I came across a story about Susan Boyle, the now famous British singer, and how she can't imagine leaving or uplifting her cat for the sake of her career. The article reads that, "despite the generous offer made by Sony Music, Boyle refused because she was concerned that Pebbles would never adjust". I can honestly say that I make some such decisions with consideration for my pets as well. For example, my husband and I will try to plan vacations where we can take our dog along with us. Ginger, our 2 yr old Chocolate Lab mix loves going on trips, and we hate leaving her at home, so we try to plan trips that she can enjoy too. We recently took her camping in Oklahoma and the 3 of us had a blast!

Here is a picture of Ginger enjoying her weekend camping trip this past November.

To read more about Susan Boyle and Pebbles' story, click here.

I'd love to hear what kinds of things you do for your pets to keep them happy. Post your comments below.

It's short notice, but there is a Dog Agility Show coming up this weekend in McKinney TX. The admission is FREE!

Dog Agility Show Details:

Date: March 6-7, 2010

Time: 6:30 am – 6:30 pm

Location: Myers Park & Event Center, 7117 C.R. 166, McKinney, TX 75071

I think I'll stop in to watch the show and maybe get some tips on how to train my own dog to do an agility course or even my client's dogs! Hope to see you there!

For more information on the event, click here.

We are so happy to announce that Select Pet Care has a few new daily dog walk clients! Over the past couple of months we've brought on 3 new clients that are using our dog walking service at least 3 times a week.

In Allen TX, we have Maggie, a young Vizsla puppy that we are teaching to walk on a leash as well as getting her energy out by playing in the back yard. She's a big ball of excitement and loves to play soccer! She's also doing great on her walks using The Gentle Leader. We love using this type of collar to train young dogs how to walk properly on a leash, but it works on older dogs too.

Another new daily dog walk client in Allen, TX is Cameron & Coco, 2 cute West Highland White Terriers. Cameron and Coco are brother and sister, and like Maggie, are real young and full of energy. They are doing great on their walks and love to sunbathe in the backyard and look for birds to chase.

In McKinney TX, we have a new dog walk client that has 3 dogs. Cody, the Golden Retriever, is older and doesn't require a whole lot of walking to get his energy out. Sadie, the Terrier Mix, enjoys her walks as well. Quincy, the German Shepherd Mix, is a young pup and loves to go on walks and sniff out other dogs. He walks with Sadie and Cody separately, since Cody doesn't need a very long walk.

Our daily dog walks are 30 minutes in length, weather permitting, and are $17 per walk (up to 3 dogs). While our schedule for daily dog walks is filling up, we'd love to help you out in any way that we can! Select Pet Care will be hiring more staff in the coming months to help out with the newly added clients and any more that we take on. Stay tuned on that!

I want to discuss this topic without getting all animal rights activist on you… I've been reading about this issue in the news a lot lately, because apparently doctors are all of a sudden stressing that maybe we shouldn't allow small animals fly in the cabin of the airplane along with the humans. Reason being you ask? Allergies. I understand people have allergies. I have allergies for sure! Studies show that one in ten people have some form of animal allergies as well. Why the issue is being brought up now, I'm not sure. Doctors are comparing these allergic dangers to the ones with peanut allergies, hence why they no longer serve peanuts on the airplanes. I just don't see the similarity much though, but can understand the concern. The problem with banning pets from the airplane cabin all together is that it is many times dangerous to the animal to put them below the cabin. You have to worry about temperature fluctuation and restrictions at many times. Some pets aren't allowed to fly below the cabin if it is higher than 75 degrees outside!

