Petside Items: Depression and pets

Have you ever experienced depression? Believe me, our pets do. For most of the USA, this past week was full of fun, fireworks, friends and family and despite not a born American, I enjoyed my fill of BBQs.

At the same time, I had houseguests from Europe, and while they enjoyed the Independence Day celebrations, undoubtedly the highlight of their trip was quality time with our Sheltie, Maxi.

Maxi's favorite toy is a rat. When he drops it at your feet with bright eyes and an upturned tail, he is saying 'forget about your trials and tribulations...let's PLAY!" Irresistible, so my houseguests played for hours and hours a 'chase and hide' the rat game. They even suggested taking Maxi on a picnic and extended his dutiful walks by hours on end. For our usually busy lives, this was the best week of Maxi's life.

But all good things come to and end, and we humans know that eventually the holiday is over. It's off to the airport for our guests, back to work and business as usual. Poor Maxi...he has laid in the corner of the guestroom hoping that they will reappear and play the rat game one day.

Depression for our pets is a real problem because we speak different languages. If you notice that your pet appears to be in the doldrums, take the time to throw and extra ball or walk around the block a second time. I'm sure Maxi will move on, but...he will never forget the great time he had this July 4th!

Hope you did your share to protect your pets from the fireworks? More than a hundred Albuquerque pets are waiting to be returned to their owners after running away during Fourth of July fireworks.

A shelter spokesman says the city has taken in nearly 130 animals so far this weekend. About 40 of those animals showed up Sunday.

If you have any Fourth of July stories or other local pet news, send them to us at stories@petside.com