We live in a suburban community where having a backyard is the usual, so we don’t really need to worry about where to bury our pets who have passed on. If you live in a condominium, or a house that doesn’t have a yard, it can be a bit difficult. I’ve been asked by friends and readers where they can bury their pets, and frankly, I had no idea what to suggest until I’ve stumbled upon Rainbow Bridge Pet Aftercare Services.

Rainbow Bridge Pet Aftercare Services specializes in aftercare for pets. They aren’t like the pet cemeteries within the metro and in the provinces I’ve heard of — your pet’s remains are actually cremated. Their crematory services will make sure that your late pet’s passing is treated with dignity and respect. They have packages similar to memorial plans that even includes pick-up and drop-off points, high quality urns, and pet memorials.

For more information, you can contact Rainbow Bridge Pet Aftercare Services by sending them through the following:

Hotline: 63915.607.6080
Email: rainbowbridge.ph@gmail.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/rainbowbridge.ph

Another aftercare service pet owners should watch out for: Noah’s Ark Pet Columbary. I’m not sure if this is the first in the country, but it’s the first time I’ve heard of one. I’ve seen pet cemeteries, but not yet a pet columbary. Noah’s Ark Pet Columbary will be located in The Garden of St. Michael the Archangel, Emilia Street, Pascual Compound, Parañaque City.

Thanks to Bow & Wow, we were able to try out Gulpy Pet Water Dispenser for our Shih Tzu who loves going out: Shantee!

The Gulpy Pet Water Dispenser is best for pets on the go, especially those who love to run and play! Like people, pets get thirsty too. Probably even more so — after all, they’re covered in fur. But unlike us humans, dogs cannot buy drinks for themselves to satisfy their thirst — it’s the role of every responsible pet owner to bring hydration for the dog when going out with them.

There are places here in Manila, like in Eastwood City, that are so pet-friendly that water stations for thirsty dogs are provided. But, unfortunately for Shantee, the water dispenser was dry when we were there.

Good thing we brought her own drink!

The Gulpy Pet Water Dispenser is pretty convenient. I placed a filled one inside my bag, and because of its mechanism, my belongings remained dry. No spillage!

Now Shantee gets to enjoy the sun as much as she wants without me worrying about dehydration. You can get Gulpy Pet Water Dispenser at Bow & Wow stores in Shangri-La Mall (Mandaluyong) or Greenbelt Makati. For more details, visit the official Bow & Wow website.

Preparing for the summer season is almost always frequently overlooked. For us humans, summer usually means two months of fun days under the sun. But for our funny friends, it’s not only uncomfortable, but could also be a matter of life and death.

Since our family don’t go out too often during the summer (me and my husband love to travel, but the summer heat is just too overwhelming), we’ve come up with a list of “to-do’s” for our dogs so that they would be comfortable during the summer.

Let the dogs stay in air-conditioned rooms with you. Our two Shih Tzus and my mom’s favorite aspin / Japanese Spitz mix stay inside the house with us since they’re the smallest in our dog pack. They’re also the furriest. Since intense heat usually activates my asthma and our home office have expensive computer equipment, me and the dogs usually stay inside an air-conditioned room. It’s a pain when the electric bill comes, but it’s worth it — my husband and I would rather pay a bit more on electricity for two months than having the dogs suffer heat exhaustion or me confined to the hospital due to frequent asthma attacks.

Always keep a boy of fresh water for them to drink. I think this is self-explanatory. We all know how important it is to drink water, especially on a hot summer day. Dogs are the same, they need water too.

Provide adequate shelter. The dogs must have shade to keep them cool if they’re staying outside your house. We’re lucky that there are two mango trees in our backyard, the dogs can play in the grass even when it’s hot since the trees provide shade. I also had a tiled area done for barbecues in the yard, and it’s the perfect place for the dogs to hang out (the tiles keep them cool).

Give the dogs a shower! Let them cool off. Even dogs who don’t like baths appreciate having a cool shower in the summer heat.

Give the dogs a haircut. Our pure Aspins (Spike and Kutonbol) have short hair, unfortunately, the others aren’t so lucky. The other dogs are either Shih Tzus (Shantee and Kubrick) or Aspin / Japanese Spitz mix (Harry, Choknat and Patatats) — thick-haired breeds. Summer is an insane season for them, so it’s usually the time when we give them a “crew cut.” The dogs sometimes feel ashamed of their silly haircuts (we either cut their fur really short or have them shaved), but looking silly is better than having them suffer heat exhaustion

Make sure that the dogs’ living quarters are well-ventilated. Just like humans, dogs kept inside the house should have proper ventilation. Keep windows open so air gets in. Last summer, my dad even had exhaust fans installed in our house, significantly cooling the parts of the house where it was usually hot.

