Set your TiVo: Dr. Becker on ‘Good Morning America’ Tuesday
By Gina Spadafori
July 23, 2007
What kind of pets have the most trouble in the heat? How can you travel safely with your furry family? Should pets be tranquilized to fly? What products will help keep pets cool — and look cool, too? It’s all on “Good Morning America” Tuesday, with our Dr. Marty Becker spelling it all out in his popular regular segment.
You’ll also find out the No. 1 reason why cats go to the veterinarian — and how you can help your cat avoid that trip.
He’s usually the last segment of the show, because he’s so popular they tease him all show long to keep viewers. I’ll my TiVo set … will you?
Funny aside: I got an e-mail from him this morning (probably from the airport in Spokane). He noted that his appearance on the show is mentioned in the TV highlights of this morning’s USA Today. “Guess they don’t have any ‘real’ celebrities to note,” he writes.
Hey … not at all true, Dr. B!
If you’ve got a sewing machine and the ability to sew in a straight line, you can pretty easily make your dog a cooling mat using water-absorbing crystals that you get from a garden supply center.
Cut a generously-sized piece of fabric (it will lose about 2/3 of its width in use - once you make one of these, this will make more sense). Fold it over double and sew up the two sides so that you have a sort of “pillowcase” (but much wider).
Turn it so that the seams are on the INSIDE, and sew a bunch of straight line seams parallel to one another and an inch or inch and a half apart so that they are all open on one end.
Put about a teaspoon of crystals for every 24” of length (I haven’t made one of these for a while, but I think I’m remembering that right) and then fold over the open end a couple of times and sew it closed.
Give it a bit of a shake to evenly distribute the crystals, and then put it to soak in a tub of cool water overnight. It will be fairly heavy and drippy when you first pull it out, but after the “drippiness” is gone, it will make a great place for your dog to lay on a cool day. (If you use it indoors, you’ll have to come up with some way to manage the dampness underneath).
You can also make “cooling bandanas” this way.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — July 23, 2007 @ 8:38 am
msnbc is breaking news right now- nfl has ordered Vick not to show up at training camp on thursday.
Comment by mary ann — July 23, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
Comment by mary ann — July 23, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
just heard that on CNN! it’s a start!
Comment by straybaby — July 23, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
Heck, that was to be expected. Vick is a security nightmare. No public places for him for along time unless absolutely necessary like a court date.
Look what happened to this not famous guy after he was indicted on dog fighting.
http://www.whiotv.com/news/104.....p;psp=news
Humming Bob Dylans’ song ‘like a rolling stone’
Comment by Serijna — July 23, 2007 @ 9:07 pm
“Should pets be tranquilized to fly?”
Let me guess…no? I get asked that all the time, from fellow expats. It’d be great to have a link to refer them to.
Comment by KathyF — July 24, 2007 @ 12:41 am
He was great! Good ideas & good products. The doggie & squirming kitty were cute.
Comment by Kat — July 24, 2007 @ 6:57 am