Kasey’s Cure

I have good news to report.  After several weeks of treatment, Sugar is returning to the farm.  She will need a corrective boot to protect her hoof from further damage but other than a new fancy shoe, she will be sound. 

Thank you to everyone who offered suggestions and advice — it was helpful and appreciated.  A special thank you to Robin and her husband who sent in a donation to assist with her care.  Your kindness, support and friendship mean the world to us.  A shout out to Carrie (our farrier) and Steve Harris (our vet) who nursed her back to health and were patient with all of my questions.

I will try and upload video of her return, so you can see for yourself her recovery.

There’s been a lot of talk in the media over the past week or two about Senator Obama’s promise that, once the election is over, the family will get a new dog.

The American Kennel Club quickly jumped on this, and weighed in with a list of “pure” breeds that would be good for the Obama family to buy from a pet store or breeder.

Best Friends would like to propose that the Obamas NOT buy a dog – instead, that they adopt their next dog from a shelter or rescue group.

Go to – www.obamafamilydog.com – where you can sign a petition encouraging the senator to save a life by adopting a homeless pet.

Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, left-wing or right-wing, please sign the petition, and encourage all your friends and family to sign it, too.

Congratulations to our friends at Best Friends for the amazing rehabilitation work they are doing for several of the Michael Vick pit bulls at their sanctuary in Utah.  Here is an update in today’s Washington Post:

At Best Friends’, McMillan, the veterinarian, has developed a “personalized emotional rehabilitation plan” for each dog and measures how they exhibit such traits as aggression, fearfulness, calmness or friendliness. True to their “people soft” nature, all but two of the Vick dogs are on “green collar,” meaning they are open and friendly to human visitors. About nine have begun to have supervised play dates with other Vick dogs.

Anderson Cooper of 60 Minutes did a story (a re-boardcast of an earlier piece) on a group of rare gorillas that are being slattered in the Congo – they are victims of a civil war that has been going on for decades. 

There are fewer than 700 mountain gorillas left on the planet, and their numbers are dropping dramatically. They live in eastern Africa, in a forest that straddles Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The mountain gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda are relatively safe, but those in the Congo are threatened by the civil war and human encroachment.

What can be done to save these gorillas?  Donations made to Wildlife Direct — wildlifedirect.org — pay the salaries of the park rangers who protect the endangered apes in the Congo.

 Snowball & Old Rusty

Many of you know that I am a huge horse lover and a big fan of thoroughbred racing (some would argue that the two do not go hand in hand), but the death of the filly Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby last month may have changed my mind.  What is going on out there?  How big of a problem is this?  What is happening to our horses?

According to the AP, thoroughbred racetracks in the U.S. reported more than three horse deaths a day last year and 5,000 since 2003, and the vast majority were put down after suffering devastating injuries on the track.

When a horse breaks a leg - let alone two, as Eight Belles did - often the only choice is to euthanize the animal. A thoroughbred’s bones are thinner than most breeds. Usually it’s not possible for the horse to lie down for long periods because that could disrupt the blood flow to the arteries in the lower limb, causing an extremely painful hoof infection called laminitis.

Questions about breeding, medication, synthetic surfaces versus dirt and other safety issues have dogged the industry for some time.  Have we over breed to the point where these horses are competing on legs as delicate as Champaign flutes?

With all of the terrible flooding in the Mid-West, the ASPCA has updated their tips on emergency preparedness for our pets.  Many of them are obvious but with the hurricane season just starting it is a quick reminder to make sure that both our family and our pets are save.  Here are just a few:

• If you receive storm warnings, bring your pets inside and make sure they have plenty of food and water;
   
• Arrange a safe haven for your pets in the event of evacuation—do NOT leave your pets behind. Many disaster shelters cannot accept pets because of health and safety regulations, so it is vital to determine where your pets can stay ahead of time;
   
• Keep emergency pet supplies, an ASPCA “Pet Grab ’N Go Bag” (one for each pet), and travel kits handy and make sure everyone in the family knows where they are kept;
   
• Get a “Rescue Alert” sticker, which is visible to rescue workers and includes vital information about your pets and veterinarian;
   
• Choose a designated caregiver who can take care of your pet in the event you are unable.

