Keep your Animals safe this Halloween and Guy Fawkes Day!

Baark! wanted to share some safety tips for the upcoming Halloween/Guy Fawkes festivities to help keep your animals safe. This was created by the  amazing people at  the Bahamas Humane Society 

Jack-o'-lanterns, trick-or-treaters, haunted houses, costume parties and fireworks. Halloween is full of fun things for you and your family to enjoy, but it's one of those holidays that is enjoyed more by people than by pets. Keep the following precautions in mind when preparing for the frightfully fun festivities and help ensure that everyone in your family—including your pet—has a safe Halloween and Guy Fawkes.

·  Keep your pet in a quiet place, away from trick-or-treaters and other Halloween activities. You may know that the miniature monsters and goblins that come knocking on Halloween aren't real, but pets don't. Dogs and cats are creatures of habit and could become frightened or agitated by the unaccustomed sights and sounds of costumed visitors. In addition, frequently opened doors provide a perfect opportunity for escape, which can go unnoticed during all the commotion. Be sure all pets are wearing collars and ID tags in case of an accidental getaway.

·  Place live flame Guy Fawkes and decorations like candles and jack-o'-lanterns out of your pet's reach. Curious critters risk being singed or burned by the flame—they could also easily knock over a candle or pumpkin and cause a fire.

·  Don't let the family dog accompany the kids on their trick-or-treat outing. Children may have a difficult time handling a pet during the festivities and your pooch could get loose, especially if your dog is spooked by the strange sights and sounds of trick-or-treaters. 

·  Keep decorations that pets could chew on—like streamers and fake spider webs—and wires and cords from electric decorations out of reach. If pets chomp on Halloween decorations, they could choke or may become ill and, if they chew on electrical cords, they risk a potentially deadly electrical shock. Pets could also become tangled and injured by dangling cords or decorations.

·  Tranquilizers.  If you know that your pet is very frightened of loud noises, please contact your veterinarian to purchase a sedative to keep the pet calm. This will prevent injuries to the pet and damages to furniture.

·  Report any animal abuse by fireworks, to the nearest Police station or The Bahamas Humane Society

Potcakes take over cable beach!

“Strutt your mutt walkathon” took place today at Goodmans Bay. It was an event put on by Baark! to raise funds and awareness for the plight of our Bahamian Potcakes. First of all, my heartfelt congratulations to those who planned such a well-organized event. It was obvious you put much work into the preparation and executing of this event and it was truly amazing. From what I hear, Baark! raised about $7000 in total! Congratulations to everyone who worked on it and thank you for everything.

Usually in a social gatherings we shake hands and exchange names with a cordial handshake. In this gathering however the social parameters were slightly different, the greetings were initiated by the dogs taking the lead and exchanging friendly sniffs. Only after the dogs were done their meet and greet did the humans shake hands and exchange names. Even then the owners often failed to mention their own names and instead went by the title ascribed to them as a dog owner or walker. I was not Allie today; I was “Snicker’s mom” and darn proud of that title! Today people without names and Potcakes with proud waggy tails formed a head-turning group and took over Cable Beach.

Most of the dogs in attendance were rescues. Some off the street, some out of the pound by Baark! and still others by the kindness of adoption through BHS. There were many tails (and tales) of where each dog came from and how they ended up with their furever family. Some of the Potcakes in attendance today were still awaiting adoption. They had been entered into the event through the kindness of strangers who wanted to help show off the dog’s beautiful personalities to prospective families. I cannot help but think that it was those dogs that enjoyed the event the most; they saw what their future could hold. They got to see dogs, Potcakes like them, previously homeless and sick or destined for death at the pound in a loving family of their own. I would love to think these dogs went back to the BHS or their foster homes with sweet dreams of a future yet to come. (perhaps that future is with you, think about it..these dogs are amazing)

My favorite moment was captured in the picture in this blog. It was just after the walk and we were awaiting the group photo. A few of the dogs sought shelter from the sun by the tent covering the multitude of water bowls. In this group were many differences, puppies and old dogs, adopted and yet to be adopted, dogs of white, brown and black but there was one big common factor, contentment. Their faces say it all, they were contented by a good long walk with people who care, rest in the shade with water at their demand and hope.  Hope in the fact that life can be different even for a Potcake, that is what was found today. Long tongues, panting bellies and stretched out bodies cooling on the grass is evidence that a good day was had by all the Potcakes who took over cable beach for an hour this morning.

Thank you to all who participated, who supported someone doing the walkathon or who is just reading this and wants to join Baark! to help end the suffering of the Bahamian Potcake. All of you make a difference and give hope to our amazing Potcakes!