pet connection

My dogs, Chipper and Cleo, love to ride in the back of my Saturn SUV for long road trips and even for short errands. I created a “canine condo” in the back that includes a floor-to-ceiling metal gate to keep them from accessing the middle seats or worse – trying to grab my steering wheel. It comes with a pet first-aid kit, extra leashes, battery-operated fans, comfortable bedding and more canine amenities.

With them in the back, I am free from doggy distractions and able to focus on driving. Earlier this week, we were the third and final vehicle in line waiting for the light to change from red to green. I looked into my rear view mirror and spotted a white Toyota Tundra 4-by-4 truck barreling our way. Bam! This giant white truck collided into the rear of my SUV, propelling it forward. Fortunately, there was enough of a gap that I did not hit the vehicle in front of me.

My first thought: my dogs. As I opened my door, I fell onto the pavement, picked myself up and hurried to the passenger side to open the door leading into the middle row of seats. “Chipper! Cleo! Are you okay?” I cried out.

As I opened the door, I saw my two dogs shaking violently, cowering and lip licking. I then went to the back hatch that was miraculously able to open despite the more than $3,500 in damage done to the vehicle.

Chipper and Cleo know the “stay” command – which they heeded as I quickly put their leashes on them and assessed them. They were clearly scared, but uninjured. Whew. The gate kept them from propelling forward in my car and possibly, through the windshield.

I was not so lucky. A three-hour trip at urgent care revealed I had whiplash, soft tissue damage to my neck and shoulders, a swollen left shin – not to mention a rattled state of mind.

The driver of the truck and I were able to limp our vehicles a block away into the Oceanside High School parking lot to exchange information. As fate would have it, a police squad car was there. Naturally, the officer was a K-9 officer with his trained German shepherd, Ranger, in his squad car. Call it pet karma.

The driver of the truck readily took full responsibility and the reporting of the accident was handled in a civil manner. Chipper and Cleo were able to walk on leashes with no signs of injury for which I am grateful. Each sport collars with their names and my phone number embroidered on them – as well as microchips. My cell phone identifies three people on my “in case of emergency” list and all three know my pets, my veterinarian’s information and access to my house.

Accidents can happen to anyone at any time. But, I share this as a reminder of the importance of keeping our dogs as safe as possible when they ride with us in our vehicles. It saddens – and frustrates – me when I see little dogs riding on the laps of drivers with their heads and sometimes, front legs dangling out the car window. Or big dogs untethered in the back of truck beds. Or dogs racing back and forth in the middle seats with no harnesses or restraints.

Seriously, folks – show how much you really love your dogs – and cats and other traveling pets – by keeping them safe when you drive. Last year, I happily agreed to post a short safety video for the “Be Smart, Ride Safe” campaign being conducted by Bark Buckle Up and “Pet Safety Lady” Christina Selter.

She shares these facts:

• A 60-pound pet becomes a 2,700 pound projectile, at just 35 miles per hour.
• Pet travel has increased 300 percent since 2005.
• Unrestrained pets delay emergency workers’ access to human occupants.
• Pets escaping post-accident pose many dangers, including catching the loose pet.
• Injured pets may bite first responders and rescue workers.
• Pets may escape through a window or open door and cause a second accident.
• Driver distraction is common when unrestrained pets are rambunctious.

Selter created the “Be Smart, Ride Safe” pledge, allowing pet-owners to commit to being safer with pets for the safety of the owner, the safety of pets and to protect first responders. I encourage you to get size-appropriate harnesses for pets who travel in the middle seats or inside pet carriers that can be held in place with seat belts and to never allow your pet to ride in the front passenger seat due to driver distraction and the airbag deployment injuries.

I hope you check out the Bark Buckle Up site for more helpful info, including how to obtain a pet safety kit you can keep in your vehicle’s glove box.

As I type this, I am wearing a neck brace and taking medication to relive the pain in my neck and back muscles. And, I am delivering prayers of gratitude that Chipper and Cleo escaped physical harm and are cuddled up next to me. Let’s be safe on the roads – for the sake of ourselves, others and our pets.

