AHF Caring Creatures Pet Partners to participate in Royal Family Kids Camp registration
For the fourth year, Animal Health Foundation Pet Partners will be participating in a very worthwhile event: registration activities for the Royal Family Kids Camp.
It is a camp for severely abused children from all over Orange County about ages 7-12 who are given the opportunity to go to camp for 5 days.
This year marks their 20th Anniversary!
The kids get a lot of love and attention for the week and the whole purpose is to give the kids a week of fun and enjoyment and love. It is an International organization but the camps are all sponsored by local groups, i.e. Orange County camp is sponsored by two local. There will be about 100-150 children at registration prior to the buses leaving for camp and then the same amount of children upon their return. Registration and Return will be a Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa.
There will be pet teams stationed around a big recreation room that the kids can come up and pet. This helps relax and entertain the children — who may be apprehensive and anxious before leaving for camp — while the buses are being loaded with luggage and all the paperwork is being completed.
Upon their return from camp the pet teams work again because many of the children are anxious and apprehensive to return home. Upon their return the kids go in the recreation room while the buses are unloaded and they wait for their caregivers, guardians or parents to pick them up.
Organizers say “this is the fourth year that the pet teams have assisted with registration and you cannot imagine the positive feedback that I’ve had. Everyone involved says the dogs (and sometimes other animals) make registration and return go so much smoother now than before. The children, many with developmental and/or behavioral difficulties, had never been as calm as when the dogs have been there.”
Colorado Springs veterinary clinic deals with Waldo Canyon Fire
| Jul 3, 2012 By: Julie ScheideggerDVM NEWSMAGAZINE |
He had little time to be on the phone. At 2 a.m. the morning of Wednesday, June 27, Jamie Gaynor, DVM, MS, EMT, was activated by the Colorado Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps. Animals evacuated by the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colo., were showing up at shelters and needed attention. Members of his staff had been evacuated from their homes. Gaynor’s practice, Peak Performance Veterinary Group at 5520 N. Nevada Ave. in Colorado Springs, is located west of the wildfire that at the time covered 18,500 acres and was only 5 percent contained. An evacuation plan was necessary.
“This is crazy what’s going on here,” Gaynor told DVM Newsmagazine that day. At the time visibility was less than a quarter-mile, and the fire was moving in three directions. “They’re constantly updating evacuation notices,” Gaynor said.
On that Wednesday Gaynor was caring for evacuated animals and creating the clinic’s evacuation plan. He was cautiously confident the fire wouldn’t reach the clinic, but it was in the danger zone–embers blown by the wind could have ignited new fires at any time. The practice had been inundated with smoke for the past two days. Although most of his clients had canceled their appointments, the clinic was housing eight hospitalized patients and five dogs that had been evacuated in their care. Gaynor continued to update a practice evacuation plan he hoped he wouldn’t have to use.
In the meantime, animals were showing up at area shelters with smoke-related symptoms, which Gaynor was helping to treat. “At least 30,000 people have been evacuated, which means there are a lot of animals involved,” he said.
Gaynor said he saw a lot of coughing, sneezing and respiratory issues in the pets he was treating, including smoke-triggered asthma in cats. “I also looked at a dog with ocular issues,” he said. “(I can) clean him up, flush his eyes and make him more comfortable.”
In addition to physical effects, Gaynor says he saw an emotional impact on the animals as well. “What’s interesting between my own patients and the evacuees is a certain level of anxiety,” he said. “They can smell the smoke and their natural reaction is to exit that smoke.”
His team was experiencing a certain level of anxiety, too. Some had already been evacuated from their homes. And everyone was bracing for possible evacuation of the clinic–either voluntary if conditions worsened or mandatory if the fire continued to blaze east. “We can be out of this facility with patients in 30 minutes or less,” Gaynor said.
Although he felt the practice was not in imminent danger, Gaynor said the fire seemed to change moment to moment. But an evacuation plan gave everyone peace of mind. “We have a plan; we know what to do if something happens,” he said. “Even if we have to evacuate we know where we’ll set up our ICU. The south office is six miles from here–really in no danger zone.”
Gaynor wasn’t as confident about the risk to his family’s home, however. He suspected his neighborhood would be evacuated within the week. “My house is getting closer and closer to the evacuation area,” he said. “My dogs and family are out of town, so at least I don’t have to worry about them.”
Gaynor said he was carrying around five boxes of important papers and belongings from his house in his car. “I don’t have to go back to the house to evacuate it,” he said. “While I would hate to lose my house, bottom line is, it’s stuff. As long as family and pets are OK, that’s the bottom line.”
