We have to schedule our greyhound girls for a teeth cleaning soon. Stormy could use one too, but since I am not inclined to take a second mortgage out on our house just yet, the youngster in the pack can wait a while.

It’s expensive and little nerve-wracking to get our dogs their dental cleanings, since it always makes me nervous when they have to go under anesthesia. But periodontal disease can cause some major health problems in dogs, so it’s well worth it to take care of those chompers.

Dentastix — instead of doggy dentures

Besides giving the pooches a daily Dentastix or Greenies (the vet said they are helpful) the best thing we can do is brush our dogs teeth.

I can already tell you, as the CEO of our household, that would be a husband job. (Sorry honey!)

I got this news release the other day from Zututh, which makes toothbrushes for dogs, both manual and electric. I cannot for the life of me imagine brushing our dogs teeth with an electric toothbrush, but maybe some dogs would dig it.

Of course, you will also need doggy toothpaste (our vet said under no circumstances should we use human toothpaste on our pups) and while snooping around the internet I found this video on how to make your own doggy toothpaste at a fraction of the cost of what you would buy online or in pet stores. I can’t swear to how effective it is, but it’s all natural and since it’s mostly baking soda, it makes sense that it should work.

(Also, the dog in the video is super patient and really adorable. So it’s worth a viewing just for that.)

What do you all do for your dog’s oral care?

Only you can prevent your puppy or kitten from starring in their own animal version of “Teen Mom.”

While many people wait until their puppy or kitten is six months or older to get him/her spayed or neutered, that can be a big mistake. That adorable ball of fur your are cuddling can reach sexual maturity as young as four months old.

That means your kitten could have her own litter of kittens or your puppy could be a pup-daddy, adding to the pet over-population problem.

But for 60 lucky pets ages 6-months-old or younger, there are funds provided by PetSmart Charities available at Mountain View Humane Spay Neuter Clinics in Roanoke and Christiansburg that will fix that problem for only $20 in the month of June.

Is it healthy for a pet to be sterilized at such a tender age, you ask? Great question, and the American Veterinary Medical Association answers with an emphatic “yes.”  It’s medically safe to spay/neuter pets as young as eight weeks old — that’s when our dog Stormy was snipped and he’s the healthiest dog we’ve ever had.

All you have to do to qualify for this deep-discount surgery is mention the “Did You Know” promotion when you call to schedule your pet’s appointment.

Call (855)-HIP-SNIP (that’s 855-447-7647 if you are using a cell phone) to book your appointment.

A couple of Saturdays ago, my husband and I had an evening plan that included dinner and a movie. Those plans changed about 4 p.m. with the oddest dog injury I have ever seen.

Nothing says romantic weekend “date night” like driving your dog all over Southwest Virginia to get her toenail removed from her adjacent toe.

Yeah. Somehow, Melissa Moo jammed her fourth toe nail into the flesh of her third toe. She was limping for about an hour before we figured out what was going on and NO WAY was she letting me touch it to try to undo the weird damage.

So off the Emergency Veterinary Services of Roanoke on Frontage Road.

When we arrived, the vet tech informed us that the vet on duty that night was performing surgery that was likely to last three hours. We were welcome to wait, or we could go home and come back, or we could take a chance on being seen sooner at Town & Country Veterinary Clinic in Christiansburg.

We appreciated that we were informed of our choices and while she didn’t seem to be in much pain, we didn’t like the idea of her having to wait three hours to get it treated. So we make the drive to C’burg.

While we still had a bit of a wait there, she was treated much sooner than if we had waited in Roanoke. And I have to say that the quality of care was excellent. (The vet had never seen anything like this injury either. Way to go, my freaky dog.)

It only took the vet a few minutes to dislodge the nail from the flesh (she used topical anesthetic), get Melissa bandaged up and we were on our way with antibiotics and pain meds, all for a pretty reasonable price considering it was prime date night time on a Saturday.

Melissa Moo recovered quickly and is galloping around the back yard again at full speed. And we are happy to know that if the Roanoke clinic is tied up, we have another option for great after-hours vet care.

The seventh annual Woofstock Dog Festival is coming up, so circle your calendar for Saturday, June 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the dog party of the early summer.

This year the festival, which traditionally takes place throughout Elmwood Park, will be located in the upper part of the park near the public library at the corner of Elm and Jefferson.

Nice location, according to this photo I shamelessly lifted from the event’s Facebook page.

The festival offers a variety of entertainment for families, including music, games, contests and food, as well as local vendors selling doggy-related goodies.

Among the many attendees will be representatives of local services for pets, including rescue groups. If you want to bring a donation to help out homeless pets, here’s a list.

It’s a great opportunity to get your well-behaved pooch out for some fresh air and friendly socialization.

Tickets are $5 (cash only) at the gate.

Low-income families now have another place to get quality veterinary care for pets.

Angels of Assisi, the no-kill shelter in downtown Roanoke, has been offering low-cost spay and neuter services for more than 10 years. Now the clinic is expanding its range of services to include more affordable medical treatments for sick critters.

In addition to wellness and dental cleaning, the vet staff will offer immediate and ongoing treatment of ear, eye and skin conditions as well as care for urinary and respiratory infections. Preventative treatments, such as heartworm tests and treatments will also be offered, as well as minor surgical procedures, diagnostics and prescriptions.

