“We believe the increase is due to economic times,” Lisa Peterson, a spokesperson for the nonprofit group, which has been tracking pet theft for several years, tells Weekend Edition Saturday guest host Jacki Lyden.

“You have people who want pets … but can’t afford to purchase them or pay the adoption fees, so we find that they’re just taking them for themselves or to give them as gifts,” she says. “But then on the other hand, you have the criminal element that steals dogs and tries to sell them to unsuspecting buyers.”

Peterson says the top two ways dogs are being stolen are during home invasions and out of parked cars. She cites a case in Florida where criminals took a 55-inch television set and also Boo-Boo, the Yorkshire terrier, with all of his belongings.

Large-screen televisions can be replaced. Best friends can’t. The article discusses steps pet owners can take the safeguard their pets, including microchipping.

Cats behind bars: Inmates at a jail in Nebraska have new friends: cats. Excellent stress reducer. HuffPo‘s got the story, with an accompanying video report.

Thoughts on Pacifica: Outstanding post by BadRap, one of the most consistently thoughtful pet blogs out there.

New therapy reaps benefits: A pit bull in Reading, Penn. had his paws burned by spending hours on a black roof top on a roasting hot day, but thanks to a first-of-its-kind treatment, his ruined paw pads can be repaired. The groundbreaking therapy is based on stem cell research. Details at the Reading Eagle.

Veterinary client ethics: Your veterinarian explains that an upcoming procedure entails risks of complications. All you hear is blah blah blah procedure blah blah blah surgical blah chance of improvement.  When complications arise, do you have a right to yell at your veterinarian that the treatment wasn’t perfect? Pet Connection’s BFF Dr. Patty Khuly weighs in.

Picture of the week comes from our favorite photographer of all things horse: Sarah Andrew, the wonderful presence behind Rock and Racehorses.

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 credit: microchip, latimes.

I received a text message first thing in the morning about a police dog whowas being brought to the Purdue Veterinary Teaching Hospital for treatment that morning. I had few details at that point, but as I drove into the teaching hospital (I have about a 90-minute commute) I caught several news reports on what had happened the previous night. I had never before heard about one of my patients on the radio prior to meeting them. It was a strange feeling, and a bit of a portent for the media blitz that would follow.

Shadow was accompanying his handler, officer Brent Long, on an arrest warrant call. This was no usual warrant mission: along with officers of the Terre Haute Police Department, where Shadow and Long had been serving for several years, were agents of the US Marshals and several other law enforcement entities. They were looking for a very bad man, indeed, and they had found him at home.

As the day unfolded, and police surrounded the property, the man they were looking for hid in a closet and then shot both officer Long and Shadow. Long received two shots to the head, and Shadow took a bullet to the face.  The perpetrator was killed in the ensuing firefight, perhaps by Officer Long returning fire. Tragically, Officer Long died of his injuries at a nearby hospital soon afterwards.

Details on exactly what went on inside the house are still sketchy, but when the gunsmoke cleared two men were  dead or dying and a dog was critically wounded and bleeding.

Shadow was taken to a local animal hospital, where he was stabilized before being brought to the Animal Emergency Service at Purdue for definitive care. He was being accompanied by other officers of the Terre Haute PD, and had been brought on the two-hour journey in a squad car with an escort.When we got the call that Shadow was almost there, we prepared for the worst. Oxygen, gurney, bandages all were at the ready in case he should arrive in rough shape. When he walked out of the car and into the hospital under his own power, we breathed a collective sigh of relief. He looked remarkably good for having been shot in the face and having just lost his best friend and handler.

Police dogs are trained to be loyal and fierce. They exist to protect their handlers, take a bullet for them if needed, and to get the bad guy by cunning, cornering or chomping. For all their positive and potentially life-saving attributes, they are not the most cooperative of patients. We need to do things to patients that can be uncomfortable, and we are utter strangers. To a police dog, a stranger could just as easily be a bad guy out to get the handler as a well-meaning doctor out to dress their wounds. We knew we would have our work cut out for us, and we were at a disadvantage in that we didn’t have Shadow’s handler there to tell him it was OK. Luckily, officers (especially K9 officers) are a tight-knit group, and we had one of officer Long’s friends on the force there to help us with Shadow. Shadow knew and trusted him, and he was of great help in assisting us in the task of getting Shadow back together.

In the exam room, Shadow looked around warily, uncertain of the new folks in white labcoats. He had been shot on the right side of his face, and had bled into the space below his jaw, causing a pocket of blood (called a hematoma) to form. The bullet had entered just below his jaw and traveled upward. What it hit along its trajectory was anybody’s guess at this point. The fact that he had not met with the same fate as officer Long was miracle enough for us, but the possibility of serious injury was still present.

