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One last weekend of chats at PetHobbyist.com

Would it be a weekend in February without another "Pet Connection connection" moment at PetHobbyist.com's 12th Annual Chat Month?



This time it's Kim Campbell Thornton on Sunday, but before we get to her appearance, we've got a few other Pet Connection frequent flyers and BFFs on the schedule.



On Friday, Feb. 26,  at 10 PM Eastern Time, Nathan Winograd will be discussing "Using legislation and litigation to save animal lives." Topics will include Oreo's Law, the fight for feral cats going on in the Los Angeles courts, and how the Civil Rights Act can be used to help animals (it's not what you think!).



Then on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 9 PM Eastern, I'll be talking with Jackie Hadra and Cindy Wilson of IMOM.org about how tough economic times are affecting animal charities. How can animal welfare organizations beat the times and keep helping pets in need -- and how can animal lovers still help animals when their wallets are feeling the pinch as well?



Also on Saturday, Pet Connection and PetHobbyist BFF (and author of Rover! Get off her leg!) Darlene Arden will be joining us at 10 PM ET to discuss "Keeping dogs and cats in their homes by resolving -- and preventing! -- behavior problems."



Then on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 10 PM Eastern, we'll bring Chat Month 2010 to an end with a really fantastic subject, and our final "Pet Connection connection."



Pet journalists Steve Dale and our own Kim Campbell Thornton will discuss how, after losing beloved pets, they created funds to raise money to help other animals suffering from the same diseases that took their own pets.



Steve founded The Ricky Fund in memory of his Devon Rex cat Ricky, who died at the age of 4 of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.



Kim founded The Darcy Fund in memory of her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Darcy, who died of mitral valve disease.



Find out more about these diseases, how the funds have helped both other animals and also Kim and Steve, and how you might go about honoring a lost pet in a similar way.



These interviews are held in streaming audio, and you'll be able to comment and ask questions in a text-based chat room.



To listen to the audio and join the chat room: Registered users of PetHobbyist.com log in here. If you're not registered, log in as a guest here and select "Auditorium" from the drop down menu!

Introducing my puppy!

The decision has been made, and it's official: This little guy is going to be my puppy.



His name will be Farallon -- Lehigh Farallon of Caber Feidh, to be exact. His breeder, Paula Pascoe, describes his personality this way:

(He's) the very sweetest, most cooperative and happy puppy in the litter. Since the time they were just days old and I started doing the early neurological stimulation exercises on them, he has been the one to accept being turned upside down and so on, no fussing, just gazing sweetly at me.... He accepts anything with aplomb, and is relentlessly cheerful. He's playful with the other dogs and affectionate with us.

Which Kyrie translated thus:

He will worship me. Good.

He is 8 weeks old now, and will arrive when he's around 11 or 12 weeks old, in the second half of March, exact date to be determined.



And here's the part where I get a little emotional, so if you were just here for a dose of puppy breath, you might want to stop reading now.



I lost my last Deerhound, Rebel, in August. The next month I lost my mother, who was the person who got me into Deerhounds in the first place. We owned and raised many dogs together, and Deerhounds and my mom will always be inextricably linked in my mind.



Being without both of them has shaken my life in so many ways I barely know who I am anymore. But since a short time after her death, I've known one thing for sure: I wanted a Deerhound.



I adore Miss Kyrie Borzoi. I have loved all my mutts and rescues, and I know I will have them in my life in years to come. But right now, there is a Deerhound-shaped hole in my heart, and I am so grateful to Paula for helping me find the right hound to fill it.



And so the countdown to Puppy Day begins!

Oreo ' s abuser given probation and job training

We can fight forever about whether the ASPCA was right or wrong in its judgment of whether or not Oreo was savable. We can debate how we feel about sanctuaries for aggressive dogs, about the rights of rescue groups to access animals in shelters, and about Oreo's Law.



But one thing you'd think we're all on the same page about is that Fabian Henderson, the guy who threw her off the roof of his six-story building in the first place, should get something more than a slap on the wrist.



You'd think wrong, at least, if you were thinking about the judge in the case. From the Facebook page supporting Oreo's Law:

Fabian Henderson (Oreo's abuser) was sentenced today. He got 6 months probation and some sort of treatment program for finding a job! He is not allowed to have animals but is allowed to be around his mom so therefore around his mom's dog. Shame on the justice system!



