Help Your Dog Overcome These 3 Common Allergies…

Story at-a-glance

• Three very common allergies in dogs include flea allergy dermatitis, food allergies and environmental allergies.
• Treating your dog’s symptoms is only a temporary fix.
• It’s extremely important to find the root cause of an allergic reaction.
• Tips to relieve the suffering of your allergic dog.

By Dr. Becker

If your dog seems to have an allergic condition, it’s important to get an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as you can.

Unlike the vast majority of traditional DVMs, I wholeheartedly disagree your pet should be started right away on a regimen of anti-allergy drugs and antibiotics and/or anti-viral medications.

There are safer ways to relieve your dog’s symptoms than pharmaceuticals while you and your vet work to discover the root cause of the allergic reaction.

Relieving symptoms without addressing the source of the problem is a short term fix to what can become a lifelong health problem. And certain drugs used to stop the allergic cycle have significant, potentially very serious side effects.

Flea Allergy Dermatitis (FAD)

Flea allergy dermatitis, which is actually sensitivity to flea saliva, is a very common condition in dogs. It’s not the bite of the flea that causes most of the itching in dogs with FAD, it’s the saliva.

The saliva causes irritation way out of proportion to the actual number of fleas on the pup.

Lots of dog parents assume if their pet isn’t infested with fleas, the itching can’t be caused by fleas. But if your dog has FAD, the saliva of just one or two fleas can make him miserably itchy and uncomfortable for many weeks (long past the death of those two fleas).

Suggestions for flea control:

• If you suspect or know fleas are a problem for your dog, I recommend you comb her at least once daily, every day during pest season with a flea comb. Do this on a white towel or other light colored cloth so you can see what’s coming off your dog as you comb. Flea ‘dirt’ (actually flea feces) looks like real dirt, but when suspended in a little rubbing alcohol or water will dissolve and release a red color (blood) allowing you to discern real dirt from flea dirt.
• Bathe your dog often. A soothing bath will kill any fleas on your dog, help heal skin irritation, and make her feel more comfortable and less itchy. Also, clean animals aren’t as attractive to fleas. Pick a non-grain (no oatmeal) herbal shampoo.
• Make liberal use of an all-natural pest repellent like Natural Flea and Tick Defense during flea season.

For some dogs with a serious case of flea allergy dermatitis, I prescribe an oral drug called Comfortis. It is a chemical, but it’s considered the least hazardous of all similar drugs. All drugs can have side effects, but Comfortis has reportedly fewer than topical insecticides.

Food Allergies

If your dog has an allergy to something he’s eating, it may show itself not only as digestive upset (gas, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.), but also as one or several of these symptoms:

• Itchy or oozing skin
• Red, irritated eyes
• Nasal discharge

• Coughing or sneezing; asthma
• Inflamed ears
• Swollen paws

If you suspect your dog is sensitive to something in her diet, there are a number of things you can do to learn the source of the allergy and solve the problem:

• If your dog is over a year old, consider using Dr. Jean Dodds’ Nutriscan saliva test to determine if your pet is allergic to beef, corn, wheat, soy, eggs and/or milk (the most common antigens for dogs). Dr. Dodds will be adding additional antigens to the test in the near future.
• If your pet has been eating the same food every day for months or years, there’s a good chance she’s developed an allergy to it. Contrary to what you’ve probably been led to believe, pets need diversity in their diets just like humans do. She might be sensitive to the single source of chemically-laced protein she’s been getting (chances are the meat is loaded with antibiotics and hormones causing immune system over-reaction). She’s also probably grown sensitive to certain allergenic ingredients in the food, typically grains and other carbohydrates.
  Work with your holistic vet to develop an allergy elimination diet to help pinpoint the source of the problem. I recommend a three-month diet, which is longer than what many vets suggest. I like to give adequate time for an animal’s body to clear the allergenic substances, detoxify, and clean out cellular debris.
  At the end of the elimination diet, new foods are added back in slowly, one at a time to gauge your dog’s response. It’s not uncommon for pets to be able to re-incorporate previous problem foods or clean proteins into the diet once the body is detoxified and the GI tract is healthy again.
• Your holistic vet should also suggest natural supplements to help with detoxification, allergy relief and immune system support during and after the elimination diet.
• To be optimally healthy — which includes avoiding food sensitivities and building resistance to all types of allergies — your dog should be fed a balanced, species-appropriate diet. The diet I recommend is preferably raw, either homemade (again, as long as it’s balanced) or commercial. Rotating the protein sources your dog eats is extremely important, as is strictly limiting or eliminating grains.

