Dogged Blog

Wow, I'm so brave and everything

I am like the postal service. Neither rain nor sleet nor hail nor snow nor the dread bordetella pertussis can stop me from my appointed rounds.

Okay, it totally stopped me from almost everything for the last month, but I did manage to finish my column for SFGate.com:

Since I'm a pet writer and basically obsessed with animals, I belong to dozens of pet-related e-mail lists, many of them about health issues. And not a day goes by that I don't see at least one person spreading information that's completely wrong. I don't mean expressing an opinion with which I disagree; I mean someone solemnly informing the group that the sky is orange and the moon is made of green cheese.

Even worse, having worked with veterinarians for more than a decade now, I've discovered that an awful lot of those people then go into their vet's office and share these gems of misinformation with their pet's health care provider, introduced with that phrase guaranteed to make the vet's blood pressure rise: "I read on the Web that ..."

And that's a shame, because in addition to being a terrible place to find pet health information, the Web can also be a wonderful place to do research and connect with other pet owners facing similar issues for support, networking, and education. The trick is in figuring out how to evaluate the animal health information you find, how to locate the reliable stuff when you need it, and how to discuss it with your pet's veterinarian in a way that won't make him or her tune you out before you even get started.

Full article here, so you can marvel at how completely brilliant I can be even when my brain is deprived of oxygen!

Where is the good online pet health info?

I woke up this morning and actually felt like I might live after all.



I've had whooping cough (that photo? a toy stuffed whooping cough germ, bordetella pertussis, sent to me by veterinarian Allison Brendel) and pneumonia for the last month, and been sick as the proverbial dog. And speaking of dogs, I had to have a dog walker for mine, because walking from my bed to the kitchen made me have to take a nap.



But this morning I felt the first stirring of normal energy, and decided to take Rebel and Kyrie on their first real walk since I got sick. I only made it around half as far as a pre-whoop walk before I turned back, but they were bouncing all over the place, play-bowing and prancing. It made me feel sad that we'd missed this, even though there was nothing I could do about it.



I've also missed a lot of work and a lot of blogging, but I did manage -- barely -- to write my column for SFGate.com. My editor was on vacation the week and a half before it was due, and in all honesty, if she'd been in town and I could have canceled it, I would have. But the thought of her getting home from vacation to find a big hole where my column was supposed to be seemed kind of unfair to me, so I gritted my teeth and got it done.



It was actually a spin-off of a post I did here, about how to evaluate the pet health information you find on the web:

Since I'm a pet writer and basically obsessed with animals, I belong to dozens of pet-related e-mail lists, many of them about health issues. And not a day goes by that I don't see at least one person spreading information that's completely wrong. I don't mean expressing an opinion with which I disagree; I mean someone solemnly informing the group that the sky is orange and the moon is made of green cheese.



Even worse, having worked with veterinarians for more than a decade now, I've discovered that an awful lot of those people then go into their vet's office and share these gems of misinformation with their pet's health care provider, introduced with that phrase guaranteed to make the vet's blood pressure rise: "I read on the Web that ..."



And that's a shame, because in addition to being a terrible place to find pet health information, the Web can also be a wonderful place to do research and connect with other pet owners facing similar issues for support, networking, and education. The trick is in figuring out how to evaluate the animal health information you find, how to locate the reliable stuff when you need it, and how to discuss it with your pet's veterinarian in a way that won't make him or her tune you out before you even get started.

I also recommend a number of reliable pet health websites, and give some specific guidelines on how to do a pet health search on Google. The full article is here.



And now I think I need a nap.

Still whooping it up

Because I know you're all sitting there going OMG how is Christie, here is an update on my ongoing battle with whooping cough.

What seems to have happened is that I am now coughing much more frequently, but it's a weaker cough. I still "whoop," and it still hurts my head and makes me feel momentarily exhausted, but it doesn't knock me to the ground moaning and wanting to die.

And hey, I wrote something!

I'm thinking I might write something else soon!

