March Pet Holidays to Celebrate

February was an amazing month for weather. Feel that spring has come early but here come March. The old saying: “In like a lamb out like a lion,” should be considered. With the new month comes a whole new set of days to celebrate critters in the animal kingdom. Let’s see how many days you can celebrate in March 2024 with the wide variety of pet holidays.

Interesting list of celebrations for the month of March. In honor of National Pig Day on March 1^st, I have posted a photo of our clients with their miniature pigs Flower and Daisy. I have fond memories of my days raising hogs on our family farm in the 70’s. My brother and I showed hogs in FFA and had great success with our Hampshire/Duroc cross. We had a farrow to finish operation for most of my childhood years. I was the county and district Pork Queen and traveled promoting pork around the state of Iowa and even got a trip to Southern California to promote pork. Monday night is the Pork Producers Banquet celebrating the benefits of our porcine friends. Whether as companions or livestock we are better off with pigs in our lives.  See you at the banquet!

March 3^rd Is If Pets Had Thumbs Day. WHAT? Where did this celebration come from. Seems thought has gone into if pets had thumbs would they even need us? They could get their own food, open their own doors, fill their own water bowls, and do many other tasks. I thought it might be a day to celebrate polydactyles like Cheetoe. I would call these THUMBS!

Never knew March 3rd is a TriPAWED Awareness Day for pets that are amputees. Dr Jim does this surgery 3-4 times a year for various reasons. Trauma cases are the most common reason a pet’s limb is removed. We also have situations where the nerves have been damaged by a trauma event and getting the sensation back is unlikely, so the decision is made to amputate. Bone cancer is another reason a limb is removed to reduce likelihood of the cancer spreading to other limbs. It is amazing how well tripawed dogs and cats do with day-to-day activities. I adopted a cat that had been run over and her paw had lost innervation to the front leg. Dr Jim amputated it and she still loved to run and hunt like the rest of them. She never wanted sympathy or special treatment. She just wanted to be treated like everyone else. The picture of Rose with her special friend shows how fun life can be as a tripawed! Rose has been a tripawed most of her life and brings such joy to all around her. She never misses an opportunity to explore her world when given the chance. Let’s flood Facebook with photos of our tripaws on March 3^rd. Today it is possible to have a prosthetic limb made for animals that lose a limb. How far we have come in helping our animals live life to its fullest.

March 15^th is National Catio Day. I had to look this one up. It is thinking outside of the box to give your cat more stimulation about the outside world without ever exposing them to it. For instance, a glass box window that juts out from your house. When looking at it from the outside it appears your cat is suspended in the air. Enclosures that allow your cat to go out on the patio but never touch the ground. A sunroom that is set up for your cats to feel like they are in the outdoors. Look it up. You would be amazed at people’s creativity. Cats love to be able to climb up and look over their kingdom.

Saint Gertrude of Nivelles is considered the patron saint of cats. The history behind this is interesting. She lived during a time in Belgium (600 AD) when rats were a common pest. She brought cats into the monastery to control the rat population. In the 1980’s someone decided to make her a patron saint of cats. The day is March 17^th. If you are not Irish and have no interest in drinking green beverages maybe you can celebrate St. Gertrude of Nivelles Day with your favorite felines!  Follow this link for a beautiful prayer for your cat(s) from an article by CatGenie. 

Saint Gertrude of Nivelles: Patron Saint Of Cats

March 23^rd is National Puppy Day. If you ask me, every day is puppy day if you are lucky enough to have one. Wonderful to honor them with a celebration but from my point of view they bless us every day just by being in our lives. Whether your dog is young or old, big or little, bald or hairy, they all play a major role in bringing us joy, comfort, companionship, unconditional love, reasons to get outside and enjoy our unseasonably warm weather. That leads me to the next day to celebrate which is March 30^th – Walk in the Park Day. Our pets can keep us active by encouraging us to get outside and take a walk.  Let the sun fill you with warmth and your furry friend remind you of all the blessings in your life.  Happy Spring everyone!