K-ZONE WPKZ FM105.3/AM 1280

Your Hometown Radio

listen nowLISTEN NOW
listen nowLISTEN NOW
K-Zone Studio Line 978.348.1280

Advice

Pet of the Week: Help find Bobbi a home

by

Recently, our family visited Ahimsa Haven and were told about a heart-breaking situation. Bobbi, a lovely striped tabby with cream accents, had been at the animal shelter for 421 days (Sept. 17).

Yes, more than a year waiting at the shelter and hoping for a home. Shelter volunteers said that in the past week there had been some hope but was quickly lost, as “a couple of potential approved adopters all backed out.” And they said they both did so “without even meeting her.”

Why has she been overlooked? She has epilepsy, which is managed by medication — just $22. Many pets live deep into their senior years without seizures – and Bobbi is in good health. She loves playing with toys, and she loves being petted. She is in a rare CAT-egory – she is a feline who is friendly with dogs, and though she’s shy with other cats, she could absolutely have roommates.

As of Sunday, she has been at the shelter 428 days. Please – can you consider giving a sweet and loving kitty a fur-ever home? Her adoption fee has been sponsored, so your only cost is seizure medication, which is inexpensive. Call Ahimsa Haven Shelter at (978) 939-8464, email at info@ahimsahaven.org or just visit at ahimsahaven.org for more details. And if you can’t adopt, please share this story. Let’s get Bobbi a home!

Ahimsa Haven is located at 381 Baldwinville Road in Templeton

Pet Talk: The path of leash resistance

by

DEAR PET TALK: I have a dog but I don’t know how to walk my dog on a leash. Is it OK to pull the dog? My uncle told me I should pull the leash up sometime when the dog doesn’t listen so it chokes the dog but that looks cruel to me. How do you hold the leash? DOG LOVER

Dear DOG LOVER: You are absolutely correct – pulling the leash up so the dog feels her windpipe getting squeezed is wrong and cruel. Your dog will learn that the leash comes with pain if that is your method. Which means she won’t want to learn how to walk with you. And she’ll think you’re a bully – and that will be terrible for your relationship.

Step one is to get your dog used to the leash, which means putting it on your dog while she’s still in your home. If she wants to chew the leash, gently persuade her not to by keeping it in your hand. Once your dog is used to the leash – and doesn’t view it as a toy – you are ready to start some “loose leash walking.”

Give a command, like “let’s go,” and start walking. If your dog pulls at the end of the leash, stop walking and stay in place. Your dog needs to learn that the leash must be loose if you are going to walk together. As soon as the leash is slack, try another command like “with me.” Then start moving forward.

When you walk your dog outside, there will be a lot of competition for her attention with distractions like squirrels or other dogs. Get in the habit of keeping eye contact with her throughout this process. Anytime she looks at you, say “good dog,” and stroke her fur.

Remember, you and your dog are a team. Her job is keeping the leash loose, and your job is teaching her that’s how you walk together.

Sally Cragin is the Director of Be PAWSitive Therapy Pets and Community Education. Send questions to sallycragin@gmail.com

Unitil closely monitoring Hurricane Lee

by

HAMPTON, N.H.— New England electricity and gas provider Unitil is preparing for the potential impacts from Hurricane Lee throughout the day Saturday as the powerful storm passes the New England coast on the way to Canada.

Because of the potential of high impacts from Lee’s close approach, Unitil proactively secured additional third party crews from outside of New England early in the week as part of its preparations and is prepared to further escalate its response throughout the weekend in the event of a more direct hit from the storm.

Unitil recommends customers prepare similarly making sure they have all the necessary items, including flashlights and fresh batteries, portable chargers and supplemental batteries for mobile devices, bottled water, canned foods and a manual can opener, and a first aid kit.

“As with any tropical cyclone, we recognize the forecasted conditions could change significantly should the storm change direction again, meaning we must remain in a state of readiness throughout the weekend,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said.

High wind gusts have the potential to damage trees and tree branches, which can in turn bring poles and wires to the ground. Always assume all cables and wires that have fallen or are dangling are energized and highly dangerous; be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed line.

In addition, keep away from all flooded and debris laden areas because they may be downed lines hidden underneath. Avoid driving in damaged areas so you don’t interfere with rescue and restoration efforts and try to stay in a safe place.

Unitil will be communicating throughout the event through public service announcements (PSAs), the Unitil website, the Unitil customer call center and through the media. Customers should follow along with Unitil storm updates via Facebook, X (@Unitil).

Real-time Unitil outage information will be available at unitil.com/map.

Courtesy Unitil Corporation.