As of Friday, June 29, Gaynor, his staff and clinic were safe; firefighters were making progress on perimeter containment. However, staff members who had been evacuated from their homes had not been able to return. “We are feeling better about the possibility that our hospital will not have to evacuate,” Gaynor said in an e-mail on Monday, July 2, “but it is a wildfire and we learned (last Tuesday) that it can be very unpredictable.”
The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region has set up sites for evacuated animals at 610 Abbott Lane and 3650 N. Nevada Ave. They are currently in need of dog and cat crates of all sizes, as well as blankets and towels.
Additional information For more information about the Waldo Canyon Fire, go to the Incident Information System website at www.inciweb.org. For more information about the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, go to www.hsppr.org/waldocanyon.
Another New AHF Caring Creatures Pet Partner Team
Cindy Daversa and her 6 year old Boxer, Bella, are ready to bring huge smiles to the faces of people and kids they will visit as a new AHF Caring Creatures Pet Partner Team. Congratulations Cindy and Bella!
New AHF Caring Creatures Pet Partner Team
Congratulations to Ben Buchanan and Yuki who passed the Pet Partner Team Evaluations in June! Yuki is a “career change” dog who was originally trained by Guide Dogs of America in Orange County. This loving dog will now serve in a different and just as rewarding way!
Animals Help People in Interesting Ways
You’ve seen police on horseback or drug-sniffing dogs. But those aren’t the only animals with jobs that help their cities. From the most adorable lawn-mowers ever to man’s best bedbug hunters, here are five ways animals are helping address nagging urban problems.
As Brush Clearers
Photo courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar/Flickr
In Seattle, there are two constants: hills and blackberry bushes, the latter of which spread quickly through gardens and green spaces. Combine the two and you’ve got a real headache for the city’s public works department. But there’s one animal that thrives on hills and thorny bushes: goats.
The city’s department of transportation hired 60 goats to clear a hill of brush that was deemed too dangerous for humans to navigate. Seattle City Light, the city’s electric power utility, and the Seattle Parks and Recreation department have also hired the goats for brush clearing. One goat owner who rents them out to the city told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “They suck down blackberry vines like it was spaghetti. I don’t understand it, [but] the thorns don’t bother them at all.”
As Bedbug Finders
Bedbugs are a nightmare to get rid of and they thrive in urban environments. But many cities are finding success employing dogs to search out the elusive pests. City housing authorities from Seattle, Milwaukee, and New York have purchased bedbug-sniffing dogs. Just as dogs can be trained to sniff out drugs and bombs, certain dogs can be trained to find bedbugs.
But these specialized canines come at a high price. In 2009, Milwaukee purchased Gracie, a 12-pound Jack Russell terrier, to go on bedbug-hunting missions throughout the city’s 5,300 units of public housing. Gracie cost the city $10,000, but one city official explained to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel why she’s worth the money:
The advantage is that the animal can pinpoint bedbugs without having to go through all the units in a building, or trying to treat a whole building with various methods like raising the temperature in a building to 120 degrees.
And to stay off this list, we’re guessing it’s worth the cost.
As Natural Pesticides
In Thousand Oaks, California, native Modesto ash trees were being held captive by whiteflies and aphids (“plant lice”). Fortunately for the city, ladybugs have big appetites for these calamitous critters.
Last month, the city’s public works department deployed 720,000 hungry ladybugs to keep the plant destroyers in check. The beetles, which can consume about 5,000 of the insects throughout their two-year lifespan, cost the city about $2,000 per year. Much cheaper than the hundreds of dollars per vial of pesticide, according to the Ventura County Star.
As Lawn Mowers
Vacant lots have become a major problem in struggling cities during and even before the recession, costing taxpayers big money in maintenance and clean-up fees.
In Cleveland, officials came up with a cost-effective alternative: a flock of sheep (along with one llama). “We found that we could reduce the cost of mowing up to 50 percent and, of course, there is significantly less environmental impact,” Laura DeYoung of Urban Shepherds told The Plain Dealer.
As Mosquito Killers
Austin rather famously stumbled across its unlikely non-human ally: bats.
When the Congress Avenue Bridge was constructed in 1980, its crevices proved particularly hospitable to bats. Some Austinites wanted to see them gone, but the city decided to let them be. Today, the bridge is home to about 1.5 million bats, making it the largest urban bat colony in the world.
This has provided Austin a number of benefits. On a typical night flight the colony can consume 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of insects, including agricultural pests and mosquitoes. The bats have also become a popular tourist attraction. It’s the 21st ranked tourist attraction in the city and it’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of people visit the site each year.