Environmental Allergies

In addition to flea saliva and certain foods/ingredients, your dog can also be allergic to an infinite variety of irritants in the environment. These can be outdoor allergens like ragweed, grasses and pollens, as well as indoor irritants like mold, dust mites, cleaning chemicals and even fabrics like wool or cotton.

As a general rule, if your dog is allergic to something inside your home, he’ll have year-round symptoms. If he’s reacting is to something outdoors, it could very well be a seasonal problem.

Also, your pet’s immune system is partly genetic, so he can actually inherit a tendency toward environmental allergies.

Finding the root cause of this type of allergy is extremely important, because what usually happens is the more your pet is exposed to an irritant, the more his sensitivity and reaction to it grows.

Some suggestions for finding and resolving environmental irritants:

• Clean up your pet’s indoor air environment. Don’t allow smoking around your pet. Switch to non-toxic cleaning products. Consider investing in an air purifier to control dust mites.
• Make sure your dog’s drinking water is high quality and doesn’t contain fluoride, heavy metals or other contaminants.
• Don’t allow your dog to be over-vaccinated or over medicated. Vaccines rev up your pet’s immune system – too many vaccinations can send it into overdrive. An over-reactive immune system sets the stage for allergic conditions.
  Antibiotics wipe out good bacteria right along with the bad guys. Since the majority of your pet’s immune system is in her GI tract, the right balance of gut bacteria is crucial for her health. There’s also the growing problem of antibiotic resistance in pets.
  Steroid therapy (prednisone, for example) is often prescribed for pets with allergies. What these drugs do is turn off the immune system so it stops creating the allergic response. It does work for symptom relief, but unfortunately, the side effects make this a very serious, potentially dangerous drug.
• Bathe your dog. If your pet has irritated skin, bathing will rinse the allergens away and make her feel better immediately. Don’t be shy about how often you bathe your pet, especially if she suffers from allergies that itch and irritate her skin.
  If you suspect something outdoors is irritating your dog, in between baths, do foot soaks. Chances are the allergen is coming inside on your pet’s feet. She can’t escape it, and she’s spreading it around indoors to every room she visits.

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Who’s a good dog?

This is for all the dog lovers. The human who got the animals to stay put should get some credit.

Have a great day! – h/t to Gary Patterson

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Pet Week: 82.5 million U.S. households have pets

ATLANTA, May 10 (UPI/OddNews) — U.S. cable new outlet CNN marked National Pet Week by saying, among other pet-related statistics, an estimated $55.5 billion will be spent on U.S. pets in 2013.

CNN said 82.5 million U.S. households had pets in 2012 and $55.53 billion is expected to be spent on pets by U.S. residents in 2013.

A 2011 survey suggested 63.2 percent of pet owners in 2011 considered their pets to be members of the family.

The network said 70 percent of respondents in a 2006 Gallup poll identified themselves as "dog people." Twenty percent said they prefer cats.

However, there were 70 million pet dogs in the United States in 2012, compared with 74.1 million pet cats the same year.

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Animal Moms – Happy Mother’s Day 2013

h/t to Liana Smith

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New Hope for Fear and Anxiety in Abused Dogs

Story at-a-glance

• Recently the ASPCA opened the Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in Madison, NJ, a first-of-its-kind facility dedicated exclusively to helping rehabilitate dogs that have been victims of animal cruelty.
• The center’s patients will come from shelters across the country as well as from ASPCA-involved seizures, and will primarily be victims of puppy mills and hoarding situations.
• Dogs with extreme fear disorders are in danger of being euthanized unless they can be rehabilitated – a job that typically falls to shelter workers and rescue groups. The ASPCA’s new center, which is launching a two-year research project, has committed to share its findings with shelters and rescue organizations across the U.S.
• The Behavioral Rehabilitation Center has over two dozen kennels, treatment rooms, “real life” rooms, and common areas. There are 10 staff members, including two behavior experts, plus volunteers and daily caretakers. The ASPCA invested over a half a million dollars in the center, and will pay for all patient expenses, including vet care.
• For many animals, being rescued from a lifetime of neglect and abuse is just the beginning of a long journey to recovery. The Behavioral Rehabilitation Center’s goal is to provide rescued dogs with customized behavior therapy and more time to recover, which will increase their chances of being adopted

 

By Dr. Becker

Recently the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) opened the Behavioral Rehabilitation Center at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ, as part of a two-year research project.

Per an ASPCA press release, the center is “the first-ever facility dedicated strictly to providing behavioral rehabilitation to canine victims of cruelty, such as those confiscated from puppy mills and hoarding cases.” According to center director Kristen Collins, the center will also treat a certain number of dogs that have been confined for long periods because they are “evidence” in court cases.