We took Shadow to the anesthesia induction room. We decided that a CT scan of his head would give us the most information about what had been damaged, and what we needed to do to fix it. The area under the jaw has some major nerves and blood vessels running through it, and the possibility that his jaw had been shattered and would require surgery meant that I had to coordinate lots of different specialists that day.  Anesthesia, dentistry, orthopedics and soft tissue surgery all had a handle in the plan. Trying to coordinate all of these doctors and services on a moment’s notice was a stressful and herculean task, but each one did their part and did the best they could to make themselves available for Shadow. Things moved with a greater than usual ease, likely because of the high degree of emotion surrounding the  case. I was also lucky enough to have one of our best interns with me that day, as well as two bright and highly capable veterinary students on “Team Shadow.” It is asking a lot for students to be thrust into the middle of a big and high-profile case (not to mention the unanticipated TV appearances that would crop up later), but they all performed admirably, and I am proud of all of them.

In order to get an animal under anesthesia, a process known as induction, an IV catheter needs to be placed. This requires close proximity to the patient, and about 5 or 10 minutes of time. For animals who are likely to bite us during this process, we will often use a muzzle. For Shadow, we felt a muzzle would not work out as his injury was exactly in the area where a muzzle would fit over his snout. This put is in the precarious position of having to handle a dog who was trained to bite, without the means to protect ourselves. This was one of the first of several technical hurdles we would have to face during Shadow’s time with us. Luckily, the anesthesiologist was able to devise a plan that involved an intramuscular injection to render Shadow unconscious, followed by placing the IV catheters and hooking up monitors soon afterwards.  There would be a short window where we would not have IV access if we needed to give drugs, but with the help of one of the officers we were able to give the injection and Shadow was safely asleep a short time afterwards.

As we were working on diagnosing the extent of his injuries, a media presence slowly built up outside the teaching hospital. The whole incident, from the tragic loss of Officer Long to the efforts to save Shadow, was becoming a major local story and we were right in the center of it all. There is always a lot at stake when an animal or person is critically injured, but the high emotional toll that the deaths had taken on all involved, coupled with the scrutiny and intrusiveness of the media, made the stress level in the hospital soar that day. We were able to keep our cool and function as a team, however, as we knew that that was the best way to ensure a good outcome for at least one member of the police team.

We are lucky enough to have a very capable and adept media handler and coordinator at Purdue, and he was able to keep the media noise down to a dull roar so we could get on with what needed to be done for Shadow. We did not allow the news crews into the hospital, but made the concession that a Purdue videographer would be there to film the events for later use by the media.

Once anesthetized, Shadow was hooked to all the whirring and beeping machines that monitor life signs. We were also then able to pull blood for lab analysis, to get a better picture of his overall health and how much blood loss had occurred. Once we were satisfied that he was stable under anesthesia, he was wheeled into the CT room for imaging of his jaw.

CT stands for computed tomography. It is sometimes called a CAT scan; it used to only be able to produce images along one plane of the axis of a patient’s body, hence the extra “A” for axial. Technology has advanced such that we can now reconstruct images at any angle we like, so the A has been dropped. CT scanning uses X-rays to produce images, known as slices, that have a far better ability to see through patients when compared to plain X-ray images. They are quick to perform, and within about 15 minutes we had lovely images of Shadow’s head, including the path of the bullet.

The news was better than we had dared hope. The bullet had entered the underside of his jaw, hit the bone at the angle of his jaw, and broken apart. There was damage to the area of his jaw just below the joint; the bone had shattered into hundreds of fragments in a small area. There were two larger bullet fragments; the rest was a constellation of little blips on the CT readout. After confirming that the authorities did not need the fragments for evidence, the decision was made to leave them in. The body would efficiently wall them off, and they were unlikely to cause future problems for Shadow. About the only levity that day was when someone reminded us that, in order to conform to Hollywood stereotype, if we did need to remove the bullet, time-honored tradition required us to drop it into a metal bowl for the requisite “ping-plunk.”

The decision of what to do with his jaw was at hand. The surgeons and radiologists amassed and pored over the images. A 3-D computer reconstruction was made of the slices from the CT scan. As I watched from the control room, a spectral image of Shadow’s head appeared on the monitor as he slept inside the gantry of the CT scanner. I could only hope that he was dreaming of getting the bad guy. The reconstruction allowed us to flip and position his skull as we liked, so we could see the damage from all angles.  After a brief consultation, it was determined that the damage was not in a load-bearing area, and was not near enough the joint to require surgery. The second wave of relief spread through everyone that day upon hearing this. It was the same feeling you get when the Space Shuttle takes off without a hitch.

