pet connection

[Update: The city council said, "Aye," followed by standing applause.] If you’re near Austin today, you might want to drop in to see the city council make history.  The Austin-American Statesman supplies the dry details, but here’s the skinny:

• $12 million will be appropriated to build a brand new shelter, and more importantly
• Austin will commit itself to a citywide no-kill policy, joining Charlottesville, Va., and Reno, among others.

Congratulations, Austin.

Microchip and insurance requirement in the UK? There’s a movement afoot in the United Kingdom to mandate microchips for all dogs.  A separate proposal would require  dog owners to buy insurance against injury to a third party.   I don’t like this as compulsory policy, but I was interested in reading Dr. Shawn Messonnier’s opinion on this.

Speaking of reporting back, an update on a previously discussed story:

No bark-softening in the Bay State: Following up on previous stories discussing the controversy over bark softening (also called debarking and devocalization), the Massachusetts House voted 150-1 last week to prohibit the procedure for any reason other than the health of the animal.   Petside’s opinion on the matter is clear:

This cruel and unnecessary procedure, along with tail docking and feline declawing, has already been humanely banned throughout the United Kingdom. But, sadly to say I was unable to find any other state in this country that has either passed or that has pending legislation to ban this senseless and dangerous surgery. In fact, California, New Jersey and Ohio have already attempted to broadly ban the procedure without any success.

…or Arizona, for that matter: Meanwhile, Chandler, Ariz. would rather assault the dogs in and near its parks with high frequency sound (thanks for that one, Anne T).

[T]he proximity to homes where backyard dogs might be exposed could upset neighborhood dogs that aren’t barking but sense they are being punished, Smith said.

Kimberly Searles, spokeswoman for the Arizona Humane Society, said the Dog Silencer “does have the potential to negatively affect dogs who are not barking, in that it can make them not want to go to the dog park if doing so is going to hurt their ears.”

You have the right to remain silent….you have the right to an attorney.  However, your pet doesn’t.  At least not in Switzerland.  (thanks, Deb)

Like, totally vetted, man: OK class, pop quiz time.  Hey, pipe down in back.  If you’ve studied this won’t be a problem.  Everyone check out that red bar on the left side of the page where all the interesting pet blogs are listed.  See anything different?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Two links are missing.  Which ones?  Nobody?  OK, I’ll give you the answer.  Pet Connection’s BFF Dr. Patty Khuly has started a brand new blog, called “Fully Vetted.”  It’s an amalgamation of her two older blogs, Dolittler and Daily Vet.  You’ll notice they’re both gone.  This will be easier for her, and of course (more importantly), easier for me to get all the good stuff in once place.

Not so much for the tootsies: And Dr. Khuly has already started us off with a short but totally sensible mini-rant on why she’d prefer not to trim toenails (I presume she’s referring to those of the pets she sees).

Let’s be honest: a dog that gets a nail trim once a year is receiving an all-but-useless service that only serves to make him more afraid of the veterinarian’s office. After all, they’ll have grown out within a month or two — less in some cases. And some dogs really don’t need trimming at all as long as they walk on surfaces that sufficiently file their toenails.

That’s why I’ve begun a campaign to reduce nail trims at my workplace. Unless the animal is easily amenable or under anesthesia, annual or semi-annual nail trims are counterproductive when conducted by a veterinarian or her staff. You want his nails trimmed? Go to the groomer. Go to PetSmart. Go anywhere else except the place where stress should be minimized for medical reasons.

She’s right.  I don’t remember the last time we had to trim Cami and Harry’s nails.

I always like to hear from readers, especially if you have tips, and links for interesting stories.  Give me a shout in the comments, or better yet, send me an e-mail.

Photo credits:  Austin skyline, utexas.edu. Pink nails, petmd.com.

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