Defendant: Fabian Henderson

Case #: 06995-2009

Charge: Felony Animal Cruelty

Judge: Hon. Dineen Riviezzo

Unbelievable.

Talking with Dr. Marion Nestle about the FDA and the future of pet food in America

This evening, Friday, Feb. 19, at 9 PM Eastern Time, Dr. Marion Nestle will be speaking live via streaming audio with Pet Connection's  Christie Keith about her recent visit to the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine and the present and future of pet food in America.



Dr. Nestle is one of the leading voices in the movement to reform how we deal with food and nutrition in this country. She is the Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and a visiting professor in the College of Agriculture's nutritional sciences division at Cornell University. She branched out into covering pet food issues with her book about the 2007 pet food recall, Pet Food Politics, and is the co-author of a forthcoming book on feeding pets in America.



Speaking with Dr. Nestle will be Christie Keith, who has a few stories of her own to tell about the FDA and pet health and safety.



The interview with be via streaming audio, and you'll be able to comment and ask questions in a text-based chat room. Pet Connection readers can also post their questions here.



To join the chat: Registered users of PetHobbyist.com log in here. If you're not registered, log in as a guest here and select "Auditorium" from the drop down menu!

Feral cat advocates fighting back in Los Angeles court

When the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled in December of last year that L.A. Animal Services could no longer participate in any program to neuter and release feral cats, the sheer scope of the order hit the animal welfare world like a sledgehammer. Today, the No Kill Advocacy Center and the Los Angeles Stray Cat Alliance, a TNR group, are fighting back with the filing of a lawsuit calling the ruling unconstitutional and in violation of state law.



I spoke with NKAC director Nathan Winograd, who said the judge's order in the case, known as Urban Wildlands Group vs. the City of Los Angeles, was unconstitutional, ignored state law, and was incredibly far-reaching.

The judge issued a writ that prevented the city from even telling people that there were services available anywhere in the community. It prohibited the city from waiving trap rental fees for trap-neuter-release programs. It ordered city shelters to stop releasing feral cats to rescue groups.



The court even went so far as to tell city shelters they could not change any laws that would allow any kind of TNR initiative in the future. The order oversteps the authority of the court, telling legislators they can't pass laws. It also violates California's Hayden law, which explicitly gives rescue groups right to take those cats who are going to be killed.



The ruling is so far-reaching that all the shelters were ordered to remove from their premises any literature that even expresses support for TNR, including independent magazines in the shelter waiting rooms. We think this order is unconstitutional, and we are going to make that argument in court.



Representing us pro bono is national law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, and they have filed an emergency motion in superior court asking the court to allow us to intervene as defendants in the case, as if they sued us instead of the city. We have heard the city may not appeal, so we would appeal the court's order as the intervener-defendant. Even if the city does decide to appeal, we believe that the law impacts our interests in a very significant way, and believe we will provide a more vigorous defense of the cats.

We believe we have an incredibly strong case both as to our motion to intervene and the legal merits of the court order, which is so wide ranging and ignores several facts of law.

One, we don't believe the city actually has a TNR program. It's being done by rescue groups and volunteers. The city only provides low cost vouchers for spay and neuter.

Even if the court finds that constitutes engaging in a TNR program, the claims by the Wildlands Group is barred by statute of limitations, as the city has been doing it for years. Their action was not filed in timely manner.

Last, the order went too far and impinged on the sovereignty of the legislative branch in telling it that it can't make laws that are constitutional.

Aside from the legal issues, we want to make it clear we're not willing to allow the Urban Wildlands Group to turn back the clock on shelter policies to the dark age of catch and kill, and make it the official policy of the city of Los Angeles. We also don't think it addresses the real cause of bird species decline, namely, human activities and pollution.

One of the other things we're going to cite is that Urban Wildlands takes great pains to say they're not advocating for the killing of cats, but that is exactly the effect of the ruling. One of the studies we're bringing before the court is a 2006 study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, looking at all shelters in Ohio over an 8-year period. It found that only one shelter had cat deaths dropping instead of rising, and it was the only one with a TNR program.

In 2008 or 2009, there was a study Alley Cat Allies brought to light, a national study conducted by the Harris Poll that found that over 80 percent of respondents thought it was more humane to leave a cat in the street if they knew animal control would put a cat to death.

