this list gets and how easy it is to keep adding to it! Our animals are incredible and they really do have a massive positive impact on all aspects of our lives.
Dot and Frida out having fun with their owners
Next weeks blog will be looking at Cheeky Little Prints’ 12th birthday and how we are going to celebrate that!
