pet connection

Two stories on large animals dovetail this week, raising concerns most people with pets don’t always consider.

Equine welfare board needed in Kentucky: The Herald-Ledger sets the stage in the story’s lede:

There are stories of as many as 1,000 abandoned horses living on old strip mines in Eastern Kentucky, foraging for food amid sparse grassland. But no one really knows whether the tales are true.

That’s one reason a group of equine veterinarians is pushing to establish the Kentucky Equine Health and Welfare Board, which would gather more reliable statistics on Kentucky’s signature animal and recommend improvements.   Among other things, the board would create a voluntary certification system that sets care standards for equine rescue operations.

“We need to face the grim side of our moral and ethical obligations to horses,” said Doug Byars, an equine veterinarian and a founding member of the Kentucky-based Equine Health and Welfare Alliance, which is dedicated to the proper care, maintenance and treatment of horses.

The problem here as I see it, is that even though the mission is important and laudable, the 13-member board will be appointed by the Governor, and the effort will be completely voluntary.  That is, they will have ZERO public money available to accomplish any of their goals.   What does this mean?   Most likely little progress to assist at-risk horses who are an iconic part of the state’s identity.

Shortages of large animal veterinarians are still problematic: For dogs, cats, birds and other small animals, you can find veterinarians nearly anywhere.   However, for large animals (horses, cows, etc), the alarm’s been sounded in Tennessee, and and other rural areas from Vermont to California.   Google “shortage of large animal veterinarians” and you’ll find quotes like this, from a story last week by KFBB in Montana:

Dr. Kelly Manzer practices medicine at K-Heart Veterinary Service in Great Falls. While she also sees companion animals, she is one of the few veterinarians in the area to treat horses. She says those who specialize in large animals are few and far between.

“It’s physically demanding,” Manzer said. “One kick and you are done. A 1,200- pound animal can put you out of business in short order. The pay is better with small animals and graduates are tending to go into small animal practices.”

The USDA appears to understand the impact of the shortage.   According to KOMU in Missouri, the federal government will take steps to address the problem, including repaying a percentage of college loans for graduating veterinarians who commit to serve needed fields.

Wait, what does that mean? Pet Connection BFF Dr. Patty Khuly has a terrific reminder in USA Today for pet owners and veterinarians alike: Remember to speak in plain language, and if the message isn’t clear, ask for clarification.

Some words have a way of indelibly etching themselves into our gray matter, making translation seem unnecessary from our warped perspective. (What do you mean I have to explain what “gray matter” is?)   What’s worse, it seems some docs just like to hear themselves talk in tall terms. They wrap themselves up in a white coat of words, saying things like: “It seems we’re dealing with a confounding episode of acute feline ptyalism.” (Translation: “I don’t know why your cat is drooling like that.”)

This isn’t just a veterinarian thing.  It’s a people doctor issue, too.  That is why I love my veterinarian, and why it’s so important to have folks like our own Dr. Marty Becker, Dr. Narda Robinson, Dr. Tony Johnson and other caring professionals on your side.   A well-trained, experienced veterinary expert who translates the medical gobbledygook into understandable plain language is worth his or her weight in gold.

Guinea pig owners, listen up! I once owned a chinchilla named Whiskey.  I loved the little guy, but I learned to Whiskey-proof the room where he lived when I found him chomping on my expensive stereo headphone cables.  Good advice here from The Guinea Pig Connection:  look around at the things they can reach, because they love to nibble, and if you’re not careful, the consequences could be bad.

Why we work to save one dog: The fate of one abandoned dog on a ship in the South Pacific galvanized attention (and another more recently in the Baltic Sea), whereas mass suffering of people the world over creates paralyzing inaction.    I’ve just said what people scream at us all the time.   Why does this happen?   Loyal reader Mary Mary forwarded an article arguing, in effect, we’re wired that way.

[Philosphy professor] Peter Singer once devised a dilemma that highlights a central contradiction in our moral reasoning. If you see a child drowning in a pond—and you would ruin a fine pair of shoes worth $200 if you jumped into the water—would you save the child or save your shoes? Most people react incredulously to the question; obviously, a child’s life is worth more than a pair of shoes. But if this is the case, Singer asked, why do large numbers of people hesitate to write checks for $200 to a reputable charity that could save the life of a child halfway around the world—when there are millions of children who need our help?

The answer is that our moral responsibilities feel different in these situations; one situation feels visceral, the other abstract. We feel personally responsible for one child, whereas the other is one of millions who need help. Our responsibility feels diffused when it comes to children in distant places—there are many people who could write that check.