After attending to his entry wound and closing one small wound inside his mouth, Shadow was fitted with a muzzle while still asleep. The muzzle would keep him from opening his mouth too far and moving the fragments, but would allow him enough room to lap up the gruel that will be his diet for the next six weeks or so as the jaw knit itself together. My suggestion of a Hello Kitty muzzle was rejected in favor of a royal blue one more befitting an officer. The irony was not lost on us that one of our original concerns was of how we would be unable to place a muzzle on Shadow so we could handle him initially, but that same muzzle was now a major component of his recuperation plan.

As he recovered in a warm and quiet spot from his anesthesia, wound care and CT scan, we pulled some follow-up lab tests to assess his progress. We found that his hemoglobin count had dipped perilously low since arrival, probably as a result of blood loss and the fluids we had placed him on during anesthesia to support his circulation.  I ordered up two units of blood from our blood bank, and he was transfused without any problems as he woke up from anesthesia. His hemoglobin count stabilized overnight. He was placed on a continuous drip of weapons-grade painkiller (fentanyl, the same drug that is sometimes used in epidurals during pregnancy) as well as antibiotics.

He turned out to be a better patient than we thought, and the nurses were able to monitor him and check his vitals without danger to life or limb. True, he had a muzzle on and couldn’t really connect if he intended to, and it is a tad hard to land a good bite with a partially broken jaw, but the most we got out of him was a low growl, as if to say “I’ve had the worst 24 hours you could possibly imagine –  are you absolutely certain you want to put that thermometer there?”

The following day was a hazy kaleidoscope of interviews, phone calls and medical documentation and organization. From the officer who brought Shadow in, I learned that Shadow would most likely be retired from the police force and live out his days by the hearth of the Long family, where he had lived prior to the incident. Shadow walked around the hospital, seemingly enjoying his star status, and hopefully blessedly insulated from the horrors that had transpired to bring him to us.

We originally planned on releasing Shadow back to the family and the force the day after he came to us, but we elected to keep him another night to make sure he wasn’t continuing to lose blood. He started eating the morning after the CT scan, and once he started getting better he never looked back. We discharged him two days after he arrived, and he was met with a parking lot full of police cars and news media. Shadow’s story was on every evening news report that night, providing the positive counterpoint to the stories about officer Long’s upcoming funeral and memorial service. Most of the news reports that night made mention of the fact that Shadow seemed to be searching for his lost partner as he left the hospital and looked out at the sea of blue uniforms waiting there to take him home.

Shadow was able to attend the memorial the next day, partly because all those working on him helped him through the dark night of his injury, but mostly because he’s made of tough materials, and is a survivor as well as a fighter. I know that if he could, he would have saluted his fallen friend, handler and colleague as the procession carrying his remains rolled by under the scorching July sun.

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 …

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

Class, we have not one, not two, but four videos to watch — two cat videos and two dog videos. There might be a quiz later, so pay attention.

Shopping cats: The first one is from Jolly Olde England, courtesy of Gizmodo. A crew decided to see what would happen when they released 100 house cats to roam free in an Ikea store after closing time. Questions?  Yes, Heather?  ”Why would someone do such a thing?”, you ask?  Because they could. Any more questions? Ok, let’s watch.

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Every home needs a Harvey: Dog time now. Remember, Harvey is not available at every shelter, but you won’t know if he’s at yours until you look.
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Equal opportunity cat mommy: This video is from our friend Philly Dawg, but it’s about a cat in Mississippi and her, uh, litter. The best part comes at the 2:00 mark.

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Simon’s sister’s dog: I’ve shown you Simon’s Cat videos in the past. This one is Simon’s sister’s dog, courtesy of my funny friend Loralee, who insists she never forwards videos. Normally I don’t believe people who say “I never forward videos, honest!” –  but in this case she’s telling the truth.
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Did you like that? Now who wants to tell the class what lesson you learned from that video? Yes, Dr. Tony Johnson? Uh no, “own a cat instead” is not what I was looking for. Yes, Christie? That’s right, watch what you feed your pets, and make sure you control their weight within a healthy range. That’s right, Christie, just like Rawley. Thank you, but you don’t have to bring him in tomorrow for show and tell. That’s a very generous offer, though.

Waggin’ Train sold: Market Watch reports Waggin’ Train, who markets themselves as a manufacturer of natural treats for dogs, has been bought by Nestle, who makes everything from hot chocolate to diet foods. Waggin’ Train had previously been owned by a venture capital group, so this sale isn’t a surprise. Venture capital outfits buy companies specifically to sell them later at a profit. They’ve done that now.

