During our trip to Northern Indiana over the New Year holiday we were confronted with a new hazard for pets, and an unlikely one at that. My brother-in-law (another person in the throws of middle age but not to my level. Yet) bought a Nintendo Wii for him and his wife to play. They didn’t have children so the desire to be childlike still resides within their daily lives. For those of us that raised hyperactive children and terrorist puppies, not so much. There were no children within a mile but a very good time was had by all the out of shape adults that can’t believe a video game got the best of them. I don’t know what it is about adults having fun that makes the dogs and cats want to be in the middle of the action, but there we were with our bubs, Girlie Sue, the profoundly deaf 12+ year old white german shepherd, Budward, the nerve damaged 12+ year old husky mix that has great difficulty walking, Action Jackson, the newest addition and our very own terrorist puppy and last but not least, Honey, the blind hound dog. Add that into the adult part of the family and you have a fiasco waiting to happen. And it did. Girlie Sue walks into the family room, takes 2 gulps of air (you know the kind I mean) and throws up on the floor, right in the path of play. There it was in all its glory, undigested dog food, glistening on the carpet, and everyone looking at me. I don’t know who died and made me solid waste control but I guess I got the job by attrition. Everyone else dove out of the room. leaving me alone in the room with four dogs that were all looking as if some tasty morsel was in their midst that should be devoured. I finally got the carpet cleaned up so the games could begin again. Every time someone went to bowl, there were the dogs, trying to take part. If we didn’t pay attention to them (that’s a nice way of telling you about the screaming “out of the way” that was piercing my ears every other second) they would lay down in the middle of the room and look at us like “what on earth are you people doing???” Now this is the important part of this story that I hope everyone out there that owns a Wii will pay attention to, because your pet’s life could depend on it. While running through the field of play Action Jackson got smacked in the head with the controller that’s held in your hand and tells the computer where you are throwing the imaginary bowling ball. It didn’t seem as if he was injured, however after that he wanted to attack the controller every time it was another bowler’s turn. We finally got him cured of that and the games continued until the Wii hours of the night (get it, Wii, wee, ha ha). I didn’t think too much about it until I saw a news video online about a family that was bowling and their puppy jumped up, just like Action Jackson, but their puppy almost died from his head injuries. He had brain swelling and went into cardiac arrest, and if it hadn’t been for a kind neighbor that knew CPR for dogs he would have died. After huge vet bills and the scare of their life they felt they needed to get the word out, that Wii is dangerous to animals and small children. Since I’ve experienced it first hand I’m sure countless others have also, so tell everyone you know to be careful while having fun and put the dogs outside or in another room until the games are over. That simple act could save your pet’s life and save you untold grief in the process.
During this very cold weather please remember to make accommodations for your animals. While we all worry about our electric and gas bills, think of what it costs the shelter to keep the dogs warm in 0 degree temperatures, and if you have a little bit left over at the end of the month, even if it’s one dollar, think about donating to the shelter. The little guys that have no one need you now, more than ever. And never forget, it is only through you that the Randolph County Humane Society continues to save lives, one by one.
