Hot Tips for Pet Owners During the Summer Months

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June 21, 2004 -– Pet care expert, magazine columnist, radio and television pet care personality, Charlotte Reed offers summertime pet care tips that will ensure a cool summer for you and your pet.

“Summer is the best time of the year to spend more time outdoors with your pet because you are not confined by the weather,” says Reed. “Whether you are playing with your pet in the backyard or taking your dog for a long walk in the park, it is important to be thoroughly prepared. Keeping your pet clean and healthy is a challenge during the summer season.”

Charlotte recommends eight sizzling tips to keep your pet safe in the summer’s heat.

1. Keep your pet cool. Provide fresh drinking water, leave air conditioners and fans on low temperatures, and give outdoor pets proper shelters to the protect them from the summer heat.

2. Maintain monthly Heartworm, flea and tick control programs. Once a month medications and applications are effective in fighting parasites.

3. Prevent him from wandering off. Make sure fences and gates are in good repair and that holes are filled in the garden. Do not allow pets to roam around the neighborhood possibly scaring or biting children, getting hit by a car or becoming injured from wild animals.

4. Replace faulty equipment. Throw away worn leashes and collars because it only takes one time for your pet to become frighten. With one pull, he can snap his lead and run away from you.

5. Update identification tags. Address and telephone numbers should be legible should your pet become lost.

6. Maintain grooming habits in the hot weather. Brush debris and dirt out of your canine or feline’s coat on regular basis. Regular grooming will help reduce pollutants such as dander and keep your home clean for allergy suffers.

7. Warm weather means more outdoor activity, be careful. Watch out for glass, chicken bones, rat poison and leaking automotive coolant. In case of emergency, have a first aid kit accessible with your vet’s telephone number. If your pet ingests something on the street, call your vet immediately.

8. Never leave your pet alone. In the car, she could suffer heat stroke. By the pool, she could drown. Left out in the yard or outside a store, she could be stolen. In a room with an open window, she could escape or fall to her death.

Charlotte Reed is a pet expert and columnist for several magazines including American Magazine, Fido Friendly and the New York Resident. She has also written pet care articles for Good Housekeeping, Time Inc.’s new, All You and travel girl. She is the voice of Purina One brand pet food on Infinity’s 10101WINS. Because of her love for animals, Miss Reed, a former attorney, switched careers and founded Two Dogs & A Goat Incorporated, a New York-based complete pet care service in 1996. Charlotte has shared her expertise on pets with millions of people through her Pet-Owning Made Easy series of booklets and her appearances on CNN, Good Day New York, Fox Pet News and other radio and TV shows. She is currently writing two books on pet-related topics. She can speak about everything from pet health, new companion animal products, and pet trends including pet etiquette.

For more information about Charlotte Reed, visit www.charlottereed.com

SOURCE Charlotte Reed