MARCH

1. MARCH • We welcome our new Extended hours. We are now open 7am – 5pm every Saturday ---------------------------------------- March is Weight Management Awareness Month! Join in on our “Pet Weight Loss Challenge” Ask your nurse for details

2. Weight Loss Management

3. Understanding Pet Obesity • An estimated 54% of America's cat and dog population is overweight that’s 1 in every 4 animals • That’s 43 million dogs across the U.S that are overweight to obese. • That’s 50 million cats across the U.S that are overweight to obese.

4. So What Can You Do To Help Your Pet? • Feed them their dog/cat food only • Do Not free feed • Exercise your pet with a walk or run • Swimming • Playing with toys • Do not feed table scraps or any people food

5. Agility… • Agility is great exercise for pets!!! • It works them both physically and mentally • Above all they enjoy doing it to them it’s a fun game!

6. Laser Tag • It is great stimulation on body and mind • Keeps cats busy for hours • They don’t even realize they are getting a work out

8. Overweight Vs. Ideal

9. Why Is This So Important? • Being overweight can affect your dog/cat in many ways. • Cats get matted because they can not properly groom themselves and pull on the hair making them very uncomfortable • Dogs have breathing problems • Both dogs/cats get sores on the belly and chest (like bed sores) from the excessive laying and inactivity they do

10. Health Risks Your Pets Face • Osteoarthritis • Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes • High blood pressure • Heart and Respiratory disease • Ligament Tears • Kidney disease • Many forms of cancer • A decrease in life expectancy by as much as 2 years

11. Ready To Start Taking The Right Steps To Getting Your Pet At A Healthy Weight? • Ask your Veterinarian about your pets weight and concerns you might have • Find out what the best plan is for your pet • Start your pet on the road to success • Ask us about the pet weight project and how you and your furry friend can get signed up!

12. For More Helpful Tips Visit These Websites • Hillspet.com Weight Management Control and you can begin the million pound pledge • Purinaone.com • If you have any questions about anything on this slide or want more information please ask any of the staff members and they will be more then happy to help.

13. DOG OF THE WEEK Irish Setter

14. MEET THE BREED • One of the most distinctive Sporting breeds, the mahogany red Irish Setter is an active, aristocratic bird dog. Originally bred to be red and white, the solid red color appeared in Ireland the 19th century and became a mark of quality and superior sporting ability. Over two feet tall at the shoulder, the Irish is known for his style, powerful movement and clown-like personality.

16. HISTORY • The Irish Setter, recognizable from media such as Big Red, first came into popular notice in the 18th century. In less than a century following his arrival as a breed, the Irish was firmly established not only in his native Ireland but throughout the British Isles. Most authorities agree that the breed arose from mixtures of Irish Water Spaniel, Irish Terrier, English Setter, Spaniel, Pointer, and a dash of Gordon Setter. Originally, the Irish Setter was included in the family of Setters that included mostly red and white setters, although today in America the solid red is typical and the only acceptable variety to date in the show ring. The solid-red Setter first appeared in Ireland in the 19th century, and in 1812, the Earl of Enniskillen declared he would have nothing else in his kennel. Solid red became synonymous with dogs of "high mark," and the breed was revered for its remarkable sporting abilities. • As a gun dog, the Irish works equally well on a number of birds, and after importation to America in the 19th century, he soared in popularity there as he had in the British Isles. Despite a veritable monopoly on the field trial circuit by the Llewellin (English) Setter and Pointer, the Irish proved himself in America and demonstrated great ability. However, combined with the Irish's token good looks, the field handicap imposed by the aforementioned breeds has led to the breeding of two increasingly different types of Irish Setter, field and bench. Efforts are being made to reunite the Irish Setter's field ability and beauty, and dual champions are becoming more and more common. He is a popular breed across the globe, and he is probably the most recognizable of the Setters and even among the Sporting breeds.

18. CHARACTER TRAITS • A rollicking breed, the Irish Setter is high-energy and requires regular exercise. His outgoing and stable personality make him a favorite with families. Their long, glossy red coat, although beautiful, must be groomed regularly to prevent snarls or mats. • Sporting Group • Weight: Males 65 - 75 lbs / Females 55 - 65 lbs • Height:  Males 26 - 28 inches / Females 24 - 26 inches • Life Span: about 11 - 15 years • Popularity: Rank 72nd

20. DID YOU KNOW • The 1962 Disney movie “Big Red” gave the breed’s popularity a big boost, as did the White House presence of King Timahoe, President Richard Nixon’s Irish Setter. • They have a little ‘knot’ on their head. That’s what some Setter lovers say is their ‘knot of knowledge’. Or others call the ‘kissable knot’. Or sometimes maybe you’d be prone to call them just ‘knuckleheads’! • They are masters of counter surfing. You might find a freshly-baked cake that you left on the counter a minute ago disappearing in the blink of an eye! • They are big trophy-collectors. Be it socks, underwear, toys, balls, they have got to hoard them all. And the most exasperating part is that they have to flaunt their embarrassing hoard in front of guests!.

22. CAT OF THE MONTH Siamese

23. MEET THE BREED • The Siamese is highly intelligent, agile, athletic, and loves to play. Keep his busy brain active with puzzle toys and his body exercised with teaser toys he can chase and a big cat tree he can climb. Never leave him without any form of entertainment, or you will likely come home to find that he has reprogrammed your DVR to record only nature shows or at the very least decided your toilet paper rolls and tissue boxes look better empty. • Do not get a Siamese if living with a chatty busybody would drive you insane. On the other hand, if you enjoy having someone to talk to throughout the day, the Siamese can be your best friend. Just be sure you have time to spend with this demanding and social cat. Siamese do not like being left alone for long periods, and if you work during the day it can be smart to get two of them so they can keep each other company. • Siamese are extremely fond of their people. They like to be “helpful” and will follow you around and supervise your every move. When you are sitting down, a Siamese will be in your lap, and at night he will be in bed with you, probably under the covers with his head on the pillow.