*crawls off to take nap after becoming exhausted from blogging*

Hello there

I'm emerging warily from my cave and thinking maybe, just maybe, I felt semi-not incredibly terrible today. It's not impossible that by Monday I might be able to have a half-normal schedule.

And I'm almost done with my pet column. And I'm actually thinking I'll blog at Pet Connection tomorrow, I have something to say. Now if I can only find the energy to get a little bit of a rant going.

In other news, apparently the world went to hell in a handbasket while I was huddling in bed coughing.

Whoop whoop whooping cough report

"Are you dead?"

It was a phone message from a worried friend. I wasn't sure she was kidding.

I'm not dead. I was actually better, then I had what I hope was one last full-on bout of paroxysmal coughing, which gave me the worst headache of my life; I couldn't even move my eyelids without intense pain, and two Aleve and four extra-strength Tylenol did nothing for it at all. My mom asked if there was anything she could do to help me, but when I told her, she refused to shoot me.

I mean, why ask if you're not going to help?

So I'm still here and now that the headache's mostly gone, I'm glad to be alive.

Ummmm, can someone please finish my SFGate.com column which is due Friday? Thanks.

Oh, and thanks to Alison Brendel DVM for the nice photo of a toy bordetella pertussis germ.

*crawls back to bed*

Report suggests connection between flame retardant, feline disease

There will be some interesting news for cat owners in the next issue of Environmental Science & Technology, the journal of the world's largest scientific society, the American Chemical Society.



In a report previewed today, researchers say they took a look at a possible link between rising rates of hyperthyroidism in cats and the widespread introduction of flame retardant chemicals known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs):

Janice A. Dye, DVM, Ph.D., at the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and colleagues from there as well as Indiana University and the University of Georgia, report evidence linking the disease to exposure to environmental contaminants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which the researchers found to be elevated in blood samples of hyperthyroid cats. Their findings were based on analysis of blood samples from 23 pet cats, 11 of which had the disease, termed feline hyperthyroidism (FH). PBDE levels in the hyperthyroid cats were three times as high as those in younger, non-hyperthyroid cats.



Concerns about the possible health effects of PDBEs arose in the late 1990s, and studies have reported that PDBEs cause liver and nerve toxicity in animals. FH is one of the most common and deadly diseases in older cats, and indoor pets are thought to be most at-risk. For starters, cats ingest large amounts of PBDE-laden house dust that the researchers believe comes from consumer household products.



Dye, a toxicologist, began by hypothesizing that prolonged contact with certain polyurethane foams and components of carpet padding, furniture and mattresses would pose the greatest hazard for developing FH. In addition, the researchers suspected that diet might be another risk factor for developing FH. To see if a link existed, they analyzed PBDE content in several cat food brands.



Their analysis found that PBDE content of canned fish/seafood flavors, such as salmon and whitefish, was higher than dry or non-seafood canned items. Based on the analysis, they estimate that diets based on canned food could have PBDE levels 12 times as high as dry-food diets. The researchers indicate that pet cats might be receiving as much as 100 times greater dietary PBDE exposure than American adults.



With their meticulous grooming behavior, cats may ingest large amounts of dust that collect on their fur. “Our results showed that cats are being consistently exposed to PBDEs,” Dye said. “Because they are endocrine-disrupting agents, cats may well be at increased risk for developing thyroid effects.”

Of course, scientists aren't saying the link is proven, but it's clearly strong enough to warrant further studies:

“While the link between hyperthyroidism in cats and their elevated PBDE levels requires additional confirmation, it is clear that house cats may be able to serve as sentinels for indoor exposure to PBDEs for humans who share their houses,” said Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., a co-author of the study. No link between human hyperthyrodism and PBDE exposure has been established, Birnbaum noted, adding that some ongoing studies do suggest such a connection. Although several states have banned use of certain PBDEs in commercial products, there are no regulations limiting PBDE content in foods, according to Birnbaum.

The full report is here.

