Tips help remove pet hair from furniture

Dear Readers: One of the biggest challenges of being a dog or cat owner is usually dealing with pet hair everywhere! Where there are pets, there's pet hair! But here are some easy picker-uppers to keep it off of you and the furniture.
If your pet has a favorite sleeping spot, place a washable blanket or towel there to absorb skin odors and catch the hair.
Hold on to those old rubber gloves -- they work wonders for wiping dog and cat hair off of clothes and furniture.
Fabric-softener sheets work well, too, and can be tossed in the trash. Just be careful to keep the sheets away from pets, as they can be harmful if chewed.
Another great picker-upper -- packing tape. Roll some around your hand with the sticky side out, then pat away to pick up fur from just about anything.
Spray your upholstery with static guard and then vacuum.
If you'll take the time to brush your dog or cat daily, you'll have a lot less fur to pick up. Heloise
Dear Readers: Diane Sides of Kilgore, Texas, sent a picture of her yellow Lab, Sophie, partaking in a tea party with Diane's granddaughter, Gabriella, who has the table set and is serving her patiently waiting guest. Diane says that Sophie will do anything to come indoors.
Visit my Web site at www.HeloIise.com and click on Pet of the Week to see this photo. Heloise
Dear Heloise: One of my four Chihuahuas, Barkley, is so camera-shy, he runs away as soon as I get the camera out. But for some reason, he's not afraid of the camera phone. So I snap away, and he's not afraid to pose. Bonnie, via e-mail
Dear Heloise: Our two cockatiels love to be spritzed with water. I keep a spray bottle next to their cage so that the water is always room temperature. Both of them stretch, lift their wings and almost fall off the perches just so I get every inch of them. For anyone who has a pet bird, try this -- yours might love it, too! A Reader, via fax
Dear Heloise: My husband exercises our cats with a laser light. He just sits in his recliner and shines the light in various places, and the cats go crazy trying to catch it. Janet McClain, Abilene, Texas
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate