Humane Society HOME ALONE? ARE YOUR PETS READY FOR YOU TO GO BACK TO WORK? By Tricia Montgomery
TIPS FOR THE TRANSITION ave your pets gotten used to having you home all the time? A sudden change, from everybody home all day to everyone gone all day, can lead to some serious behavior problems or even depression. This could lead to anything from accidents in the house, excessive chewing, or not eating. Prepare your pets for change. Here are a few tips
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1. LEAVE You and your family may have been staying at home a lot more often than normal lately. Start transitioning yourself and your pets now, so that when Columbus continues to prepare for a full opening up, both you and your animals will be ready. Try this to begin easing your animal into being
even if you never have before. Your pets are used to hearing you all day, so don’t leave them in silence. This also helps with muffling the sound of thunder or even a rumbling garbage truck which could spook them. Are they still nervous? There are many aids to help with anxiety, including calming supplements and Thundershirts. Both can generally do the trick and are available both online or at your local pet store. If things still seem a bit off and are just not working, seek your veterinarian’s advice for a behavior consultation. 3. WATCH FOR STRANGE & UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR Yes, dogs and cats can have separation anxiety. How will you know? Here is what to look for: • Using the bathroom in the house • Excessively barking when you leave the house • Chewing up anything and everything • Peeing in the middle of your bed • Clinging to you and following you everywhere when you are home, and starting to panic when they think you are leaving
These are key clues that your pets have an anxiety disorder. Don’t punish them, as they truly can’t help it, and unless you catch them in the act, dogs will forget what they did anyway, so they won’t understand what they did wrong. Again, there are solutions available, although it may take a little bit to find the perfect one for your pet(s). 4. LOVE THEM
alone. Leave safe treats on the ground, and while your dogs are eating them, walk out the door. Don’t say goodbye (like most of us do) just leave. Come back a couple of minutes later. Next time leave for 10 minutes, go for a little walk or bike ride. Do this a couple of times a day, extending the time you are gone each time. They need to be prepared to get back to normal. If your dogs have been in daycare but haven’t been since you’ve been home, get them back. This is “their normal.” If they have not tried doggie daycare, no better time than the present. It can make life happier for them, and you. 2. MAKE SURE THEY ARE COMFORTABLE & FEEL SAFE Make sure your dog is left in a safe space inside that they are accustomed to.Leave on a radio or TV. LocaL
When you are home, put away the cell phone and pay attention to your pets. Take them for a walk in the early morning or late in the day. Play ball or tug with them. Let them know you love them and when you get home, let that time be their time. From all of us at Paws Humane Society, to all of you, we want you and your pets to be the happiest and healthiest you and they can be.u
Humane Society 4900 Milgen Road Columbus pawshumane.org office@pawshumane.org (706) 565-0035 Vet Clinic (706) 987-8380 4
It’s About Healthier Meals for a Healthier Community
are Roots Café’s distinctive blend of healthy, locallyB sourced produce and carefully curated menu items returns to the historic Bibb City area as The Food Mill
(3781 2nd Ave). Beautifully reimagined, the café is now also part of UGrow, Inc., a non-profit that works to fight food insecurity. Director Olivia Amos shares the restaurant’s mission to “connect Columbus residents to locally sourced food by building a collaborative culture where food is medicine.” Along with partner organizations MercyMed, Truth Spring Academy, Feeding the Valley, Highland Community Church and Take the City, The Food Mill distributes hundreds of no-cost meals each week to families facing food insecurity throughout the community, with a highly affordable urban farmer’s Sharing Food From MercyMed market planned to open next to the café later this summer. “We knew we had to make the decision to transition the restaurant into the non-profit,” Oliva says, “It just kind of happened organically.” Olivia found that her passion for what she describes as “culinary medicine” had grown beyond the limits of the original café. With big goals in mind, she partnered with Sharayah Davis, who had recently founded Columbus’ first modern urban farm, Elijah’s Farm, and the non-profit organization UGrow, Inc. “She was working at Bare Roots, and I was purchasing produce from Elijah’s Farm for the restaurant,” Olivia recalls, “As we started talking about all the different initiatives, it just made sense for us to combine our efforts together.” With their shared interest in fighting hunger, they nestled The Food Mill inside UGrow, Inc. in August of last year, teaming up with other local businesses and nonprofit organizations as the community grappled with the APR I L-MAY 2021
