Maureen Berry commutes from Roslindale to work in South Boston with Nicholas,
her 13-year-old Yorkshire terrier, in his stroller.
Meet Freddie
Nine year old Freddie is an AHF Pet Partner with his handler, Kristi Reed. They live in LA and visit the Children’s Hospital there! Freddie is a terrier mix and just adorable! Glad you found us, Kristi and are going to be part of AHF moving forward
Muffin and Char
Jan Aven’s beautiful Pet Partner Muffin with her best friend little Char. Holiday 2012
Bumper toys appear to leach plastic compounds, study finds
Plastic bumpers used to train retrieving dogs appear to leach bisphenol A and phthalates, according to research from Texas Tech University. The researchers found that bumpers exposed to artificial dog saliva and simulated chewing released the chemicals. It’s not known whether the compounds put dogs at risk of any health problems. EnvironmentalHealthNews.org (11/29)
Dog bites BPA: Chemicals leak from plastic training toys
Dogs that chew on plastic training devices and toys may be exposed to hormone-altering chemicals, according to research at Texas Tech University. Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates – ingredients of hard plastics and vinyl – readily leach from bumper toys, which are used to train retrieving dogs. The new study is one of the first to examine dog products as a potential source of exposure for pets. No one knows, though, whether the traces of the chemicals pose any health risk to dogs. “Some of the dogs are exposed to plastic bumpers from the time they are born until the day they die. We all want our pets to be healthy,” said toxicologist Philip Smith, co-author of the as-yet unpublished study.
By Lindsey Konkel Environmental Health News
Nov. 29, 2012
Dogs that chew on plastic training devices and toys may be exposed to hormone-altering chemicals, according to research at Texas Tech University.
The researchers found that bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates – ingredients of hard plastics and vinyl – readily leach from bumper toys, which are used to train retrieving dogs.
The new study is one of the first to examine dog products as a potential source of exposure for pets. No one knows, though, whether the traces of the chemicals pose any health risk to dogs. Previous research has focused on the risks to infants and toddlers from baby bottles, toys and other items that contained the chemicals.
“A lot of plastic products are used for dogs, so to understand the potential for some of the chemicals to leach out from toys is a new and important area of research,” said veterinarian Safdar Khan, senior director of toxicology research at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Poison Control Center in Illinois. Dr. Khan was not involved in the current study.
Philip Smith, a toxicologist at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech, became interested in chemical exposures from bumpers after using them to train his own Labrador retrievers.
“Some of the dogs are exposed to plastic bumpers from the time they are born until the day they die. We all want our pets to be healthy,” said Smith, co-author of the as-yet unpublished study, which was presented this month at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry conference in California.
“A lot of plastic products are used for dogs, so to understand the potential for some of the chemicals to leach out from toys is a new and important area of research.” -Dr. Safdar Khan, ASPCA Poison Control Center In humans and rodents, BPA and phthalates have been linked to a number of health issues, including impaired development of reproductive organs, decreased fertility and cancers. The United States and the European Union have banned some phthalates in children’s toys, and in July the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups.
The researchers, led by Kimberly Wooten, a graduate student in environmental toxicology at Texas Tech, studied factors that affected how much BPA and phthalates leached from plastic bumpers into dishes filled with artificial dog saliva.
They tested orange and white bumpers from two unidentified makers. The bumpers subjected to simulated chewing leached more BPA and phthalates than brand new bumpers and those left outside to weather for a month.
Researchers said they suspect that the levels of chemicals observed from the bumpers would be considered very high when compared with children’s toys. “Think of the molecules that comprise plastics as bricks in a wall. With pet toys, wear and tear from chewing would place stress on the chemical bonds – the mortar – allowing individual molecules to be released,” said Laura Vandenberg, a reproductive scientist from Tufts University in Massachusetts.
Since simulated saliva was used, it is difficult to say how much actual leaching would occur in a dog’s mouth, the researchers said. “We don’t have enough information at this time to begin to estimate actual exposure,” Smith said.
