pet connection

Real Ham Bone for Dogs could be a real problem: Dogs are reported to be sickened or killed after ingesting Dynamic Pet Products’ “Real Ham Bone for Dogs,” carrying the Frick’s Quality Meats label.   According to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, the Better Business Bureau of St. Louis has issued an alert saying the treats, made from 8-inch smoked pork femur bones, are splintering, creating intestinal blockages and death.

According to the BBB, a veterinarian who surgically removed bone fragments from one of the dogs said, “Things like this shouldn’t happen. If you can’t say it’s safe, it probably isn’t something you should have in stores.”

ConsumerAffairs.com has received similar complaints.   The bones are sold in stores such as Dollar General, as well as supermarkets nationwide.  Where is the FDA, you ask?  They are looking into it. Meanwhile, the company in question is quoted in a post from omidog saying, well, you can read it here:

The company said Thursday it was saddened to learn of the illnesses and deaths of customers’ pets, and that quality and safety remain priorities. The packaging contains a warning about the product not being for all dogs, and the possibility that it could splinter.

“That is why every package contains a label that provides detailed instructions to owners on how they can help their pets best enjoy our products,” the company said in a statement. “We strongly encourage owners to supervise their pets with any treats or snacks.”

If you have any of these treats in your home, you might want to consider not feeding them to your dogs and taking them back to the store.

Grace’s Law passes Rules Committee: The Georgia House of Representatives will vote tomorrow on final passage of Grace’s Law.   The bill is largely the product of a grassroots effort led by the Georgia Voters for Animal Welfare (GVAW).  Grace’s Law would outlaw the gassing or heartsticking (injecting lethal drugs directly into the heart of a conscious animal) of shelter pets in the state, and it was reported out of the Rules Committee on Thursday.    The full text of the bill, denoted HB 788, is here.   Here’s the reality:  Passage of the bill isn’t anything close to guaranteed.  The vote could go either way.  If you live in Georgia, please call your representative.  If you have friends or relatives in Georgia (as I do), kindly pass this along to them.    From Valerie Hayes’ Examiner.com article on the bill:

It is particularly important that residents of counties which still use the gas chamber to kill shelter pets call or write in support of Grace’s Law.  They are:

1. Ashburn, City of (In Turner County; no county facility; chamber housed in city.)
2. Butts County Animal Control
3. Cobb County Animal Control
4. Cordele, City of (Crisp County)
5. Cuthbert, City of (In Randolph County; no county facility; chamber housed in city.)
6. Haralson County Animal Shelter
7. Hawkinsville, City of (In Pulaski County; no county facility; chamber housed in city.)
8. Henry County Animal Control
9. Lakeland, City of (In Lanier County; no county facility; chamber housed in city.)
10. Mitchell County Animal Control
11. Vienna, City of Animal Shelter (In Dooly County; no county facility; chamber housed in city.)

Bedbugs?  Put a dog on the case. Let me state at the outset that this topic makes my skin crawl, but as your intrepid news editor, it’s my responsibility to pass it along.   Bedbugs are making a resurgence, and you might be surprised to know that one of the best possible methods of detection is a properly trained bedbug-sniffing dog.  The New York Times explains.

Bedbug-sniffing dogs, adorable yet stunningly accurate — entomology researchers at the University of Florida report that well-trained dogs can detect a single live bug or egg with 96 percent accuracy — are the new and furry front line in an escalating and confounding domestic war.[...]

Consider that six years ago, there were 537 bedbug complaints and 82 violations (in other words, verified infestations); last year, complaints topped out at nearly 11,000, with 4,084 violations cited (nearly double that of the previous year).

Didn’t bedbugs used to be less of a problem?  Yes.  In the 1950’s and ’60’s, they were mostly eradicated with pesticides like DDT, which have since been banned.  However, many countries overseas still have bedbug infestations, and increased international travel has brought the critters back to our shores.

Fuji’s new pet camera: Are you in the market for a new digital camera?  Got a pet?  I’m assuming the answer to the second question is yes, otherwise why are you here?  Our buddy Maria Goodavage over at Dogster spotlighted an intriguing new product from Fujifilm: the FinePix Z700EXR compact camera.  Digital cameras have featured face recognition capability for some years now.  The FinePix Z700EXR goes one step better: It recognizes and optimizes photographic capture of pet faces — both dog and cat, though Maria, understandably, just talked about the dog part (she writes for Dogster, not Catster).  The camera looks pretty snazzy, and there are pets it’s particularly good at capturing, but it has some potentially annoying limitations, including:

• it doesn’t do quite so well with black, or predominately black pets (Gina just frowned)
• it’s not good with pets who are constantly in motion (sorry, FayBee, and Christie’s soon-to-be-arriving puppy)
• pets with large, predominately dark, patches around the eyes and/or nose, won’t be recognized as well
• wrinkly, short, muzzled faces (sorry, Mikkel’s pug Willy)

However, if you have a beagle,  golden retriever, Maltese, Abyssinian, Maine coon, or any of the breeds shown here, feel free to send me a camera review.