Pet Talk: Respect rabies

by

DEAR PET TALK: Why is a rabies shot important? – Devoted to Dogs

DEAR DEVOTED: Massachusetts law requires puppies and kittens to be vaccinated by six months of age. According to Dr. Ashley Raymond, Second Chance Animal Services Medical Director, “Protecting your pets is simple with a rabies vaccination administered by your veterinarian. This vaccine not only keeps your pets safe but also helps prevent the spread of this dangerous disease. This law is in place to help protect humans from contracting the disease, which leads to death if not addressed promptly.”

If you do not get your dog from a shelter, where rabies vaccinations are mandatory, get your dog a rabies shot immediately. Ditto for cats. This virus lives in saliva, so if your dog is bitten, the virus is then carried into its body, where it replicates in muscle cells and then spreads to nerve fibers. Symptoms may take up to a month, and may include fever, seizures, lack of coordination or paralysis, behavioral changes (shyness or aggression) and more.

“Rabies is a deadly virus that affects both humans and animals, with most mammals susceptible to infection,” said Dr. Raymond. “If an unvaccinated pet contracts rabies, it almost always leads to death. Wild animals including raccoons, foxes, skunks, bats, and even cats most often are the most common carriers of the disease.”

If your dog is in a fight, and is bitten, immediately get it to a vet, even if it has had a rabies shot. If you’re bitten by a wild animal, or a dog or cat with unknown history, ditto. And thank Louis Pasteur for identifying this disease, and administering the first rabies vaccines back in 1885. We’ve vaccinating our pets for a long time, but rabies still exists and it’s awful. Take care of your pet.

You can make a reservation for your pet at the next Jeffrey P. Stephens Low-Cost Vaccine Clinic for a $5 rabies, $5 distemper and $22 microchip. The clinic is sponsored by Second Chance Animal Services and made possible in part by a grant from the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts. It will be held on Saturday, Sept. 23, from 9-12 p.m. at Fitchburg Fire Department, 33 North St. Open to pet owners in all towns. Call (508) 637-1333 to make a reservation or visit secondchanceanimals.org.

Sally Cragin is the Director of  Be PAWSitive Therapy Pets and Community Education. Send questions to sallycragin@gmail.com

Pet of the Week: Scooby, Lowell Humane Society

by

I’d love to give the volunteers who name pets at Lowell Humane Society a PAW-litzer prize for creativity – a few weeks ago, we wrote about the Fantastic Mr. Fox, and here comes Scooby Do! For those who are now singing “Scooby-Dooby-Doo, where are you? We need some help from you now!” look no farther.

Their Scooby is just over two years old, a tan, medium-sized Shepard-mix with a sweet white muzzle.

Scooby has “top-notch sleuthing skills, is house- and crate-trained, a heartworm survivor, and a dashing looker” according to volunteers. He can live with older kids who would love a lively and curious dog ready to go on adventures, but no other pets please – Scooby is a solo act.

Lowell Humane Society, 951 Broadway St., Lowell. Open Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Call (978) 452-7781 or email info@lowellhumanesociety.org. If you can’t adopt, please share this story.

Pet Talk: Dog days

by

DEAR PET TALK: What are the “Dog Days” of summer? – Canis Major

DEAR CANIS MAJOR: This phrase goes all the way back to Homeric Greece (900 years BCE) and originated when ancient astronomers noted that Sirius, which is a star in the “Canis Major” (dog) constellation is visible, and rises when the sun rises. Sirius is also known as the “Nile Star,” or “Star of Isis,” because around 4 millennia ago, Egyptians noticed that during the time of the summer solstice, Sirius would appear to rise before dawn. And since the annual flooding of the Nile occurred simultaneously, the star foretold great fortune or great loss.

The second week of August is when this star is most visible, but the Old Farmers’ Almanac declares July 3 through Aug. 11 the official “dog days,” but others view the dog days as lasting into September, as these days are associated with hot and sultry weather.

In mythology, Sirius was the companion dog of Orion the Hunter, and the appearance of this constellation coincides with late summer. Sirius, the brightest star in the sky now, is actually the dog’s “nose” and the constellation is adjacent to Lepus, a hare that Canis is chasing!

We think of the “dog days” as a time when it’s so hot, dogs just lie on the floor with their tongues out, but the original meaning meant a time when men went to war, as well as a time when the Romans thought that Sirius added extra heat to the sun, because it was so bright.

And if you were selecting a puppy during the time of Ancient Greece, Xenophon (4th century BCE) declared the best names for dogs were just one or two syllables, so they could be easily called. For example, Xenophon named his favorite dog Horme (Eager), and Atalanta, the swift-footed racer of mythology called her dog Aura (Breeze).

Sally Cragin is the director of “Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and Community Education.” Visit us on Facebook, email or call/text 978-320-1335.