Singer, of course, is the father of the modern animal rights movement, and the inspiration for groups like PETA.

Fun with Westminster: Thanks so much to Frogdog Blog for the best pie chart of the week. … Not so fun, and surely one of the strangest stories to come out of the show: The NY Post reported that the woman who owned the dog who won the Non-Sporting Group served time for her role in the killing of horses for insurance money.

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 email.

Photo credit:  Horses in snow: Steffe, flickr creative commons.

When I walked into Dr. Tony Johnson’s session on stabilizing canine and feline trauma patients in the ER, the first thing I got was a hug.

Dr. Johnson and I have never met in person, but we recognized each other instantly. He promised to tell lots of jokes when he found out I was blogging this. I’d say “liveblogging,” but the totally FUBAR wireless access here — including on everyone’s iPhone, which has lots of Twitter and email-deprived folks fighting over the rare hallway sweet spot — made that impossible.

At least I’ll have a chance to correct my typos.

Although I heard two people in the audience say they were there to heckle, Dr. Johnson was graciousness itself to the near-capacity audience. “Wow,” he opened. “What a good looking, totally hot crowd.”

Having won them over with flattery, he got onto the difficult ethical issues.

“The conference has asked us to disclose any financial ties,” he said. “I don’t have any, but donations are gladly accepted. And in the interests of full disclosure, I have a massive hangover, but fortunately did not wake up this  morning with Mike Tyson’s tiger — or baby.”

(more…)

Our Dr. Marty Becker’s push to help pets “rise up (off the concrete), lie down (on a comfortable bed) and move out (to a new home) jumps into the Pet Connection syndicated newspaper feature this week, and already shelter pets around the country have new beds on the way.  He writes:

Let’s help shelter pets rise up, lie down and move out.

Turns out the people at the Kuranda company of Annapolis, Md., are already on this. These cot-style beds are popular with shelters (and pet owners, too, of course) because they’re easy to assemble, durable, chew-resistant and easy to keep clean. The company has a program where people buy beds and have them sent directly to any of hundreds of shelters. The cost for a donated bed is discounted 30 percent off the regular price.

In just a few days of sending the word out through our PetConnection.com Web blog, and my Facebook and Twitter accounts, the 100 beds OCAS had requested had been donated.

It’s a great start, and now I’m reaching out even more, to help pets in other shelters.

Can you donate a bed for a shelter pet? It’s easy! Go to Kuranda’s Web site and click on “Donate a Bed.” You can then choose from dozens of shelters, sorted alphabetically and also searchable by state. When you’ve chosen your shelter, the site will display what kind of beds the shelter has requested. Buy a bed, and the company will send it to the shelter you’ve chosen. It’ll take you just a couple of minutes and a credit card.

Dr. Becker also warns that yarn is dangerous around cats, and Gina explains how to fill a litter box for a rabbit. It’s all right here, now and forever, thanks to a grant from Pfizer Animal Health, sponsor of our searchable PetConnection article library.

Image: Happy pets, happy staff at the shelter in Orange County, Fla., where the pet bed drive began.

Nature’s Variety is recalling their Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet for dogs and cats with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10 due to salmonella contamination. From their release, dated today:

The only products affected are limited to chicken medallions, patties, and chubs with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10. No other Nature’s Variety products are affected.

The affected products are limited to the Nature’s Variety Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet packaged in the following forms:

* 3 lb chicken medallions (UPC# 7 69949 60130 2) with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10
* 6 lb chicken patties (UPC# 7 69949 60120 3) with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10
* 2 lb chicken chubs (UPC# 7 69949 60121 0) with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10

The “Best If Used By” date is located on the back of the package above the safe handling instructions. The affected product was distributed through retail stores and internet sales in the United States, and in limited distribution in Canada.

If you are a consumer and have purchased one of the affected products, please return the unopened product to your retailer for a full refund or replacement. If your package has been opened, please dispose of the raw food in a safe manner by securing it in a covered trash receptacle. Then, bring your receipt (or the empty package in a sealed bag) to your local retailer for a full refund or replacement.

Nature’s Variety became aware of a potential problem after receiving a consumer complaint. Subsequent testing indicated that the lot code related to the consumer complaint tested negative for Salmonella. However, additional subsequent testing found the “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10 to be contaminated with Salmonella.

No pet or human illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this lot code.

Reed Howlett, Nature’s Variety CEO, stated, “Because pet health and safety are our top priority, Nature’s Variety takes every step necessary to ensure the quality and safety of our products. In addition to our industry best manufacturing practices, and in an abundance of caution, all Nature’s Variety raw frozen products now will undergo a ‘test and hold’ period before being released for sale.”

