Getting to the office can be a lot of fun when the whole gang pitches in!

Mark your calendar for Friday, June 20 and take your pooch to work with you. The Take Your Dog To Work Day event was started in 1999 by Pet Sitters International as a celebration of the important role dogs play in our lives.

Even more importantly, this day encourages pet adoptions from humane societies, rescue organizations and local animal shelters.

To celebrate Take Your Dog To Work Day local businesses, animal shelters and pet-care professionals will join together to promote better lives for all homeless and shelter dogs. Last year thousands of businesses opened their doors to their employees’ pets. And it is hoped that this year’s event will be equally successful.

As a member of Pet Sitters International (PSI), SecurePet encourages all business owners to join in this worthy cause. As the PSI web site states, “We are asking every business–great and small–to become a true friend of the canine community by helping Pet Sitters International promote pet adoptions in a positive and proactive way! Explore our site to learn how you can participate, register your business and spread the word.”

Visit the Take Your Dog To Work Day web site, to register and join in the fun!

Smylee loves to multi-task: not only is she a professional cat sitter but she can also keep her eye on the ball.

According to popular belief a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a person’s. But is this really true? Well, that depends. Cleanliness is really a discussion about the amount and type of bacteria the mouth contains. And that amount is determined by what was recently in the mouth. Unlike humans, dogs enjoy raw meat, garbage, and animals in varying states of decomposition.

If Fido just nabbed himself a nice decaying squirrel carcass we could easily come to the conclusion that, no his mouth is not cleaner than ours. Since Fido could have picked up disease causing germs from the dead animal it is possible that he might pass on these dangerous germs to humans in a bite.

However, germs for the most part are species specific. What that equates to is this: Harmful dog germs are usually harmless for humans, unless we are talking about rabies. This disease affects both dogs and humans in equally damaging ways. By the same token, human germs probably won’t harm a dog.

Now, human germs can harm humans. So a mouth full of harmful human bacteria would affect a person far more than a mouth full of doggie bacteria. So you might be better off kissing a dog than a human.

In an October 2005 story on ABC’s 20/20, Dr. Marty Becker, veterinarian and author of Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul , commented on the theory that dogs’ saliva had some sort of germ-fighting ability. In the interview he stated that it isn’t the antibacterial property in the saliva that supports healing but rather the dog’s tongue removes infected tissue and stimulates circulation.

He reiterated that staph, strep and rhinoviruses do not generally carry back and forth between species. Dr. Becker concluded that as long as your dog is vaccinated against rabies and kept free of parasites, a wet slurp on the cheek probably won’t do you any harm. In fact, it will probably do you a lot of good. As Dr. Becker so aptly put it, “They love us conditionally, they make us laugh. If we’re going to give them a little kiss to thank them for that, then that’s good by me.”

SecurePet Pet Sitter Services of Wimberley, Texas Presents: Cats are Funny!

As a pet sitter in the Wimberley, Texas area and as an avid cat lover I have throughout the years discovered many marvelous things about the feline. For one thing they have a language all their own. I am not talking about vocalization, although that is interesting too, but their body language.

Unlike dogs, when a cat wags its tail it is NOT happy. However, there are exceptions. One recent exception to that rule is a handsome boy named Bartholomew. He was a feral cat that decided to take up residence near our home. Now, he lives in the house and snoozes with us whenever he gets the chance. He “wags” his tail whenever he approaches me for affection or whenever he walks towards me in greeting. His tail wag is definitely an outward display of an inward happiness. It may have begun as a nervous state of agitation but it is now a habit that means joy.

Another strange thing about cats is that their purr may NOT be an indicator that they are happy. Some cats actually have a nervous purr that they will shift into whenever they are visiting the veterinarian’s office. Other cats actually purr when they are in pain. This explains why some mother cats purr when they are in labor.

Cats also display emotions with their tails. An upright, twelve o’clock position tail, reveals a happy, confident cat. A tail that is in the downward position indicates an unsure, cautious, or unhappy state. When a cat is enjoying its food the tail will be held a fraction of an inch from the floor or counter top.

If you observe a group of felines together you will notice that there is a distinct ranking among them. One way to determine status is again by noting tail position. The cat walking around with an upright tail held in an “s” shape has superior status. While the cat with the drooping tail is of low status.

And don’t let anyone tell you that cats are not group or social animals. Not true. Cats are actually very social and enjoy each others company. A study of the feral cat population in Naples, Italy indicated that female cats share “babysitting” duties with each other while a mother hunts. This project also revealed a sensitive, hierarchy of group cat behavior that centered around the preservation of the next generation.

One more thing, cats have a decided sweet tooth. So look out for your cake or donuts. We had one cat that could smell a glazed donut from three rooms away. He’d come lopping through the hall, picking up speed as he went, and crash land into our laps. Now we realized it wasn’t good for him, but who could resist that sweet face?

SecurePet Pet Sitter Services is located in Wimberley, Texas and provides pet sitting care for all types of animals: ranch animals, dogs, cats, birds, reptiles (but not gators!) and amphibians. We specialize in pets with special needs. This full-service pet sitting company will ensure that all your pets receive the best of care while you are away on business or pleasure.