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News & Notes:
Info of Interest
From Fox 5 News: Michael Vick's troubled past may lead to a brighter future for pets: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/vick-takes-anti-dogfighting-message-to-congress-071911. To share your thoughts, "like" us on Facebook and post a comment: http://www.facebook.com/StreamValleyVet.
Update in the case of Stuart and "Rex Grimes": the June 24, 2011 issue of Leesburg Today reports that Mr. Grimes is now facing "misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty and confinement of an animal in a vehicle" as there is "no evidence...to back up Grimes' claims that he attempted to warn deputies of his dog's presence in the car" ("Dog Owner Charged with Animal Cruelty").
**To read a full version of the Loudoun-Times Mirror story, visit http://www.leesburg2day.com/news/article_16c1656a-9c52-11e0-9a3a-001cc4c002e0.html#user-comment-area. If you would like to share your thoughts about the incident, please post a comment on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/StreamValleyVet.
In the June 8, 2011 Loudoun
Times-Mirror, the story of Labrador-Boxer mix “Rex” Grimes helps underscore the
importance of summer pet safety. On May
31, Rex’s owner, Stuart Grimes, left Rex in his car while he was in the Sterling
IHOP at Cedar Lakes Plaza. Grimes was
arrested after restaurant staff called the police to report that he appeared to
be intoxicated. Grimes insists that he
asked officers to retrieve and care for Rex, who was left in the parking lot,
but the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office maintains that Grimes never mentioned his pet, potentially
because he was too intoxicated to remember Rex or to clearly communicate. Because Grimes’s alleged offense did not occur
in or near his vehicle, it was not in police protocol to immediately search the
car. After the next day’s soaring temperatures,
Rex was found dead in the vehicle, more than 12 hours after Grimes first
arrived at the IHOP. The Sheriff’s
Office and the Department of Animal Services are investigating the incident (“Dog
Dies in Hot Care while Owner is Arrested” by Alex Withrow).
**To read a full
version of the Loudoun-Times Mirror story, visit http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/man_blames_deputies_for_death_of_dog/. If you would like to share your thoughts
about the incident, please post a comment on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/StreamValleyVet.
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Veterinary Practice News highlights the website PetAmberAlert.com in the May 2011 “Newsline: News in Brief” feature. The website’s founder, Mark Jakubczak reports that, from 2009 to 2010, the company helped return over 1,000 lost pets to their owners. The service was inspired by the missing child Amber Alert system to, per the website, “help spread the word rapidly about your lost dog, lost cat, or any type of lost pet!” (Volume 23, Number 5, Page 10).
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“Newsline,” in the April 2011 issue of Veterinary Practice News, warns of two recent recalls:
· Junior Texas Taffy from Merrick Pet Care Inc. is being recalled due to potential Salmonella contamination. This includes “Item #27077, UPC #02280827077, and all lots up to and including 10364.” Consumers may call Merrick Pet Care at (800) 664-7387 Monday through Friday 8am-5pm CST for more information.
· “WellPet LLC is voluntarily recalling certain lots of Wellness canned cat food because of low thiamine levels.” This includes all flavors and sizes of Wellness Canned Cat Food (best-by dates 14APR13 through 30SEP13) and all sizes of Chicken & Herring Wellness Canned Cat Food (best-by date 10NOV13). For more information, call (877) 227-9587 Monday through Friday 9am-7pm EST.
(“Potential Salmonella Contamination Prompts Merrick Treat Recall” and “WellPet Recalls Cat Food Due to Thiamine Levels,” Volume 23, Number 4, Page 10).
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The April 2011 “Newsline” feature in Veterinary Practice News cites a recent study which finds that more than 50 percent of this country’s dogs and cats are overweight or obese. The fourth annual National Pet Obesity Awareness Study revealed that “32 percent of cats were classified as overweight by their veterinarians and 22 percent were observed to be clinically obese, which is defined as greater than 30 percent above normal body weight. Similarly, 35 percent of dogs were overweight and 21 percent obese.” These numbers have been steadily on the rise since 2007, the first year of this study. Some unfortunate effects of this trend include “weight-related diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease, costing pet owners millions in avoidable medical costs.” (“Study: Fat Pets Cost Owners Millions,” Volume 23, Number 4, Page 6).
Featured in the April 2011 issue of Dog Fancy, the non-profit organization Basic Animal Rescue Training, or BART, “teaches first responders—firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and police officers—…how to safely handle animals encountered during emergencies, and, if needed, how to administer CPR and first aid.” Founded in Minnesota by veterinarian Janet Olson, the organization also honors Bart, a firefighter’s dog who was lost in a house fire, “despite [rescuers’] best efforts…to revive” him. Though BART is based in Minnesota, they’ve had several requests for training session throughout the country. For further information, you can visit the BART website at http://basicanimalrescuetraining.org/ (“News Hound: New program teaches first aid for pets,” Volume 42, Number 4, Page 8).
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Due to an outbreak of feline corona virus, the Loudoun County Animal Shelter is closing its cat areas until at least March 5th. The areas will be closed both to those visitors hoping to adopt a cat and to those owners who wish to surrender a cat. The shelter asks that you call (703) 777-0406 if you have a stray cat in need of sheltering. For more information about the closure and about corona virus, please visit the Loudoun County Animal Shelter website at www.loudoun.gov/animals.
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In the April 2011 “Adopted Dog” feature, Dog Fancy highlights a new website: DisabledAnimal.com. This site was created by a University of Georgia veterinary student, Celine Higgins, as a “centralized virtual adoption center list[ing] adoptable animals by species and disability.” This allows perspective owners to locate special-needs pets, including “nearly 300 dogs, cats, horses, and birds,” who need forever homes. Higgins calls her own disabled pet, a two-legged Chihuahua named Biscuit, a “source of encouragement and strength to me” (“New website lists adoptable, disabled pets,” Volume 42, Number 4, Page 23).