Refinishing bird cages: Everyone’s looking for ways to save money and provide great care for their birds, but you have to know what you’re doing. Avian Web has a helpful series of steps on what to do and what not to do when refinishing your bird cage. One good suggestion you may not have known about: Don’t use Krylon.

Leave the lipomas alone: I’m surprised at how much I hear people talking about this.  Does your dog have little squishy, fatty deposits on her back, side or belly? Those are probably lipomas. Dr. Eric Barchas at Dogster’s VetBlog reminds us that removing them is often much worse than leaving them alone.

Lipomas are harmless. Lipoma removal surgeries, on the other hand, have serious potential to go bad. Lipoma surgeries have a 100% rate of post-operative pain. They also have a disturbingly high rate of incision deshiscence (opening/splitting of the incision), infection, bleeding, and severe swelling that can require second surgeries. These problems are especially common when lipoma surgeries occur on dogs’ undersides.

Thanks, Dr. Barchas

New kids on the blog: Ok, class, who can tell me what changes have taken place recently in the left side blogroll? Anybody? Bueller? Alright, I’ll tell you this time. I want to welcome new blogs joining our highlighted group. First, City Stock, which is the creation of Audrey Pavia, who has co-authored two books with our Gina Spadafori, Mikkel Becker and Dr. Marty Becker, and who was once Gina’s editor (my condolences!).  City Stock is all about sustainable city living. Audrey is a New Yorker now living in southern California. She supports a mini-farm, including horses, chickens, a dog, a cat and a husband. Urban farms and sustainable living — it’s catching on.

Next, we have Vox Felina, which is a site devoted to debunking pseudo-scientific studies that claim to discredit trap/neuter/return (TNR) policies as being unworkable. It’s a very good example of “question everything,” so I expect you to check it out for next week. As I said, there might be a quiz.

I hope you’ve had fun today. Time for recess. Please make sure you do the reading for next time.

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.

Our own Dr. Becker will appear live at 9 p.m. ET tonight.

Cooper Lawrence’s show combines expert talk, entertainment, pop culture, comedy and celebrity — all flavored with her unique brand of storytelling. Between Cooper and Dr. Becker, you’ll laugh while you learn on “Dr. Marty Monday.”

“The local shelters are free to hold the animals as long as they see fit, but the state simply cannot afford to provide funding for additional days,” she said. “These are not actions the governor would like to take, but he has a responsibility to ensure the state lives within its means.”

Without state funding, counties are required only to keep stray dogs three days before turning them over to new owners or putting them to death. The same three-day rule applies to stray cats.

What this really means is that across the state, especially in the Central Valley, high kill shelters will remain high kill shelters.  (Thanks to intrepid reader Susan Fox for the heads up on the story)

Philly wises up, sort of: Effects of Sick Vick being in Philadelphia are becoming apparent: dogfighting ring investigations have gone up.  Of course it may also be evident that the incidence of dogfighting is increasing. From an AP story highlighted by CBS:

In 2009, the SPCA investigated 903 cases of alleged animal fighting in Pennsylvania, most of them involving dogfighting in Philadelphia, [director of law enforcement for the Pennsylvania SPCA George] Bengal said. That’s more than three times the number of cases in 2008, when there were 245 investigations. Dogfighting investigations had been on the rise before the Eagles signed Vick in August, but not as dramatically as last year. In Philadelphia, Bengal said, there were 85 dogfighting complaints in 2004, 109 in 2005, 111 in 2006 and 157 in 2007.

“By hiring Michael Vick, the Eagles brought clear attention to a very awful thing that’s done to animals,” said Tom Hickey Sr., founder of the Pennsylvania advocacy group DogPAC. “But also by hiring him, they also said it’s OK to do this kind of stuff.”

Dear NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie: We told you so.

Good puppy, bad man: The good news…I give you this morning’s gratuitous puppy picture from BadRap.   That’s Elliot, a malute/husky puppy.  I love those huge, pink paws.   You can coo over him while I tell you about this week’s most obnoxious radio personality:  Len Tillem on KGO in the Bay Area thinks it would be a hoot to poison a pit bull by lobbing poisoned meat toward him.  Go for it, Len.  I’ll call the police, since your suggestion is against the law, and would be a great way to get you off the air, especially after your non-apologetic apology.

