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Monday update: Help arrives for Haiti’s animals
By David S. Greene
January 25, 2010
Haiti’s animals receive hope from around the world: The tragedy is immense, but the rescue efforts continue in Haiti. Amy Worden from Philly Dawg reports Humane Society International, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the World Society for the Protection of Animals have all teamed up to launch coordinated efforts aimed at alleviating the suffering of Haiti’s animal population. Helping pets will be important, but the aid efforts prioritize livestock first, as that will ultimately benefit the human population of the devastated country.
“We’re already concerned about a possible outbreak of rabies, leptospirosis, or another zoonotic disease,” said Ian Robinson, IFAW’s emergency relief director. “We need to set up vaccination and feeding programs as soon as possible. Finally, we need to get acute, critical care to the animals that need it most. There’s a lot to do. More than we can do alone.”
If you have already contributed to Haitian relief, thank you. If you haven’t yet, please consider helping any way you can. Even five dollars matters to a country that has lost nearly everything.
Relief for pets at airports: This one isn’t about tragedy at all, but the importance of relief for animals — particularly service dogs — here at home. Last year, a new Department of Transportation policy went into effect, mandating reserved relief areas for service animals, though some airports will allow the spaces for other traveling pets as well. That means new dog parks have opened at airports all over the US. What you’ll see will include areas such as patches of natural grass pictured here near American Airlines’ terminal at JFK in New York. Pet Friendly Travel has a complete list of relief areas, mapped by state. Just click on the state you’re traveling from or through. Helpful? I think so.
Acupuncture helps Talyn the rescue dog: In a previous update, we referenced efforts toward recognizing alternative veterinary care. This week, KCCI in Des Moines (Channel 8 for Iowa viewers) has a great story about a rescue dog feeling much better through acupuncture.
“When we first started this, Talyn had sore spots on his hips and a couple of spots on his back,” Galow-Kersh said.The spots, much like a knot in your back, have eased since Galow-Kersh started giving Talyn acupuncture treatments.”You can actually feel them,” she said. “It’s like a big knot and once you can stick a needle in those and it just kinda relaxes that muscle like it activates it, but then it just relaxed around it.”
It’s so relaxing that Talyn hardly reacts to the needles. Handler Robin Habeger said he’ll sometimes even nap during the treatments.
Don’t try this at home: Motocross is dangerous. Roaring off road on a souped up motorcycle at breakneck speeds, with virtually no protection available. Takes some serious nerve to do it, and even more to be any good at motocross. Ever seen a dog try it? Now you have. Opee is an 8 year-old blue merle Australian shepherd, and like most Aussie shepherd’s I’ve ever met, he’s fearless. (tip of the cap to Linda for the link)
Reaction to Opee was magic. He was an instant canine ambassador to off-roading. Finding sponsors was no problem and soon Opee had his own custom gear, including a specially made neck brace, inflatable vest, backpack, water supply and several jerseys. He got his American Motorcycle Association card and his SCORE International card, the latter so he could race in Baja.
The dog does lots of other things, too. He’s been a search and rescuer, a California assistance dog and visits kids in hospitals with Schelin. They regularly work crowds at races in the area, including the Supercross in Anaheim.
Breaking up a relationship gets far harder with furry kinds involved: Thanks to Schnauzer Fan Cindy for this link from the Rapid City Journal on the inherent complications present in dissolving a romantic relationship when pets are involved. It’s serious stuff, but I’d be succinct. “You can have nearly anything else you want but I get the dogs.”
A completely gratuitous bunny picture: It’s Monday, and it’s my column, so if I want to include a Disapproving Rabbit picture, I will. Have a good week. I’ll see you again on Thursday.
Got a tip? Got a story? Don’t keep it to yourself. Send it to me, or give me a shout in the comments.
Photo Credits: JFK relief area, courtesy of American Airlines. Cinnamon, courtesy of disapprovingrabbits.com.