Given that L.A. city shelters can't discuss TNR, or refer people to a rescue group, or offer low cost spay/neuter vouchers, or release a feral cat back to the person calling animal control about the cat, the net effect will be an increase in the number of free roaming ferals in the city of Los Angeles. So even if the goal is to reduce numbers to reduce predation, this ruling acts in opposition to that goal.

Winograd said that one of the attorneys involved in the case also represented the NKAC in its previous successful lawsuit against the county of Los Angeles about the rights of access for rescue groups to animals in the county shelters. They expect a fairly rapid ruling on their request to be recognized as an intervener-defendant, which will be heard by the same judge who issued the order. If he rejects it, they'll appeal, and a different judge would hear the case at that time.

Save the Trauma for your Mama: Liveblogging Dr. Johnson at Western Veterinary Conference

When I walked into Dr. Tony Johnson's session on stabilizing canine and feline trauma patients in the ER, the first thing I got was a hug.



Dr. Johnson and I have never met in person, but we recognized each other instantly. He promised to tell lots of jokes when he found out I was blogging this. I'd say "liveblogging," but the totally FUBAR wireless access here -- including on everyone's iPhone, which has lots of Twitter and email-deprived folks fighting over the rare hallway sweet spot -- made that impossible.



At least I'll have a chance to correct my typos.



Although I heard two people in the audience say they were there to heckle, Dr. Johnson was graciousness itself to the near-capacity audience. "Wow," he opened. "What a good looking, totally hot crowd."



Having won them over with flattery, he got onto the difficult ethical issues.



"The conference has asked us to disclose any financial ties," he said. "I don't have any, but donations are gladly accepted. And in the interests of full disclosure, I have a massive hangover, but fortunately did not wake up this  morning with Mike Tyson's tiger -- or baby."



Says he loves triage. Says cats are different to handle -- managing a traumatized cat is a challenge.



Not a lot of veterinary trauma studies in epidemiology. We do know it's a leading cause of death -- it IS the leading cause of death in humans under 35, "a demographic to which I sadly no longer belong."



He asked how many ER docs -- around a third. How many GPs, students? And how many reporters for the SF Chronicle? (As if my scarlet letter badge isn't enough, not only with its neon green "PRESS" ribbon, but the bold-faced, all-caps "NONVETERINARIAN" under my name.)



"Triage is French for cheese."



Triage is deciding priority of care. Things you don't want to linger in the examp room -- trauma/shock, altered/loss of consciousness, hemorrhage, urethral obstruction, dyspnea, burns, dystocia. "And to this list I would also add, from an owner's viewpoint, a broken toenail or reverse sneezing, preferably at 3 AM."



Make sure techs and receptionists are aware of what cases need to be hustled to the back.



Then, ABCs: airway, breathing, circulation. "They often get forgotten, but they need to be part of our intuitive assessment, and will hopefully ground you and get your focus clearly on the case. Before you focus on dramatic wounds, focus on the stuff that's going to kill them first."



Next, formulate a plan and start correcting abnormalities found on primary survey -- establish airway, obstructions, need to entubate, need O2 or to tap chest, evaluate circulatory system for shock, give fluids and CPR if needed, get IV access.



Reviewed signs of shock and how differ dogs to cats.



Then nose to tail exam, including rectal, and consider lab tests, radiographs, ultrasound for evidence of hemorrhage.



Then PAIN CONTROL. is somewhat controversial whether to give when shock is issue. But if animal in agony, give it.



Case study: Priss the cat was missing during thunderstorm, found in yard unresponsive.



Tech rushes her to back, you have two appointments waiting and the owner is in the lobby demanding to be allowed to come to the back and you've been up all night because your child was vomiting. "Welcome to the world of emergency medicine. I hope you enjoy your stay."



Did ABCs, trauma evaluation, said was in early decompensated shock.



Good chance to pull her back from brink.



Not tachycardic, cats don't have to be tachycardic to be in shock, because cats have not been given the rule book, and even if the were, they're ignoring it because they're too busy plotting to take over the world.



Options: rads, tap chest



Tapping chest probably best bet with this cat. "Never never take x-rays on an unstable cat," although sometimes he does.



Then a technical discussion of HOW to tap chest, which yo, we're going to skip so as not to give the "vets are greedy" do-it-yourselfers any ideas.