Bunnies in Central Park? There used to be rabbits in New York’s Central Park, because they bred like, uh, rabbits.   Now, for reasons that nobody seems to understand, the bunnies seem to be gone.  Not a single wild cottontail has been seen within Central Park in four years.   From the Washington Post,

Jeffrey Croft, of the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates, said at least two other New York City parks have seen rabbits disappear in recent years. The Eastern Cottontail used to be plentiful on Randall’s Island, between the Harlem and East rivers, but Croft said the population there vanished as its parkland was rehabilitated and redeveloped, and some natural fields were replaced with artificial turf.

Go Bulldogs and Huskies: Even though (perhaps because) they eliminated my beloved Syracuse Orange, I’m rooting for the Bulldogs of tiny Butler University to upset Duke for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament championship tonight.  Meet Butler Blue II, the school’s mascot (thanks to ohmidog). Meanwhile, the astonishing run (77 consecutive wins and counting, including 38-0 this year) of the University of Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team continues…

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:  Shelter dogs, Lance Iversen, San Francisco Chronicle.  Elliot, badrap.blogspot.com.

Digging down for the truth about “experts”: Every journalist knows you can’t believe what you’re told at face value.  As someone I respect said to me recently, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”  Our friend KC Dog Blog takes on dogsbite.org, which purports to be an expert resource on canine attacks.   In a scathing  post, KCDog shines a bright light on this site’s questionable credentials.

For example: at the end of 2008, Dogsbite.org named Lucas County (OH) Dog Warden Tom Skeldon their “Dog Warden of the year.” Their reasoning is that “Skeldon has vigorously worked to prevent horrendous pit bull maulings resulting in serious injuries or death of human beings, their domesticated pets and livestock.”  Interestingly, in the same year that Skeldon received this “award”, the actual number of dog bites in Lucas County had gone up 23%.

So dog bites go up, and they give the man the dog warden of the year award because he is targeting ‘pit bulls’.   Does that sound like the resume of an award winner for a group advocating for public safety to you? Me neither.

Within a year of them issuing the “award”, Skeldon stepped down from his position under significant public pressure. The actual citizens who had to put up with Skeldon’s behavior, outrageous shelter kill rates and lack of improved public safety, actually forced him out of office.

There’s much more, and I encourage you to read the post, but the moral is unequivocal and should be heeded by all: When someone is pushing an agenda, don’t take their expertise for granted.  Check it out. By the way, Lucas County now has a replacement for the departed Mr. Skeldon, and she is at least saying the right things.  Time will tell.

Rhode Island veterinarian unclear on the failure of trap-kill:  Two weeks ago, I cited a study showing that for feral cat populations, trap and kill shows less efficacy and costs more than TNR.  I now realize I’m not being read widely enough in my neighboring state of Rhode Island, where the top veterinarian thinks it time for more killing.  Meanwhile, the Ocean State pet community isn’t sitting still for Dr. Scott Marshall’s proposed bill.

Dennis Tabella, director of Defenders of Animals, calls the idea “inhumane and outrageous” and says that “no cat, domestic or feral, that spends time outdoors, will be safe.”   “If this becomes law, your neighbor will be able to take your cat and turn it over to a shelter, where your cat is likely to be euthanized,” he says.

In a following paragraph from the Providence Journal-Bulletin, one line jumped out at me:

He doesn’t have any estimates of feral-cat populations, but he is not backing away from the premise of the bill.

So you have no estimates, much less any real numbers.  You therefore admit you don’t actually KNOW what your feral cat population is, yet you still believe a campaign of killing will solve your problem and represent a wise use of state tax dollars?  Exactly how does that work, Dr. Marshall?

Not all growls are created equal: I initially thought we all knew that my dog’s “play growl” when we’re having fun (playing tug of war with her favorite rope toy, for instance) is fundamentally different from her growl when she sees another dog intruding in her territory.  Science now proves there’s a difference, and that other dogs can tell one from another.  (insert sarcasm) No, really?

Clicker and mirror method training: I just love this examiner article about trainers in Hungary at the People’s Island Dog School who successfully use clicker and “Mirror” training to train for videos that have been international viral sensations. Just in case you don’t remember your intro college psych classes from way back when, mirror behavior is an effective technique in human communication.  If you’re negotiating a deal and your counterpart is leaning back in their chair, you lean back in your chair.

I have a question about my pet’s medication ….: ‘Fess up.  When you’ve had questions about medications being prescribed for your pet, did you speak up and ask the veterinarian what you wanted to know?  Did you even know what to ask?  Here’s a useful page from the FDA:   10 questions to ask about your pet’s medications.

Your dog as a font: The week wouldn’t be complete without a smile from my buddy Maria Goodavage at Dogster.   If your dog was a font, what font would he or she be?  Why did I choose Eurostile?  That’s pretty much how I felt after flying home from GPE on Sunday. Our Kim Campbell Thornton already mentioned this item, but I like it so much I’m mentioning it again.