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Washington Dulles International Airport has *three* relief areas: http://tinyurl.com/y9qrah7
Comment by Susan — January 25, 2010 @ 5:42 am
Yes, Susan makes a good point. Many of the larger major airports, due to their size, have created more than one. Philadelphia (PHL) has *seven*, Logan (BOS) has five, Houston-George Bush (IAH) and Washington National -I won’t use its legal name….(DCA)have four apiece, Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) has three including one inside, which is unique, Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) has three, Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP), San Francisco (SFO), St. Louis Lambert (STL), Las Vegas McCarran (LAS) and Raleigh-Durham (RDU) each have two. Again, check Pet Friendly Travel’s map for specifics on where each area is located. Many are tucked away in spaces that you’d need to be told about beforehand in order to navigate to them, and the list will certainly be growing over the next couple years.
Comment by David S. Greene — January 25, 2010 @ 8:14 am
I immediately checked to see if anything had improved in Dread Denver, where I’ve frequently connected while flying with an in-cabin SAR dog.
Nope.
Getting a service or SAR dog out for a break between tight-ish connections involves a mad dash — escorted by an airline employee for whom one has waited and waited at the gate — for a distant secret special door to the tarmac. Yup, the tarmac. Because there is no way you are going to get back through security in time.
Now, Pip and I do mad dashes relatively well (though sprinting in the mile-high atmosphere is always a surprise when one lives at 1000 feet). How the hell is this supposed to work for service dogs and their owners?
Come on lady! Get those crutches moving!
And then the praying the dog will consider tarmac a suitable elimination surface. (We were lucky — first time there was snow, which is very suitable. Subsequent times, she had the drill down, or we were actually driven out to grass between the runways. No, I am not kidding.)
The employees have always been super-cool, but think of all the personnel time that is wasted by this orchestration.
And there is no option for carry-on small pets. Employees will often bend over backwards for a SAR dog, and I assume a service dog — they are celebrities. Pets are SOL — they are annoyances. They just have to hold it, unless their owners have had the foresight to train them to eliminate on command with good aim on a pad or newspaper in the handicapped stall of the bathroom.
Comment by H. Houlahan — January 25, 2010 @ 9:12 am
H. Houlahan
“Employees will often bend over backwards for a SAR dog, and I assume a service dog — they are celebrities. Pets are SOL — they are annoyances. They just have to hold it, unless their owners have had the foresight to train them to eliminate on command with good aim on a pad or newspaper in the handicapped stall of the bathroom.”
Service dogs are sometimes clebrities, and sometimes they, and their gimpish handlers are treated like pests. In a former life I traveled rather often with my hearing dog. Sometimes we got VIP treatment, other times, OMG we were pond scum. Paper training saved us several times. We carried a weepad…
I’ll never forget the time in Minneapolis when they put us on the bus to the commuter terminal “there’s grass over there!” or the time we were just trying to make our plane, and the federal marshal in line behind us, “prisioner in tow” told the TSA droid to wave me through the gates or HE was going to file a complaint about violations of my civil rights, and fly back to testify when the case came up in court. The prisioner offered to testify too :lol:…
Comment by Schnauzer — January 25, 2010 @ 10:09 am
1. Haiti has a zoo and I haven’t heard too much about what is happening at the zoo.
2. Good to read about the airports doing more for the animals. I get panic attacks thinking about animals flying in crates for long journeys. My brother and his wife flew over to the UAE this last January for a two year stint and she assured me that her prized Springer Spaniel would do fine on the trip over and was scheduled to have potty breaks in Denmark but I suggested otherwise. It simply isn’t done. When he arrived in Dubai, his cage was pottie-fied and no one had cleaned it up. He had slept in his urine. Otherwise he did okay.
3.I shiver at the thought of the motor cross dog and pray the guy doesn’t kiss the pavement with his dog on board.
4. Breaking up and what to do with the furry friends - my son had a longtime girlfriend and when they split she left her cats and he is still taking care of them five years later. They are very sweet cats. I like the idea of visitation rights better than joint custody.
Comment by Snoopy's Friend — January 25, 2010 @ 10:12 am
Thanks for the airport info, will be flying with the Dot soon. Planning on non-stop, but with all the “security breaches” and “diverted planes”, who knows how long we’ll get stuck and where! I’ll keep the list handy {grin}
Comment by straybaby — January 25, 2010 @ 11:35 am