For a detailed list of emergency and evacuation preparedness suggestions, please visit www.aspca.org/pets_emergency.

I nearly flipped out! 

I was in town this afternoon and I noticed the car next to me had a small poodle-ish dog inside with the doors locked and not a window cracked.  Come on people.  Doesn’t everyone know by now that dogs can die from heatstroke in a matter of minutes in a sweltering car? They can’t perspire so to cool themselves they have to pant. If the air that they are taking in is too hot (as it is in a parked car in hot weather), then panting has little cooling effect and the dog quickly overheats.

Needless to say, I patiently waited for the owners return and politely as possible told her how dangerous this was for her puppy.  I thought she was going to slap me, but I think I got my point across.

It sounded like heaven on earth for homeless dogs and cats: The Freedom Animal Rescue Ranch, in Victorville, California.   In fact, it was more like hell: 230 dogs and 40 cats crammed into a small area that was licensed for no more than 50.  When the animals were discovered in 2003, several dogs began a new life at Best Friends, and animal welfare groups in Victorville, California who urgently looked for good homes and shelters that could help out.

The syndrome, known as animal hoarding, is now recognized by the medical profession as a psychiatric disease that’s closely related to obsessive compulsive disorder. The trouble is, animal hoarders usually masquerade as “rescuers,” describing their homes as “shelters.” And in most states, there are no clear laws and penalties to control them.

 If you are interested in adopting one of these cats or dogs, please email me and I will direct you to folks in California who can send more information as well as adoption papers.

10 Ways You Can Help Fight Puppy Mills

1. Do Not Buy Your Puppy From a Pet Store
That puppy who charmed you through the pet shop window has most likely come from a large-scale, substandard commercial breeding facility, commonly known as a puppy mill. In these facilities, parent dogs are caged and bred as often as possible, and give birth to puppies who could have costly medical problems you might not become aware of until after you bring your new pet home.

2. Make Adoption Your First Option
If you’re looking to make a puppy part of your family, check your local shelters first. Not only will you be saving a life, but you will ensure that your money is not going to support a puppy mill. There are many dogs waiting for homes in shelters all across the country―and an estimated one in four is a purebred! Your second option is breed rescue. If your heart is set on a specific breed you haven’t been able to find in a shelter, you can do an Internet search for a breed-specific rescue organization.

3. Know How to Recognize a Responsible Breeder
If you’ve exhausted your options for adopting and are choosing to buy from a breeder, remember that responsible breeders have their dogs’ interests in mind. They are not simply interested in making a sale, but in placing their pups in good homes. A responsible breeder should screen you as thoroughly as you screen them!

4. See Where Your Puppy Was Born and Bred
One sign that you are speaking to an unscrupulous breeder is that they will not let you see the facility in which your puppy was born. Always ask to see the breeding premises and to meet both parents (or at least the mother) of the puppy you want to take home. You should also ask for an adoption contract that explains―in terms you understand―the breeder’s responsibilities, health guarantee and return policy.

5. Internet Buyers, Beware!
Buying a puppy from the Internet is as risky as buying from a pet store. If you buy a puppy based on a picture and a phone call, you have no way of seeing the puppy’s breeding premises or meeting his parents. And those who sell animals on the Internet are not held to the Animal Welfare Act regulations―and so are not inspected by the USDA.

6. Share Your Puppy Mill Story
If you have—or think you have—purchased a puppy-mill puppy, please tell us your story. Every bit of evidence gives us more power to get legislation passed that will ban puppy mills.

7. Speak Out!
Inform your state and federal legislators that you are disturbed by the inhumane treatment of dogs in puppy mills, and would like to see legislation passed that ensures that all animals bred to be pets are raised in healthy conditions.

8. Tell Your Friends
If someone you know is planning on buying a puppy, let them know that there are perfectly healthy dogs in shelters waiting to be adopted.

9. Think Globally
Have a webpage, a MySpace page or a blog? Use these powerful tools to inform people about puppy mill cruelty.

10. Act Locally!
When people are looking to buy or adopt a pet, they will often ask the advice of their veterinarian, groomer or pet supply store. Download and print our flyers and ask to leave them in the offices of your local practitioners.