Probably because of climate change, our weather has been, for lack of a better term: weird. El Nino has already brought drought to our country — the heat hadn’t been friendly to both plants, animals and even humans (heat stroke is very dangerous!). It’s best to stay safe and take necessary precautions. We don’t want our summer fun be ruined by a tragedy, do we?

Hope you all have a safe and fun summer!

I understand that times are hard, and whatever you can save, you keep it. Consulting a vet or any of those pet health services don’t come cheap, and I know sometimes it’s tempting to simply search the net and try to discern for ourselves what our dog’s symptoms mean. But don’t forget that when you decided to keep a pet, you understand the responsibilities that go with it — and that includes vet expenses.

I don’t mean to sound preachy, but really… When you think your dog isn’t breathing properly, or that something is out of the ordinary that got you worried in the first place — bring your dog to the vet. ASAP. The time you spent scourging the net for answers or asking every Joe Schmoe you know could cost your dog his life. That’s a bit exaggerated, but really, every minute counts to ensure your dog’s recovery.

I made that same mistake with my baby Sheero before — I should have brought her to the vet sooner, and it didn’t occur to me that there might have been another reason why she got sick again. I just assumed that the meds prescribed by the vet before will work once more. It was only after few days that it became apparent to me the meds aren’t enough anymore — and that was the only time we did take her to the vet. Sheero passed away due to a heart attack that led to a coma. Together with our vet, we did everything we could to save her, but still… There’s this question of what-could-have-been had we brought her to the vet sooner.

I hope nobody goes through what I did — Sheero’s passing really broke our hearts. It took a while to recover. And while we’re learning to accept the fact that we did everything in our power to keep her alive, there will always be the nagging feeling that things could have ended differently if we didn’t hesitate.

Remember, when you decided to take a pet, it’s assumed that you know what you’re getting into. I’ve said this more than twice but I’m going to say it again: bring your dog to the vet immediately if he seems sick and don’t play vet unless you really are one. Even if your pet’s symptoms “seem to match” a general article you found on the internet, or that you feel that you’ve told everyone every single detail of your pet’s condition in the hopes that some tech-savvy vet will advise you online — there could have been something you missed that only the trained eye of a vet can see. It’s always better to bring your dog to the vet for an actual, face-to-face consultancy.

Shantee and Kubrick! by kutitots, on Flickr

Our other dogs, especially my two boys Harry and Choknat, hate traveling. They get dizzy even for just a very short ride. Shantee doesn’t get dizzy at all—she’s so used to traveling. Kubrick threw up at least once going and leaving Tagaytay—it’s his first long trip and he got all excited, and you know as well as I do that anybody can get dizzy moving around so much inside the car. Anyway, I’ll talk more about traveling with pets on different post, because this one is not about that.

Marc, Shantee, Kubrick and I would like to extend our warmest and deepest thank you’s to Sonya Garcia and her staff at Sonya’s Garden for their hospitality and kindness. Never before had my dogs felt like VIPs—Very Important Pooches—and we cannot help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the VIP treatment they’ve given us.

Shantee wants to doze off by kutitots, on Flickr

Yes, folks, Sonya’s Garden is as dog-friendly as they come. It’s probably one of the most—if not the most—friendliest establishments to dogs we’ve ever gone to. While some are tolerable and designate pets to open areas, at Sonya’s, dogs aren’t just allowed in the gardens—they can go just about anywhere, even sleep in the cottages. You see, Miss Sonya is a dog-lover. She went out of her way to make us feel welcome—she even offered to give my dogs free grooming and assured us that she has dog food in case we run out.

But the best thing we love about Sonya’s is the fact that they treat their furry guests the same way they do human guests. We reserved a cottage and informed the staff we would be bringing the dogs along way ahead of time (about a month before our vacation dates). So you can understand that we would feel on the defensive when this other guest (who obviously hated dogs) complained loudly about how our dogs’ barking “disturbed” them. Their cottage is directly below ours, and this guy angrily yakked to the staff how they’re going to sleep when my dogs start to play and “make noise.”