And finally … goldfish?: Regular reader Laura Bennett, who also happens to be the boss at Embrace pet health insurance, sends us word of an imporant business development. From the Embrace blog:

Embrace Pet Insurance swims against the tide, adding goldfish health insurance coverage to its customizable product range.

Now that Embrace Pet Insurance is intimately familiar with the cat and dog health insurance market in the US, the company is leveraging its actuarial and insurance knowledge and is announcing its new customizable goldfish insurance product.

Laura Bennett, Embrace co-founder and the only goldfish insurance actuary in the US, explains the rational for such a move. “Goldfish might seem to be one dimensional and unfeeling pets to the uninitiated, but underneath their scaly exterior, they really have a heart of gold. Those who welcome goldfish into their family reap a lifetime of emotion from these loving pets.”

Embrace Pet Insurance Goldfish Mortality Table Bennett developed goldfish mortality and morbidity actuarial tables based on her own lifetime of experience raising the domesticated fish.

Before you rush to get a policy for your finned friends, you might want to check the date today. (Hint: April. Second hint: 1st.)

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.

Image credits:  Tom Skeldon, toledoonthemove.com.  Eurostile, dreamdogsart.

Each year attendance drops at the convention. This year’s gathering is expected to draw about 120 people. Fifteen years ago the tally was upwards of 400. The industry is in such rapid decline that a growing number of dog track owners are finding common ground with animal-rights groups hoping to put live dog racing out of its misery.

In Iowa, for example, Harrah’s Entertainment is trying to outlaw part of its gambling business and is willing to pay the state $7 million a year for the privilege.

Just to reiterate that last line: Harrah’s is willing to pay Iowa $7 million NOT to support dog racing? That’s saying something. While I hate to see hard-working Americans lose their jobs in a down economy, this is a case of economic Darwinism I can live with. (Thanks to schnauzerfan for the tip.)

If you’ve ever thought about adopting a retired racer, there has never been a better time.

Unclear on the concept of charitable fund-raising: In St. Louis, the Animal House Fund has been working hard to raise money for a new city pound. Wait, let me back up. They’ve been working hard to raise money. The whole city pound part of the equation seems to be less of a priority than originally believed. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, almost $500,000 has been spent by the Animal House Fund so far, and they’ve raised $600,000 since 2004. That means it cost them 83 cents to raise a dollar, with no dollars ever having been spent to start building the pound they were tasked with funding. To be sure, there were plenty of high profile, gala black tie affairs, oh yes.

And despite a full calendar of trivia nights, cocktail functions and other soirees, not a single brick was laid for the new pound. Organizers acknowledge that most of the money raised went into overhead and administrative fees. Political missteps — such as choosing a location that was later opposed by residents — also caused long delays.

Mayor Francis Slay, saying the city can no longer wait as animals suffer, earlier this month ordered the current pound closed. He has instructed the city to seek outside help for shelter services, in effect ending Animal House’s effort to build a new pound.[...] “So many good people were involved and nothing was happening,” said Suzanne Phelan, a former Animal House board member. “I got more and more frustrated.”

As well you should, Ms. Phelan. You, the good people and the animal community of greater St. Louis, were the victims of an old-fashioned boondoggle.

Lojack® for dogs: Do you have AT&T? Do you have a dog? If so, listen up. Our pal omidog says that AT&T is introducing collars that will track your dog, and send the pooch’s location to your wireless AT&T device. I use Verizon Wireless, so I’m outta luck, but all you iPhone and other AT&T aficionados, please feel free to supply a product review.

Let us define some terms, shall we? I loves me some YesBiscuit, and no more so than when Shirley puts on her language cap and stands on her little soapbox. From here on in, when I use the terms she mentions, you may assume that I mean them the way she defines them. Brava, Shirley. I am excerpting one of the (but perhaps not the) most wonderful snippets. You, gentle reader, must head over to YesBiscuit to savor the rest. The only thing I didn’t like about the post was that I didn’t write it myself.

Getting rid of pets – I am not the mob. I don’t get rid of my pets. I may place a pet in a new home with screened applicants but this is intended to be an “upgrade” for the pet by placing him in a more fitting situation. I’m not snuffing him out or even putting him out of sight, out of mind. I am hoping to improve the pet’s quality of life by placing him in an environment where he is more likely to thrive than if he stayed in my home. This is a good thing, not a cement-shoes-and-a-river thing.

