With recent wildfires raging in the region and the weather pointing to a high risk for more, Second Chance Humane Society has been hearing from many concerned pet parents on how to be better prepared for emergency situations. Thus our next few Pet Columns will be devoted to this topic, but know that your participation level will measure its effectiveness. I don’t want to incite anxiety by discussing these topics, instead my goal is to help you feel more prepared should the need arise.

Hmmm, would you like to be tossed from an airplane to get over your “apprehension” of heights? Similarly, not to toss is certainly the best means of introducing your dog to water. That being clear, I will offer you some more gentle alternatives that will enhance the trust between you and your dog rather than drown it.

Like humans, the biggest organ of an animal’s body is the skin. And sometimes your pets have as much trouble with their skin as you do with yours. Like itching. There are so many things can cause an animal to itch: parasites (blech!), food allergies, plant allergies, shampoo allergies, dry skin and systemic disorders. Below is a quick overview of how to address or prevent your pet’s skin issues.

I just watched a fun animated kid’s movie called Boss Baby in which Baby Corp. (you know… the corporation that makes babies and delivers them to families) was deeply concerned about the competition they were seeing from pets. The Baby Corp. executives were worried that pets were going to put Baby Corp. out of business as they feared that more people were choosing pets over babies. Now, we all know this is pure fiction (of course Baby Corp. won’t go out of business) but I wanted to look at why pets are becoming more popular.