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- You've stocked up on batteries and canned food, laid
in an extra cord of firewood, filled the bathtub with water and made paper
copies of your bank records. You think you're ready for Jan. 1. But are
you Y2K-9?
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- Is your dog defragged? Your cat compliant? Your fish
formatted? In short, are your pets ready for the millennium bug?
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- They may not be. If humans fall victim to computer-spawned
emergencies at the end of the year, their pets will face many of the same
trials.
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- "If you're upset, they're upset in any kind of an
emergency situation," says Patricia Farley, author of "Dog About
Town" (Capital Books paperback, $16.95). "If you start to lose
control, they're going to lose it, too."
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- Indeed, Y2K emergencies such as power failures, heat
or water loss and supply disruptions could spell trouble for your pets,
dangers that experts feel are nothing to sniff at.
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- "We've done some extensive studies and there are
some real concerns, everything from having people traveling with their
pets to such issues as will the electronic alarm systems allow distributors
to open the doors Jan. 1," says Blake Hawley, a veterinarian and senior
marketing executive with Hills Pet Nutrition in Topeka, Kan.
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- He says Hills, which makes Science Diet and a line of
Prescription Diet foods for dogs and cats, began to study such Y2K problems
for pets 18 months ago.
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- Other research shows just how important pets are to their
owners and to what lengths humans will go for their faunal friends. In
a 1998 survey of more than 1,200 U.S. and Canadian pet owners conducted
by the American Animal Hospital Association, 83 percent of owners said
they are "somewhat to very likely" willing to risk their own
lives for their pets in an emergency.
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- But what most owners will likely be called upon to do
for Y2K is simply give the matter some forethought.
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- "You need to be prepared and plan ahead to make
sure you have all the things your pet needs to keep safe and comfortable
in case of a disaster," says Jill De Grave of the Wisconsin Humane
Society.
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- So what might power-down your poodle Jan. 1? A number
of possible emergencies, ranging from loss of computer records to food
shortages.
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- Sandra Sawchuk, staff veterinarian at the University
of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, advises that pet owners take
the same care in maintaining their pet records as they would their bank
statements.
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- "I would definitely make sure as an owner that you
have personal copies of vaccination records. That may be information that
may be lost (in a computer crash). If you are dependent on your vet for
keeping the vaccinations up to date, you could be liable if your pet would
bite and the rabies vaccine is not current."
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- Fido might wind up as lost as his records if some computers
go down. More than 314,000 dogs nationwide have microchips inserted under
their skin for identification purposes. Though most chips themselves are
not date sensitive, the computers that house their records are.
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- "You could scan the chip but that information may
be gone from the computers," Sawchuk says. "You should have external
ID on the dog. Especially if the pet is a wanderer, you may want to consider
calling the chip company and find out about whether they're Y2K ready."
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- If food supplies run low at the grocery store, your pet
won't be able to make restaurant reservations, so owners are advised to
take special note of kitty's dinner needs. De Grave recommends stocking
up on canned pet foods toward the end of the year, and, of course, having
a manual can opener. All those cans won't help the cat if power failures
shut down electric can openers.
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- And if your dog or cat is a consumer in the $1.7 billion-a-year
specialty pet-food market, other steps should be taken.
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- "One thing we're recommending is that if you have
a dog or cat on a special food for, say, renal disease, purchase an amount
that will get you through January to ensure that if the transportation
system breaks down you have food," Hawley says.
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- Pets, especially those on prescriptions that are filled
at human pharmacies, may share their owners' problems with getting needed
medications after Dec. 31. Experts urge owners to lay in a good supply
of their pets' meds before the end of the year.
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- Owners may be lulled into thinking their animals can
endure some Y2K woes better than humans - loss of heat, for example. As
author Farley says: "They have more fur than we do."
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- But Farley also points out that city dogs often develop
less heavy coats in urban living than in the country and might appreciate
the use of a sweater if the heat goes off. "Or snuggle in bed with
them," she says.
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- That might not be an option with other pets, however.
Reptiles, for instance, are notoriously bad pillow partners. In their case,
a generator to run their heat rocks is the best alternative, says Joe Olenik,
general manager of Hoffer's Tropic Life Pets in Milwaukee. Or put the reptile
in the warmest part of the house, perhaps getting heat from a south window.
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- Or - and this is a very big OR from Gary Casper, collections
manager at the Milwaukee Public Museum - you can heat up a hot water bottle
and put the hot water bottle inside your shirt. Along with your pet boa.
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- The boa will love you forever.
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- Fish won't keep as well inside shirts, however. Indeed,
many types of fish will die after only a few hours if the air pumps in
their aquariums go dead in an electrical failure.
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- Chuck Presser, owner of Chuck's Tanks-A-Lot Pet Center
in West Allis recommends buying a generator as a finny lifeline. He's bought
one himself. Aquatics Unlimited of Greenfield has other fish emergency
tips in the articles section of its Web site at www.bestfish.com.
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- Birds will need special care, too. "Birds are a
lot less cold tolerant," Sawchuk says. "Make sure you have a
backup heat source. But birds are very sensitive to different fuels so
make sure the heat source has nothing with Teflon on it or anything that's
producing fumes."
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- But what if the worst happens: You have to leave your
home. What to do with Fuzzy?
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- Don't expect him and his squeaky toys to be welcomed
in a human shelter. In fact, a spokesman for the American Red Cross in
Waukesha points out that animals are simply not allowed in Red Cross emergency
shelters.
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- Other caregivers, however, will open their doors.
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- Lucy Jansen, operations director of the Wisconsin Humane
Society, says the society is working with the Red Cross "to provide
temporary housing for animals in any kind of disaster whether it be something
that a region is evacuated, or a fire or eviction." She noted that
the Wisconsin Humane Society has bought a generator to provide emergency
light and heat in the Milwaukee shelter.
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- But planning provides the most protection for your pet.
Have a place to go readied so your pet can flee emergencies with you. Never
leave your pets behind if an evacuation is forced, the Humane Society of
the United States says.
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- "Any time a real disaster is threatening, get your
dog under control the minute you hear. You'll panic by the time you may
have to evacuate," Farley says. "Put his leash on him or put
him in his crate."
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