Phatman on the road: You’re familiar with phatman, from badrap, right?  He’s an irresistibly cute pit bull terrier, and he’s got a report from the road (well, technically, Cindy’s the reporter).  We have pictures. I am envious of phatman for many reasons.   First off, he’s more photogenic than I am.  Also, he met some gorgeous horses on his trip, but mostly, in one of the pictures he’s posing in front of the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisille, Kentucky.  You see that big yellowish brown thing on the left side of the picture?  That’s an enormous baseball bat (you can see it better here). I’ve always wanted to go there.  Baseball season is about to start, and he was in Louisville, at a true baseball mecca (yes, also the home of Churchill Downs).  He’s a lucky dog, is all I’m saying.

The coolest, furriest dog to have in Beijing: Quick quiz:  What’s the trendy dog to have today in China’s growing community of the super rich?  I’ll give you a few hints: it’s big.  Actually, it’s huge.  It’s very, very slobbery.  It’s not known for being lovable.  And it’s got more hair than any ten people you know.  Give up?  The Tibetan mastiff.

After splurging on real estate in Australia, American thoroughbreds and European designer fashions, China’s rich see the Tibetan mastiffs as a new status symbol. China is now home to an estimated 825,000 millionaires, its most in modern history, and its luxury goods market is one of the fastest growing in the world. Among the must-haves for rich men in northeast China, the official Xinhua News Agency recently said was a young beautiful wife, a Lamborghini and a Tibetan mastiff, “the bigger and more ferocious the better.”

Careful, though.

Passers-by were told only to admire the dogs from afar and not get near them because they’re hostile to strangers — all the better for protecting flocks and herders on the isolated Tibetan plateau, where they originated.

Yeah, don’t sign me up for one, thanks.  However, thank you to Susan Fox for the story.

Note: Your trusty reporter is headed out on the road for the weekend.  I’ll be meeting up with Dr. Becker, Gina, Liz and a few thousand of my closest new friends in the pet product community at the Global Pet Expo in sunny Orlando.    Expect to hear from one or all of us at some point over the weekend, blogging on what we’ve found and especially like.   Stay tuned.

Photo credits:  Dogtrack art: Chris Morris, Las Vegas Sun.  Phatman: badrap.com.

“Animal abuse is one of the four indicators that the F.B.I. profilers use to asses future violent behavior, so I don’t see why we should not use it too,” said Diana S. Urban, a Democratic state representative in Connecticut who sponsored a bill mandating that animal control workers and child welfare workers cross-report suspected animal, child or domestic abuse.

Frank R. Ascione, a professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work who has extensively studied the topic, said, “The research is pretty clear that there are connections between animal abuse and domestic violence and child abuse.”

One study found that in 88 percent of homes where children were physically abused, pets were mistreated too. A 2007 study found that women abused by their intimate partner were 10 times more likely to report that their partner had hurt or killed one or more of their pets than women who were not abused.

Cross-reporting.  Sharing information.  What a concept.

Cool runnings:  For the first time since the mid-90′s, no dogs died during this year’s just completed 1,000 mile Iditarod Race (won by Lance Mackey for the fourth consecutive time).   Eleven hundred dogs left Anchorage, and every one of them crossed the finish line in Nome.   My favorite anecdote from this year’s race?  A Jamaican musher finished the race.  Ya mon, way to go!

Dr. McConnell on Diane Rehm: Dr. Patricia McConnell, she of the most excellent The Other End of the Leash, will be appearing on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show today.  Be sure to tune in (check your local listings for airtimes).  Dr. McConnell will be talking about dominance-based training vs. positive reinforcement methodologies.   Dear Cesar Millan: if you’re reading this in time, please listen in on your local NPR station….oh, and thanks for reading my column!

That’s it for the current events and news part of the column….it’s always worth taking some time out to read certain blogs simply because they’re a joy to read.

Is she really going out with him? I loved this post over at Heckled by Parrots.   Sometimes our animal companions can tell us something about the people closest to us.

Enough with the skin already: I frequently learn something new from our BFF Dr. Patty Khuly, but you should check out this Fully Vetted post because it’s just flat out funny.

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 credit:  Iditarod, flickr creative commons.

Austin approves no kill policy: The Austin, Texas, city council last week approved a no kill plan for the city’s major shelter.  From the Austin American-Statesman:

The plan includes three dozen provisions aimed at reducing euthanizations and increasing adoptions. The plan’s goal is, within two years, to have 90 percent of the animals leave the shelter alive. The city euthanized 7,003 animals last year, or 32 percent of the animals it took in.[...]

There are still funding questions to be worked out, and as always the devil is in the details, but the Austin city council deserves a hearty handshake for standing up for what’s right. And no, there’s no truth to the rumor that they did it just to impress Christie, who was there for the  South By Southwest Interactive conference.

