You always hope no harm will befall your faithful canine companion, but if something unexpected does happen, you want to be prepared. Dogs, just like their supposed nemeses, are curious…they will explore, rummage and investigate with complete disregard to the possible consequences.

So if you’ve ever found your pet with mysterious goo stuck in their fur, a scrape on their nose or an upset stomach, The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook by Betsy Brevitz, D.V.M., offers reassurance, as well as a helpful guide to first-aid basics and poison control. To deal with any routine mishaps, you might want to have the following on hand:

• Ear-cleaning solution, cotton balls and cotton swabs, for cleaning ears
• Plain saline eyewash, for cleaning discharge or flushing debris from the eyes
• Mild dog shampoo, for general clean-ups
• Dog nail clipper, for broken nails
• Tweezers for removing ticks and splinters
• Electric hair clipper, K-Y jelly, chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine (Betadine) wound cleaner, and gauze squares, for clipping and cleaning wounds
• Roll of 2-inch-wide gauze and roll of 1-inch-wide bandage tape, for bandaging leg or tail wounds
• Antibiotic ointment, for minor wounds
• Hydrocortisone spray or ointment, for itchy wounds or bug bites
• 3cc oral medication syringe, for giving liquid medication
• Muzzle, in case you need to handle your dog when she’s frightened or in pain
• Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), for insect bites or hives
• Baby thermometer, for taking your dog’s temperature
• 10cc oral medication syringe, for flushing wounds, rinsing caustic substances from your dog’s mouth, or inducing vomiting; a turkey baster can substitute in a pinch but is messier and harder to aim
• 3% hydrogen peroxide, for inducing vomiting only when appropriate

“Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back.” -Chinese Proverb

We’ve got a sneak peek at the 2010 365 Cats and 365 Dogs Page-A-Day Calendars! Meet some of the furry, charming winners of the 2009 Cat and Dog Calendar Contests. Scroll through the first two weeks of 2010 for both calendars below.

“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.”

-Charles H. Spurgeon

“To see a world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palms of your hand
and eternity in an hour.”
—William Blake

“The language of friendship is not words but meanings.”

-Henry David Thoreau

“War is like a big machine that no one really knows how to run and when it gets out of control it ends up destroying the things you thought you were fighting for.” –”The War”(1994)

The 2010 Dog and Cat Page-A-Day Contest is officially over! All entries have been chosen and I now have a moment to reflect on this year’s contest.

This photo is a snapshot of just one of two deliveries that I receive every week during the peak time of our Dog/Cat Page-A-Day contest! This year alone I received over 300,000 Cat photos and over 200,000 Dog photos.

Everyone on our Page-A-Day Team agrees this is our best Dog and Cat Page-A-Day Calendar ever! Look for them in stores later this year.

John, Dog/Cat Page-A-Day Photo Editor