Smith said they suspect that the levels of chemicals observed from the bumpers would be considered very high when compared with children’s toys.
The researchers also looked at phthalates and BPA from pet toys sold through major retailers. They found higher concentrations leaching from bumpers than from other toys but preliminary results suggest some store-bought toys might have leached other hormonally-active chemicals.
A previous study by the Environmental Working Group found that dogs’ blood and urine contained the breakdown products of several phthalates at levels ranging from 1.1 to 4.5 times higher than the average found in people.
“Dogs are closer to the ground than humans, so house dust is another potential source of exposure to environmental chemicals,” Dr. Khan said.
But little is known about any potential health risks for dogs exposed to hormone-mimicking chemicals.
Since little toxicity data exist for dogs, it is difficult to evaluate risks, Smith said. Nonetheless, “consumer education about potential risk seems to be warranted based on our data,” he said
Funeral home offers services for 4-legged family members
D.O. McComb & Sons’ Tribute Center in Indiana includes services for deceased pets such as burial, cremation and a private room for viewing by owners, reflecting pets’ modern status in many homes as family members.
Memorials to pets prove it’s more than puppy love
An unusual item appeared in the newspaper the other day. It was an obituary – for a dog.
The death notice identified the dog’s owner and even included calling hours at D.O. McComb & Sons new Tribute Center on West Main Street near Lindenwood Cemetery.
While the obituary was, as far as I can recall, a first for the newspaper, the concept of special treatment for a deceased pet is nothing new.
People have been falling in love with their pets since long before Rin Tin Tin, Lassie or Old Yeller came along, sometimes with good reason. A pet will never tell you you’re ugly or overweight, and it will never ask you where you’ve been when you come home late. It will just be delighted to see you.
While your kids may prove to be crushing disappointments, a pet generally doesn’t have the wherewithal to ruin the family name, get busted for selling drugs or sell your jewelry while you’re out of town.
Truth be told, for many people, a pet is the most loyal – even the only truly loyal – creature in their lives.
That has become evident to the people at D.O. McComb. A lot of people want a respectful exit for their pets, so when the funeral home opened the Tribute Center in October it included something unusual: a separate crematorium for pets, and a separate room, now called Emma’s Room, where a deceased pet can be briefly laid out and the owner can enter and say hello and offer one last goodbye before cremation, Dave McComb says.
It’s just a sign of the times, he said. Pets have become more important as members of the traditional family move to far-flung places. Kids leave. Wives leave. But pets remain as faithful companions and, McComb said, their status has become elevated.
Other animals, such as service dogs and police dogs, have earned a higher status in the minds of many. Maybe they don’t rate a funeral, but a thoughtful sendoff is soothing for the owners.
McComb’s can either cremate a pet and put its ashes in an urn, or arrange a burial in a portion of Riverview Cemetery that has been set aside for pets.
The funeral home hasn’t promoted the service yet, but at a Tribute Center open house, the concept drew a lot of attention and was well received, McComb said.
“We’ve had requests for even services for a while now,” McComb said.
While you won’t find preachers conducting funerals (don’t all dogs go to heaven anyway?) there can be services where an owner or friend might even eulogize an animal and friends or family members can show up and offer condolences.
“What we’ve learned is that people fall into two categories: pet owners and pet parents.”
To the pet parent, a pet becomes just as important as any other member of the family, somebody they will always remember.
The cost of a pet cremation? It varies depending on the size of the animal, which can obviously vary wildly, but the pet crematorium can handle animals up to 300 pounds.
Stop and think before giving a pet as a holiday gift, experts say
While a puppy or kitten under the Christmas tree may seem like the quintessential holiday gift, experts warn that pets given as gifts don’t always have a happy ending. Veterinarian Mollie Hurley advises against surprising people with animals as gifts, as they may not be prepared for the commitment. Animal shelter educator Deeann Schaefer notes that recipients of pets may not be financially or emotionally prepared for the responsibilities and often end up surrendering those animals to already overburdened shelters.