Dog Fancy’s February 2011 “Bits & Bites” feature notes that both California and Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles have added warnings to their 2011 drivers’ handbooks regarding “the dangers of leaving dogs unattended in vehicles, especially in hot weather” (Volume 42, Number 2, Page 10).
Dog Fancy (February 2011 issue) reports that some Arizona mall management companies are offering retail spaces at free or reduced costs to animal welfare agencies. These agencies are then able to open adoption centers right inside of shopping malls “to reach potential adopters who normally wouldn’t go to a shelter because it’s too far away or they don’t feel comfortable visiting.” Hundreds of pets have found homes thanks to these “boutique” adoption centers, making it possible that this business model will carry over to other parts of the country (“News Hound: Adoption Centers Opening in Malls” Volume 42, Number 2, Page 10).
The January 2011 issue of Veterinary Practice News reports that the Greenies company and the Freedom Service dogs organization are promoting the Wag & Walk for Life Pledge in which “Greenies will donate money to help place up to 12 service goes with military veterans” (Volume 23, Number 1, “Newsline: News in Brief,” Page 8).
Annapolis, Maryland is highlighted in “Go” feature of the January 2011 issue of Dog Fancy. In the publication's "DogTown USA" contest, the city of Annapolis was ranked 13th in the country for its dog-friendly restaurants, lodgings, shops, and activities (Volume 42, Number 1, Page 14).
According to the January 2011 issue of Dog Fancy, “A survey by AAA examining the habits of people driving with dogs found that two thirds of owners engaged in distracting activities, such as petting their dogs or allowing them to sit in their lap” (“Bits & Bites” Volume 42, Number 1, Page 8).
A reported in the November 2010 issue of DVM Newsmagazine, researchers have found that “owning a dog can help ward off” childhood eczema, but “owning a cat might do just the opposite.” Looking at children who are potentially prone to developing allergy-related ailments such as asthma or eczema, the researchers discovered that “children with dog allergies who lived in a house with dogs were far less likely to develop eczema than were allergic children who lived with no dogs. Conversely, children with dog allergies who did not own dogs were four times more likely to develop eczema.” However, eczema was more often developed in cat-allergic children who lived with cats. The link between particular pets and the likelihood of developing eczema is not entirely clear, but researchers are looking into the possible connections (“DVM in Brief,” Page 13).
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Blue Buffalo has issued a recall of certain "Wilderness Chicken," "Basic Salmon," and "Large Breed Adult Chicken" pet foods due to increased levels of Vitamin D. Despite the fact that the Blue Buffalo company states that the "increased Vitamin D presents no serious health risk," the veterinary medical community has found that Hypervitaminosis D (excessive doses of Vitamin D) can, in fact, present risks for issues such as renal failure and neurological dysfunction.
If you have any concerns for your pet, you should contact your veterinarian right away.
For a list of recalled foods, and for Blue Buffalo's official recall statement, visit http://bluebuffalo.com/news/vitamin-d-voluntary-recall.shtml
To read more about Stream Valley's "holistic philosophy," click here.
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According to the October 2010 issue of Veterinary Practice News, the risk of human and pet exposure to and infection from Leptospirosis is on the rise. A bacteria spread via urine, “lepto” (as it is commonly known) is considered “the most common zoonotic disease worldwide,” meaning that it is a common disease that can be transmitted between humans and animals. “Lack of predators and increased food supply in suburban areas makes wildlife concentration” high enough in our neighborhood communities that the threat of contact with infected animals, such as raccoons, is a real concern. An annual vaccination against lepto is available (Volume 22, Number 10, Pages 30-32)
As reported in the October 2010 issue of Dog Fancy, the Food and Drug Administration advises caution when buying pet medication from online pharmacies. According to Martine Hartogensis, DVM (Deputy Director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine), “Pet owners who purchase drugs from these companies may think they are saving money…But in reality they may be short-changing their pet’s health and putting its life at risk.” This is because the FDA “has found unscrupulous Internet businesses selling counterfeit, outdated, mislabeled, and incorrectly formulated animal medications.” To ensure your pet’s safety, the recommendation regarding online pharmacies is to order only from those accredited by Veterinary Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (or Vet-VIPPS), “a voluntary accreditation program that the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy began offering last year.” For more information and to see a list of accredited businesses, visit the Board’s website at http://www.nabp.net. You can also visit the FDA’s site at http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/default.htm or call (240) 276-9300. (Volume 41, Number 10, pg. 10).
As reported in the August 2010 issue of Veterinary Practice News, "The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York, the Humane Society of Missouri, and the Louisiana SPCA have launched the nation’s first criminal dogfighting DNA database, known as Canine CODIS (Combined DNA Index System).” The University of California, Davis, Veterinary Genetics Laboratory will maintain the database, which will save, analyze, and potentially match evidence taken from different “suspected dog-fighting venues.” The goal is to connect “breeders, trainers and dog-fighting operators” to crime scenes, building cases against those who abuse animals and to bring to light the stories of the pet victims in these cases. (Volume 22, Number 8, pg. 4)
The Animal Legal Defense Fund of Cotati, California, is working to put in place nationally-accessible "Animal Abuser Registries," similar to the mandatory sex offender registries that tell us where such convicted criminals may live in our communities. According to the website accompanying the ALDF's "Expose Animal Abusers" campaign, the registry will aid shelters and adoption organizations during background checks. Also, the ALDF says the registry will help protect our communities as "Animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people and four times more likely to commit property crimes than are individuals without a history of animal abuse." For more information, or to sign the petition in support of the registry, visit http://www.exposeanimalabusers.org.
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