Appointments can be made by calling 344-8707 or emailing angels@angelsofassisi.org.

Next week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. The U.S. Postal Service, the butt of many dog bite jokes, takes this seriously, as well they should.

And so should we as pet parents.

Even though we may pamper them and treat them like babies, dog are still animals and most have a protective instinct for their own safety, for their home and for the ones they love.  The most mild-mannered pooch could potentially lash out if he or she feels afraid or threatened. It’s our job to make sure that our dogs are socialized well to minimize this risk and to take precautionary steps to ensure the safety of everyone who comes in contact with our pets.

These are good tips from the USPS:

How to be a Responsible Dog Owner

• Obedience training can teach dogs proper behavior and help owners control their dogs in any situation.
• Dogs can be protective of their territory and may interpret the actions of a letter carrier as a threat. Please take precautions when accepting mail in the presence of your pet.
• When a letter carrier comes to your home, keep your dog inside, away from the door, in another room or on a leash.
• Dogs that haven’t been properly socialized, receive little attention or handling, or are left tied up for long periods of time frequently turn into biters.

Here’s a list of US cities with the most frequent dog attacks. No city in Virginia makes the list (but our eastern neighbors Baltimore did) and I am sure we all want to keep it that way.

Nothing good comes of a dog bite, not for the dog, who could be labeled as dangerous and face seizure or worse, and certainly not for the injured person, who could be a child.

Good news for the pets in Pulaski County.

Mountain View Humane Spay/Neuter Clinics, with locations in Roanoke and Christiansburg,  was awarded a $2,000 grant by the Community Foundation of the New River Valley to create the Prevent Another Litter Subsidy – Pulaski County (PALS-P).

The money will be used to support our PALS-P program to help subsidize the cost of spaying and neutering the animals of seniors living on a fixed income, the animals owned by low income families, and free-roaming cats in Pulaski County. Each individual that applies for funding will fill out an aid application form verifying income and pay a small portion of the total surgery fee.

MVH’s services are targeted to serve pets from low income households, pets being readied for adoption, and stray free- roaming animals.

“By providing an affordable, accessible solution to pet overpopulation, we can reach that portion of the public who otherwise would not be able to afford the surgery,” Corrie Prater, the clinics’ marketing director, said in a news release.

Service                 MVH Cost            PALS-P Subsidy                        Total cost to owner after funding

Feline Spay                  $58                         $31                                   $27

Feline Neuter              $45                         $30                                   $15

Canine Spay                 $73                        $35                                   $38

Canine Neuter             $68                         $32                                   $36

Pet owners in Pulaski County that would like to take advantage of this fund can call the Christiansburg clinic at (540)382-0222 or  (855) HIP-SNIP. Aid applications can be filled out online at www.MountainViewHumane.org or over the phone with clinic staff.

New River Valley pet lovers, mark you calendars: The Hampton Inn Christiansburg/Blacksburg is hosting its second annual Wags for Waffles from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 15.

“The goal of our event is to collect donations for the local shelters in exchange for dog washes, food sales and free waffles just for showing up,” Jocelyn Dugan, sales coordinator for the hotel, wrote in an email news release.

Dugan wrote that last  year the event raised over $300 for the Humane Society of Montgomery County. This year’s event will feature returning vendors Humana, HSMC, MountainView Humane and Blissfully Balanced will donate 10 minute massages in exchange for pet supplies.

NRV Varmints Pet Sitting will donate a raffle prize and Dugan said more vendors will be added later.

So yeah, get a waffle, help out pets. Sounds like a fun day to me. I will post more details as the date draws closer.

This blogger is taking a much needed siesta for the rest of this week in a place with sunshine, sandy beaches and palm trees.

Stormy — our home security system — will just power nap like a boss until we get back.

Have a great rest of the week, blog readers!

Two things mark the official end of winter for me: The opening of the outdoor pool at my fitness center (tomorrow!) and the opening of the baseball season.

Few things are more summer-like than spending an afternoon or evening at the ball park, and just so you know, you can share that experience with your best doggy friend on Sundays this season.

Every Salem Red Sox Sunday home game at LewisGale Field will feature Bark in the Park. With the purchase of a $5 Pooch Pass you can take your pup out to the ball park.

The schedule for Sunday home games is:

• May 19 at 4:05 p.m.
• June 2 at 4:05 p.m.
• June 16 at 4:05 p.m.
• July 14 at 4:05 p.m.
• July 28 at 7:05 p.m.
• Aug. 18 at 4:05 p.m.
• Sept. 1 at 4:05 p.m.

AND….drum roll please…save the date of Sunday, June 30 for the Dog Days of Summer, a fundraiser for the Roanoke Valley SPCA. The gates will open at 3 p.m. for a pregame pooch parade. Line up begins at 3:30 p.m. for the parade and the first pitch is thrown at 4:05.

Volunteers for the RVSPCA will also be in the parking lot willing to scrub your pup clean for a small donation.

Remember that your well-mannered, crowd-friendly dog has to be on a leash and you should carry proof of his or her current rabies vaccine.