The Behavior Rehabilitation Center’s canine patients will come from shelters across the U.S. as well as from ASPCA-involved seizures from puppy mills and hoarders. According to Collins, the center is the first facility of its kind in that it will be focused exclusively on providing rehabilitation for dogs that are victims of animal cruelty.

The Center’s findings as part of the two-year research project will be shared with shelters and rescue organizations throughout the U.S.

Dogs with Extreme Fear Disorders Are Euthanasia Candidates

Dogs suffering from extreme fear are prone to symptoms such as shaking, cowering, loss of bladder control, growling and biting. In some cases, the fear is always present and causes the animal a great deal of pain. These cases are very hard to treat.

This level of fear is commonly seen in dogs that have survived life in puppy mills or hoarding situations. Once free, fear consumes them because their previous miserable, often abusive existence is all they’ve ever known. Typically these animals are turned over to shelters and rescue groups who try to work with the dogs to help them overcome their fears. The alternative for many of these dogs is, sadly, euthanasia.

Dogs cowering in the back of their shelter kennels certainly have no quality of life, and prospective owners seldom choose them. If they do get adopted, without treatment they are ill-prepared to blend into a family environment, and many new owners are disappointed or at a loss to know what to do to help their new four-legged family member.

One of the things the ASPCA’s research project will do is provide some statistics to work with. Presently, no one really knows how many dogs with fear disorders are placed in adoptive homes, or how they do once they go to their new families. The Behavioral Rehabilitation Center staff will follow up on placed animals to document how well they are doing in their new environment.

Most Dogs Will Stay at the Center for Six to Eight Weeks

The ASPCA’s new center has over two dozen kennels, treatment rooms, “real life” rooms, common areas, and an office. There are 10 people on staff at the center, including two behavior experts from St. Hubert’s. There are also volunteers and caretakers who feed the dogs and clean their kennels.

Center behaviorists will provide customized behavior modification therapy to reduce fear and anxiety in abused dogs. From a recent press release:

Treatment plans will incorporate the use of scientifically sound techniques designed to reduce the dogs’ fear of people and other dogs, acquainting them to unfamiliar objects, sounds, living areas, and real-life situations that can induce trauma and severe stress among this population.

The ASPCA spent over half a million dollars on the center, and will foot the bill for all patient expenses, including veterinary care.

Most dogs will stay at the facility for six to eight weeks, with some requiring a more lengthy or shorter stay, depending on their individual situation. “Graduates” of the center will return to a shelter for placement, and ongoing therapy will be provided as needed.

"For some animals, the reality is that after a lifetime of neglect and abuse, the rescue is just the beginning of their journey to recovery," said Dr. Pamela Reid, vice president of the ASPCA’s Anti-Cruelty Behavior Team. The Behavioral Rehabilitation Center’s goal is to provide rescued dogs individualized behavior therapy and more time to recover from past abuse. This will increase the likelihood of successful adoption.

Rescued Alaskan Malamutes Some of Center’s First Residents

Some of the first patients at the new center were a few Alaskan malamutes taken from a Montana breeder who was convicted in December 2012 of over 90 counts of animal cruelty. A total of 213 malamutes were rescued from starvation and filthy living conditions in that case. The dogs were transferred to other kennels and kept as evidence for 16 months during trial preparation.

Eighteen of the dogs were pregnant, one of which weighed just 48 pounds (the average weight of an Alaskan malamute is 75 pounds). She delivered a litter of eight puppies. Only one survived.

Once the dogs were no longer “evidence,” they were sent to a humane society in Helena where they were spayed and neutered. Another animal welfare group helped begin placing the dogs. Some of the malamutes have found new homes; some are living in rescues awaiting adoption.

One of the dogs was adopted by the president of the Alaska Malamute Assistance League in Anchorage. The dog, a 6 year-old female named Cinder, is missing the tip of one ear, has broken teeth and a broken toe – all caused by food fights among the starving dogs while they lived at the breeding facility in Montana. According to Cinder’s owner, many of the malamutes are missing their tongues for the same reason.

Cinder’s owner, Bob Sutherland, says she has come a long way:

"We took a shy dog, and she’s all grins and giggles now. If you work with these dogs, they rise and shine. That’s why this ASPCA facility is so valuable to us. We were super excited to get these dogs in there to go through a training regimen. It saves us a lot of heartbreak about what we do with these dogs.”