While the excitement of surprising a loved one with an adorable puppy or kitten may be tempting, pets are not like a sweater or piece of jewelry that can be easily returned or re-gifted.
“Pet ownership is not an impulse to jump into,” Dr. Mollie Hurley, of Stack Veterinary Hospital in Onondaga, said. “And by not talking it over with the recipient or really thinking things through completely, (giving or receiving a pet as a gift) might not be as enjoyable as it could be.”
Companion animals may live for 15 years, and need life-long care in homes where they are loved and treated as members of the family.
“We see it a lot,” Deeann Schaefer, humane educator at Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association, an animal shelter in Canastota, said. “The person they’re giving the pet to may not have time for it, they may not be able to afford a pet, and some of them may not even want a pet at that particular time.”
While a pet given as a gift initially costs the person on the receiving end little or nothing, there is no such thing as a “free” animal.
A spread sheet at aspca.org listed first-year pet care cost estimates — not including the cost of purchasing the animal — ranging from $1,314 for a small dog to $1,843 for a large dog, and $1,035 for a cat. Of course, that’s just for the first year, and as animals age, their need for veterinary care may increase.
Schaefer said that too often gift animals end up in shelters, which are already filled with unwanted pets. Or worse, they may be neglected, abused or abandoned. She estimates the number of dogs and cats at Wanderers’ Rest increases by at least 10 to 15 percent after the holidays.
“People realize they may have bitten off more than they can chew,” Schaefer said. “We see a lot of kittens and cats coming into the shelter six months later, when the cuteness has worn off. Same thing with puppies, eight or nine months later. Suddenly, it’s not the cute roly-poly puppy that was underneath the Christmas tree, it’s a dog that’s chewing up your furniture.”
Hurley said adding a young animal to a household at this time of year presents special challenges.
“During the holidays there’s a lot of chaos, it’s a hectic time. People have a lot of things going on and may not be able to pay attention to the pet’s needs,” she said.
Hurley also cited the health risks of young animals ingesting ribbon and other holiday items, and added, “Taking a puppy outside every couple hours to get it potty trained in the winter is certainly not easy,” she said.
Schaefer said the phones are already ringing at Wanderers’ Rest. “We actually have people calling and asking us, ‘When are you getting your puppies in?’ like we’re Kmart or something,” she said.
Schaefer recommends, instead, giving a pet-themed gift basket and a gift certificate from a shelter, which would allow the recipient to personally pick out his or her own animal.
If a person says they want to adopt a dog or cat to give to someone else, Schaefer said Wanderers’ Rest requires the recipient to come in and confirm that he or she does indeed want the animal.
“Is it going to ruin the surprise? Yes, but we want every family member on board.” Schaefer said.
Costs of owning a pet include expenses for: Food and treats. Collars and leashes. Bedding. Veterinary care, including vaccines, medications, spaying and neutering, heartworm, flea and tick prevention. Grooming. Training, boarding or pet sitting. Fencing or containment systems. Time to exercise, play with and train the animal.
Military dogs to be honored with national monument
In two months, a national monument will be dedicated to all the dogs that have served the country in combat since World War II. The bronze monument, designed by John Burnam and created by sculptor Paula Slater, features a handler flanked by four dogs representing breeds commonly used in wars. Burnam, who served in Vietnam with military dogs and wrote two books about the topic, spent years pursuing the idea of a national monument for dogs before legislation authorizing the monument was introduced in 2007 and signed into law the next year.
LOS ANGELES — The act of Congress is in the books, the bills are paid, the sculptures are being cast, and one of the biggest parades in the world will start a glory tour and countdown to dedication.
The first national monument to pay tribute to military dogs will be unveiled in California in just two months. The U.S. Working Dog Teams National Monument will honor every dog that has served in combat since World War II.
Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomes panda cub
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo greeted its latest addition late Sunday night: a panda cub, born to 14-year-old Mei Xiang, said veterinarian Suzan Murray. After being given a 10% chance of becoming pregnant following a series of pseudopregnancies, Mei Xiang gave birth to her second cub, conceived via artificial insemination. Veterinarians have not yet seen the cub and will allow the pair to bond before they examine the animal. “[Mei Xiang] has a huge nest of bamboo, so it’s normal not to see the cub,” Dr. Murray said. “We rely a lot on the sound. We like to hear a little squawking, and we’re hearing a lot of squawking.” ABC News/”Good Morning America”/The Associated Press
Sept. 17, 2012
Mei Xiang, the giant female panda at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., has given birth to a panda cub, according to the zoo.
Chief veterinarian Suzan Murray said the unnamed cub was born at about 10:46 p.m. Sunday night.
“Mother and cub are doing great,” Murray said today on “Good Morning America” from the zoo. “We are so excited here at the Smithsonian National Zoo to have this cub.”
This is Mei Xiang’s second birth as the result of artificial insemination. She gave birth to her first cub, Tai Shan, in 2005. Tian Tian, 15, is the father of both of Mei Xiang’s cubs.
Mei Xiang, 14, has had five consecutive pseudopregnancies since 2007 and had a less than a 10 percent chance of being pregnant after so many failed attempts.
“Mom is doing so great,” Murray said. “She is definitely the poster child for the perfect “panda mom.”
She keeps trying to doze because she is tired and the minute the cub squawks her head perks right on up and she cradles it and cuddles it. She is just perfect.”
Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Panda Mei Xiang is shown at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in this file photo.
Veterinarians will perform the first physical exam after Mei Xiang and the cub have had time to bond, the zoo said. The new mother will most likely not come out of her den, or eat or drink, for at least a week.
“She [Mei Xiang] has a huge nest of bamboo, so it’s normal not to see the cub,” Murray said. “We rely a lot on the sound. We like to hear a little squawking and we’re hearing a lot of squawking.”
With only 300 pandas left in breeding zones and zoos around the world, Mei Xiang and the father of the new cub have become public symbols for endangered species and conservation efforts.
As part of President Hu Jintao’s official state dinner welcome in January of 2011, the announcement was made of a new five-year, $2.5 million deal between the Smithsonian Institution and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. The Panda Cooperative Research and Breeding Agreement allowed Washington’s furriest duo to stay in the nation’s capital.
“Pandas are such a good ambassador for conservation and they highlight all that we do here at the zoo,” Murray told “GMA.” “Everybody is thrilled. We’re thrilled nationally, globally. It’s a nice image of the partnership we have with our Chinese colleagues.”
U.S.-China relations have been never been simple. But panda diplomacy is not a new tactic in strengthening international ties. Since the Tang Dynasty from A.D. 618 to 907, China has been sending its national treasure to other countries as a symbol of gratitude.
The first panda couple to be donated to the American people followed President Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 trip to China, one that marked a new beginning for the longtime foes. Greeted with an official ceremony hosted by the first lady, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing lived at the National Zoo for more than 20 years.
ABC News’ Reilly Dowd and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Pet strollers keep older animals on the go
U.S. pets are living longer than ever before, and with age often comes back, hip or knee problems. Owners are increasingly purchasing pet strollers to improve their pets’ mobility. AVMA statistics indicate that between 1987 and 2011, the percentage of dogs in the U.S. over 6 years old increased from 42% to 48% while the share of older cats increased from 29% to 50%. The Boston Globe
Strollers for dogs: The latest in pet pampering
Strollers offer one way for people to get around with pets that are inform, elderly — or just a little lazy
Really, it should be no big deal. After all, we already live in such a pet-centric world that the sight of a dog wearing Ralph Lauren, or checking into a five-star hotel, or dining on organic, locally sourced food, barely causes a stir. And yet, even in 2012, a dog riding in a stroller seems one pamper too far.
