February 2016

February is PREVENT A LITTER Month! Pet overpopulation is a serious problem that we can all help by having our pets spayed or neutered. Many organizations are offering free or reduced fees for spaying or neutering this month. In fact, Feb. 28^th is SPAY Day USA.

February – is also PET DENTAL MONTH! Created by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Dental Society it reminds us that our pets can get tooth aches too! Look for videos on how to brush your pets teeth on YouTube.

February 1 – Thank a Mailman Day – if you have a dog, this is a great day to do something nice for your mailman! Traditionally, dogs give mailmen a hard time by barking at them when they come to deliver mail. Often dogs are so intent on protecting their house they actually bite mailmen! So let’s keep our dogs in the house and all thank our mailmen for delivering our mail today!

February 2 – GROUND HOG DAY! (Also Hedge Hog Day!)  On this day all eyes are focused on world famous ground hog, Punxatawney Phil, who lives in a cave called Gobbler’s Knob in Punxatawney, Pennsylvania. Supposedly, according to legend, this is the day Phil wakes up from his winter nap and if he sees his shadow  when he comes out, he goes back to sleep for 6 more weeks – and that means there will be 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, spring is on its way.

February 2 – SLED DOG DAY! Sled dogs are not a breed of dogs, they’re a type of dog that is bred and trained to pull special “sleds” that carry provisions in remote places, mostly in Alaska. They might be Alaskan Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Canadian Inuits, Chinooks, Siberian Huskies or many more similar breeds that are sprinters and endurance dogs. We hear about Sled dogs mostly during the annual running of the Iditarod Sled Dog race from Anchorage to Nome Alaska. And of course Disney does a good job of telling stories about sled dogs and snow dogs! You can learn more at DogSledding.com This year the Iditarod Race stars March 5th in Anchorage, Alaska.

February 7-14 – Have-a-Heart-for-Chained-Dogs Week – Check your city’s rules about chained up dogs and if you know of one make sure they have shade, water and a dog house shelter of some kind.

February 9 – Mardi Gras! A big holiday in New Orleans and many cities in the U.S. It begins on “Fat Tuesday,” the last day of eating rich, fat foods before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday starts Lent, the six weeks before Easter. Traditionally, people give up eating something they love during Lent. Mardi Gras is celebrated with Music, Dancing, Picnics, Floats, Parades, people wearing Masks and Costumes. There’s a special song and a special Mardi Gras Flag. Everyone dresses in purple, green and gold and wears beads of the same colors, which are thrown from the floats.

February 14 – VALENTINE’S DAY! Give your sweetie, your family and your friends a special heartfelt Valentine!

February 14 – Pet Theft Awareness Day – Valentines Day every year – Last Chance for Animals (LCA) educates the public about pet theft. You can make special I.D. tags to wear on Valentine’s Day on their website: StolenPets.com

February 15, 16 – Westminster Dog Show, New York, New York – look at your local TV listings for coverage of the dog show on USA channel! It’s always fun to see and learn more about the many AKC breeds of dogs.

February 20 – Love Your Pet Day – One day a year to make an extra effort to show your pet how much you love him/her! Spend the day with your pet. Cook for him/her. Walk with them, buy them a new toy, give them a bath, donate a bag of food to your local shelter in his or her honor. Give them all the attention you can. If you don’t know your pet’s real birthday, adopt Feb 20!

February 22 – Walking The Dog Day – This is an easy day to celebrate! Exercise with your dog! You can walk your dog almost anywhere, the dog park, the neighborhood park, on the beach, hiking a hill. AND, if you don’t have a dog you can borrow one! Take your neighbor’s dog for a walk. Don’t forget to take some water you can share with your dog.

February 23 – International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day – This day goes to show that Pet Lovers will celebrate just about anything! Honor a Dog Biscuit?!? Why not? About 150 years ago they were officially invented by a man named James Spratt who called them Dog Cakes and were possibly the first kind of dog food. Today your dog has a choice of hundreds of Dog Biscuits – and cleaner teeth because of them! So give your dog a dog biscuit to celebrate – or bake him one using our free recipe.

February 23 – Spay Day USA – an annual observance on the last Tuesday of February that was created by the Doris Day Animal League in 1994 to bring attention to the nationwide pet overpopulation problem, and to encourage animal population control by neutering pets.

February 29, 2012 – LEAP YEAR DAY – that one extra day that comes along every 4^th year. Irish Legend says that it’s a special day when ladies can ask someone special to marry them instead of waiting for a proposal from their boyfriend!