Here's how I'd like to solve the problem… Small animals should still be allowed to fly in the cabin, while unfortunately, larger pets may have to go below. Or, there is always the option to use a pet-friendly airway service, such as Pet Airways. When I fly, I am much more concerned about the germs and bacteria that the humans are carrying on board an airplane, much less the possible pet allergies from an animal that is being stowed below someone's seat in a crate. I will take plenty of Vitamin C prior to boarding the plane and avoid touching things too much on the plane as well. Why can't allergy sufferers take the same precautions? Take your allergy meds! Benadryl perhaps? You might even enjoy the nap through the flight! I'm just saying, I don't think we need to worry as much about possible allergy problems than you do the close quarters with cold or flu-infected humans. I'm not trying to put animals over humans, but there just isn't many options to transport our pets, especially small ones, besides the airways we humans use too. Hopefully, there will be more options available to keep pet's out of harm's way and those with allergies as well.

To read more about the possible banning of pets in airplane cabins, click here.

For more information about the guidelines of traveling with pets, click here.

I'd love to hear your comments!!

Yay! A dog meet up event has been scheduled for the first Sunday in March! We will be meeting at the Allen TX dog park (Canine Commons) at the Village at Allen at 2pm. This will be a great opportunity for you and your dog to socialize with others. Select Pet Care and their pets will be there and hope to see you too! For more details, click here: McKinney Dog Pack. You can sign up and RSVP online. It's no cost to you as well.

Also, the Doggy Day Out Event in Allen, TX is just around the corner as well. The event is scheduled for March 28th, 2-4 pm at the Joe Farmer Recreation Center. Select Pet Care will have a booth set up with lots of fun for kids and dogs alike. Stop by, get your picture with the Easter Bunny, and bring your dogs out for a fun-filled afternoon. Again, no cost to you, unless you want to participate in the scheduled events.

I have to say it…. what will they think of next?! So, Twitter's newest craze? Twitter for your dogs!! Your pet will no longer be left out of the social network now! I've come across a couple different articles that discuss the idea of Twitter accounts for your dogs, and both were very interesting.

First off, who do you think jumped on board for the dog Twitter phenomenon? IPhone of course!! There will soon be a new app that you can download to your iPhone that will "translate" your dog's barks into "tweets". How funny is that?! The app will sell for about $5. Check out the full article here, IPhone Dog Twitter app.

Also, Mattel is getting on board with the Doggie Twitter Craze too! They are soon releasing a new toy called Puppy Tweets. How does it work you ask? Well, you attach the product to your dog's collar and the sound and motion sensor will update your dog's Twitter page automatically. Of course, the tweets may not be very accurate, but the idea is so cute! This product will retail for about $30. Read more about the Puppy Tweet product here, Mattel Dog Twitter Toy.

I know we do the craziest things for our pets, but these two ideas are definitely taking it to a whole new level! Do you have a Twitter account for your pet??? I'd love to hear from you!

It really is amazing how much snow we've gotten this Winter here in the North Texas area! This last bout of flurries ending up piling on a good 10 inches of snow in most places. My dog, Ginger, has really enjoyed play time in the snow this season, but I know not all dogs do. We've got several little dogs that we take care of that have gotten swallowed up by the snow, literally. In that case, you may need to make a clear pathway onto the grass or sidewalk for your little pups to go to the bathroom. And this is the perfect time to pull out those cute little dog sweaters that your little one usually doesn't like, but may thank you for them in this cold icy weather.

For those of you with outdoor pets, please be sure to give your animals a nice warm place to sleep. If you refuse to let them in the house, at least provide a cozy spot in the garage or a well-insulated dog house with plenty of warm blankets. If your pet is a mostly outdoor pet, you may need to increase their food intake during the winter months, while decreasing your indoor pet's food during this time as well.

For more information on how to keep your pets safe in the snowy weather, click here.

And, for tips on how to de-ice your surroundings while keep your pets out of harms way, click here.

Spring Break is just around the corner, thank goodness! I'm tired of this bitter cold weather and ready for Spring to move on in!

Select Pet Care still has availability for the Spring Break holiday for pet sitting in Allen, Plano, and McKinney TX, but not for too long. Calls are coming in, and everyone is getting their pet care lined up for the week.

Our pet sitting rates are $17 per visit and there is no additional charge for the Spring Break holidays.

We'd love to help you out so call us and get your free consultation set up ASAP!

(469) 233-7335

Ask us about our current specials too!!