Hope for the Future of Mistreated Animals

Sadly, there will be dogs that cannot overcome their fear, no matter how extensive the rehabilitation. But the center’s behaviorists are committed to do everything possible to help dogs recover. Euthanasia will be a last resort for dogs with an extremely poor quality of life, or those who pose a significant threat to people or other animals.

The Behavioral Rehabilitation Center will only be able to handle about 400 animals during the two-year project, so it won’t take much burden off shelters in the immediate future. The hope is that researchers will develop new ways to treat fear, anxiety and shyness in dogs that have been abused, and those techniques can be shared on a broad scale with other facilities and groups doing similar work.

According to Collins, success with this project could expand future projects to include fighting dogs, and even cats.

Related:

Humane Society of the U.S. finally changes its policy on fighting dogs

Great Update About Dogs Removed From Michael Vick’s Compound

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How Long Will Your Dog Be with You? It Depends Heavily on This…

Story at-a-glance

• When it comes to species of mammals, generally speaking, bigger animals live longer than smaller ones. But within species, this isn’t always true – for example, in the case of mice, horses, and especially dogs — the bigger the body, the shorter the lifespan.
• According to a new study, big dogs die younger than smaller breeds mainly because they age quickly. The average lifespan of a Great Dane is about 7 years; a Yorkshire Terrier, from 13 to 16 years.
• The study concludes that large breeds seem to age at faster rates than smaller breeds, and the speed at which the risk of death increases with age is also greater with big dogs. Bigger dogs more often get cancer, which makes sense since cancer is the result of abnormal cell growth.
• There are many things breeders and owners of big dogs can do to help these pets live better and longer — including proper nutrition; regular maintenance of the musculoskeletal system and organs; fostering a strong, balanced immune system; and following responsible, health-focused breeding practices.

By Dr. Becker:

When you evaluate species of mammals, it quickly becomes obvious that as a general rule, the bigger the creature, the longer it lives. Elephants in the wild can live well into their 60’s, whereas squirrels only live about six years.

But when you look closer at individual species, this general rule doesn’t always hold true, and dogs are a good example. As any canine enthusiast knows, big dogs have much shorter lifespans than small dogs. The same holds true for mice, horses, and possibly even humans.

Large Breeds Age Quickly and Die Younger

According to a study published in the April issue of the journal American Naturalist¹, big dogs die younger primarily because they age quickly. Study authors believe these new findings can help scientists understand the biological links between growth and mortality.

Dogs seem to be a perfect subject for the study, because humans have bred them throughout history to be wildly variable in size. According to LiveScience, the heaviest dog on record was probably an English Mastiff that weighed 343 pounds, while the smallest was a terrier weighing in at under a quarter-pound. There is no other species of mammal with such tremendous size disparity.

Giant breeds live the most abbreviated lives of all dogs. For example the Great Dane has an average life span of about seven years, while a Yorkie can be expected to live 13 to 16 years.

A Big Dog’s Life ‘Unwinds in Fast Motion’

The American Naturalist study took a look at ages of death in 74 breeds and over 56,000 dogs that visited veterinary teaching hospitals.

Researchers learned that large breeds seem to age at faster rates than smaller breeds, and the speed at which the risk of death increases with age is also greater with big dogs. According to study authors, “… large dogs age at an accelerated pace, suggesting that their adult life unwinds in fast motion.” For a dog, every 4.4 pounds of body mass takes about a month off his life.

The researchers next want to look at the growth and health histories of dogs to narrow down the leading causes of death for large breeds. For example, bigger dogs more often acquire cancer, which makes sense when you consider they grow more than small dogs, and cancer is the result of abnormal cell growth. It’s possible that humans have inadvertently selected for characteristics – like rapid growth – that predispose large dogs to cancer.

Other large animals like elephants that have many more cells than smaller creatures, and should therefore also be at greater risk for cancer, have undoubtedly evolved special defense mechanisms against disease. These mechanisms probably developed through natural selection over a very long period of time, whereas most dog breeds have evolved through selection by humans, and over a much shorter period of time.

Evolutionarily speaking, dogs have evolved in the blink of an eye, and protective mechanisms against cancer and other diseases haven’t had time to catch up.

Extending the Lives of Large and Giant Breed Dogs

If you own a large or giant breed dog or are thinking about getting one of the big guys, I hope you’ll watch my interview with Dr. Jeff Bergin.

Dr. Bergin and his partner, Christine, raise and breed Newfoundlands, and in my opinion, they do things the right way. In fact, it’s not unusual for their giant breed dogs to live into their late teens. In the world of Newfies, a 17-year lifespan is almost unheard of.