Says that tapping chest before transporting dyspneic cat can often prevent a "DOA on the way."



So they tap Priss and give O2, she purrs contentedly and you shed a tiny tear of joy.



THEN WHAT?



vascular access and fluid therapy



IV access, 1 or 2 large bore IV catheters, usually only 1 in cats.



If you can, draw samples for labs before fluid therapy.



Rapid IV access, catheter can always be replaced later when stable.



Intraosseous route if unable to place IV , easily done in kittens. hard in older dogs.



More technical stuff we're skipping.



Cats and hypothermia:



Hypothermic cats are unable to regulate blood vessel diameter to match tissue oxygen demands and distributive shock ensues



Aggressive warming and rapildy achieving normothermia is imperative in shock therapy, even more so for cats than dogs.



Overly aggressive fluid tehrapy in a hypothermic cat risks iatrogenic fluid overload. Then you have pulmonary edema on top of everything else.



Cats are really hard to warm up, BAER (?) hugger, heat blanket, they're at 94 then go to 92 then boom they're 105



temp of 98 or better is goal



Suddenly you notice her belly is distended,and now we know: she has a hemoabdomen.



May have overshot the fluids and blown off a clot. "Don't feel bad, I've done it too."



Managing a traumatic hemoabdomen:



Confirm dx -- ultrasound. Had we done one, might have known and avoided this. Look for bleeding, and if you see it tap to confirm.



Consider transfusions, fresh whole blood is ideal but often hard to get hold off, so can do component therapy.



Abdominal pressure wrap is controversial. Some think ischemia/abdominal compartment syndrome



Ideally, measure intra-abdominal pressure via water manometer and urinary catheter (they do in humans)



Most can be managed non-surgically. Surgery only if unable to stabilize



Also could have done auto-transfusion, but could have had a uroabdomen: "It could be blood mixed with pee, which in critical school they taught me was bad." If you have no choice at all, you might risk it. NEVER in a cat give blood if you can't blood type. Never, never. Because if she's a B cat, and gets A blood, SHE WILL DIE. I don't say this about everything, but you have to type a cat every time.



If she's a B, I'd be even more leaning towards taking a chance with autotranfusion.



Probably should have practiced permissive hypotensive resuscitation, small volume fluids just sufficient to get organ profusion and not above. But that's very tricky.



NOW we go on to secondary survey - now you do radiographs.



Priss has numerous superficial dermal abrasions and a broken leg, obtain samples for bloodwork, remainder of exam is normal.



Gave analgesia, gave fentanyl. Likes it for analgesia of trauma patients. Full mu agonist, lasts only half hour or so.



Stabilize leg with soft bandage. For this break, consider a nerve block to help with pain control, lasts 6-8 hours.



An opioid and a benzodiazepine are good choices for sedation in trauma -- valium and fentanyl. Both reversible, too. And minimal cardiovascular depression. No ACE, no NSAIDs -- "I reserve NSAIDs, if I use them at all, for patients who are fully stable".



Priss' outcome after hospitalization, fluids was good.



Cefazolin due to hypotension and dermal abrasions



Fentanyl CRI and something else to top off for breakthrough pain. ("CRI" means "constant rate infusion," which is a steady stream of drug via IV pump.)



And Famotidine



Surgery, they discharged after 36 hours. Happy ending, yay.



Questions: Do you use steroids in shock? "I don't think there's data to support it and it has the potential to make certain things worse."



What do you use for breakthrough pain with the Fentanyl CRI?



Bunch of options. Can bolus a little extra, or maybe small dose morphine or hydro (I'm assuming hydromorphone, Dr. Johnson can correct me if I'm wrong.)



Applause -- first applause I've heard at the conference! Dr. Tony rocks!



Photos: From Christie's iPhone

Veterinarians divided on animal welfare issues

 
The great work from the VIN News Service just keeps coming. Edie Lau has written an in-depth look at the growing rift in the veterinary community over farm animal welfare issues, using the current fight over "Ballot X" in Ohio as her springboard:

At face value, the push for greater welfare requirements is hard to object to. But it's not so simple for the (Ohio Veterinary Medical Association), whose leadership remains uncertain about where the association ultimately will stand on Ballot X. Among veterinarians, animal welfare is a polarizing and politicized topic. Even as practitioners spend their lives promoting the well-being of animals, it is non-DVM activists who appear to be guiding American attitudes on welfare. Some veterinarians are sympathetic to public sentiments; others find the position overly simplistic.