Dog poisoning warning in community north of SF

I'm dragging myself out of my sickbed to post this alert From the San Francisco Chronicle about dog poisonings in a large and popular recreational area north of San Francisco:

Officials in Marin County warned pet owners Thursday to keep an eye on their animals after three dogs died from an apparently intentional poisoning this week after a walk in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.



Marin Humane Society Capt. Cindy Machado said the three large dogs -- two black Labrador retrievers and a Swiss mountain dog -- died Tuesday at the Tamalpais Animal Hospital, following a walk on the Alta Trail area above Marin City.



[....]



"These dogs are all big dogs (more than 100 pounds), and it takes a powerful substance to knock out a big dog like that so quickly," she said.



Machado suggested that pet owners keep an eye on their animals and leash dogs until the investigation is complete. They should be on the lookout for symptoms including heavy panting, seizures or shaking. None of the dogs vomited or had diarrhea, but those are also possible signs of poisoning, she said.



Anyone with any information should call Machado at (415) 506-6209.

The Marin Humane Society is offering a $5000 reward for more information. Full story here. UPDATE HERE.



I'm going back to hack my lungs out, but if anyone's walking their dogs in the GGNRA in the North Bay this weekend, be careful!

whine

I felt better yesterday, then I had another one of those gasping-for-air, thought-I'd-die, almost-passed-out whooping episodes last night, and felt dizzy, shakey, and drowsy for hours afterward. Then I had another one, although it was much milder, and then I slept until past 1 PM, and now it's 5:30 and I'm sleepy and yawning constantly and shaking.

WTF IS WRONG WITH ME? I left a message for my doctor yesterday but she never called back, and while I realize I can call the advice nurse and/or go to urgent care, I just want someone to tell me what's wrong with me.

/whine

[UPDATE: I found a sound file of an adult with whooping cough on the web. It sounds just like me. Maybe you can see why it's so freaking scary.]

Magical writing

It's amazing how much stuff I've written is just magically appearing even though I'm sick in bed and not capable of much more than these little intros to linkage.

I may have done permanent damage to my airways by going to the Rufus Wainwright concert in San Francisco last Friday, but damn he was good. But I did notice something a bit disconcerting about the audience:

Oh, Rufus Wainwright, how you sparkle.

Oh, audience who went to see Rufus Wainwright at the San Francisco Masonic Auditorium last Friday, what’s wrong with you?

I refer specifically to the absolute flat-boring way the audience was dressed. There were perhaps five of us wearing anything that could remotely be considered sparkly, except, of course, for Rufus and his band, who were appropriately blinding in their shininess.

And that’s why I want to know what’s wrong with the people of my city, especially my gay brothers who I once could count on not to go see a diva like Rufus wearing little zip-up track jackets and running shoes.

Full judgmental little rant and yes, a few words about the actual concert story here.

Sick in bed, watching HGTV

One good thing about long lead times on articles: Even though I'm deathly ill and spending my days curled up in bed awash in self-pity, stuff I wrote last week is just now appearing on the Internets.

Everyone knows I'm an HGTV addict, never more so than when I'm sick. I got to interview the two out gay contestants on this season of Design Star, Josh Johnson and Scott Corridan:

Last year, out gay designer David Bromstad emerged victorious on HGTV's knockdown, drag-out home decorating competition reality show, Design Star. Bromstad's prize was his own show, Color Splash, which became a runaway hit, has been picked up for three more seasons, and made Bromstad a near-household name. But is America ready for another out gay design star?

Apparently HGTV thinks so, because this season the cast includes not one but two out gay contestants: Josh Johnson, a long, lean blond with a Tennessee twang whose audition presentation looked like a very tasteful – and expensive – version of Barbie's dream house, and Scott Corridan, an event planner from Santa Barbara, CA, who arrived on set clutching his own personal espresso maker.

Both Josh and Scott had some extremely interesting things to say about the whole experience, and about David Bromstad, and their cast mates, and each other... read it here.