1.  Effective June 1, 2001, CPS raised its per visit rate from $13 to $14.  (This rate was changed last year.  Although most of our customers are aware of this rate, there are some clients that only use us once per year)

2.  We no longer do Every-Other-Days for pets.  Each pet has to be seen at least once per day.  NO EXCEPTIONS!

3.  We now offer Mid-Day Weekly Dog Visits at a discounted rate of $12.  This is for Monday thru Friday visits between 11am -2pm.  Service has to be for at least 3 days for the $12 rate to apply.

4.  Effective 1/1/02, our Holiday Fees are normally charged if pet sitting is on the actual holiday (Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc..), but for Easter, Memorial Day, and Labor Day Weekends, if services are used during the Weekend (Friday, Sat., and/or Sunday)--the $5 extra will be charged.

5.  Effective 4/1/02, There is now a Cancellation Fee of $14.00 (one visit) if your pet sitting reservation is not cancelled 48 hours (2 days) in advance of the beginning of the scheduled visits.  We do understand that emergencies arise so we will determine if a fee is warranted case by case.

6.  Effective 4/1/02--there is now a Late-Reservation fee of $5.00.  Reservations must be made at least 48 hours (2 days) in advance.  

7.  CPS will not be responsible for damage to your home or injury to your pets if there is someone else other then Carolina Pet Sitters taking care and watching over your home and pets.  This is considered Job Sharing.  (Example:  you have CPS come for one visit per day in the morning, but you also have a friend/neighbor coming over in the evening to fed the pets and check on things too.  We will accept the job, but if anything goes wrong (home or pets) CPS will not be held liable.

I just want to share our good news with everyone....we (Carolina Pet Sitters) have bought another pet sitting business.  The name of the business is...A Southern Comfort Pet Care.  Denise Patterson who owns Southern Comfort is expecting her third child in June and decided to give up her business to spend more time with her family.  Miller and I are very excited of the opportunity to expand our great little business.  

High humidity and soaring temperatures make for hot dogs.

The old saying that it's not the heat but the humidity that makes summer days so miserable is particularly apt when it comes to dogs and their well-being.

According to Dr. William Fortney, assistant professor of clinical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, dogs become less efficient at cooling themselves as the humidity rises.

"Just like people, dogs are cooled by evaporation. The problem with high humidity is that it decreases evaporation and slows down the cooling process," Fortney said. "This time of year we hear a lot about the heat index, which is a measurement of both the temperature and the humidity level, and that is what an owner needs to pay close attention to."

There are other factors that hinder canines' ability to cool themselves. They only have sweat glands on the pads of their feet and on their nose, which are inadequate for cooling during hot and humid days, Fortney said."Panting helps dogs cool themselves but they still aren't as efficient at cooling themselves as people are," Fortney added. "A dog's heavy coat also works against the cooling process which makes them that much more prone to heat exhaustion."Fortney said there are several stages a dog suffering from heat exhaustion goes through. Heavy panting is the first. That soon gives way to huffing and puffing and the dog will lie down or collapse. If left untreated it will slip into unconsciousness and die. The first step pet owners should take if their dog is suffering from heat exhaustion is to cease all activity, get the animal out of the sun and give it water, Fortney said.

"The owner can then put the dog in the bath tub or let the garden hose run for a few seconds and then spray the dog down. Then it can be placed in front of a fan which will aid in evaporation," Fortney said. "Ice bags can also be placed around the dog's head and neck."

Fortney also said it is important to start the cooling process as soon as possible.

"A person's first reaction might be to jump in the car and get the dog to a veterinarian, but in a case of heat exhaustion this is the wrong thing to do," Fortney said. "When a dog's temperature has reached 108 or 110 degrees it can only take a couple of minutes before brain damage can occur. The car ride could take five to 10 minutes, so the owner needs to cool the dog down before taking it to a veterinarian."

There are several activities that can cause heat exhaustion in dogs, such as running, being outside for an extended period of time or just sitting in the sun for too long. However, Fortney said that the main cause for over-heated dogs is an avoidable situation that is all too common.

"A lot of the heat exhaustion cases we see are a result of dogs being left in a car," Fortney said. "A person can't crack the windows enough to cool down the dog without letting it out of the car. This is the worst case scenario and it only takes a few minutes before it becomes a matter of life and death."

Fleas, ear mites and walking dandruff are all external parasites that can cause your cat discomfort, according to Kansas State University veterinarian Dr. Michael Dryden.

These parasites represent 99 percent of all external parasites in catteries and households. Dryden said if you are a cat owner you should know at least the basics about them.

Flea control is a yearly battle for many cat owners. Dryden said an effective flea program treats the infested cat, all contact animals and the environment. Fleas are blood suckers that will cause your cat to itch and maybe get a skin infection. Not only do cats itch when they get fleas, they also shed flakes of flea dirt, which is the dried blood left behind by the fleas.

To get rid of fleas, vacuum the carpet before applying insecticides and discard the vacuum cleaner bag immediately; each week, wash the places the cat spends most of its time; and use a spray or fogger in the environment.

In the environment, use an insecticide to kill the adult fleas and an insect growth regulator to inhibit the growth of the flea eggs and larvae. Reapplication will probably be needed in one to two weeks, because less than 20 percent of fleas in the pupa stage can be killed with this treatment. The pupae are what make getting rid of fleas so difficult. Fleas in this stage will continue to hatch for two to four weeks after treatment begins.

The cat should be treated simultaneously with the environment. Dryden said to use only flea products labeled for use on cats. He recommends a pyrethrin-based shampoo.

Ear mites, also called otodectes cynotis, are usually seen in kittens within a few weeks after owners bring them home. Dryden says 90 percent of all cats get ear mites. Cats under one year of age are more vulnerable, because they haven't built up resistance.

Mites will spend their entire life in ears, but could also be on the feet, face, neck and tailhead. They have a three week cycle and they can survive off the host for several weeks. Unlike fleas, they aren't blood-sucking, nor do they pierce the skin.

The signs of ear mites are head shaking, scratching the ears, coffee-ground-like discharge, big sores behind the ears, epilepsy-resembling fits and ear infections. The treatment for the mites is to clean the ears with a solution your veterinarian recommends, treat the ears with a mite-killing drug for three weeks and treat the whole body with flea shampoo or powder.

Walking dandruff, which is called cheyletiella blakei, lives its whole life on one host. This also tends to be a young animal parasite. The life stages are egg, larva, nymph and adult. The larvae and nymphs die after 24 hours of being away from the host, but the adults may survive 10 days.

The parasites burrow into the skin, attach to the skin and become engorged with a colorless fluid. The signs of walking dandruff come on slowly. Symptoms are itching and scratching, a gradual increase in miliary lesions or generalized dandruff, hair loss, and red papules on the head, neck and back.

Walking dandruff is also a pathogen for humans. It won't reproduce on them, but the bites will cause itchy pustules. The lesions will usually go away after ridding the environment of the parasites.

Once walking dandruff has been diagnosed on a cat or human in the household, all animals and the entire environment should be treated. Cats can be asymptomatic carriers and the environment is probably contaminated. The cats' treatment is three treatments of insecticidal dip or shampoo at two- to three-week intervals. The environment should be sprayed with an insecticide.