Some of the wonderful practices Dr. Bergin follows with his Newfies include:

• Feeding exclusively raw diets.
• Breeding for health, first and foremost. Dr. Bergin breeds his dogs only once or twice during the course of their lives, with at least six years between litters. He does not breed dogs with congenital defects, and so far only one of his dogs has had a genetic health issue, a heart problem. (Heart problems, osteosarcoma and hip dysplasia are the most common health challenges for this breed.)
• Performing regular chiropractic adjustments. With large and giant breed dogs, it’s very important to take care of the frame. Dr. Bergin happens to be both a licensed animal chiropractor as well as a human chiropractor. He performs regular manual orthopedic manipulation on all his dogs, from the moment they first stand on their own through the remainder of their lives. This practice is one of the keys to keeping a big dog’s musculoskeletal system from degenerating with age. Dr. Bergin’s dogs are typically fully mobile even at the end of their lives.
• Limiting vaccines and other assaults on the immune system. Dr. Bergin only vaccinates his dogs against rabies, because the law requires it. By strictly limiting the number of vaccines they receive, he helps keep his dogs’ immune systems strong and resilient.
• Insuring Newfie litters go to the right families. Dr. Bergin and Christine perform a mandatory home visit to families interested in their dogs. They won’t release a dog without seeing the new home. They conduct in-depth interviews with prospective owners to insure the puppy will be well taken care of. They also insist on a commitment from prospective owners to feed raw.

For most pet owners, it’s the quality of their dog’s life that is most important. You may have your precious pup with you for eight years or twice that long. By focusing on the three pillars of health – nutrition, maintenance of the frame, and a strong, resilient immune system — you can insure you’re providing her with everything she needs for an excellent quality of life, however long her life may be.

Calculation of Pet Age

Most people think that calculating the age of dogs and cats in "human years" is quite simple: multiply their age by seven. For example, a 4-year-old dog or cat would actually be 28 years old in human years. But when you really begin weighing out the arithmetic, this method doesn’t add up. Say a 1-year-old dog is the equivalent of a 7-year-old human — get out of here! How many 7-year-old humans are sexually active and capable of reproducing? Dogs and cats are much more likely to have babies at 1 year old or even at 10 years old, than any person who is 7 or 70.

Many veterinarians now agree that a pretty good guess on the age of pets can be made using the following formulas for dogs and cats.

DOGS
Aging is much faster during a dog’s first two years but varies among breeds. Large breeds, while they mature quicker, tend to live shorter lives. By the time they reach 5 they are considered "senior" dogs. Medium-sized breeds take around seven years to reach the senior stage, while small and toy breeds do not become seniors until around 10 or older.

But with all the vitamins, probiotics, stomach enzymes, better food (raw or home-cooked) or at least natural and organic pet foods that pets are now eating plus the fact that many live inside out of the elements and are pampered, pet age is increasing. So while many veterinarians agree that a pretty good guess on the age of pets can be made using the following formulas for dogs (and cats), the average is changing daily.

So, A Dog’s Life Can be Longer Than You Think…

Although still simple, it is much more accurate than the seven-year method. (Use these as a guestimate and guide. More and more pampered dogs are living an additional 3 to 5 years over the top averages, or even longer)

Assume that a 1-year-old dog is equal to a 12-year-old human and a 2-year-old dog is equal to a 24-year old human. Then add four years for every year after that. (Example: A 4-year-old dog would be 32 in human years.) Since this method takes into consideration the maturity rate at the beginning of a dog’s life and also the slowing of the aging process in his later years, Martha Smith, director of veterinary services at Boston’s Animal Rescue League, feels that this is the more accurate calculation formula.

Here is a chart, for easy reference:

A dog’s ‘average’ lifespan, factoring in all breeds and sizes, is around 12 or 13 years, but again, this varies widely by breed. The larger your dog is, the less time it will live. Female dogs tend to live a little longer. (Great Danes only live between 7 and 12 years.)

Wikipedia: List of Oldest (Known) Dogs  -  The oldest dogs on record were in their upper 20’s with Max, a terrier, (still) living at 29 years and 245 days old and a Labrador mix at 29 years and 193 days at the top of the (known) list.

CATS
Now let’s take a glimpse at a simple formula for calculating feline age in human years. Assume that a 1-year-old cat is equal to a 15-year-old human and a 2-year-old cat is equal to a 24-year-old human. Then add four years for every year after that. (Example: A 4-year-old cat would be 32 in human years.)

The following chart shows this formula of calculation:

Check out this and more great stuff from PetsAdviser.com and WebVet.com

Related:

Part 2 of Dr. Becker’s Interview with Bestselling Author Ted Kerasote: The Seven Factors that Determine How Long Your Dog Will Live

Pukka’s Promise: The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs, by Bestselling Author Ted Kerasote – Available in Bookstores This Week!

