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By: Nao Mitsutomi ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY OUR WONDERFUL DOG WALKERS!
Struggling with taking the perfect photo of your dog? Here are some tips and tricks to taking better photos--and the best part is, you’ll only need your phone, so need for a fancy camera!
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By Briseis Schreibman Even though we’re all spending a lot more time at home, you may find yourself struggling to take your pup out for long walks. Whether it’s challenging to find time in your work from home schedule, you are limiting time outdoors for safety, or simply don’t have the energy; you may find yourself with a peppy pup looking for energy release. Look no further than this blog post for some simple solutions!  Photo Credit Deposit Photos While a nice long walk or time spent playing outdoors will always be the #1 choice for giving your dog exercise and stimulation, there are great indoor solutions as well. First up, engaging in play! It may seem like an obvious solution, but finding the right toy or game for your pup can make a huge impact. If your dog isn’t one for fetch, try tug of war, hiding treats, or come up with your own game!  Click to Read about 7 Rainy Day Games to Play with Your Dog Looking for something more regimented? Training is also a great way to let off steam. Practicing simple commands together helps with bonding and mental stimulation.
Looking for something more hands-off? Food dispensing toys, stuffed Kongs, or other specialty dog puzzles allow for more independent energy release. Don’t be discouraged if the first few types of games or activities don’t catch your pup’s fancy; it can take some trial and error to find out what they like. Your pup may even surprise you by coming up with their own type of game! And as always, tag the CUP Instagram in any photos you snap during playtime! By Briseis Schreibman  photo credit to White Board Animation We’ve all been thinking a lot lately about how to keep clean. Sanitizing groceries, ourselves, our clothing; It’s as if sanitizing has become a new Olympic sport. Though there’s one type of cleaning that may seem especially daunting… pet grooming. With many groomers and other non-essential pet services closed, you may be tasked with keeping your pet groomed for the first time in a long time. Whether you’re a pet grooming champ looking to refresh their skills or a newbie just learning the ropes, CUP is here with a few easy tips. First things first, the type of pet you have, their breed, their temperament, and general health are all essential things to understand before you start any grooming routine. Taking the time to research the types of care your pet may need is a great way to build confidence and feel assured that you are keeping you and your pet safe.  ADOGSLIFEPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGE Next, try to create a consistent routine around grooming. Take note of how often you should be doing nail cuttings, combing, teeth brushing, etc. and make yourself a physical or digital schedule. Having a consistent schedule allows you to ensure you have plenty of time for the task. Grooming can run longer than you initially plan for if your furry friend gets grumpy or anxious, so it’s best to give yourself ample time.  Click on image for the Full Article by Cat Naps Boarding & Grooming Finally, after a grooming session is done, your pet may be a little cranky. Don’t take this personally, they may need some time to cool off, but they’ll be back to their lovey self soon after.