Photo credits: Arden Moore, www.fourleggedlife.com

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If you’re still toying with the idea of getting someone a puppy for Christmas, and you’ve found yourself looking at the choices in a mall pet-store, or clicking through a wide-ranging selection on a website, please read on. Because while our Dr. Becker previously noted that the old idea that getting a pet at this time of year isn’t the bad-no-no-not-ever-never matter some may tell you it is, buying from a pet store or a click-and-ship website is a horrible idea at any time of year. That’s because what you’re supporting when you do that is more than likely a puppy-mill, like the one that was the source of a  distemper outbreak that ended up with 1,200 dogs having to be killed to prevent the spread of this often-deadly disease.  From the AP:

An estimated 1,200 dogs at a Kansas kennel were euthanized after an outbreak in Wyoming of the highly contagious disease distemper was linked to the large-scale breeding operation.

Kansas Livestock Commissioner Bill Brown said the state started investigating the Beaver Creek Kennels near Oberlin in September after being contacted by Wyoming’s state veterinarian about distemper cases at a pet store in Cheyenne.

Brown said Wednesday that the Kansas Animal Health Department quarantined the kennel twice after investigators confirmed several cases of distemper in puppies that were being sold out of state. When breeder Jeff Fortin couldn’t sell dogs because of the quarantines, he ran out of money to pay staff members and take care of the animals. [...]  Brown said no shelters would take the dogs because of the outbreak, so the decision was made to euthanize them.

Here’s the rest. Wait, you say! Isn’t distemper preventable with an inexpensive vaccine? Why yes, it is.  But Mr. Fortin isn’t exactly the kind of person who seems to care about such details as providing medical care for his “livestock.”After all, as the same article reports:

Nearly three years of USDA inspection reports for Fortin’s kennels show violations for things like failure to keep adequate records, failure to adequately treat animals with health problems and allowing trash, junk and discarded kennel materials near large dog enclosures.

USDA spokesman David Sacks said Fortin was fined $8,795 in February 2006 for facility violations, and was issued a warning letter in March for facility violations and denying access to inspectors.

The State of Kansas has agreed to let him get back in business after six months, by the way.

A better way to spay: Writing for the Whole Dog Journal, Pet Connection favorite Dr. Nancy Kay (we like her so much we let her borrow our Dr. Tony Johnson for her blog when she was in the hospital!) looks at spay surgeries that remove ovaries only, instead of the entire reproductive system (hey, weren’t we talking about this the other day?). From the article:

When some savvy veterinarians took a fresh look at performing spays, a surgery we’ve been doing the exact same way for decades, they came up with a revised technique that accomplishes all of the objectives of the spay surgery with fewer complications.

[...]

What happens when we leave the uterus behind? Isn’t it subject to becoming diseased later in life? Actually, the incidence of uterine disease in dogs whose ovaries have been removed is exceptionally low. Pyometra (pus within the uterus), is the most common uterine disorder in unspayed dogs, and typically necessitates emergency surgery to remove the uterus.Without the influence of progesterone, a hormone produced by the ovaries, pyometra does not naturally occur. The incidence of uterine cancer is extremely low in dogs (0.4 percent of all canine tumors) – hardly a worry, and studies have shown that the frequency of adult onset urinary incontinence (urine leakage) is the same whether or not the uterus is removed during the spay procedure.

If you are not already convinced that the “new spay is the better way,” consider the following complications that can be mitigated or avoided all together when the uterus remains unscathed.

Go on … click over. It’s really cool stuff.

The wisdom of crowds? We have enough people trying to comment on this blog who are obviously being paid by one company or another to boost their benefactor or tear down a competitor to make me suspicious of any site that offers anonymous reviews of anything, from a restaurant to a car mechanic to a veterinarian. And frankly, I would never choose a health-care professional for me or my pets based even on reviews with actual names attached. That’s because too many times what others value does not match up with my thinking on priorities. Cheap and convenient seems to be what a lot of people are looking for in a veterinarian, but competence, cutting-edge knowledge and compassion is what I want. If I needed any more reason to ignore review sites when it comes to healthcare  — which I don’t, really  — I’d have found it on the VIN New Service.  In an article last week, VNS reported on negative reviews turning up on website regarding a veterinarian about the same time that a service offered to help her remove the negative comments — for a fee.  Everyone denies everything, but … well, read it for yourself.