If I Should Die Before My Dog…

A Dog’s Life… Can Be Longer Than You Think…

A Natural Herb That Fights Cancer, or Chemotherapy for Your Sick Pet… Which Would You Choose?

Do Vaccinations Affect the Health of our Pets? 

The Nutrient Your Pet Needs More of As They Age: Protein

DNA Study Unlocks Mystery To Diverse Traits In Dogs

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Canine Logo Equals Rape! Hello?

The University of Connecticut has replaced their old logo …

… with something a bit leaner.

(Click on any picture to see the largest version.)

HellInAHandBasket.net: Okay, so some university in the New England states is trying to rebrand. So what?

It would seem that a female student claims that the new logo will “intimidate women and empower rape culture“!

I have no idea what the bitter feminist who made these claims is talking about. The new logo depicts a dog that is better groomed and showing less tongue. Wouldn’t that mean he was more of a gentleman?

Not that we are sure as to the sex of the mascot. Whenever I see a canine, the only sure way to tell the gender is to peer down between the back legs to see of there are any danglies. How can the “intimidated” student tell if the only thing drawn is the face of the beast? Maybe she completed the drawing in her mind!

My leg was once humped by a Cocker Spaniel, which means an actual, real life, flesh-and-blood dog tried to have its way with me.

This seems to me to be a great deal more traumatic than having a cartoon drawing of a fictional dog peer out from a poster or T-shirt. And yet, no one is concerned about my feelings of powerlessness and violation!

This is probably because I never felt powerless or violated. When little Snookums started the Hump, Hump, Hurrah! I simply showed my teeth while growling deep and low. The dog had obviously never encountered an Alpha male before, as it ran to huddle, shaking, against the legs of its owner. When said owner reached down to give the over stimulated pet a reassuring pat on the head, the dog peed all over her shoes.

It should be even easier to get a cartoon dog head off your leg, I would think.

Before anyone stumbling across this essay should decide to climb on their high horse and accuse me of belittling rape, please keep in mind that I have worked for two decades with victims of violent sexual abuse. It seems to me to be a no-brainer that shrill, idiotic tripe such as the claim that a drawing of a dog’s head will encourage people to engage in violent criminal assault is demeaning and unfair to those who have had to put their lives back together after being subjected to rape in the real world. But something tells me that such thoughts will never enter the heads of anyone who would make claims of that type.

Stacy McCain goes a long way towards analyzing why anyone would be so stupid as to make this assertion in the first place. The answer is that the person who penned the letter is working towards a diploma for being a self-righteous feminist jerk.

Technorati Tags: canine logo,U-Conn,University of Connecticut,insanity,you be the judge,mascots,dogs,JOMP,Just One More Pet

Non-Profit Provides Food Stamps for Pets

Pet Food Stamps, a New York-based nonprofit that will give qualifying pet owners throughout the U.S. (who must be receiving government assistance for themselves) funds to buy food for their animals from the website PetFoodDirect. Applications can be filled out here on the –> Pet Food Stamps website

WSJ: If you believe the economy is improving, you’ve likely never met someone who still can’t afford a can of cat food.

Marc Okon, who has worked as a stockbroker, entrepreneur and business consultant, has a friend from his old neighborhood in Bayside, Queens, N.Y. He’s known her since age 10. Her parents died. She fell on hard times. And the economy hasn’t come back for her yet.

"She told me she sometimes fed her cat before herself," Mr. Okon said in a telephone interview.

In February, as headlines raged about a strengthening economy, Mr. Okon started a privately funded nonprofit called Pet Food Stamps. People who are already on government assistance can apply for free pet food.

The group has been swamped with more applications than his staff of a dozen people can readily process. Most applicants send letters detailing how they lost their jobs to outsourcing, their homes to foreclosure or their health to disease or accident.

"I just heard from a lady in North Carolina who has an autistic son whose only companion is a Jack Russell Terrier," he said. "It’s cookie-cutter sadness. … Little details change but the gist of each story is the same."

Despite nominal improvements in the unemployment rate, the U.S. Department of Agriculture counts more than 47 million people in its food stamp program—nearly one out of every seven Americans.

Food stamps cannot be used to purchase pet food. But they can be used to buy Coca-Cola.

Last week, the National Center for Public Research complained at Coca-Cola’s annual shareholder meeting in Atlanta that the beverage maker lobbies heavily to keep soda on the list of wholesome things that food stamps can buy.

Taxpayers subsidize about $4 billion worth of soda sales each year, the group groused, even as the sugary drink contributes to an obesity epidemic that drives up government health-care costs.