Shar Pei Adopts Endangered Tiger Cub Pair
From the Associated Press:
In this picture taken, Monday, June 4, 2012, Shar Pei dog Cleopatra feeds two baby tigers in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia. Two baby tigers whose mother refused to feed them found an unusual wet nurse, a wrinkled, sand-colored Shar Pei dog named Cleopatra. The cubs were born in late May in a zoo at the October health resort in Sochi.
MOSCOW — Two Siberian tiger cubs abandoned in Russia by their mother have found an unusual wet nurse — a wrinkled, sand-colored Shar Pei dog named Cleopatra, a zoo worker said Wednesday.
The cubs were born late May in a zoo at the Oktyabrsky health resort in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Zoo assistant director Viktoria Kudlayeva said the dog immediately gave the cubs all her attention.
The cubs — named Clyopa, after their adopted mother, and Plyusha — are also being fed goat’s milk.
Kudlayeva said that the cubs pose no danger to the dog even though they are already showing their claws and hissing.
“They aren’t aggressive and they depend on her for feeding,” she said.
Fewer than 400 Siberian tigers — also known as Ussuri, Amur or Manchurian tigers — have survived in the wild, most of them in Russia’s Far East.
Barn Owl Once Considered Extinct Surfaces in Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — When Blandford Nature Center staff received a call from a Coopersville resident in late May saying she found a sick male owl on the floor of her barn, they were skeptical.
With the last sighting of a Michigan barn owl in 2000, some thought the bird to be extinct.
There have only been four confirmed sightings of individual barn owls in the state since the last breeding pair were spotted in Michigan in 1983. Lori Martin, wildlife program coordinator at Blandford, hadn’t seen or heard of a Michigan barn owl in her 10 years at the center.
But to the staff’s surprise, the lethargic bird in the barn – unable to hold himself up or keep his eyes open – was a barn owl. He was in bad shape when staff took him in on May 21.
“When we came in he had a really slow heartbeat, and for birds, their heartbeat is extremely fast because they have a higher metabolism than humans,” Martin said. “With him, (the heartbeat) was very easy to count: a sign he was not doing well.”
Blandford’s veterinarian, Dr. Rebecca Vincent of the Animal Medical Center of Wyoming, thought the bird exhibited signs of neurological issues, possibly due to West Nile virus or poisoning.
Throughout the past few weeks, however, the owl has made strides. He has been on a fluid and feeding regimen and daily physical therapy, and he’s regaining the use of his legs, which appeared to be stiff and unusable when staff found him. He is also becoming more vocal – a contrast from his original meekness.
“He screams every time we go to handle him, like a typical barn owl. He puts up a fight and is way more feisty than he was before,” Martin said.
The owl is still being hand-fed, and it’s a matter of time to see how he will recover. If he proves strong enough, staff will work with the Department of Natural Resources to release him back into the wild. Otherwise he’ll be added to Blandford’s family of birds of prey and reptiles, either to live among the center’s wildlife trails or to be taken to schools for endangered species education.
Of course, the staff at Blandford are rooting for the owl’s full recovery, but if he becomes a resident there’s the likelihood that he’ll acquire a name. A few staff members have loosely thrown around the name Soren from the book series “Guardians of Ga’hoole,” Martin said.
The nature center’s wildlife department is accepting donations to assist in the owl’s recovery. Tax deductible donations can be made in person, or on the nature center’s website (specify in the comment section that it’s for the barn owl). Checks can also be mailed to Blandford at 1715 Hillburn Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504 with “Barn Owl” in the memo.
E-mail Angie Jackson: ajackso3@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/angiejackson
Facebook Friends Rescue “Miracle” the Dog
From digital life on msmbc.com
Beth-Andy Kohn Gresham’s photos, shared on Facebook, along with her callout for help, generated a huge response.
“PLASTIC CONTAINER IS STUCK OVER THIS BABY’S HEAD !!!! NEEDS IMMEDIATE HELP !!!!!!” read a frantic Facebook posting last Friday by Beth-Andy Kohn Gresham, rescuer of homeless and needy animals.
That container was only one part of Miracle’s miseries, Gresham would find out later. The young dog — estimated to be between 6 and 8 months old — had previously been hit by a car and also shot in her right ear, likely with a BB gun, according to a vet who is now treating Miracle.
Gresham, of Memphis, Tennessee, has a Facebook page filled with the photos of animals rescued and those needing homes. When Tracee Burton spotted the thin dog with its head trapped in the container, wandering in a wooded area off of Interstate 40, she stopped and tried to help it, but the frightened creature ran into the woods.