Kubrick at the huge window of cottage lobby

First of all, my dogs were actually well-behaved and unusually quiet while in the cottage, doing nothing more than but sleep (the place was so relaxing that even the dogs couldn’t help themselves and doze off). This guy only heard Shantee bark when she thought we were leaving them in the cottage to eat at the dinning area. Other than occasional short barks whenever they want water or food, or they get surprised by fruits falling on the roof, that’s it. Their behavior was far from being disruptive, they behaved well for the simple reason that they know they were not in their territory. Unless, of course, if you hated dogs—barking of any kind will irritate you.

I was prepared to argue that my dogs were well-behaved and that I have informed the staff one month before of my pets. I would not easily agree to transfer to another cottage just because that guy apparently didn’t like dogs and failed to inform the staff his preference ahead of time. It explicitly states in the website that Sonya’s Garden is a farm (with free-roaming animals of its own) and that pets are allowed in the cottages. If he preferred not to be near guests with pets, he should have said so ahead of time, right?

My husband and I readied ourselves for a staff to come calling our cottage to negotiate. But none came. As it turned out, Miss Sonya already resolved the issue: she transferred the complaining guests to a different cottage. She seemed apologetic for those guests, and told us that there really are just people who don’t like animals. She kept us company during breakfast, and seemed particularly charmed by friendly Kubrick, much to attention-whore-diva Shantee’s annoyance

There weren’t that many guests on our second day, and that evening when we had our dinner, we basically had the dining area to our own except for a mom and her kids who adored Kubrick and Shantee. The staff seemed more relaxed, the absence of the aggressive guest evident (he and his companion were scheduled to check out after breakfast). Our server lady chatted with us a bit, and we learned that Miss Sonya prefers dog-lovers, that she had a belief that dog-lovers are more compassionate. We felt flattered, though we felt the same.

Marc and I also have preference for people who can find it in themselves to care for animals. It’s not easy extending love and compassion to a creature, and it takes more effort than usual unlike caring for a fellow human being. They do not communicate the way we do. Reaching out to bridge that gap must come from us, being blessed with a bigger brain, and that takes effort. Not many would bother bridging that gap, and for that, we feel those who do have a little more compassion to spare.

You will see that unselfish love for animals at Sonya’s Garden. Not only humans are welcome guests, but your dogs will be too. For a dog-lover like us, Sonya’s Garden goes beyond its famed “country living” and relaxed atmosphere—it’s a home away from home where even the furry members of your family are graciously welcomed with arms wide open.

For more photos, you can visit my Flickr photo set or watch the slideshow below:

A fellow dog-lover approached me with a plea for help: her elderly dog, Cocoa, has been missing since March 8. He was wearing a colorful dog tag bearing his name, his owners’ address and their phone number. The owner of Cocoa (koh-koh) shares that through their own investigation, they were able to discern that a vehicle was spotted stealing dogs from homeowners.

Weeks after the dog’s disappearance, somebody spotted Cocoa being sold in a pet shop near their village. A friend of the owner posed as a customer to check it out, but unfortunately, he’s been told that Cocoa had already been sold to another buyer for Php10,000.

To make matters worse, the 6-year-old Black Pomeranian has a heart condition: he has an enlarged heart, and needs specific care.

Should you see Cocoa, kindly contact the owner at 0917-847-1989 or bring him to his veterinarian at St. Joseph Veterinary, 185 Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes, Parañaque (red gate). Cocoa was last seen at F. Cruz St., Ph. 3 BF Homes, Parañaque (street of PCJ Parish). The owners offer a reward for his return.

* Photos provided by Cocoa’s owners.

Whitey passed away yesterday. We don’t really know why, but nothing can describe my sister’s reaction except for “devastated.”

You see, my sister Joyce is schizophrenic. She doesn’t handle grief very well, so my family and I have to do our absolute best to support her and help her recover. The loss of Whitey was just depressing for her.

Joyce and Whitey were best friends—my sister even allowed Whitey sleep on her bed even if when the needed a bath. She kept my sister company and made sure to be beside her whenever she seemed to be on a verge of an episode—her presence calmed my sister down.

Whitey’s death was so sudden. Even the rest of us were saddened by what happened.

She was alright one moment, the next, she was gone. But before she left, she made sure she was near my sister, but far enough not to cause her distress as she passed away. My dad found Whitey just outside my sister’s window—apparently, Whitey died quietly as my sister slept.

Whitey will be remembered.

Thank you, Whitey, for being the best friend my sister never had. We’ll never forget you.

