“Pets 101: 12 Tips for dog-walking safety when dusk comes early - Examiner” plus 1 more

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Pets 101: 12 Tips for dog-walking safety when dusk comes early - Examiner Posted: 08 Sep 2010 06:51 AM PDT Charlie's denim pants & jacket + Cindy's dark fur = next to invisible after dusk. Photo: photo by author Guess what? It's dark by 7:30 now. As days grow shorter over the fall, chances increase that the dog-walkers among us will end up taking the dog out at dusk or later. And a person dressed in dark top and jeans walking a brown or black dog might as well be wearing a cloak of invisibility! Walking "later" means the Forest Preserve paths aren't options. They close an hour after sunset. And people walking smaller dogs and/or walking alone may want to avoid other local parks and bike paths on the grounds that many are ill-lit and thus unsafe—for footing at least, possibly with crime concerns as well. That leaves walking your neighborhood. Here are 3 basic tips for safe walking. 1. If you can, stick to streets that have good lighting and sidewalks. 2. Even on well-lit sidewalks, stay alert when crossing driveways or streets, because not all drivers notice walkers. 3. If you live beyond the reach of lights and sidewalks, dressing for visibility becomes essential. Nowadays, safety equipment is much easier to come by than ever before: • Sports stores (look for biking/running gear): reflective hats, vests, jackets, shoes—even reflective-striped pants. • Pet stores: reflective collars and harnesses—or even just sparkly rhinestone versions, if you want your doggy sister to look more stylish than safety-cone But, you say, be real! With the economy in the pit, buying new clothing just to walk the dog is not in the budget. My quick answer to that? Neither is getting hit by a car that didn't see you, whether that results in extended hospital care … or death, for you or your beloved dog. So back to the basics, the same advice your mother gave you every Halloween: • Dress in light colors and shiny fabrics. To which you can now add actual reflectivity: • You can buy reflective strips at craft stores—glue them to your walking cap or your shoes—or both. • Sew some on an old jacket or sweatshirt you use for dog walks. • Glue pieces to your leash. And use good sense: • Walk facing traffic if you're on the shoulder of the road. • Stay alert wherever you walk. • Don't start across a driveway if an approaching car slows like it might be turning there. With a little care, your dog walking can remain safe as well as enjoyable even if the change of season pushes your usual time into predawn or post-dusk darkness. Chekk the links below for some of my other posts covering pet and owner safety issues. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

Silver Grove Dog Owner Loses Fight To Keep Pets - msnbc.com Posted: 08 Sep 2010 06:51 AM PDT WLWT.com SILVER GROVE, Ky. -- A Silver Grove woman has lost her fight to keep all of her six dogs. The City Council voted Tuesday to uphold an ordinance that would require Wanda Moran to give up four of the animals, but officials offered to extend a deadline set last month. Moran must find other homes for the dogs by Jan. 1, officials said. She had been ordered to give up the animals by Tuesday morning or go to jail, following complaints by a business owner whose property abuts Moran's. "It's just nerve wracking. I mean, I don't want to lose my family, but I don't want to go to jail either, you know. But I have to do what I have to do," Moran said. John Ollberding, who owns the Dari Bar on state Route 8, said the dogs were a nuisance to customers who sit at picnic tables separated by a chain-link fence from Moran's yard. He said the battle, which drew a crowd to the City Council meeting, has cost him in more ways than one. "I have people not coming here because of the dogs, and now that I filed the complaint, I have people that aren't stopping by because I'm a bad guy and they think I'm an animal hater, and I'm not," Ollberding said. At Tuesday night's council meeting, a county dog warden said she'd warned Moran before about the limit on the number of dogs she could have. "I went and gave them a notice last year when they had four," the dog warden said. "They were told at that time the dogs had to be licensed properly. They knew when they had four there was a two dog limit." Attorney Eric Deters assisted Moran in her fight against the city's two-dog limit. Most Popular Stories at WLWT This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

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