Burton called Gresham, who managed to get within 20 feet of the dog before it ran off again. On a work lunch break, Gresham came back to the site again. She reported on Facebook that she was:
… able to get this pic (it has been zoomed in) I am leaving jobsite now and going back by. Hoping it will be laying in same place and traffic noise will help me sneak up !! THIS BABY CAN NOT EAT OR DRINK with this container stuck !!! VERY THIN can see ribs !! Must be getting some air or would not have lasted this long today !! If ANYONE CAN HELP please let me know ASAP!!!
“Again we searched and searched and NOTHING,” Gresham said on Facebook. “We were ALL so SCARED for this poor baby, but no one would give up !!”
But the effort and word-of-mouth-via-Facebook paid off. Even TV station WREG covered the story. Miracle was spotted — lured and trapped by animal rescue volunteer Chester Burns who, with the help of other volunteers, got the container off the dog. Gresham shared this 47-second video on Facebook right after that.
They took Miracle to Shelby Center Hospital for Animals where she was “bathed, ticks galore removed, given fluids, weighed in at 28 lbs., (should be around 40-45 lbs.),” treated for fleas and worms, “then went home” with a foster dog parent, Gresham wrote on Facebook:
This sweet girl has had a ROUGH life so far! Full body x-rays were taken and it was determined she has recently been hit by a car. There was a fracture to her left pelvis and her lower jaw bone. It will be determined later, once she gains some weight and gets her strength back if it will bother her, and if surgery will needed. She also has a shallow socket where the head of the femur connects to her hip in the right pelvis area which appears to be a birth defect. They also discovered that she had been shot with a BB gun, a BB was removed from right ear … She is on antibiotics and pain meds for the procedure today to remove the BB and the pain for her hips.
Miracle will be fostered until the Memphis Humane Society “has room for her or until she is adopted,” Gresham says on Facebook. The dog, is an “amazing soul. She has endured more in her short life and she is still a SWEET, LOVING and a TRUSTING girl!”
Gresham urges those who want to help to contact the Humane Society to make donations in Miracle’s name:
“We didn’t fail her when she was in the woods alone, so let’s not fail her now, at a time she really needs us to heal and recover from this nightmare she has been living,” she wrote.
24-7 VETS: Basic First-Aid for Your Dog
24-7 VETS: Basic first-aid for your dog
Summer provides great opportunities for outdoor time with your dog. Enjoy it while it lasts, but keep in mind some of the following health risks:
Insect stings
Bee and wasp stings cause local pain and swelling. Apply a cold compress to the area for three to five minutes (a bag of frozen peas or ice cubes wrapped in a towel works well). Seek veterinary attention if symptoms persist or worsen.
Severe allergic reactions are rare in dogs, but facial swelling and hives are common. These warrant timely veterinary attention, but typically respond well to treatment with antihistamines. Never administer medications to your pet without consulting a veterinarian; some over-the-counter antihistamines are extremely toxic to pets.
Heat stroke
Dogs pant to cool down. This is less effective than sweating, so dogs are far less heat-tolerant than people.
Overweight dogs, and breeds, such as bulldogs, with compressed airways, are even less able to handle hot weather.
Early signs of heat stress include shade-seeking behaviour, intense thirst and uncontrollable panting.
Stop your pet’s activity immediately and seek shade (or air conditioning) and offer small amounts of water to drink. You can cautiously resume more moderate activity once signs resolve. Continued overheating may progress to life-threatening heat stroke.
Symptoms include weakness, collapse, vomiting, diarrhea or seizures, and require immediate veterinary care. Wetting your dog down with cool (not cold) water and fanning him en route can start the cooling progress and may save his life.
Prevention is better than treatment.
To avoid heat stroke:
1. Keep your dog fit.
2. Avoid exercise during the hottest parts of the day or on extremely hot, humid days.
3. Keep water readily available at all times.
4. Watch your dog closely for signs of heat stress.
5. Remember: there is no safe amount of time you can leave your dog in a parked car. Even with windows partially open, it can quickly become too hot for your dog to prevent overheating. Fatal heat stroke can occur within minutes.
Parasites
Parasites, both internal and external, become active as the temperatures increase. Some, such as ticks and mosquitoes, can transmit serious disease. Many products are available to both prevent and treat many of these parasites.
A discussion with your veterinarian about parasite control is an important part of your dog’s annual preventive health care exam.
Dangerous wildlife
Encounters with skunks, porcupines and snakes are more common during summer months.
In addition to smelling terrible, skunk spray can be irritating and cause red eyes, sneezing, pawing at the face or vomiting. If your dog is showing these signs, and they are severe or persist, contact your veterinarian.