Georgia House sends  Grace’s Law to Senate: Gas chambers for animals are one step closer to becoming a thing of the past in Georgia after the House approved HB 788 by a vote of 115-46.   We haven’t crossed the goal line yet, though.  Now it’s on to the Georgia state senate for consideration, and after that, Gov. Sonny Purdue’s desk. Purdue, interestingly enough, is one of very few veterinarians holding public office.

Pets returning to Santa Cruz? If you live in Santa Cruz, Calif., you haven’t been able to walk your dog (or any pet, for that matter) on downtown’s main drag since 1976.  That may change soon.  The downtown merchant’s association voted overwhelmingly to recommend the city council repeal the ban, in order to add shoppers who might like to bring their pooches with them (like the dog peering out of the passing vehicle).   From the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

The Downtown Association’s specific recommendation includes the following restrictions:

• Leashes can be no shorter than 3 feet and no longer than 5 feet.
• No dogs after dark.
• No panhandling with dogs.
• A maximum of three dogs gathered together in close proximity.

Widening pet access often comes about as a result of grassroots efforts, and in this case a driving force is a woman named Whitney Wilde:

The founder of Woofers and Walkers, a dog-walking group that advocates for responsible ownership and expanded access, has collected at least 335 signatures for a council petition to repeal the ban.

“Everybody is so happy,” she said.

I wasn’t able to get confirmation as to whether or not banana slugs (the mascot of the University of California, Santa Cruz) would be allowed downtown, but I doubt it.

Pyrethrin suit in New Jersey: A series of lawsuits over the use of pyrethrin in flea and tick control products have been filed, alleging pets have been sickened by the medication, and violations of New Jersey consumer fraud laws.  The Morning Call of Allentown and Lehigh Valley and North Jersey.com say the suits have been filed  in New Jersey, as four of the five defendant companies are based in the state:

Secaucus-based Hartz Mountain Corp., Summit VetPharm LLC of Rutherford, Morristown-based Bayer Healthcare LLC, Merck & Co. Inc. of Whitehouse Station and Sanofi-Aventis Inc. of Bridgewater are named as defendants in suits filed over the last four months.[...]

Five pet owners filed suit against Hartz Mountain and Summit VetPharm last week in U.S. District Court in Newark, alleging that their flea or tick treatments contained Pyrethrin, or a synthetic version of the chemical Pyrethroids, which are ”known to poison animals.”

The suit accuses the companies of negligence, violating New Jersey’s consumer fraud law and liability for creating an ”unreasonably dangerous product.” The products named include Hartz Ultra Guard flea and tick drops and Summit VetPharm’s Vectra 3d.

Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, based in Nebraska, and Merial Ltd of Georgia are also named as defendants.  From NorthJersey.com:

Rich Parsons of California said he worried he might be carrying fleas when he returned from helping reconstruct parts of the Mississippi Gulf after Hurricane Katrina, and might infect his Scottish Terrier, Duffy. So Parsons treated his dog with Hartz flea and tick drops, the suit says.

“Duffy tragically died at the veterinarian’s facility three days later,” the suit says. It adds that the veterinarian said the death was due to a “reaction to the insecticide.”

In related news, the EPA announced it would be stepping up efforts to make topical flea and tick products safer for pets:

Steve Owens, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, said new restrictions will be placed on flea and tick products, with additional changes for specific products likely — including possible changes in some product formulas.

[....]

The EPA said it received 44,263 reports of harmful reactions associated with topical flea and tick products in 2008, up from 28,895 in 2007. Reactions ranged from skin irritations to vomiting to seizures to, in about 600 cases, death of an animal.

[....]

In a 29-page report, the EPA said the majority of problems for dogs occurred in smaller dogs, weighing 10 to 20 pounds. Some incidents occurred when products intended for larger dogs were given to smaller animals, the report said. Chihuahuas, Shih Tzus, miniature poodles, Pomeranians and dachshunds were among breeds where problems occurred the most, the EPA said.

Similarly, many problems for cats occurred when they were given treatments intended for dogs. The EPA is likely to require companies to revamp labels to clarify that products intended for dogs should never be used on cats, Owens said.

No dog insurance necessary in Great Britain:  It was a silly idea, anyway.  However, there’s one line in the story that I must share with you:

The opposition Conservatives accused ministers of turning the issue into a “political dog’s dinner.”

Irish kitteh: And finally, since I didn’t have a chance to check in yesterday, a late St. Patrick’s Day smile, courtesy of lolcats, a tiny little division of Icanhascheezburger.com :

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

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 credit:  Hopeful dog in Santa Cruz, Dan Coyro/Sentinel.