With some patience and preemptive planning, you can make your grooming sessions the best they can be and help your pet stay healthy and happy. By: Nao Mitsutomi Hello! Today, I would like to share with you all how I became a huge animal lover--particularly to dogs and cats! I have had quite the interesting journey with dogs and cats. When I was little, I had a little incident where I got chased by my neighbor’s dog. In retrospect, the dog probably just wanted to play with me, and was playfully chasing me around. Before this happened, I hadn’t had many interactions with dogs, so I had no idea what to expect out of dogs. Because of this, I interpreted the dogs’ playful behavior as scary and viscous, and I became terrified of dogs, and would avoid them at all costs. This all changed when I met my friend’s uncle’s dog, Maya. Maya was a beautiful yellow lab who was incredibly sweet and patient. Unlike other dogs that I had interacted with before, Maya never tried to jump on me, bark at me, and chase me around--all behaviors that made me extremely scared of dogs at the time. As I spent more time with Maya, I became more used to being around dogs, and eventually became a huge dog lover--so much that I would beg my parents to get a dog everyday! Unfortunately, my parents did not let me get a dog, as they thought it would be too much work to take care of one. It’s okay though, because now I get to spend lots of time with dogs through CUP, and I hope to get my own dog one day! When I was around ten years old, I met my now beloved cat, Hana! My parents and I had just gotten home, and our next door neighbor poked her head out of the window, holding up a kitten. She told us to come in and see the kitten. Hana was just around one month old, and was the cutest little thing I had ever seen! Our neighbor explained to us how she was born at a nursing home, where her mom lives, and was about to be taken away to be put down because the nursing home didn’t want to take care of the new kitten. My neighbor, not being able to accept this, decided to take the kitten home. However, she could not take care of it, as she already had a cat and a dog. She asked us if we would want to take in the kitten. My parents decided on having a three-day trial with the kitten to see how things would go with her, which basically meant yes. After the first day, we fell completely in love with the kitten. My dad named her “Hana”, which means flower in Japanese. You can tell he really loves her, right? I never really had an interest in cats before meeting Hana, mainly because I really had no interactions with them before. Through Hana, I have learned how wonderful cats are, with all their weird quirks and mannerisms. Like a lot of cats, Hana can be moody, and you can really only be affectionate with her if she’s in the mood for it--but I think that’s what makes cats so interesting and fun! Despite me wanting dogs so badly before, I became a complete cat person since having Hana. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs very much, but I am a little biased when it comes to cats. Hana is now fourteen years old, and is still just as sassy as she was before! She loves to eat, sleep, and get neck scratches (but only when she’s in the mood for them)! So there you have it, my journey to becoming a dog and cat lover! How did you come to love dogs and cats? By Briseis Schreibman. Interview with Angela Lemus  Angela with her dog walking essentials Hey CUP family! We’ve all been doing a lot of difficult readjusting lately. Changing our daily routines can feel anything but comfortable. I know I’ve certainly found myself confronted with many challenges in the past few months. As Covid-19 updates continue to develop and there is talk of more stores and services opening up, it can be scary thinking about how to go about doing things that used to feel second nature. What will getting a haircut look like? How will we hang out with our friends and family? What will going back to work look like? It seems like questions are the main thing on everyone’s mind. While CUP certainly doesn't have answers for all of these, we are at the front lines for any questions you may have about pet sitting during a pandemic. Angela Lemus, one of our fantastic team members, took the time to answer some questions about working during the shelter in place. Angela has developed an excellent system for keeping herself and clients safe through every step of her workday. She begins her shift by gathering her disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and a mask. After making sure she has her three new essentials, she heads to the CTA bus. She says: “CTA has done a great job with taking much-needed measures to keep both drivers and riders safe. Riders must now enter the bus through the back rear door. Riders also have to sit as far from each other as possible. There is a limit on how many people can be on one bus at a time. If there are more than 10-15 riders, the bus driver does not allow more people to get on until someone else gets off." Angela says she personally feels safe taking the CTA because of their protocols. She reminds everyone though to wear gloves when they are getting on the bus just in case they need to touch anything. "Gloves are important as sometimes the rear back doors do not open and everyone is touching that." Once she arrives, she has a few different steps depending on the building and whether or not a client is home. If she has to ride an elevator, she is careful to only get in an empty car and to avoid sharing any close spaces with others. If a client is at home, they are encouraged to get the pet ready themselves while Angela waits outside. "Keys and leashes are sanitized by both parties before any type of hand off" If a client isn’t home, she will take off her shoes and leave her bag at the entrance. Then she will wipe off any doorknobs, keys, or other high touch areas with disinfectant. Throughout both dog walks and cat sits, she uses lots of hand sanitizer and avoids making contact with too many surfaces. Lots of hand washing before and after touching any animal is also an important step! Angela is an awesome example of how we can find adjustments to our routine to keep ourselves and others safe. There is no doubt that this pandemic is a stress-creator, but CUP is here to keep things cool, calm, collected, and sanitized.  credit: vcahospital.com |
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