And while we’re on the subject of anonymous commenters who aren’t representing themselves honestly, I’m guessing the sudden uptick in people swearing by so-called “anesthesia-free dental cleanings” has something to do with this, also reported by the VIN News Service.  We always attract a fair number of outraged “customers” who swear by the cosmetic-at-best non-alternative to what veterinarians do, but they usually turn up on one of these posts of Christie’s.

Sociopaths aren’t fixable: Did your head explode over the suggestion by HSUS alpha dog Wayne Pacelle that Michael Vick would probably one day make a fine pet-owner? You wouldn’t be alone. Nor would you be alone in noting that the focus  of one history’s  biggest and likely most expensive PR campaigns ever sees the addition of a dog as the next step in his image overhaul. Not because he, you know, gives a damn about animals. Oh, but he does think his daughters are being short-changed because they can’t have a dog. Mr. Vick, if it were up to me,  you wouldn’t be allowed near your children, either.

For the record, I do agree with Terrierman Patrick Burns’ assertion that shelters kill more pit-bulls than Michael Vick ever could have because efforts to reduce the numbers of pit-bulls to better match number of people who want and/or can care for these dogs have utterly failed. (Although I don’t agree with all his conclusions on how to change that.)

But you know, I gotta tell you: It’s not for lack of trying on Sick Vick’s part. He and his pals killed as many as they could, but he did have to take time out to play football.

Here’s the thing: I can actually think Michael Vick is unrepentent slime AND also think we have failed to protect many more pitbulls than the ones he owned. I’m good at multitasking!

Better care for animals and people in Afghanistan: One of my many veterinarian friends had two wishes growing up. She wanted to serve her county as a soldier, and she wanted to be a veterinarian. So she signed up to have her schooling paid for by the U.S. Army, and then put in a few year of active duty and a quite a few more in the reserves. She spent part of her military career caring for the Army’s K-9 soldiers, but a lot of what she did was public-health outreach in other countries. I thought of her when reading this article by Maj. Loren Adams, DVM, about his work developing rabies-control programs in the Kunar province, working with local veterinarians. If you don’t know about the important role veterinarians play in public health or the important work they do in our military, you ought to give it a read.

A whale of a tale … but it’s true: A hat-tip to regular reader Dorene for passing along a link to a BBC story about a dog who sniffs out whales for a living on the Oregon coast. Wonderful pictures, too.

Honda says it’s not so Elemental: Finally, the sad news that Honda has decided to stop production on the two-time DogCars.com Best In Show DogCar of the Year, the Honda Element. The 2011 model year will be its last. We shutter the DogCars.com website, and Honda ditches the Element. Coinkidink? Hmmmm. Notes Autoweek:

Rather than the Generation Y-ers for whom it was originally intended, the ute mainly appealed to 50-year-olds and animal lovers.

I’ll be 53 in a couple of weeks, and you know how I feel about animals. Guess it’s no surprise I love that vehicle! In fact, if you haven’t picked out a gift yet …

***

David will be back Monday. Send your tips and links to PetConnectionNews@gmail.com.

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This blog has such a long history — in Internet terms, anyway — and a distinct personality as a place where people take on the hard subjects, dismantle and re-examine “conventional wisdom,” debate vigorously and (I hope) learn things that may inform their future decisions and opinions.

We also do silly, heartwarming and just plain cool pet stuff, because we all need this from time to time.

Christie and I started this blog, before I became business partners with Dr. Becker, before she started consulting for Maddie’s Fund and long before we brought new bloggers and an advisory team on board. During the pet-food recall in 2007, we worked 24/7 (me on the day shift, Christie on the night shift) for about six weeks trying to report what had happened (overseas crooks misrepresenting ingredients), how many thousands of pets were killed or sickened (tens of thousands in all) and what could be done to prevent a recurrence (alas, the food system for pets and people continues to be a grave threat to our health).

In time, we brought in more bloggers, and we’re still adding them now. Our advisory team is about to jump by another half-dozen top veterinarians and one well-known pet-care expert, and we still have our eyes on a couple more people to join us. None of our bloggers or advisory team members are full-time: They’re working veterinarians, dog-trainers and reporters specializing in pet care.