Check your dog’s face and paws carefully for evidence of bite or scratch wounds, which may become infected. As for the smell, commercial products are available, but a combination of three per cent hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap is effective. Tomato juice, vinegar and toothpaste are not.
Porcupine quilling is a serious matter. Quills are barbed, will imbed deeper into tissues and can migrate through the body to end up in the eyes, lungs or heart.
Examination and treatment by a veterinarian is recommended for any case of quilling. Try to prevent your dog from pawing at his face while he is en route; broken quills are challenging to find and remove, resulting in higher risk of infection and quill migration.
Ontario is home to the poisonous Massasauga rattlesnake. While some bites are ‘dry bites’ (where no venom is injected), all bites should be considered dangerous. Signs of envenomation include local pain and moderate to severe swelling.
If you suspect your dog has been bitten:
1. Keep him calm and restrict his movement.
2. Keep the bitten limb below the level of the heart and do not allow him to walk.
3. Do not apply tourniquets, ice or suction to the limb
4. If he was bitten in the head or neck remove or loosen his collar.
5. Seek veterinary attention as soon as possible.
Dr. Jason Donohoe is a graduate of Ontario Veterinary College and worked in a large animal practice until he found his passion in emergency medicine. Donohoe has a special interest in service dogs and has the privilege of working with both the OPP and Canadian military to provide first aid and emergency training to their dog handlers. He currently practices emergency medicine at Toronto Veterinary Emergency Hospital
National Bite Prevention Week May 20 – 26, 2012
From the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association)
Did you know that …
- 4.7 million people in this country are bitten by dogs every year
- children are by far the most common victims
- 800,000 Americans receive medical attention for dog bites each year
- children are far more likely to be severely injured; approximately 400,000 receive medical attention every year
- most dog bites affecting young children occur during everyday activities and while interacting with familiar dogs
- senior citizens are the second most common dog bite victims
There are a number of things that you can do to avoid dog bites, ranging from properly training and socializing your pet to educating your children on how, or if, they should approach a dog. Information is one of the best cures for this public health crisis.
What’s a dog owner to do?
- Carefully select your pet. Puppies should not be obtained on impulse.
- Make sure your pet is socialized as a young puppy so it feels at ease around people and other animals.
- Don’t put your dog in a position where it feels threatened or teased.
- Train your dog. The basic commands “sit,” “stay,” “no,” and “come” help dogs understand what is expected of them and can be incorporated into fun activities that build a bond of trust between pets and people.
- Walk and execrcise your dog regularly to keep it healthy and provide mental stimulation.
- Avoid highly excitable games like wrestling or tug-of-war.
- Use a leash in public to ensure you are able to control your dog.
- Keep your dog healthy. Have your dog vaccinated against rabies and preventable infectious diseases. Parasite control and other health care are important because how your dog feels affects how it behaves.
- Neuter your pet.
- If you have a fenced yard, make sure the gates are secure.
How can you protect your family?
- Be cautious around strange dogs, and treat your own pet with respect. Because children are the most common victims of dog bites, parents and caregivers should:
- NEVER leave a baby or small child alone with a dog.
- Be alert for potentially dangerous situations.
- Teach their children – including toddlers – to be careful around pets. Children must learn not to approach strange dogs or try to pet dogs through fences. Teach children to ask permission from the dog’s owner before petting the dog.
Useful Links
The following AVMA resources can help you learn more:
What you should know about dog bite prevention brochure This informative brochure offers tips on how to avoid being bitten, as well as what to do if you are bitten by a dog. It also addresses what you need to do if your dog bites someone.
Backgrounder: The role of breed in dog bite risk and prevention This backgrounder reviews and provides scientific context on dog breeds and their purported tendencies to bite.
A community approach to dog bite prevention (PDF) The American Veterinary Medical Association Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human-Canine Interactions has produced this report intended to help state and local leaders develop effective dog bite prevention programs in their communities.
The Blue Dog Parent Guide and CD This innovative dog bite prevention program is designed to help parents and children safely interact with dogs both inside and outside their home. The program is geared toward children from 3 to 6 years old. It’s the only dog bite educational tool scientifically proven to help young children learn behaviors that can keep them safe.
Bilingual Dog Bite Prevention activity/coloring book Teach children about different ways to avoid dog bites, by educating them on how, or if, they should approach a dog. A creative tool for use all year, including during Dog Bite Prevention week in May.
What you should know about rabies Rabies is a deadly disease that is transmitted to people through a bite. It is transmitted through the rabid animal’s saliva. Rabies vaccinations for dogs are an excellent defense against this disease, as many times families are exposed to rabies after an unvaccinated pet dog is bitten by a rabid wild animal. This brochure educates on how to prevent rabies.