pet connection

Just a quick note to let you know that a TV crew is on their way to my house to interview me about Kyrie’s struggle with drug-resistant staph (MRSI) … they also interviewed my veterinarian. This was prompted by my column on SFGate.com yesterday, which has generated an enormous amount of email from people dealing with MRSI in their pets, as well as an unprecendented number of reprint requests.

However, the reporter wasn’t all that interested in me. She just wanted to make sure that Kyrie would be available for the cameras. So the fluffy one is all shiny and brushed, and sitting in regal splendor on the sofa waiting for her close-up, Mr. DeMille.

I’ll be back soon with the full report. And if I can get my about-to-be-replaced computer’s faltering USB interface to see my digital camera…. PICTURES!

For now, this totally silly one of Kyrie as a puppy will have to do.

UPDATE: It’s not exactly correct in its details, but here’s the video clip of the report, with lots of great camera time for Kyrie! If anyone knows how to save that video, I’d be very grateful!

Also, photos under the jump!

(more…)

Christie’s writing about drug-resistant staph infections in pets for her “Your Whole Pet” column for SFGate.com, the online home of the San Francisco Chronicle. That piece won’t be up until Wednesday, but you can get a preview by checking out the transcript of her extended interview with veterinary dermatologist Dr. Laura Stokking:

Dr. Stokking is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology, and has published several book chapters and reviews in veterinary dermatology and has lectured veterinarians at national and local conferences. She is active in educating general practitioners in San Diego County on recognizing and treating resistant staph infections in companion animals.

[...]

CHRISTIE KEITH: Are you seeing a lot of MRSI in your practice?

DR. LAURA STOKKING: I certainly am, and certainly more than I saw a year ago this time.

CHRISTIE KEITH: Do you think it’s being diagnosed more or do you think it’s more prevalent? And what do you suggest to general practitioners?

DR. LAURA STOKKING: I think it’s definitely a combination of both, being diagnosed more and also more prevalent.

I’m basically recommending to general practitioners that they do cultures if something does not respond the way we think it should. So if a pet has been on the standard antibiotics that have been working for years like cephalexin and clavamox and all those things that have worked for canine skin infections for decades, if they see a change where the pet is on those drugs and they’re not working, then a culture needs to be done so we can treat based on the culture result to know exactly what the issue is, what the organism is and what the best ways to treat that organism are.

Here’s the rest. We’ll put up the article (and the transcript link, again) when Christie’s article is up on SFGate.com.

Or, more on why Google ads make me want to scream …

I have Gmail. I love it. But since nearly all our Pet Connection e-mail is about pets, so, too are almost all the Google ads on display.

Just a few minutes ago, an ad for Bernese Mountain Dog puppies popped up on my Gmail account. Ah, what the heck, I’m procrastinating for a few minutes, so I clicked. Cute, cute puppies, for sale now. Credit cards accepted. Paypal, too. Pics of the mom and the dad (Clue No. 1 that you’re dealing with the clueless or careless breeder: The best match for any particular female is often — but not always — owned by someone else.)

More cute pics, of past litters. But nowhere, not anywhere on the site: a single even cursory mention of the fact that Bernese Mountain Dogs are one of the worst breeds to be hit by cancer at an exceptionally young ages. Malignant Histiocytosis, and Berners are the poster children for it. Deadly, heartbreaking stuff, and well I know it since it strikes Flat-Coated Retrievers commonly, too. (My sweet Ben died of it, age 11.) And yet, no mention of the problem. Just cute puppies, buy now!

Nothing, not one word on hip or elbow certifications (these problems are also common in the breed), nor on any other testing for congenital defects, such a Progressive Retinal Atrophy.

Nothing on all the health problems in the breed at all. Not. One. Word. Since they’re not seeing fit to educate their buyers, it’s a pretty good guess they’re not doing anything to help with the breed’s considerable health problems. They would appear to be, to take a term from the Terrierman, Hump and Dump breeders.

Shame.

Don’t support people like these. They are destroying the dogs they say they love, just for the sake of selling puppies.

Educating people against breeders like this — not a puppy mill, but not much better than one, really — is one of the things that keeps me writing, along with the love I have for pets and the people who really care for and about them.

There are good, responsible, ethical breeders out there if you want a particular breed of dog. Take the time to find them. It’ll save you some serious heartbreak (and major dough), and may help save the breed you admire.

Thanks, Mike, for tipping us. From Newsday:

CAMDEN, N.J. - Details of a legal settlement over contaminated pet food blamed for the deaths of perhaps thousands of dogs and cats are to be made public on Wednesday.

Around 300 pet owners have sued Streetsville, Ontario-based Menu Foods Income Fund in U.S. District Court since the contamination was discovered more than a year ago.

The company announced on April 1 that it was settling lawsuits with pet owners in the U.S. and Canada, but terms were not disclosed.

Details of the deal were due in U.S. District Court in Camden on Tuesday, but lawyers in the case asked for a 24-hour extension. A hearing on the settlement agreement is scheduled for May 30.

“Perhaps thousands.” Thanks, Newsday, and ain’t that better than whatever crap the FDA is still handing out?

We’ll update as we can.

And also, this incredible piece Therese has on her PetsitUSA blog:

For her science fair project, a seventeen year old high school student from Mississippi developed a faster, less expensive way to detect chemicals such as melamine & cyanuric acid in pet (and other) food. Natalie Saranga Omattage won a $50,000 scholarship for her efforts.

More here.

Tip of the hat to Pat for pointing out this AP story on behaviorist Dr. Emily Weiss of the ASPCA and her work trying to “cat”-egorize felines into personality types:

“People come in and say, I had a black and white tuxedo cat before, so that’s what I want,” says Jim Monsma of the Washington Animal Rescue League in Washington, D.C. “But cats are not all the same. They have widely divergent personalities.”

That’s why the shelter is now using the Feline-ality program, developed by behaviorist Dr. Emily Weiss of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Part of the ASPCA’s Meet Your Match program, which also includes Canine-ality for dogs, the program assesses a variety of behaviors in individual cats. It rates the animals on confidence and sociability, which Weiss’ research has shown are independent of each other.

The program then tallies those assessments to place the cat into nine personality categories, which can be matched with a family’s situation and desires. [...] The program is used at 45 shelters, with additional facilities preparing to use it.

Our Pet Connection behavior team, Susan and Dr. Rolan Tripp, just wrote a piece (coming out next week) for our newspaper clients on how to judge personality types in kittens.

Cats aren’t as diverse in their personalities as dogs are, but certainly the person who wants a quiet lap-cat isn’t going to be happy with an adventurous, always in motion go-kitty. And of course the person who wants a playful, engaged cat will find the lap-kitty too boring.

I’m glad shelters are trying to look at feline personality types to help people make a better match.

Completely unrelated: Check out the lattice mane braid (click the image to see it larger) done and photographed by the amazing Sarah K. Andrew, lead photographer for our Ultimate Horse Lover book. Sarah, you rock! (I also like this picture revealing the secret of the equine photographer: Who needs a tripod when you have a quad-pod?)

More completely unrelated, but way cool: Thanks to everyone who sent me this one:

When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught - recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.

Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor’s roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.

He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.

“I’m Mr. Yosuke Nakamura,” the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.

Not just “Yosuke Nakamura” but “Mr. Yosuke Nakamura”! Ha!