Earlier this year, we here at PetConnection talked about how we can make our entire website more helpful to visitors. We’ve always had a free searchable archive of articles, a free e-mail newsletter and, of course, this blog that a lot of people enjoy following. After much discussion, we decided to break out two new sections for the website, one that’s splitting off from this blog (and absorbing the content from our now-defunct DogCars.com website) and another that’s completely new, a section set aside just for the video podcasts.

The blog  for reviews of products, book and vehicles is already live, although I’m still adding the content from DogCars.com to it, as well as older product reviews moving from this blog to the new one. We’ll “tease” to new reviews on this blog, but the entire review will be in the new section. Our Ericka Basile will continue to coordinate our product reviews, and starting Jan. 1, our Phyllis DeGioia will coordinate book reviews. I will coordinate the DogCars reviews, and will write them along with Kim Campbell Thornton, who picked them up when I flat-out got tired of driving a new car every week. (Yes, it happens, but in my case it took three years.) Click on “Product Reviews” in the top navigation to get to that new section. (For more on our product-review policies, click here.)

Within a couple of weeks or so, we’ll have a “Videos” tab in the navigation bar, and that new section will also be live. Relatively inexpensive HD videocams are pretty common these days, and so, too, is basic video-editing software. In addition to a monthly video from Dr. Becker, we’ll be featuring video reports from conferences, and video features from other members of our PetConnection team.

Finally, we’ll be beefing up our existing online store in the weeks to come to include 99 cent e-books as well as all the books authored by our advisory team and bloggers — which is a lot of books, as in dozens and dozens. We’re also going to play with some other items in the store, but that’s still not far enough along to have firm details. More information when I have it.

Hope you enjoy the additions!

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When it comes to test-driving and reviewing vehicles from a dog-lover’s point of view, sometimes a girl just wants to have a little fun as well. That’s how Kim Campbell Thornton felt about her test of the 2010 Mazda3 Grand Touring for DogCars.com, Pet Connection’s site that provides news and reviews about vehicles for people who love to travel with their pups.

Kim and her crew thoroughly enjoyed the sporty feel and driving ability of the Mazda3 around the hills of Southern California, but not before she tested various configurations for crates in the compact hatchback to ensure that her three small pups would be safely secured during their daily driving.

However, while the Mazda3 was able to handle her needs, Kim points out that drivers with bigger dogs or heavier hauling duties will want to opt for something a bit more sizable than the petite Mazda3.

“Read on if you’re an urban dweller with a small or medium-size dog or three who wants a car that’s fun to drive, easy to park, and gets good mileage. Skip it if you live out in the country with two or more large or giant dogs and need a vehicle that can haul big crates and bales of hay.”

Read the rest of Kim’s review here, and all of our pup-tested vehicle reviews at DogCars.com.

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Don’t look now, but we may have a DogCars.com dynasty in the making.

As the net’s top resource for dog-loving drivers, the PetConnection’s DogCars.com team tests new vehicles from a dog-lover’s point of view, and then reports our canine-friendly findings in detail, along with a general overall award rating of one-to-five paws.

That’s where the dynasty is developing. One manufacturer has produced models for DogCars.com testing that have all been awarded ratings of five paws – the highest possible honors. One can bet that even if we added a higher rating – say, five paws and a tail wag – this automaker would still be on top.

The winner is . . . Subaru!

The Japanese automaker has done nothing but impress the heck out of our DogCars.com reviewers. A few months back, the 2010 Subaru Outback scored five paws in a review by Kim Campbell Thornton, who admittedly owns an Outback as her personal DogCar of choice.

And now the 2010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium has arrived in Kim’s driveway for testing, and the results are the same as they were when we tested the 2007 version – five paws!

Here’s a sneak peak at Kim’s review:

The 2010 Subaru Forester has grown up to be a practical and attractive vehicle. Because I have small dogs, height isn’t essential, but I prefer to be able to fit my crates in the cargo area without giving up valuable passenger space. Thanks to a longer wheelbase, that’s now possible.

You can read the rest of Kim’s review, and many others at DogCars.com.

Another reason to stick with Subaru is the fact that Consumer Reports has named the 2010 Subaru Forester its top pick in the Small Sport Utility Vehicle category.

That’s certainly worth a wag or two!

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