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The same holds true for broken glass or china. Go over the area with a fine tooth comb - a cordless mini Main Floors vacuum is always The same com- handy - to make mon sense rules tiny or sharp objects lying about where your pet can get at them. If you drop nails. pins or screws. for instance. make sure you pick them up immediately. First of all. never leave any tiny or sharp To keep both your pet and your home in a healthy state. there are some preca You can take While most of us think of the really obvious scrapes our pets can get into, there are numerous other problems that you might not' have thought about - like the plant in your living room which is toxic if chewed - or the drapery cord that hangs down on the bedroom floor. These types of things can be par- ticularly fascinat- ing to young ani- mals. If you‘re a homeowner with a pet, you know there are certain precautions you must take in and around your home to make sure little "Fido" or "Fluffy" stays out of harm 's way. This is espe- cially true if youve out of the house for most of the day and they're at home alone. Keep pets put of harm's way precautions covers can easily move eign objec toys - into them and these can be very difficult to them and drop for remove laundry room are well secured. Pets own enclosure too close to your furnace or boiler You While pet- proofing the base- ment, you should also make sure recesse which sits in its ot mum's way - m a cabinet. for instance. Sharp tool like saws should also be kept out of your pet's reach. your pet cannot get If your work- room is not self- contained. be sure to keep all poten- tially dangerous items - like paints, solvents. antifreeze and so on well out of harm's way - in my floor dr Workbench or Workroom By the same token, you'll prob- ably want to make sure your work- bench or work- room is strictly off limits to any fami- ly pets. Dogs in particular, like to pick up tiny scraps of wood or wood shavings and can choke or end up with slivers in their mouths. sure you pick up every last frag- ment. particularly if Also make sure have In unit our like Mn ',jj(ltill do, conside yard isn't fence in a dog units you may want Animals can choke on them or become the cords should also be secured and kept out of reach. GLORIA INGRAM your veterinarian or some plant and pet books at your local library.) plants - some can be poisonous to animals (and humans). Keep them out of reach, or get rid of them. (To fmd out which plants can be harmful. consult window h If you have a young pet. make sure it can't chew on your house- onstruc If you have a particularly inquis- itive pet who is adept at opening cupboard doors, you may want to install safety latch- es on cabinets which contain things like cleansers, drain cleaners and other potentially harmful items. - like space heaters and stoves. apply to the main floors of your home as well. Keep your pet away from heat- producing objects asilv oun m am If should Drapery m and link Outside CRIME ou " "investing run.These . usually ttted of " Ju yur fe h hildre al IVC bac '.' -, . ‘ - ANNA ,- a t L‘ IE' -at1S McLEOD "T _ r . "g' ", ;..~,' 'r-s'. /,..y iw. .. '.', Cr,-"'.", , , r,'.,.) ," . . 3 - '4') ' I,lllllllllllllr,s),,,4ll, blind " and other potentially can stances in them too antifreeze If you have a utility shed or garage. it's a good idea to keep these areas off-limits to your pet - particu- larly if you store your pet to acci- dentally run in front of a car. (Dogs will often attempt to chase cars.) is closed securely after entering and make sure there aren't any large gaps beneath it that your pet can squeeze through. Most streets are relatively busy and you don't want If your yard is fenced, always make sure the gate exercise safely when you aren't able to supervise them. tous pesticide sub M'IV INVESTMENT PROPERTY If you’re think- ing about buying a piece of real estate as an investment property, market conditions are defi- nitely in your favor. While the resale housing market has seen a t r e m e n d o u s amount of activity from first-time buyers in the past year, it's also a perfect time for existing homeown- With record- low interest rates and significantly lower prices it's hard to go wrong - unless, of course you lack the finan- cial means to make the investment. After all, you have ers to invest in sec- ondary residential properties. For instance, keep in mind that if you intend to rent out the second property, you'll also have to be (See RE 24) to be ready to meet all the obligations that come with owning more than your principal property.