Animal Aid Column, By Debra Boland
THIS winter has been incredibly cold for the animals in our shelters, particularly the dogs which have experienced many nights below zero.
In comparison, our cats have it pretty good as they are housed in a climate-controlled cattery.
So, as I sit on my couch and look at my dogs sleeping cosily on their beds bathed in the warm glow of my fire, I can’t help but think how very lucky they are.
Many pets are kept outside their whole life, which I think is such a shame, but it is the reality for the ones that do.
If you do insist on your pet sleeping outside, then you need to make sure that you provide them with everything they need to keep themselves warm and protected from the elements.
This is a challenge that we face every winter, trying to keep our dogs warm.
The lucky ones are housed in a heated indoor area.
These include the very old, the very young and those recovering from surgery.
For the others, it’s up to our caring staff to rug them up and keep them as cosy as possible.
We do this by providing them with blankets, heat pads and tub beds to curl up in, as well as pyjamas and jumpers if they will let us.
We are only able to do this because, like me, many other people are sitting at home thinking about them, too.
All of our bedding, dog coats and a large number of our heat pads are donated by caring people, and for that we a truly grateful.
Without their support, our dogs may not be as cosy as they could be.
At Animal Aid, we need bedding all year round but particularly in winter.
The never ending mountains of washing are a challenge not only to clean but more importantly to get dry.
While I think we can all agree that there has been a tinge of spring in the air of late, we know we are still up for some very cold nights ahead.
If you do have any clean bedding or towels that you don’t need any more, then, please, consider donating them to Animal Aid.
If you don’t, then you can always make a financial contribution earmarked for heat pads or dogs coats through our wish list on our website animalaid.org.au.
