pet connection

A festive Monday to you all!   I hope you already know to watch (or DVR/TiVo) our own Dr. Marty Becker’s appearance on “The Dr. Oz Show” today.  Dr. Becker will be talking about how to  make sure we”re prepared in advance for pet emergencies.   I’ll be watching to learn new techniques to take care of Cami and Harry, or perhaps someone else’s pet.

How is that possible, since Dr. Becker promised to start blogging today? Easy: The segment was pre-recorded!  Look for his first blog post later today.

Recall alert: pig bars, beef hooves and rope toys: This one could be critical for you right now.  FDA has announced a recall by Pet Carousel, Inc., involving products sold since August or September.  Quoting from UPI on the recall and a subsequent updating story:

The recall includes all pig ear products packaged under the brand names Doggie Delight, Pork Tasteez and Pet Carousel. The affected beef hooves were packaged under the brand names Choo Hooves, Dentley’s, Doggie Delight and Pet Carousel.

All of the recalled products were distributed nationwide in both bulk and retail packaging for sale in pet food and retail chain stores. The company said all sizes and all lots of the pork ears purchased on or after Aug. 16, and all beef hoof products purchased on or after Sept. 16, are included in the recall.

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PetSmart Inc. says it is expanding its recall of beef hoof products manufactured by Pet Carousel Inc. of Sanger, Calif., to include 14 products.PetSmart officials said the recalled products include beef hoof chews as well as certain rope toys with hoof or bone components. The date range for purchasing affected products has been expanded to include products purchased from Sept. 1 to Nov. 6.

If you purchased any questionable products from PetSmart, contact them at 888-839-9638 (or your local store) for further details.

Dogs vs. Cats – the furry, age-old equivalent to Coke vs. Pepsi (or Hatfields vs. McCoys).   In this month’s New Scientist cover story, Kate Douglas offers to let science weigh in on the ancient debate.  The article raises points that go well past which one wags their tail when you get home.  To wit:

The real difference in ecological impact comes in consumption. A medium-size dog’s ecological footprint – the area of land required to keep it fed – is 0.84 hectares annually. You could run two SUVs on that and still have change. Even a toy dog such as a chihuahua has a footprint of 0.28 hectares per year. Meanwhile, your average cat’s ecological pawprint, at just 0.15 hectares, looks positively virtuous.

By all means, please don’t leave the site without reading some of the comments.  It’s worth the trip.

H1N1 not a pet problem so far: While everyone is rightfully concerned about getting a nasty flu this winter, pet-lovers are also worried about their animals catching the flu — from us. As we’ve written before, the risk needs to be kept in perspective.   The Kalamazoo Gazette says about the same thing, that pets catching the flu from us is not likely to be a problem, at least not in the short term.

“We have an emergency clinic, and we see a little bit of everything, but no H1N1,” said local veterinarian Dr. Ronald Moiles, who presides over four clinics in the Kalamazoo area.

Michigan State University veterinary pathologist Dr. Thomas Mullaney said that cats and some ferrets have contracted H1N1 from their owners, but that the cases seem to be isolated.

An uptick of H1N1 incidence in pets is possible, but once again, common sense will limit the likelihood of them contracting your bug.  Wash your hands early and often.  And don’t sneeze on them.  They really don’t like that.

UPLIFTING UPDATES from recent stories in Rhode Island and Oregon:

• The animals from Bonniedale Farm in Glocester, RI are being transferred to safe facilities around the state, and wonder of wonders, Wells Fargo is kicking in $25,000 to a fund dedicated to supporting the population that they initially ignored.   Kudos to the RISPCA for their quick and diligent work in looking out for the (now former) residents of Bonniedale Farm and thanks to the Providence Journal for the update.
• The tougher story last week was from Harney County, in eastern Oregon.  More than 200 dogs and puppies were rescued from bone chilling conditions (without shelter) on a rural property.  First, the Oregon Humane Society is working to place the dogs around the state, including in Portland.  Secondly, three people are facing animal neglect charges.   Because of this case and others, the OHS now has many more paws on its hands than it expected.  If you could spare it, they would appreciate your  support.

Riddle’s Song: And finally, our Monday gift to you — the best four minutes you will spend all day.   I guarantee it, or your money back. And thank you to Cheryl for sending it our way, via Draw the Dog.

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