Imagine knowing exactly where your beloved dog is and what he or she is doing when you're not at home.
Envisage also, if you will, knowing if they're taking a number one or a number two when they're out and about.
Too much information? Not according to professional dog walker Jezebel Erding, who just may be the first in the business in B.C. to offer clients a comprehensive tracking service, whereby dog owners know exactly when and where their pets are being taken for a walk and its bathroom habits.
Erding, who co-owns Woofer Walkers in Richmond with Justin de Champlain, had been researching the service for the last six months.
However, she was motivated to fast-track implementing it after the tragic circumstances surrounding the six dogs in the care of a Delta dog walker recently.
And it's all thanks to an American service called Pet Check Technology, which activates when the dog walker enters the client's home and then scans, via an app on their smartphone, a barcode on a special fridge magnet, which then sends an email and text to the dog owner, alerting them that their pet is about to be taken for a walk.
When out on the walk, the same service tracks the walker in real time and maps out a GPS trail for the owner to follow.
"I've been researching this for about six months but after what happened with those six dogs, I felt our industry took a bit of a battering, so I thought it was about time dog owners had this peace of mind, and I love the transparency," said Erding.
"The service is not available in Canada and there were issues, initially, for us using it in this country.
"However, we sorted it out and it's now up and running. We can even use the app to press a button on our phone to tell the owner if their dog has done a poop or a pee."
While that particular part of the service may seem a little over the top, Erding said you'd be surprised to know how important it is for dog owners to know their pet's toilet habits.
"It's something people do ask; they need to know if their dog has been and what they've done. There's even a little icon to press, depending on what the dog has done," Erding added with a laugh.
"And if they're at the vets, and the vet asks about toilet habits, all the owner needs to do is log into the app and it's all recorded."
Heat danger With the mercury on the rise, the Richmond Animal Protection Society (RAPS) is reminding dog owners to beware of the obvious danger of leaving your pets in the confines of your vehicle - even with the windows open a crack.
It takes just five minutes for a dog to begin overheating in a car and just ten minutes before it starts to show signs of distress and not much longer before actual damage to the dog's health can be inflicted.
Angela Chisholm, a kennel assistant at RAPS, said many dog owners still seem unaware of the dangers and have little knowledge of how a dog actually sweats.
"They only perspire through the pads on their paws," said Chisholm.
"They can also cool down through panting, but it's not that effective in a car; there needs to be proper ventilation.
"And that's why being left in a car is so dangerous for dogs and cranking the windows down a bit just isn't enough. I don't think that many people realize that a dog doesn't sweat through its skin."
According to Chisholm, an average dog's normal temperature ranges between 37 and 39 Celsius.
"When it rises to 40-41, the dog will begin to suffer moderate heat stroke and above 41 they will start to experience severe heat stroke, such as organ damage and long-term issues," added Chisholm.
Certain dogs are more at risk than others of heat stroke, such as young ones, which either haven't developed internal systems yet or older ones with breathing problems.
Tips for your dog this summer: 1. Walk them early morning and later in the evening; 2. Leave them at home if going for a day out; 3. Access to fresh water; 4. Shade and ventilation for outside dogs; 5. Wrap frozen water bottles in a towel and place them under their beds; 6. Keep them well groomed