Full release here.

The Pet Connection team has a notable presence in the new issue of The Bark magazine.

Christie on the realities of no-kill today: Yes, our very own Christie Keith has a feature article in the current issue on the no-kill movement, which is both the hottest, most controversial  issue in sheltering today and the most promising. Since the magazine’s articles are not available on Teh Interwebs, you’ll just have to go to your newsstand and pick up a copy, or better yet, do what I’m doing: Get yourself a subscription!  To whet your appetite, I’ll give you a snippet of Christie’s piece:

For decades, the dream of a no-kill nation was considered exactly that: a dream. Yet today, communities across the country are closing in on the promise of saving all their healthy and treatable dogs and cats. Almost all organizations involved in tracking shelter data, including the Humane Society of the United States and Maddie’s Fund, estimate that the number of animals killed annually in shelters has plummeted from more than 25 million in the 1970s to around four million today. The United States has never been closer to becoming a no-kill nation than it is at this moment. But will we ever get there?

Best, brightest … and here: But wait, there’s more.  Our own Gina Spadafori gets a mention in this issue, as well.  She has been named one of the 100 best and brightest figures in the dog world, as well as Pet Connection’s Dr. Narda Robinson, of Colorado State University.  Now how totally cool is that?  Brava Christie, Dr. Narda and Gina!  Other names on the list most likely to be familiar to Pet Connection readers include:

• Nathan Winograd, no-kill movement trailblazer
• Dr. Kate Hurley, shelter medicine pioneer
• Dr. Robin Downing, pain medicine expert
• Dr. Nancy Kay, internal medicine specialist and author of the  Speaking for Spot blog
• Dr. Paul Pion, world-famous veterinary cardiologist and founder of the Veterinary Information Network and the  VIN News Service
• Dr. Donald Strombeck, who wrote the book on home-prepared diets
• Dr. Marion Nestle, truth-teller, food industry expert and author of the Food Politics blog
• Dave Duffield, founder of Maddie’s Fund
• Richard Avanzino of Maddie’s Fund
• Wayne Pacelle of the  HSUS

It’s not the first time Dr. Pion and Gina Spadafori have been on a magazine’s “Best of” list, by the way: Cat Fancy magazine named their book “Cats For Dummies” as one of the top 100 events of the 20th century for cats.

The pet beats the honey: If you’ve walked past any card store, flower store or jewelry store in the past week, you know that Valentine’s Day will soon be upon us.  I’m not a big fan of the “holiday” for my own reasons, but MSNBC.com warmed my heart with the assertion that one in every five adults would rather spend Feburary 14 with their pet.

The survey of 24,000 people in 23 countries found 21 percent of adults would rather spend February 14 with their pet than their spouse, although the French were least likely to choose a furry friend over a human, with only 10 percent taking that option.

Bayer allows Advantage and K-9 Advantix to be  sold via retail: Edie Lau at the VIN News Service says we can expect to see wider retail sale of some flea-and-tick products from here on in.    Although you’ve been able to buy Bayer’s Advantage and K-9 Advantix through some online vendors and feed stores (which use legitimate but murky “gray market channels”), far more retail and internet outlets have been kept out of the selling of these products.  Some veterinarians aren’t pleased with the development.

Expressing a resentment shared by others, Dr. Carl Darby, a practitioner in Seneca Falls, N.Y., wrote in an online discussion on the Veterinary Information Network (VIN): “I hope that Bayer understands that losing their highly educated, motivated and dedicated free sales force may have long-term impacts on their business, and it may be difficult for them to regain the trust of the profession.”

It’ll be interesting to see if other companies follow Bayer’s lead.

Teen kidnaps puppy to save it: Bronson Stewart is 19 years old and lives in New Zealand.  His puppy was hit by a car and badly injured.  When the family couldn’t pay for the surgery, they elected for euthanasia to end the dog’s suffering.  Bronson wouldn’t accept that.

“I just knew I had to get my dog back. He’s like my brother,” Stewart told TV One’s “Closeup” program Wednesday.

“They can’t just kill him because I haven’t got any money.”

Stewart went to the veterinary clinic last Friday and asked to see Buck, grabbed the little dog and ran home.

Things got dicey after that, but it has a happy ending, promise.  Go read.

Note: This is where I usually remind you to send links or tips for stories to me, but I’ll be out of town for a few days, and Gina will be pitching in for Monday’s column, so send tips and links to petconnection@gmail.com.  See you next week.

Photo credit: Millie, thebark.com.