But you know what they say? Food stamps go better with Coke.

Mr. Okon, 36 years old, said he spent his 20s chasing money, first as a stockbroker, then as the founder of a company that sold pay phones as cellphones displaced them. He also did consulting work that took him into the bowels of many other companies.

He said he briefly worked for a firm that sold dubious medical benefits to seniors in the South. "Their whole corporate philosophy was to manipulate seniors who didn’t have any type of insurance," he said. "I could only do that for about a week and half."

He is a man so disgusted with the lack of ethics he witnessed in private enterprise that he founded a nonprofit to hand out dog food.

"I’ve been around enough shady businesses and surrounded by salesmen-types who were always talking about the deal," he said.

Self-dealing helped destroy the economy—so focused on the bottom line and so unfocused on consequences for everyone else. Dogs and cats don’t know what hit them.

"Millions of pets are surrendered to shelters each year and euthanized because their owners can’t afford to feed them," Mr. Okun said.

And to top it all off, the people in charge of fixing the economy are the same ones who helped destroy it.

"The people in power were put there by fat cats, who have money and control," Mr. Okun said. "I see it getting worse and worse, decade after decade. I don’t know what’s going to change."

See CBS News Video: Non-Profit Provides Food Stamps for Pets

(CBS News) SALEM, Ore. – Tough economic times in recent years have led to heartbreaking decisions for many pet owners. But now, there may be more help on the way.

Marissa Jenkins’ 6-year-old Dachshund, Olivia, is more than a dog.

Marissa Jenkins is thankful for an organization that helps feed her dog.

"She’s been part of our family, she’s definitely not a dog," Jenkins said. "She’s a kid to us."

Recently, the Salem, Ore., family welcomed a new addition – and a new challenge.

"My husband lost his job in February and we just had a baby in December, and so all the costs of having a baby and a dog and a family is adding up," she said.

Now on food stamps, they turned to a non-profit for help to feed their dog because food stamps cannot be used for pet food.

Launched in February, Pet Food Stamps has received over to 160,000 applications from needy families across the country. Marc Okon is the charity’s founder.

"Hundreds of thousands of pets a year are put to sleep, simply because the owners can’t feed them," Okon said.

Okon says dog and cat owners on public assistance are eligible. He’s partnered with a company called Pet Flow to provide free delivery.

" It was a relief for us that we were able to get some help for our dog and because we couldn’t provide for her, somebody else could," Jenkins said, wiping away tears.

While Marissa is grateful for the free pet food, there’s an even more valuable benefit.

"We wanted our child to be able to grow up with animals and our dog is really great with her," she said.

Once back on their feet, the Jenkins say they will donate to the program to help other families in need.

Related:

Pet Food Stamps

Struggling families can now apply for nonprofit’s Pet Food Stamps

Homeless Shelters that Allow Pets

How to Help Pets of Homeless People

A Patchwork of Food Assistance for Pets

Help Feed Hungry Pets

Humane Society list of pet financial aid-related organizations

No-No Foods for Pets

Homeless With Pets – Choosing Pets Over Shelter

“One can understand a society by how it treats the weakest among them… the sick, the elderly, the children and the animals!”

**If you can donate or perhaps work with this program, Pet Food Stamps, to help all families in need feed their pets, please do so.

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Frenchie Dad Plays with His Pups

Video: Frenchie Dad Plays with His Pups

So cute!!  This reminds me so much of our Apachi playing with his pups after they were weaned. Mama Angel was the best Mommy and Apachi watched over them dutifully, but from a distance, until they were weaned and then he took over.

Grandpa Tim With Tired Daddy Apachi; 7-Week Old Pups (In Semi-Circle Front to Back) Princess, Goji, Angelina and Magnum After Too Much Playing; and Mama Angel in the Foreground.

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Human Medical Treatment Brings New Hope to Critically Injured Pets

Story at-a-glance

• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used in human medicine for years to treat a range of conditions including the bends, wounds that won’t heal, gangrene, burns, and even anemia.
• What happens with hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the lungs are able to gather up to three times more pure oxygen than is normally available, and blood flow delivers that oxygen throughout the body, stimulating the release of natural substances that promote healing.
• At the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the staff is using a hyperbaric chamber to treat a variety of animals with injuries and wounds that involve swollen tissue.
• A veterinarian in New York is using her chamber to speed healing in certain conditions including abscesses, post-radiation swelling and herniated discs.
• At the Animal Emergency and Referral Center in Ft. Pierce, Florida, pets lie on a soft blanket and nap while inhaling pure oxygen that goes to work immediately on wounds, swelling, burns, and other injuries/illnesses.