Considering the controversial nature of Ballot X, the OVMA is determined to take it slow. Within the next few months, officials plan to poll the group’s membership, hold a welfare forum in Columbus and start traveling the state to take the pulse of veterinarians.

“We need time to discuss this and have an open exchange with our members,” says Jack Advent, OVMA executive director. “Obviously no one wants to go to the ballot; it’s not going to be a pleasant experience for anyone. We’re going to look at animal housing, and there’s no rushing to judgment on this. These issues are too complex.”

What feeds the uncertainty? The answer boils down to politics, emotion and the push and pull between agriculture science and society’s ethics. For starters, there’s no consensus about whether veal crates, sow gestation stalls or battery cages are harmful or inhumane, even from the AVMA, which states that all housing systems carry pluses and minuses. As far as the nation’s largest veterinary membership body is concerned, science doesn’t point in any one direction when determining, for example, whether free-range housing is superior to battery cages. Case in point: While the public might suspect that tight quarters might be harmful to animals, free-range housing — a system favored by many activists — leaves livestock greatly exposed to communicable diseases, parasites and animal-on-animal aggression, the AVMA contends.

Yet for the public and even some in veterinary medicine, the notion that hens, pigs and veal calves want to get up and turn around seems like common sense, regardless of whether science can prove it. Critics claim that DVMs who support sow gestation stalls and battery cages in their current forms are less worried about animal welfare than they are that increased housing standards will be expensive for agriculture to implement. At the same time, a faction of veterinarians tied to agriculture contend that their small-animal colleagues are prone to jumping on the activist bandwagon, just as eager to impose costly and unnecessary reforms on those in agriculture who have fed America for more than two centuries.

Advent claims that’s not the case: “Most of my members really want to know and understand this. They don’t want to make a judgment that will affect their colleagues in large-animal practice.”

Dr. Fred Gingrich, a mixed-animal practitioner in rural Ohio with a number of dairy clients, believes that without first-hand knowledge, many of his DVM colleagues are too far removed from agriculture to make educated decisions about welfare as it relates to the day-to-day lives of farm animals. And the fact that the public might make that determination via a ballot initiative is “scary,” he contends.

Full story here.

Recall: Nature ' s Variety raw frozen chicken pet food

Nature's Variety is recalling their Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet for dogs and cats with a "Best If Used By" date of 11/10/10 due to salmonella contamination. From their release, dated today:

The only products affected are limited to chicken medallions, patties, and chubs with a "Best If Used By" date of 11/10/10. No other Nature's Variety products are affected.



The affected products are limited to the Nature's Variety Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet packaged in the following forms:



* 3 lb chicken medallions (UPC# 7 69949 60130 2) with a "Best If Used By" date of 11/10/10

* 6 lb chicken patties (UPC# 7 69949 60120 3) with a "Best If Used By" date of 11/10/10

* 2 lb chicken chubs (UPC# 7 69949 60121 0) with a "Best If Used By" date of 11/10/10



The "Best If Used By" date is located on the back of the package above the safe handling instructions. The affected product was distributed through retail stores and internet sales in the United States, and in limited distribution in Canada.



If you are a consumer and have purchased one of the affected products, please return the unopened product to your retailer for a full refund or replacement. If your package has been opened, please dispose of the raw food in a safe manner by securing it in a covered trash receptacle. Then, bring your receipt (or the empty package in a sealed bag) to your local retailer for a full refund or replacement.



Nature's Variety became aware of a potential problem after receiving a consumer complaint. Subsequent testing indicated that the lot code related to the consumer complaint tested negative for Salmonella. However, additional subsequent testing found the "Best If Used By" date of 11/10/10 to be contaminated with Salmonella.



No pet or human illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this lot code.



Reed Howlett, Nature's Variety CEO, stated, "Because pet health and safety are our top priority, Nature's Variety takes every step necessary to ensure the quality and safety of our products. In addition to our industry best manufacturing practices, and in an abundance of caution, all Nature's Variety raw frozen products now will undergo a 'test and hold' period before being released for sale."

Full release here.

Hello, puppy!

It would be grossly irresponsible of me not to warn that this video of my future puppy and his littermates is so overpoweringly cute that it could possibly harm you to view it.



Approach with caution.