Rough life for pets in King County shelters; pet meds

You know you're not cut out for politics when watching the Daily Show and the Colbert Report becomes too stressful.

Of course, not as stressful as life seems to be for animals in the troubled shelter system in wealthy King County, Washington. Shelter consulstant and no-kill activist Nathan Winograd was brought in to evaluate the shelters earlier this year, and what he found confirmed earlier reports of widespread animal suffering and systemic problems. His report was dismissed by some as "biased," but an evaluation by the UC Davis shelter medicine team that the County released yesterday, confirms that things are dire indeed:

When King County, WA, announced last week that it was embarking on a nearly-one-million dollar upgrade of its animal shelter system, it was clear that such an effort was long overdue. It was particularly hard to understand just why these changes were so long in coming, given the history of troubling reports from volunteers, veterinary staff, and the county’s own citizen advisory committee.

The county brought in two organizations to evaluate the shelter system and its operations. One was shelter consultant Nathan Winograd, who issued a report consistent with problems identified by the advisory committee but that caused some volunteers and staffers to protest.

Another was the team from the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program, which visited the facilities in January.

Their report, released today by the county, is 151 pages of observations, some extremely troubling and some hopeful, as well as recommendations to turn around what they call “a breakdown in care leading to animal suffering, illness, and likely un-necessarily high levels of euthanasia and death, as well as creation of significant public health and safety risks for staff and shelter visitors.”

I have a lengthy discussion of the 151-page report, including photos, over on Pet Connection; the Seattle Times also covered the report this morning, here.

In my column on SFGate.com, I look at the rapidly changing world of veterinary drug prescribing... not the drugs themselves, but the laws, customs, regulations, and economic realities of today's often-confusing, rapidly-changing pet med marketplace:

I hear it all the time: Pet owners grousing that their vets are ripping them off with high prescription drugs prices, and veterinarians worrying that the shift to Internet and chain pharmacy use by their clients is threatening their ability both to survive economically and to protect their patients' health.

Ten years ago, while a doctor handed patients a prescription to take to the drugstore, a veterinarian sold drugs for pets directly. But things are different now. "I write prescriptions left and right. I must have written five prescriptions today," Florida veterinarian Dr. Patty Khuly told me. "That never used to happen."

Behind the change is an explosion of new places to buy both human and veterinary drugs: Internet pharmacies, 800 numbers, catalogs and chain stores that offer some drugs free or for a few dollars just to get you in the door. Those changes have left many veterinarians overwhelmed and pet owners confused.

It's here.

Comments

[Alex]

Its sad that the pets are not taken care in a county which is filthy rich.I guess if this is the way,day will come they wont survive and may die.

[Virtual Pet Lover]

I think its great that they are finally upgrading their pet facilities. IT was long overdue.