25. HISTORY • The sophisticated Siamese looks dressed for an elegant masquerade ball in pale evening wear with chic black accessories and tanzanite-blue eyes. Cats with light-colored coats set off with black mask, ears, paws and tail have been known in Thailand (formerly Siam) for centuries. Ancient manuscripts depict the cats, but they were not seen in the West until the late nineteenth century, when they were exhibited at the Crystal Palace Cat Show in London. Not everyone appreciated their unusual appearance, but they quickly became fashionable pets. By the turn of the century, if not earlier, they were popular in the United States as well. President Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881) and his wife Lucy were the recipients of a Siamese cat shipped to them in 1878 by David B. Sickels, a U. S. diplomat stationed at the consulate in Thailand. A letter from Sickels detailing the gift is on file at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, Ohio. • At first, only the cats with seal points—a dark brownish-black—were shown, but blue, chocolate and lilac-point Siamese were soon developed and accepted in the show ring. Today Siamese come in many different point colors and patterns, including tabby points and smoke points. • The Siamese itself is a natural breed, meaning its original pointed pattern was the result of a genetic mutation. The breed has contributed to the creation of many other breeds, including the Balinese, Oriental, the Himalayan division of the Persian, the Tonkinese and the Havana Brown.

26. “Susie”

27. PERSONALITIES & TRAITS • The active and social Siamese is a perfect choice for families with children and cat-friendly dogs. He will play fetch as well as any retriever, learns tricks easily and loves the attention he receives from children who treat him politely and with respect. • Weight: Males 8 - 12 lbs / Females < 8 lbs • Height: 21 - 23 inches • Life Span: 11 – 15 years

29. INTERESTING FACTS • “We are Siamese if you Please…” - “Si” and “Am” Siamese cats from the Disney movie “ The lady and the Tramp”. • “Marcus”, was a Siamese briefly owned by James Dean. He was a gift from Elizabeth Taylor. Marcus was named after James Dean's uncle, Marcus Winslow, who along with his wife took care of Dean after his mother died. • Ling Ling, a Siamese in the American sitcom ”Bewitched”. Ling Ling had a minor role in the series but was mostly remembered for being featured in the episode Ling Ling.

31. DOG OF THE WEEK Irish Wolfhound

32. MEET THE BREED • An Irish Wolfhound must be "of great size and commanding appearance." He has a large, muscular greyhound-like shape, and he is the tallest of dogs, but not the heaviest. A superb athlete and an endurance runner, an old Irish proverb describes him perfectly: "Gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked." The breed's recognized colors are gray, brindle, red, black, pure white, fawn and others.

34. HISTORY •  It was certainly one of the most controversial breeds of the nineteenth century.  The history told then was that it once amongst the famous and sought after dogs in Europe, famed for its size and ability to hunt down wolves.  However, as the wolf population of Ireland declined, the last pair being killed in 1786, such hunting dogs went out of favor and had disappear altogether by the start of the nineteenth century. • In the 1860s, George Augustus Graham, a Scot and ex-Indian Army officer decided to revive the Irish wolfhound.  He had heard that there some dogs in Ireland with wolfhound blood and he set out to find them.  He bought three dogs he was assured were of the right descent and took them back to his estate in England.  They were a motley lot and proved hard to breed from; one was infertile and the others produced weak dogs.  However, there was a question about what type and size of dog Graham should aim to revive.  No one alive remembered the dogs, so Graham turned to books, poems, travelogues and paintings.  No consistent type was represented.  Some descriptions emphasized size ( 4-5 feet in height!); others described a greyhound-like form, but this competed with views that it had been a mastiff or deerhound. There were also varying views on its color, type of coat and character. • On this basis of his research Graham decided on a particular form, height, colour and coat, and a life size model was said to have been made;  although the only direct record we have is the ideal dog overdrawn on a photograph of Graham.  A dog of the appropriate form was eventually produced, allegedly with Graham introducing blood from Scottish deerhounds (for shape), Great Dane (for size), borzois (for its greyhound shape) and Tibetans (for a rough coat).

36. CHARACTER TRAITS • Although now primarily a family companion, the Irish Wolfhound will still instinctively give chase to fleeing prey. His large size commands more room, more exercise, and a bigger car. The breed's harsh, natural coat requires regular brushing. • Hound Group • Weight: 90 - 150 pounds • Height: 28 - 35 inches  • Life Span: 6 - 8 years • Popularity: Rank 74th

38. DID YOU KNOW The most famous, and saddest story, of an Irish Wolfhound was that of Gelert. This dog was given to Prince Llewellyn of Wales in 1210 by King John of England. One day, according to the legend,the Prince went out leaving theWolfhound in charge of his baby. When he returned it was to find the cradle overturned and the baby missing, the dog having blood on his paws. Impulsively assuming that the dog had killed and eaten the child, he drew his sword and killed the dog. Then he found, safe beneath the overturned cradle, the baby and a dead wolf. The dog had, in fact, killed the wolf to protect the baby. The Prince is said to have never smiled again and was forever haunted by the dying cries of his beloved hound. The dog was buried with great ceremony in the village which became known as Bedgelert, meaning Gelert's grave. The grave is still there today in the picturesque village in North Wales and has become a famous tourist spot. The event happened nine hundred years ago, and people still come from many miles just to see Gelert's grave.

40. An Irish Blessing May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face,and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.