If You Go Into Hospital - Who Will Look After Your Cavalier?

[islewriter]

As a Loving and Proud Owner of a Cavalier King Charles.

I was wondering what would happen if I was rushed into Hospital - the reason being is that I live alone and have no relatives and therefore anxious about my wee Cavalier.

Has anyone got any ideas - as to whom I can contact and have in place - if should a situation arise.

We all want to ensure that our Faithful companion is taken care of.

[Nicki]

This is always a difficult one - are there any board members in your area? [I can't remember where you are now?]

I have had this happen recently to a friend, fortunately her friends rallied round and looked after her dogs whilst she was in hospital for 2 weeks.


There is an organisation for Scotland http://www.pfss.org.uk/page17.html

but also worth trying

http://www.cinnamon.org.uk/home.html


I think it is worth arranging with a neighbour to take the dog in temporarily, also leave a note with them and in a prominent place in your home, saying whom to contact in this situation.

If your dog is on medication, write out what they are taking and when and put that on your fridge, also what food they are having, routines etc - you can direct people to this in your other notes, then you only have to keep the fridge up to date!

I also have a note in the car addressed to emergency services saying that I have dogs at home and whom to contact.


It's better to think of these things in advance and be prepared - sadly also recently a friend on TRPD passed away suddenly, leaving horses, dogs and poultry...fortunately arrangements were in place for their temporary care and permanent care is being sorted out.



We should all plan ahead - sadly these things DO happen.

The other thing I would recommend to EVERYONE is to enter a number in their mobile phone's memory under the heading ICE, standing for "in case of emergency".Paramedics or police would quickly be able to find the number and use it to contact a relative or friend who could identify the victim and give vital information such as details of any medical conditions.

[team bella]

Where in Scotland are you?

[Brian M]

Hi

This is a good question ,I asked a similar a bit ago about what would happen to my four girls if I disappeared as my wife Dawn is not a Cavaholic like me and could probably only manage one .And of course a person who I only know through here as a CT member has offered to take them and though we have never met she is only in Manchester and judging her by her rare posts and how highly she is thought of by many people me included I know my girls could not be in better hands.
So these type of questions are very constructive and help give you peace of mind.

[victoria]

As a Loving and Proud Owner of a Cavalier King Charles.

I was wondering what would happen if I was rushed into Hospital - the reason being is that I live alone and have no relatives and therefore anxious about my wee Cavalier.

Has anyone got any ideas - as to whom I can contact and have in place - if should a situation arise.

We all want to ensure that our Faithful companion is taken care of.

I would look into a bona Fide Dog sitter that do such things but I would ask for referances of course , I would also lookinot what your veteranarian has as far as boarding facilities and take a walk through to see how clean and how they take care of there pets boarding and asking questions such as how often do they go out for potty's and also do you give them some play time and som TLC time I know at my vet we do that all the time, and the pets that come in jsut love us there

[ByFloSin]

Sorry, this has to be very short as I am getting organised to go into hospital myself on Thursday!

I have been thinking about this problem for several months now, and once I have got my procedure and a couple of other urgent things over and done with by the middle of next week I will be starting off a scheme to cover just that eventuality, plus, hopefully a register of people who would board a Cavalier if, for instance, somebody wants to go away for social reasons.

This will be carried through and open to members of four different Cavalier lists and will consist of a register of sitters that I will keep for each area, which will mean that anyone needing the facility can contact me for details of anyone in their area willing to help out.

More round about next Wednesday, once I have managed to catch up with myself running fast in the other direction, big grin.

[Nicki]

Firstly Flo wishing you well for your stay in hospital - hope it's nothing too serious


Also what a fantastic idea to compile a register I did look into setting up a business to do a similar thing some years back but could not go ahead due to health issues.

There is the question of insurance - if you are asking people to do this on a formal basis and receiving payment for looking after the dog, then they would need to be insured as their household insurance would not cover anything that happened [nor would the dog's own insurance]. If people are only doing it on an informal basis - ie no payment received, then that would not apply [to my understanding].

Many of us enjoy looking after other Cavaliers - especially if you are unable to manage one or two full time for whatever reason, and Cavaliers usually enjoy the company of other dogs, particularly other Cavaliers, so I think this could work really well.

[Jane P]

Flo, what an excellent idea. I'm sure there will be plenty of cavalier owners happy to join such a list.

I hope all goes well with your hospital stay. I'll be thinking of you.

[ByFloSin]

Should have said, so far as I am concerned this will be a strictly not for profit facility. As you say, the pitfalls involved when money is exchanged are just too complicated to consider. That doesn't mean that expenses can't be sorted out between friends though, especially if food or vet's fees are involved.

[islewriter]

A big THANK YOU to all concerned. I was delighted of all your comments and practical suggestions (including various websites).We now live in Sutherland (Highlands) and a great location for my wee Cavalier to enjoy her techniques as a CSI examiner (as that appears to be her vocation in life).The beach along with the country walks are ideal for both of us as and she enjoys her spacious garden too.I do wish you every good wishes for your stay in hospital and you will be on the road to recovery very soon.We all wish to ensure our beautiful Cavaliers are well looked after, should an emergency arise.