Whether one celebrates St Paddy’s Day or not, it is an excuse to throw back a few drinks. When you’re enjoying an ice-cold glass of your chosen poison, it’s easy to forget about everything else until you get to your front door and remember there is a fur-baby or two waiting for you inside (no judgements here, we’ve all been there). At that moment, everyone’s first inkling is always to ACT sober!

 

But one, you’re ACTING weirdly

There is something about being wasted that makes us believe that we can summon a Meryl Streep Oscar-worthy performance in the art of walking and acting normally. Accompanied by the even more precarious undertaking of not slurring our words and stringing together coherent sentences. That act has never worked on anyone and it definitely won’t work on the paw patrol. Your dog can tell when you are acting weirdly. And try as you may to fall back into the routine of everyday life with a book on the couch, the only thing falling will be the book that’s slowly slipping from your fingers! You will be left looking every inch like the sober judge you are trying to conjure with your shut eyes and wide-open mouth!

 

Two, they can smell it on you.

Dogs are notorious for a few things: Chasing cars, puppy dog eyes when they find themselves in a spot of bother, and a sense of smell that is up to 100 000 times better than that of humans. So, if all the traffic cops you’ve ever given cold drink money to (you benevolent being) could smell it on you, what in the distilled mother of mayhem made you think your dog wouldn’t smell it on you? There are no breath mints for your pores and everything after drink number 4 is probably oozing out of them like the local draft at your favourite pub spills out of the keg.

 

Three, you’re being dramatic!

Most of us are emotional on the best of days but after a few drinks in us, we’re downright dramatic! Which means you’ll probably start telling your furry bestie all your scary secrets and slurringly work your way to how much you hate your boss. Before long, you’ll start crying and telling your paw-some pooch just how much you adore them.

 

It’s not over until the hangover.

Ahhhhh! There it is – that moment after a hangover, when you realise you’re not going to die. The furniture in your room looks about the right size again and everything inside your head has stopped conspiring to kill you. A truly sweet moment soured by the question: Did I feed the dog? If you sleep in because you’re nursing a hangover, you might miss taking your dog out for their routine walks or neglect to feed them at the usual times. While one incident isn’t too much cause for concern, if it becomes more frequent, it could leave your dog feeling neglected, which in turn could lead them to behave undesirably (probably just to get your attention).

 

Drink responsibly.

Your run-or-die, petner-in-crime, or four-legged bestie will never judge you for a couple of drinks and probably won’t scribble gibberish on your face with a permanent marker, while you sleep them off. However, if you’re a pet parent you need to drink a little more responsibly. Have a glass of water between each drink and know your limits. You should also take care not to leave any alcoholic drinks around your pup, because alcohol is harmful to dogs.

 

Furthermore, the most responsible thing you can do for your pet is to protect them against any accidental injuries or illnesses with great insurance made for great pet parents from dotsure.co.za.