Hi everybody! It’s Sally and Luna, chief canine officers at Jimmydog. We hope our canine and feline friends have found our “flatten the curve” tips to be helpful. Today, we share our last, and maybe most important, one.

Today’s tip: Welcome a new family member
We’re both rescue dogs and we’ll be forever grateful to Stephanie and Todd, the best people ever, for adopting us. While many things are closed right now, animal shelters and rescues remain open — and, unfortunately, the flow of animals needing homes hasn’t slowed. With people working and schooling from home, now is a perfect time to bring a pet into the home. So, dog and cat friends, encourage your people to get you a new friend! How fun will that be?! (Just don’t let them name your new fur sibling ’Rona.)

Hi everybody! It’s Sally and Luna, chief canine officers at Jimmydog. Today our “flatten the curve” message is for those dogs and cats whose people are still leaving home each day for work.

Today’s tip: Comfort your “essential” people
Not everyone can work from home. Medical personnel, hospital staff, grocery/pharmacy/pet store workers, delivery people, mail carriers, truck drivers, warehouse staff, first responders, journalists and many others are still leaving home each day for work — and often working longer hours than ever. For dogs and cats who live in the homes of these essential workers, you are super-essential yourselves! Your people desperately need the extra snuggles and licks that only you can provide. Don’t hold back!

Hi everybody! It’s Sally and Luna, chief canine officers at Jimmydog. Today’s “flatten the curve” tip for our canine and feline friends involves their own health.

Today’s tip: Stay healthy and safe
In normal times, most pets do everything they can to avoid trips to the vet, and now it’s more important than ever to stay away if you can. (We hear that lots of veterinarians have altered their procedures to “stop the spread” and you might have to go in all by yourself, without your people to comfort you!)

So, this isn’t the time to see if that amber-colored plastic bottle is tasty or to chase the cat down the stairs and hurt your leg. Stephanie and Todd, the best people ever, block off parts of the house to keep us from getting into trouble while they are busy working. Honestly, it’s annoying, but we understand it’s for our own good!

Hi everybody! It’s Sally and Luna, chief canine officers at Jimmydog. Like you, we’re learning lots of new words and phrases lately: “COVID-19,” “flatten the curve,” “social distancing.” Today’s tip is about how our canine friends can assist with that last one.

Today’s tip: Model social distancing
Our friend Max, always a sweet dog, has begun “air humping” his favorite people from a distance, rather than grabbing on tight to their legs as he usually does. We think it’s a thoughtful gesture appropriate for the times. If you’re humper — or a jumper — you should consider making similar adjustments. You also can assist with social distancing while on walks. Many leashes are 6 feet long — the exact distance people are supposed to keep between each other. If you encounter friends and neighbors while on your walks, you and the other pups can do a quick sniff greeting, while your people chat at a safe distance with the leashes between them.

Hi everybody! It’s Sally and Luna, chief canine officers at Jimmydog, here with another idea for how dogs and cats can help their people adjust to stay-at-home orders because of coronavirus. (We had to ask Stephanie how to spell that one!)

Today’s tip: Keep them calm
These are stressful, scary times. (We’re not telling you anything you don’t know. You can sense it in your people. They might be raising their voice, holding their shoulders up by their ears, even crying sometimes.) Dog and cat friends, now is a perfect time to offer yourselves up for extra cuddles and pets. But you don’t even need to do that because just looking at you can calm your people. Curl up for a nap somewhere where they can see you. Their shoulders will relax and their blood pressure will drop in no time. If they’re really upset, shift into one of your cutest poses and snore a little. Or chase rabbits in your sleep to give them a chuckle.

Hi everybody! It’s Sally and Luna, chief canine officers at Jimmydog. With kids learning from home to “flatten the curve,” dogs and cats have a special role to play in educating them — and entertaining them while their parents try to work.

Today’s tip: Assist with homeschooling
Pet friends, you should spend time each day teaching your little people how to feed and groom you the way you like. You can also have daily lessons in which the little ones play teacher, instructing you how to sit, lie down, roll over, fetch, etc. (If you already know all these things, that’s OK. Just play along.) And don’t forget PE classes. Dog friends, if you have a yard or nearby park, take the kids out with you for a game of chase or fetch. Cat friends, you can engage kids in games with your toys, too. (Cat friends, we know you don’t want to, but remember that all of us — even cats — have to do their part in this effort!)

Hi everybody! It’s Sally and Luna, chief canine officers at Jimmydog, back with another way for pets to help their people adjust to working and schooling from home.

Today’s tip: Limit your people’s screen time
Pets know that, even in normal times, their people spend too much time staring at screens, and we’re hearing the problem is even worse now that everyone is staying home. Getting your people to walk away from their screens requires a different technique for each type. To keep people away from their tiny screens, try a paw on their arm or a jump into their lap. If they won’t shut down their medium-size screen at the end of the workday or school day, try pushing a wet nose under their arm — or send the cat over to lie on their keyboard. If they are glued to the big screen, position yourself in their sight line and make your forlorn face (nose down, eyes up, ears and tail still). Add a whine if they ignore you. It’s for their own good!

Hi all! It’s Sally and Luna here. We’ve heard that lots of people are now working from home and schooling from home — and that they might be doing so for a while.

Stephanie and Todd, the best people ever, have run their pet portrait and graphic design business from home for years and, even though we’re relatively new chief canine officers here at Jimmydog, we consider ourselves experts on the subject.

So, as part of our effort to “flatten the curve,” we thought we could offer our canine and feline fans tips they can use to keep their families productive, safe and happy under these new arrangements. Pets are “essential workers” in these times, providing comfort and support in ways only we can!

We’ll roll our ideas out over the next several days because, let’s face it, nobody is going anywhere, and we think you’ll appreciate the fresh content!

Today’s tip: Keep everyone on a schedule
New work-from-homers can have a hard time separating work life from home life. Both dogs and cats can help by holding them to your strict breakfast and dinner schedules, and by pulling them away from their screens at the end of each workday. (We’ll have more tips for getting them to spend less time staring at screens next time.)

And our canine friends can help their people distinguish weekdays from weekends by getting them out on weekend adventures, maybe a walk in a different neighborhood, a hike on a less-traveled trail or even, one of our favorites, a car ride. (If your people stop for takeout, don’t forget to remind them that you, too, like hamburgers and ice cream!)

Staying in? Us too – and we’d love to hear about how you’re making it through. Tell us what you’re watching, eating, and doing! #StayHome #ShopSmall

Todd creates his beautiful custom pet portraits from your photographs and we keep you informed every step of the way. The process is easy and fun! A small pencil sketch is sent to and once approved he paints your beautiful finished portrait. From photo to final piece in 3 easy steps!