“Sometimes people make snide remarks,” said Soderstrom, 28, an executive assistant who also designs and markets her own line of jewely. Or they point and laugh, and hint that 5-year-old Louis is a “diva.”
Let the public mock. The white dog with the big pink ears has long struggled with a bad back and hips, but he got around OK until a few months ago when he injured a knee, making the two-block walk to the park impossible. “But I wanted to keep him happy,” Soderstrom said.
She carried him back and forth for a while, but that was exhausting. Enter a $130 dog stroller from eBay. “Louis loves it,” she said. “He stands right next to it waiting to be picked up and put in.”
It’s probably too early to declare pets-in-strollers a full-blown trend, at least in Boston. (In certain neighborhoods in Manhattan, Los Angeles, and southern Florida, the unusual dogs are reportedly the ones who are walking.) But the warning signs are building:
Two Pekingese pups were spotted recently in a stroller in the Prudential Center. A Yorkie was seen riding in the South End, where a cat was also observed taking a drive. In Cambridge, a long-haired dachshund was parked in a stroller in front of a Star Market. Reports of stroller dogs enjoying Castle Island and the Gloucester waterfront have also come in.
At the pet-friendly Boston Harbor Hotel, canine guests have begun arriving in strollers, particularly in the winter, the better to protect their paws from ice-melting salt. “It’s a nice easy way for them to get around,” said concierge Rob Fournier. (A stroller even helped one guest sneak a pooch into the hotel’s Rowes Wharf Sea Grille, a jaunt that lasted until a staffer noticed that the body in the stroller was a tad furry.)
And a dog stroller made the iconic September issue of Vogue magazine. “Two days before my dog Rose died, I put her in the stroller and pushed her down the sidewalk,” the best-selling author Ann Patchett wrote. “When my friend Norma bought Rose a dog stroller the summer before, I hadn’t wanted it, but feelings of idiocy were quick to give way to Rose’s obvious pleasure.”
The stroller movement is the natural outgrowth of several other pet-related story lines, including an increase in spending on pet health care, a growing population of elderly pets, and an increasing belief that our pets are not our animals, but rather our children.
In 2001, US pet owners spent $7.1 billion on pet health care, a number that jumped to $13.41 billion in 2011, according to the American Pet Products Association. Along with that spending has come an increase in the percentage of senior pets who, having benefited from life-prolonging therapies, need help getting around.
In 1987, forty-two percent of dogs were 6 years old or older, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. In 2011, that number had risen to 48 percent. The percentage of senior cats is growing at an even faster rate. In 1987, 29 percent of cats were 6 years old or older. By 2011, 50 percent of cats were “of a certain age.”
But strollers aren’t just for infirm or elderly pets. Some are for perfectly mobile pets who are more child than pooch. Because dogs can be zipped securely into their strollers, the carriages allow pets to accompany owners on an entire day’s worth of activities.
“We like to include our dogs in what we do,” said stroller-user Debby Vogel, the owner of three Chihuahuas, a 14-year-old with mobility issues, and two 9-year-olds who know a good thing when they see it. “The girl is lazy,” Vogel, the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s volunteer services manager, said of one of her younger dogs, “and the boy is nervous when people loom over him. In crowds he gets freaked out.”
Time was when dogs like that would have stayed at home, but that time is not 2012. In fact, Vogel and her husband, a muscular mixed martial arts fighter confident enough to push a dog stroller, are so eager to bring their dogs along that they have assembled a stroller wardrobe, one for off-road, one for in-town. “Our son is in college and [the dogs] are the second kids,” Vogel said, laughing.
The stroller trend started to build about five or six years ago, said Tierra Bonaldi, a “pet lifestylist” with the American Pet Products Association, and it’s moved from strictly small-dog doll-style strollers to joggers strong enough to hold a 150-pound dog, and manly enough for even macho men to be seen with.