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:  Ham Bone, baltimoresun.com. Grace, Phil Draughon.

[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.

We tore across the grassy scrubland, as much as one can tear across grassy scrubland. Our top speed was probably 40 kilometers per hour, a little slower when there were obstacles in our way.

Who knew that I would find a DogCar to write about in Botswana? Except this one is not for hauling dogs to shows or agility trials or the veterinary clinic. No, this one is for going cross-country, following after packs of African wild dogs as they move through their enormous territory. It mows down bushes and small trees (which usually spring right back up again) and goes over logs with ease.

The 4×4 URI (which means “jump” in the Khoisan language) was designed by a Namibian farmer and is used by Kwando Lagoon Camp, where we stayed, and its sister camp Lebala, specifically for seeking out the wild dogs who live in the area. The open vehicles seat up to seven passengers, plus the guide in the driver’s seat and the tracker, who sits on a seat firmly attached to the hood.

What makes it different from the vehicles at other camps? Carlos, our guide, thumped the hood. “This is steel. That’s why we don’t mind bumps. We can go over stumps and big logs on the ground.”

Sometimes there were big holes that we didn’t see until we were in them or big logs blocking our route. We’d start over them and then stop. I’d think, ‘Well, this is it. We’re not going to get out of this one. Someone will have to come tow us.” And then Carlos would put it in high 4 and off we’d go.

The only trick, he says, is you have to know how to drive through sand and mud. If you don’t, that’s when you get stuck.

I’m thinking field trialers and Malibu dog owners in mudslide areas might want to special-order a few of these babies.

Study: Removal of ovaries could affect lifespan. A potentially groundbreaking study examined aging in Rottweilers.   The work by a team led by Dr. David Waters of Purdue, published in the December 2009 issue of the journal Aging Cell, strongly indicates that the length of time a dog retains her ovaries is directly linked to how many years she will live.

Dr. Waters’ team spent a decade collecting and analyzing medical histories, longevity, and causes of death for 119 Rottweilers in the United States and Canada that survived to 13 years of age. These dogs were compared with a group of 186 Rottweilers with more typical longevity.

Researchers found that female Rottweilers have a distinct survival advantage over males—a trend also documented in humans. That advantage appears to be determined by whether the female dog is sexually intact, however. “Taking away ovaries during the first four years of life completely erased the female survival advantage,” Dr. Waters said.

This isn’t just an interesting factoid that will impact the spay-neuter debate with respect to dogs.  It could have a lot to say about research into human longevity as well.

Dr. Parker’s group studied more than 29,000 women who underwent a hysterectomy for benign uterine disease. The findings showed that the benefits of ovary removal—protection against ovarian, uterine, and breast cancer—were outweighed by an increased mortality rate from other causes. As a result, longevity was cut short in women who lost their ovaries before the age of 50, compared with those who kept their ovaries for at least 50 years.

How ovaries affect longevity in Rottweilers is not understood, but Dr. Waters’ research points to a new set of research questions, recalibrating the conversation about removing ovaries.

Breed-specific legislation redux: Florida legislators are throwing the baby out with the bathwater by moving toward enacting sloppy, breed-specific laws again, substantively reversing their prohibition of such a thing more than 10 years ago.  The bill under consideration is Florida HB 543 (Senate version: SB 1276).

In effect, they will be turning back the clock to a time when blaming the dog, independent of contextual evidence, was acceptable.   State Rep. Thurston (D-Plantation) isn’t suggesting any move towards owner responsibility.   And the fact that identifying breeds accurately is, at best, a crapshoot, has eluded Thurston, as well as his co-sponsors.    Solving those problems can’t be done through the legislative process.  The losers here will be good, innocent dogs and responsible owners. If you live in Florida, it ’s time to make your voice heard (thanks to Cathy A for the cite).

Cat killed despite microchip:  Sorry, but we’re not done with the Sunshine State yet.    A couple in Broward county lost their Bengal cat, O’Malley.  Fortunately, O’Malley was microchipped.  That’s good, right?  If he is found by authorities, he can be quickly identified and returned to his anxious parents.   Good news:  O’Malley was found by the authorities.  Bad news, according to the Sun-Sentinel: he was put to death anyway.

The cat’s death has the family and county commissioners wondering if the scandal-plagued agency – which was restructured in 2008 after facing criticism for animal abuse and misconduct – has reformed its ways. The county is apologizing, but officials aren’t sure what exactly happened and are waiting for an internal investigation to be completed.[...]

An audit of the agency two years ago found food for dogs and cats in short supply, animal carcasses rotted in maggot-infested bags and workers taking valuable dogs for their own profits. Officials were forced to change procedures to reduce the problems.

“I’m furious,” said Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl, who led the drive to reform the agency. “I’m tired of it – how many years will this keep going on?”

