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Introduction

Keeping a dog might be considered relatively simple. After all what are a dog’s basic needs? A good home; regular meals; a good amount of exercise; plenty of affection and fun. What happens if you need to go away? What are the best boarding kennels? They will require up-to-date information about vaccinations? Suppose something happens to you? What becomes of you best friend then? Will people have to go trawling through your house to find all the relevant information? It seems that a dog’s life can be as complicated as that of its owner.

Types of information

At first it might appear that all you will need for your dog in the case of an emergency is the number of a good vet. Oh, and the number of the insurance company; not mention the policy number! (I said don’t mention the policy number! Where was it? I’m sure I wrote it on a Post-It Note somewhere!). But the information you need really does depend on the emergency you’re facing: what if Fido is succumbing to some kind of deadly doggy disease? Do you know what common symptoms look like? Suppose someone’s given him some poison like alcohol or chocolate? Suppose you’re having the emergency and some else has to deal with what becomes of you’re best friend? There will be enough stress without the rummage through the paper work to find out what you intended for Fido

Who is going to need the information?

Generally the person most often dealing with this stuff will be you, and so long you’ve got it all under control that’s the most important thing. However if you’re incapacitated, Fido will not be able to tell you’re nearest and dearest how the system works! Make sure friends and family know how the system works!

Computer programs

The most sensible thing would be to make sure all the necessary information is in one easily accessible place. Perhaps Fido could have his own filing cabinet, or a card index system with everything cross referenced. This might be a little labour intensive, and in this age of save the tree and use less paper, it could be construed as no very eco-friendly. Database it is then: easy to store and certainly easy to back-up: why even friends and family could keep a copy for you! And just before you baulk at the thought of spending hours creating this relational database monstrosity, fear not! There is software packages on the market specifically designed to do the work for you. All you have to do is fill in the data! Now where did I put that policy number?

Conclusion

It may seem like a lot of work for no gain, but believe me, you will need the information to hand when calamity strikes, and you will need it fast! It is better to develop a system now and add the necessary information as you go, rather than risk something awful happening, just because you mislaid an important piece of information.

Tags: Dogs

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