On the Uncommondog.com website, The DoggyRide Lightweight Jogger-Stroller will run an owner $359.10, and is built on a light aluminum-alloy frame. On Amazon, the PetZip Happy Trailer jogger goes for $265, and comes in a jaunty red or a nice blue, and a Pet Gear Expedition stroller goes for $197. Pricey? Perhaps, but as one reviewer noted, the gear is not solely for the benefit of the pets. “The stroller was the perfect answer to the problem of our dogs tiring out before we did,” N. Brabec wrote, “and it has allowed us to take even longer walks.”
In South Boston, a pink stroller emblazoned with paw prints allows Maureen Berry, an assistant manager at the Fenway Bark dog hotel, to commute from Roslindale with one or two of her three dogs. The trip involves the Silver Line, the Red Line, and the Orange line, and wouldn’t be doable without wheels.
“What do you think, bud?” Berry asked on a recent afternoon as she and Nicholas, her 13-year-old Yorkie, left work. The 18-pound pooch, youthful but with mobility problems, sat upright in his carriage, the wind of Boston Harbor ruffling his tan and black fur, his adorable black nose sniffing like mad. Berry scratched his head and smiled as the pair made their way home, together.
Beth Teitell can be reached at bteitell@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @bethteitell.
AHF Caring Creatures Therapy Dove, Cloud
Cloud and his handler Daleen Comer is AHF’s first CARING CREATURES therapy animal team. Watch here while Cloud tries to get a ball to play with him!
Pittsburgh Zoo marks historic black rhino birth
After 15 months of waiting, Pittsburgh Zoo officials said the facility’s female black rhinoceros, Azizi, gave birth to a female baby, marking the zoo’s first black rhino birth in 47 years. With only 4,800 animals left in the wild, every captive black rhino birth is a landmark occasion. Zoo veterinarians monitored the birth and say the calf appears to be healthy. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (9/12)
Paul A. Selvaggio
The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium has a new baby rhinoceros.
By Taryn Luna / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s animal family grew by one on Saturday with a female baby black rhinoceros, the zoo announced today.
For more than a year zookeepers tried to introduce its female black rhino Azizi with Jomo, the zoo’s male black rhino, with the hope that the two would mate and produce the first black rhino born in Pittsburgh in 47 years.
The black rhino is an endangered species. The birth is significant, too, because many remaining black rhinos in captivity are male.
Rhinos are solitary animals and although successful, the introductory process was long.
Fifteen months ago, zookeepers learned Azizi was pregnant and last week they noticed her behavior was changing.
She paced and appeared uncomfortable, at one point putting her feet in a water trough and stretching, zoo officials said.
The 50-minute labor was closely monitored by zoo veterinarians, who remained out of sight to not interfere in or alter the delivery.
Baby rhinos have a mortality rate of about 25 percent in zoos and the first three months are critical to their health, according to the zoo.
Thus far, the baby appears to be doing well after being born at 70.4 pounds, compared to the 4,500 to 5,000 pound weight of an adult.
Veterinarians said she was nursing within the first two hours of her birth, which is the first step in bonding with the mother.
Calves gain about 30 pounds each week on a milk diet and zookeepers plan to begin feeding her solid foods, such as alfalfa and sweet potatoes, when she reaches about one month old.
Zoo officials said the baby is very active, moving around and trotting in her room until her mother is out of sight, and then wailing until she returns. They plan to continue to monitor her to ensure that she’s nursing.
In order to preserve the black rhino species, which is down to 4,800 animals in the wild, zoo officials said earlier this year that the calf will likely be placed in another zoo once it is old enough to breed with other black rhinos since it cannot be bred with its father.
Populations of black rhinos, which were depleted by 96
percent from 1970 to 1972, are recovering slowly in the wild.
According to a written statement from the zoo, Azizi and the baby will not be on exhibit until they can bond and weather and temperatures are ideal.
Taryn Luna: tluna@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1985. First Published September 12, 2012 3:44 pm