Kingstonist’s Wizard of Paws: Pets and New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year and welcome to 2019!! After the fun of the parties, either more fun is ready to be had or a challenge, depending on your point of view. While people often make resolutions to eat better, work out more, or stay in better touch with friends, it makes me wonder what our pets might resolve to do in the new year (if they could). The good news is, you can help them decide and play an important role in helping them succeed. Let’s dive in…

Dogs – How do you top resolving to be person’s best friend? That’s a pretty tough task but here’s a few I came up with:

• Don’t eating all the other pets’ food at home.
• Be better behaved on walks or at the park, even if that means going to night school for some training.
• Take more naps on your own bed instead of the couch or your person’s bed.

Cats – How do you improve on perfection?? Wait, I think my cat typed that! While cats are pretty awesome, there’s always room for improvement:

• Be more up front with you family if you feel sick and not hiding illnesses.
• Respect your owner’s lap – napping there is fine, but let them up to get a snack or use the bathroom once in a while.
• Don’t so many messes, whether it’s vomiting on the carpet, not using the litterbox, or shedding all over everything. Well actually, no outfit is complete without cat hair.

And let’s not forget our exotics friends! It’d be great if they could keep their cages or tanks a bit tidier and, if possible, be a bit cuddlier (whether it be guinea pigs or snakes, or anything in between).

We’ll close with the pet owners. Sure you may have already picked your resolutions for yourself but let me offer some help for those who haven’t yet:

• Spend more time with your pets and building the bond you already share.
• If you notice something wrong, don’t wait too long for it to get better – it will likely make things worse.
• Be nice to the veterinary staff who are just trying to do their jobs helping animals.
• Be kind to animals (this goes without saying), but let me add in to include spiders. Catch them in a cup and set them outside.

I hope you all have a safe and happy 2019! What other pet New Year’s resolutions would you suggest? Let us know in the comments!

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If there’s something you’ve often wondered or questions you have about regarding pets, let us know by email at [email protected].

*Please note that specific medical questions about your pet cannot be addressed and you should speak with your personal veterinarian.

Dr. Ryan Llera is a small animal veterinarian at the Kingston Veterinary Clinic. Though originally from Florida, he married a Canadian (who is also a vet!) and they share their home with two cats, two dogs, two horses, and a rabbit. Dr. Llera also contributes writing to various other animal and veterinary related blogs. You can find more of his writing at www.DRRYANLLERA.com, or see what else he is up to on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Disclaimer: All columns are personally written and my opinion, and may not necessarily reflect those of current or former employers.