Carpets/Floors:

I really want to cover this topic because it is hugely overlooked.  My animals spend most of their lives playing around and sleeping on the floor so one would expect that how and with what we clean our floors and our carpets would matter a great deal.  Absolutely!

Finding a company that does industrial carpet cleaning with only natural products has been hard.  Any recommendations/suggestions are welcome by e-mail and we will investigate further. purchased a home steam cleaner myself and concocted a solution from purely organic products and sometimes using Simple Green.  Granted it probably doesn’t get the carpet as clean and foams way more than the previous chemical compound I used before Fiona got mammary cancer, but no matter.  My carpets are not my primary concern but that being said, getting them clean using a natural cleaner that works better would give me great satisfaction.  Things to work on! 

The Air:

Refresh that old stale air that ruins our health and our pet’s! Like the water we drink and the food we eat, the air we breathe has an impact on our quality of life. Air purifiers can control and reduce sources of discomfort, which contribute to allergies, asthma, hay fever and other types of airborne irritation.

There are many ways to produce activated oxygen, for example, we have all experienced the clean, fresh smell in the air produced by lightning after thunderstorms. That is ozone or activated oxygen at work

Utilizing activated oxygen; these air purifiers can significantly reduce: bacteria, viruses and fungus, chemical gases, formaldehyde, smoke particles, mold, mildew and pollen, bad cooking and pet smells, tobacco and paint fumes in most applications.

If we must have candles and scents put them up high and burn only natural candles – not the ones you get at the convenience store however inconvenient that might be.  Burning candles with toxic ingredients only adds to the health risk of yourself and your pet.  Choose natural products for adding a nice scent to your home and always open the windows at least once a day to let the air circulate and if possible use an air filtration system.

The Garden/Outside:

The garden, shed, garage can be a deadly place if not given the attention it deserves when animals are part of the family.  Most people store chemicals and products in their garage and/or shed and these can be deadly to any pet.  Antifreeze is the cause of approximately 10,000 animal deaths each year according to the HSUS.  It has a sweet taste and it only takes a small amount to kill.  California, Oregon and New Mexico have successfully passed legislation that requires a bitter agent be added to ethylene glycol antifreeze to make it unpalatable for animals and children. While other states have considered similar laws, potential costs to the industry and other legislative priorities may have both played a role in pushing the issue to the back burner and preventing passage of the legislation.  Read this:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/antifreeze.html

So keep the garden, shed and garage free of all chemicals.  Store them up high and don’t assume that somebody else cares as much as you, particularly if you have people working on your house or your garden.  Check up after them and do your own sweep of anything that could potentially hurt or harm your pets.

When it comes to pest control in the garden consider your options about moving towards a more natural pest control.  Visit www.tiptopbio.com for innovative ways without harmful insecticides and also find out more about Beneficial Nematodes.

Dog Toys:

Keep in mind if children’s toys are hazardous, then it would be logical to assume that so are animal toys.  Significant levels of lead have been found in several toys designed for dogs.

Keep in mind the following when choosing a toy for your pet:
-Despite the stories, unsafe lead paint levels are not restricted to one country of origin.
-Dogs chew their toys (as designed) more so then children, heightening their risk.
-A particular tennis ball had the highest levels of lead, over 30,000 parts per million.  That is 3%!
-If the toy is painted, refrain from use until safety guidelines are put in place identifying culprits.
-Solid rubber toys are generally safer from lead paint

The Energy:

Everything we have mentioned before matters but none of it will matter much if the environment that the animal(s)/pet(s) live in is a stressed out one.  I have heard and read so many stories about animals living in not so great conditions that were exceedingly happy and those who lived in the best of houses terribly sick and unwell.  Energy travels and it travels fast, so does illness.  Which do you think is easier and cheaper to fix?  And don’t try to fool the animal.  They are just like us; they know the truth, they feel the energy, they deserve the purest of love, the most positive energy you can give. 

God made all the creatures and gave them our love and our fear, To give sign, we and they are His children, one family here.
~Robert Browning