TulsaPets Magazine January 2024

January / February 2024 • TulsaPets 25 Bring pets inside when it drops below freezing! Winter Weather P E T S A F E T Y If pets must be outside, ensure access to a straw-insulated house that is away from the wind. Do NOT use blankets, towels, or fabric to insulate an outdoor shelter. Make sure outdoor pets have constant access to fresh, unfrozen water. 3750 S. Peoria • Tulsa, OK 74105 • 918-748-4400 • www.riverbrookpetvet.com Katie L. Greenwell, DVM / Jana K. Layton, DVM / Lauren R. Davied, DVM Where you and your pet are family • Complete Veterinary Care • Surgery • Ultrasound • Geriatrics • Dentistry • Dental Radiography • Nutrition • Pharmacy • Cat-Friendly Ashley Mahurin Proprietor Pisgah Penny, a squirrel who also predicts the Super Bowl results. (My money is on the squirrel. Quite the twofer). Here We Go Again Friday, February 2, is Groundhog Day, woohoo! In honor of this wonderful tradition, I’ve been inspired to write an article perfectly suited to … groundhogs, with a nod to the movie Groundhog Day. (Surprise!) Groundhogs are rodents and members of the squirrel branch. They are good-sized, measuring as much as two feet in length and 14 pounds in weight (probably peaking there right before hibernation). Because ground- hogs are big diggers and chewers, they are considered “ecosystem engineers” — they modify their environments, thus providing other species opportunities to thrive by maintaining healthy soil. Nature is always connected, one system leading to another, including groundhogs and their lifestyles. There are many other names for ground- hogs — in some areas, they are called marmots. Another name is “whistle pig” because of the sound they make to alert their colonies when danger nears. Of course, we all know one more nom de num-num: “How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” Yep, these guys are also called woodchucks, although how much wood they can chuck remains a mystery. The term originated through “wuchak,” meaning “digger” in Algonquian. As far as personalities, groundhogs are quite intelligent; they communicate, coop- erate, and create social networks and are good parents. And one more nugget of fun stuff to know: A baby woodchuck is called a chuckling, which — IMHO — advances their cute factor to infinity. Here in the United States, ground- hogs can be found in the lowlands from Alaska to Alabama and from Oregon to West Virginia. They are fairly vegetarian, making exceptions for large insects, snails, and eggs. Farmers struggle with these guys because groundhogs are able diggers and easily burrow their way under fences to wreak havoc on prized gardens. There’s a hysterical video circling the web about a guy whose vegetable garden