How to keep your dog (and yourself) safe during an earthquake.

Woof! It's me Luna again. Island life is such a fun life but sometimes mother nature surprises us with unexpected things.

Today we had a terrifying earthquake (magnitude 6.0) in the morning which luckily lasted not long. We feel very grateful that our loved ones are safe but still we felt the tremendous amount of fear and panic around us during the little aftershocks.

What helps in such a situations is to be prepared as good as possible, this can give our humans a more secure feeling. If you live or travel in an earthquake prone area keep the following tips in mind:

1. Make sure your pet is microshipped and most impawtent that the information is up to date! (Don't forget to mention the new address if you move out)
2. Make sure your dog wears a fitting collar (2 fingers of space not more because then the collar can slide of their neck) and if possible also a tag with owners information (name/address/phone number/family number)
3. Make sure you have clear and recent pictures of your pet in your phone/Google drive. If lost this can help people to search for them and/or proof that you are the owner if the passport is damaged.
4. Have a rescue alert sticker mentioning that there are pets in the building. Describe how many and which kind. Cats/dogs/..
5. If you are inside the house: depending on the dog, situation and time you have available there are 2 considerable options, 1 is to have the dog free in the house and let it find it's own place to hide (Luna automatically goes hide under our wooden desk) or 2 put the dog in a crate under a strong wooden desk/table and make sure no surrounding furniture can drop on top of them. 
6. If you need to evacuate outside the house: always have a backpack ready next to the door with basic survival stuff such as: 2 torches, portable phone charger, blanket,copy of dogs passport, extra leash/collar, muzzle (muzzle train your dog beforehand even if you think you will never need it),food&bottle water, life straws , fire starter, medicine if your dog needs them (think about epilepsy medication for example), (chew) toy so that if you are in a basement with other people the dog can release some stress with chewing and having something familiar from home with them, first aid ⛑️ kit (basic is: Chlorhexidine rinse, cotton balls/squares, triple antibiotic ointment from the vet, bandages + tape, vetwrap, small scissors ✂️), documents with numbers from family members/vets/petsitters people can call in case you get injured, crate if possible since many pets get panicked and run away during our after earthquakes. If you can't crate them make sure you hold on tide to them and use double combination leash + harness to avoid escaping possibilities or even better a leash that you can attach around your waist (running/canicross style) so that you have your hands free and you not have to worry about your dog running off.

I hope no one has to endure such a situations but it's better to be prepared for the worst! If there are any tips you have that are not included feel free to send me an email ✉️

Stay safe & lots of licks and paw from me 

Luna 🐾

Small business review: Wags and Barks

Woof woof, hello dear furiends! Hope your feeling well. 

Finally autumn season arrived which we enjoy very much here after the hot Greek summer. With lower temperatures comes also the chance for my mama to buy me some new fashion stuff. In summertime I don't like to wear very often bandana's or bowties since I spend a lot of time playing in or near water. 😊 

Now in autumn I love to dress up like a little lady, people call me "cute" I don't know what that is.. but at least I get a lot of extra treatos for modelling my new stuff 😋 

My newest fashion items come from "Wags And Barks" a small Greek business runned by 2 ladies, mother&daughter team. They have handmade bow ties and bandanas and soon will also be adding watercolor portraits to their Etsy shop.

My mum found their small business on Instagram and decided to go for 2 bowties.

The little one is called "red stripes bow tie" and we ordered it in size small. It still fits my medium size dog collar though! 

The attachment elastics

The big bow tie is called "falling stars" and is size medium, both bowties have elastics on the back so you can easily slide them over the collar.

I was actually surprised it fitted over my extra wide collar too so easily, for me personally I prefer the elastic attachments instead of velcro straps since velcro gets tangled in my fur. 😱

Falling stars bow tie

Would I order again from "Wags And Barks"?

Yes definitely! The package was shipped 1 day after I placed my order on their Etsy shop. They have worldwide free delivery, the quality of both bowties is great (soft fabric and strong elastic attachment) and most important they sended my mama a follow up mail to ask if everything is ok with the order and if we are happy with it, absolutely great service! 

Beside of that we got a little gift with our order a super cute armband for my mama and chain to hang on my collar with the same butterfly 🦋

Disclaimer: this article is NOT sponsored, mama paid for the bowties herself and makes this review just to support a small business.

Hope you enjoyed this mini shopping haul, if there is a small (Greek) business you think we should absolutely know don't hesitate to send their website or insta account to my email or insta dm's! 😊

Paw from me,

Luna 🐾