When I lost Sheero, our human family wasn’t the only one who grieved over her passing. Coal, our black Labrador Retriever, was closest to her. We heard him howling every night for about a week after Sheero’s passing—his way of showing how much he missed her.

But what about when dogs lose their human friends?

I have read stories of pets expressing grief over their departed human best friends. How one dog kept waiting for his friend at a train station even after his human passed away—stories like that are heart-wrenching, but I never really knew anybody personally who left behind a dog. That is, until my husband’s godmother lost the battle with cancer about a month ago.

Tita Mila wasn’t only my husband’s godmother, she was also one of our wedding sponsors. She was kind, and was an animal-lover. Skittles, a beautiful Shih Tzu, was her “baby.” They were inseparable.

When Marc and I went to Tita Mila’s wake, we were surprised to hear barking. It was the first time I heard barking at a wake. Funeral parlors and chapels usually don’t allow them, but I guess Skittles was so special to Tita Mila that her family did everything they could so that the dog could be there as they kept vigil.

Skittles was very friendly, she greeted us happily. But when she neared the coffin, her mood suddenly changed—Skittles’ sadness was obvious. It was a heart-breaking scene—sad little Skittles cried as she kept trying to reach the elevated coffin, she wanted to cuddle with her departed mommy

Dogs do grieve. Their loyalty and love for us are not only unconditional, but everlasting as well. They will love us even after we die.

Ah. I guess that’s another reason why I love dogs so much

** Beautiful aspin on photo is Kutonbol, one of my sister’s favorite dogs. In the picture, Kutonbol waits for Joyce to come home from school.

But thanks to my younger sister Joyce, we were able to continue Shantee’s FURminator regimen. She started Shantee with the FURminator deShedding Dog Treats (separate post on this soon, Shantee simply adores the treats!), and began using the deShedding Shampoo and deShedding Solution in place of her usual Alpo 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner for her weekly baths.

Ever since Joyce started using the deShedding Tool on Shantee, we noticed that she does shed less than before. And I’m not just saying that.

As I have said, stress had been triggering my asthma lately. And that also meant I was a bit more sensitive to loose dog hairs and dust as I was before. Because of this, my husband Marc helped me do a total general cleaning of the house—getting rid of loose dog hairs and dust as much as possible.

Normally, Shantee’s loose hair already start to gather up in corners of the house about two weeks after a general cleaning. But ever since my sister and I have been giving Shantee the FURminator treats and using the bath solutions and tool, there were noticeably less loose dog hairs around.

Based on the FURminator fact sheet I got, the deShedding Tool is actually designed to remove undercoat and loose hair in dogs, reducing shedding up to 90% and releases the dog’s natural oils. And I think it really does as it said it would.

Aside from less shedding (this really helps a lot, I’ve been recovering better lately too), Shantee’s hair has been pretty soft and shiny for the past weeks. She usually has soft and shiny coat after a day at the groomer’s, and her fur wouldn’t be like that again until her next bath or next grooming session. But with FURminator, Shantee’s coat remained soft and shiny even when she’s already due for a bath.

Overall, I’m very pleased with how the FURminator regimen has been going. Though Shantee will still continue on having the regimen, my sister and I are also going to start on our mom’s dog, Patatats. My mom saw the effect of FURminator on Shantee, so she requested we have her dog treated instead of Harry for our testing of the products on a medium-haired dog.

Frankly, I’m quite excited to see how Patatats will turn out. Her fur has quite a number of tangles. It would be quite a challenge, but we’ll see if FURminator would be able to give Patatats a furry make-over

Shantee and I were given a complete FURminator deShedding kit for review: FURminator deShedding Tool, deShedding Shampoo, deShedding Solution, Waterless deShedding Shampoo and Conditioner, and deShedding Dog Treats.

Shantee is a teacup Shih Tzu, and most of the information we’ve read about her breed say that normally their type shed less than the usual. But the thing is, they still shed. The hairs I collect in my dustpan whenever I’m cleaning the house can attest to that. According to the FURminator Tool fact sheet, the Tool can reduce shedding up to 90 percent in boht long and short-haird dogs and cats.

My sister and I are going to try these products on Shantee, Harry, and Coal and then see how they turn out. Coal is a black Labrador Retriever, the perfect example for a short-haired dog; while Harry is a native dog and Japanese Spitz mix. His hair isn’t as long as Shantee’s, but not as short as Coal’s either.

We’re all excited how our little FURminator experiment will turn out for the next few weeks. Stay tuned for updates!