Excellent question, Mr. Mayor.

For some good news, we fly up to New York…

The angel of Union Square: Emelinda Narvaez has rescued 10,000 dogs out of her mobile van in lower Manhattan.  You read that right.  Ten thousand dogs.    This profile of Ms. Narvaez, a cancer survivor herself, shows her to be a truly remarkable woman.

[She] believes dogs are the “Angels of This Earth.” But to the more than 10,000 dogs she’s rescued in New York, Emelinda is the angel. She does her miracle work through her nonprofit, Earth Angels, a no-kill canine rescue and adoption organization established to rescue homeless and abandoned dogs.

For the past 41 years, every single day, rain, shine or sleet, Emelinda has been saving dogs on the streets and taking canines from overcrowded shelters (that otherwise would’ve been euthanized). She then nurses the dogs back to health and finds happy, healthy homes for her four-legged friends.

Thank you for your hard work and dedication, Emelinda.  I have to agree with the author of the Huffington Post article, on behalf of the 10,000 lucky dogs.  You are the angel.

Bow to wow: Now let’s hop on the subway and head a little north, to midtown.  We’re stopping at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.  As part of the adoption drive for Animal Care & Control of NYC, a gorgeous golden retriever named Bailey was on the set of The Today Show last week.   Also present was gold medal winning U.S. Olympian Steven Holcomb, pilot of the victorious and historic “Night Train” four-man bobsled team (the U.S. had never won a gold in bobsled before the Vancouver Games).  Steve met Bailey, and promptly adopted her…a golden for a gold medal winner  (a golden tip of the cap to Jennifer Fearing of the HSUS for the story).

Paws for poetry: Switching gears entirely … April is National Poetry Month. (I learn so many interesting tidbits on this beat.)  In celebration, I’m volunteering you, so listen up.  Paws for Poetry is running a contest, and you are invited. See rules and regulations here for prizes and details.  The deadline is April 15, so you have a little more than  a month.  Good luck!

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:  Chow and pit bull terrier: Laura Dapkus, examiner.com.  Steve and Bailey: msnbc.com.

Four voices on lessons learned: Opinions abound on what happened in Sea World last week, but I want to highlight four responses to the death of Dawn Brancheau, not from armchair pundits but from thoughtful voices of considerable experience.   First, Dr. Mehmet Oz’s editorial in The Huffington Post, “A Requiem for the Pursuit of Knowledge”, which contains a kind tip of the cap to our own Dr. Marty Becker, and an important point.

This world is too precious not to take an active role in understanding its other tenants.  While killer whales will always remain wild animals and command respect and reverence, gifted animal trainers like Dawn Blancheau and Julie Scardina devote their lives to furthering the boundaries of relationships humans can have with them. Dawn gave her life in the name of science and discovery, and her efforts brought enlightenment to thousands of people.

Second, consider Jean-Michel Cousteau’s compelling, eloquent YouTube commentary.   Next, a response from widely respected training guru Karen Pryor’s clickertraining.com blog.  Finally, our friend Heather’s sharply acerbic rant the day of the tragedy in the most wonderful RaisedByWolves.

Drive or walk — not both: The weird story of the week comes to us from the London Guardian.   A 23-year old man in County Durham had his license revoked after he was caught walking his dog — from his CAR.

Sharon Lowrie, prosecuting, said a cyclist alerted police that two men were dragging a dog along from a car. She said: “The driver was hanging on to the dog’s lead through the driver window, approaching a blind summit.” [...]

Paul Donoghue, defending, said Railton had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. “He accepts it was a silly thing to do and there was an element of laziness. He does not usually drive in a such a manner,” Donoghue said.

“Not usually”?  Why does that not make me feel better?

The problem with bad breeders: One more example of FAIL, courtesy of trusty reader/researcher Susan and the fabulousness of YesBiscuit…we take you to Greenville, South Carolina.  A pit bull breeder had entirely too many dogs of the wrong color.   Well, he can’t dump them with his pickup, right?  So he drops them off at the Greenville Animal Shelter in a U-Haul.

Shelter manager Shelly Simmons says it’s evidence of a growing problem…. “We’ve never had a U-Haul before,” she said.  Simmons said the owners were trying to breed “blue” pit bulls because they sell for higher prices. Instead, they got 17 puppies in every color except blue.”You have amateur breeders who try to have puppies for the wrong reason and when they do that they end up over their heads,” Simmons said.

This isn’t funny.  The Greenville facility where the puppies were dumped is a kill shelter.   I won’t get into the whole fallacy of the color issue.  It’s bad enough as it is.

Beautiful and amazingly creative furnishings: Another tip from YesBiscuit….if you have a cat, need a new coffee table and have the money to spend, you have got to check this out.  A seriously gorgeous table with an integrated cat hammock.  You read that right: cat hammock.

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 credits:  Trainer with whale, KCPT. Cat table, O VALOR DO DESIGN, via bookofjoe.com.