When your pet gets injured, whether it be from a near-drowning, being hit by a car or bitten by a snake, often what’s needed is a drastic treatment that can effectively reduce swelling and speed up the healing process. This comfortable, 1 to 2 hour treatment, now being offered in certain facilities, might be your pet’s best chance for recovery.

By Dr. Becker

Hyperbaric oxygen chambers are pressurized tubes, or in some cases rooms, where hyperbaric oxygen therapy is delivered. This technique has been used in human medicine for decades to treat a variety of conditions including air bubbles in blood vessels (arterial gas embolism), decompression sickness (“the bends”), carbon monoxide poisoning, wounds that won’t heal, crushing injuries, gangrene, a skin or bone infection that causes tissue death, radiation injuries, burns, skin grafts or skin flaps that can cause tissue death, and severe anemia.

In a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, the air pressure is up to three times greater than normal. This causes the lungs to collect up to three times more pure oxygen than is possible when breathing atmospheric oxygen. The pure oxygen is transported throughout the body via the blood stream, which encourages the release of growth factors and stem cells that promote healing.

Reduces Swelling and Speeds Healing in Animals

In Florida and a few other states, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is increasingly being used on pets.

The University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine has recently treated dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits and even a monkey with oxygen therapy. According to professor and DVM Justin Shmalberg, they have treated rattlesnake bites, infected wounds, and animals hit by cars. Essentially any kind of problem that causes swelling of tissue is a candidate for the hyperbaric chamber.

This summer, the school will begin clinical trials to determine if what they are seeing is “real” – that hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps reduce swelling and speed healing in animals. There isn’t much research on this type of treatment for pets, though ironically, most of the research for human oxygen therapy is the result of studies on rats and rabbits.

Dr. Diane Levitan, owner of a veterinary practice in New York, has a hyperbaric chamber in her facility and has seen improved rates of healing for certain conditions including abscesses, post-radiation swelling and herniated discs. Dr. Levitan is writing an article for a veterinary journal on her use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and agrees with Dr. Shmalberg that it’s important to establish the science behind the success of the technique for certain conditions. “It’s not a panacea,” says Levitan. “There are specific reasons why this is helpful.”

Pets are Comfortable and Relaxed During Treatment

The Animal Emergency and Referral Center in Ft. Pierce, Florida also has a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. They describe the treatment this way:

“Inside the chamber, pets lie on a soft blanket and rest or sleep while the oxygen goes to work on wounds, swelling, burns and other injuries or illnesses. The pets are comfortable and relaxed during dog/cat hyperbaric therapy treatment. The total HBOT treatment time is from 1 to 2 hours, and is usually repeated twice a day. Treatments continue until the doctors see a marked improvement. When your pet is beginning to use the affected limb, or is gaining strength and function, the animal hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatments are discontinued.”

This facility uses oxygen therapy for patients with post operative swelling, snake bites, wounds and burns, head and spinal injuries, near-drowning or asphyxiation, and smoke inhalation.

‘About the Size of a Loveseat’

As you might expect, some (probably many) human insurance companies don’t cover oxygen therapy because it’s “unproven,” however, people who have had success with treatments will seek it out anyway. And the same is true for pet owners. They research the treatment and then seek it out for an ailing pet.

The equipment used at the University of Florida is “about the size of a loveseat.” The DVM who initially arranged for the equipment at UF estimates he’s used the chamber 750-800 times in the last 18 months and feels it is very effective for any kind of trauma.

Since most vet practices can’t afford to buy a chamber (equipment for humans runs between $50,000 and $150,000 each), the manufacturer actually gives the chambers to clinics and receives a percentage of each treatment done. Treatments run about $125 per session at the UF clinic.

The equipment can be dangerous to use because 100 percent oxygen is involved. Animals are patted down with water before they go into the chamber so their coat doesn’t attract static electricity and start a fire. Tragically, last year a hyperbaric oxygen chamber in a Florida equine veterinary center exploded, killing a staff member and the horse inside the chamber, and collapsing part of the building. Apparently, the horse hit the side of the enclosure with a foot, which caused a spark that set off the explosion.

Although this type of accident is incredibly rare, some veterinarians view hyperbaric therapy as a treatment of last resort. I don’t agree. With proper training, the hyperbaric oxygen chamber is as safe as any other veterinary treatment equipment, but without side effects. Inhaling pure oxygen in this manner triggers the body’s own ability to heal, which is always the goal.

Video: University of Florida Treats First Animal in a New Hyperbaric Chamber

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