Normally, the only comments I delete from my blog are commercial spam comments. If someone disagrees with me, I let it stand, because I'm just awesome like that.
But as of today, I have a new policy. In addition to deleting spam, I'll be deleting any form of hate, including any comments saying poor people shouldn't have pets because they won't be able to take care of them.
Not. Welcome. Here.
What do Greyhound rescue groups and puppy millers have in common? Absolutely nothing -- which is why I need your help.
The Greyhound rescue group from which I adopted my darling Val and Stella, GRACE, was offered the proceeds of a fundraising promotion run by a local puppy-selling pet store, part of a national chain. The donation was expected to be at least $500.
They declined to participate, even though they have just taken in, on top of all their usual retired racers, a 10-year-old former brood mama who needs costly medical care.
So I'd like to ask all my friends, family members, readers, as well as all YOUR friends, family, etc., to click over to GRACE Greyhound Rescue and donate to them -- even just a few bucks! Let's help that sweet mama get her needed medical care, and show the world that we don't need puppy mill blood-money to fund the great work our dedicated rescue groups do!
Thank you! (Oh, and yes, that pretty girl in the photo, Gypsie, is available for adoption right now!)
Who's buying and selling what your veterinarian knows?
I understand that veterinary conferences need to be paid for. I really do. But every time I attend one, I am overwhelmed by the rank and unabashed commercialism of the events.
I'm in Orlando at the North American Veterinary Conference. Every presentation is sponsored in some way. Every inch of wall and window space, and even a fair amount of air space, is plastered with giant full-color ads for drugs, parasite preventives, equipment, and practice management tools.
One of my favorite things to do at vet conferences is track how many of the presenters formally disclose their conflicts of interest during their session. It's my belief that such disclosure should be required before anyone is allowed to present at any scientific conference, and many non-veterinary medical and scientific conferences do in fact have that requirement.
Many vets I ask about this, whether in the audience or presenting, seem honestly surprised at the question, and insist that regardless of conflicts, they would never taint or sway their data or opinion, nor believe any presenter would. This is hopelessly naive, and out of step with the entire body of scientific opinion outside of vet med.
When I have in the past asked speakers after their sessions for their conflicts of interest -- a standard question for anyone submitting to a journal or speaking at a human medicine conference -- I've often seen a startled response, followed by statements like, "Let me think... no, I don't think so."
Veterinary medicine needs to do better.
I'm off to my first session at this year's NAVC; maybe this year, the policy has changed. Maybe, even if it hasn't, this will be the year all the presenters disclose their conflicts voluntarily, because they know it's good science and good PR.
Hey. it could happen. And someday, it will.
Milo's Kitchen, owned by by Del Monte, announced today it is recalling its Chicken Jerky and Chicken Grillers treats from retailers nationwide, due to contamination with antibiotics.
From the company's press release:
On Monday, New York State's Department of Agriculture informed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Company that trace amounts of residual antibiotics had been found in several lots of Milo's Kitchen® Chicken Jerky. After consultation with the New York Department of Agriculture and FDA, the company decided to voluntarily recall Milo's Kitchen® Chicken Jerky and Chicken Grillers, which are both sourced from the same chicken suppliers.
The use of antibiotics to keep chickens healthy and disease-free while raising them is standard practice in poultry production for both human and pet food. However, the antibiotics found in the products were unapproved and should not be present in the final food product.
The full release, which includes contact information at the company and directions on how to receive a refund, is here.
UPDATE: Purina has recalled its Waggin Train and Canyon Creek Ranch treats, citing antibiotic residue as well. They also issued a statement insisting the products was safe, despite traces of antibiotics that are not approved in the United States. The treats are made in China. Read more here.
UPDATE: Publix Chicken Tenders Dog Chew Treats, a private label brand sold in the South, have also been recalled for antibiotic contamination. Read more here.
Rawley, the mighty stick hunter, with his prey!
Looking for some really thick, snuggly, sturdy, well-made, dog-themed t-shirts and hoodies? Check out Good Deal Designs.
I'm not big on reviewing. Before I moved to Michigan, I was the pet columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate.com for many years, as well as being a pet blogger here and for a number of other sites. As a consequence, I'm on the mailing lists of bazillions of pet product publicists, and inundated by requests for product reviews, or even just stuff showing up on my doorstep unannounced.
I almost never accept anything for review, and when I do, I have some very clear guidelines, which are posted on my blog in the upper left-hand corner (you can check them out here). One of those is that I don't keep review products, unless they're something that is destroyed during testing, like a chew toy. I offer to return them at the company's cost, or donate them to a rescue group; most companies opt for the second option.
I also don't do giveaways or promotions on the blog.
So if you see me review something here, it's either something I purchased for my own dogs' use, or something I was interested enough to request for review purposes. In other words, I want my reviews to be meaningful, and only of items I genuinely found of value to pet-owners.
Which brings us to my favorite t-shirt/hoodie purveyor, Good Deal Designs.
I spotted a t-shirt photo on my Facebook feed. The slogan on the shirt was, "I don't trust people who don't like dogs," which amused me so much I looked up the company that manufactured it. What I found was a small company producing what looked like high-quality t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and a few other items with a number of pet-centered (mostly dog, but one horse and some multi-species) sayings or images. The owners of the company compete in sports with their dogs, so agility, rally, and obedience themes play big, too.
The shirts and hoodies come in a wide variety of colors, including some that are both unusual and beautiful, like a lovely chocolate brown and a bright fuschia. The size range is huge, from small, "ladies' cut" t-shirts to 5XL classic cut ts and sweats.
I ordered one hoodie and three t-shirts. I've been wearing them for months, mostly for walking dogs and sleeping, and I love them. They're comfortable and really well-constructed. I don't put mine in the dryer, but they've held up to machine washing very well.
Love 'em! Get 'em here.
The sickala (this is a term of endearment my mom and I used to use for our sick pets, and silly as it is, it’s stuck with me) is, for the second time since I adopted her last fall, Val, my 9-year-old Greyhound. Last time she had lepto, with severe liver symptoms. This time it seems to be her urinary tract, either an infection or stones or kidney disease of some kind.
As Gina’s written, there are so many times when being “hooked up” with the veterinary world is worth more than the salaries we get for the work we do. I’ve had the advantage of some of the best, most caring advice from some of the top vets in the country. That, coupled with the care of my regular vet, who I like more every time I talk to him, and my own absolute determination to protect and care for Val in every way possible, more than outweigh the bad start we got at the ER.
All that said, right now I’m sitting in my local Starbucks, taking a little break from Val’s intense neediness. When you live alone, and especially when you’re in a new place where you have few friends, none really close by, and no family, caregiving can become overwhelming.
And now the part I’m leading up to: Caring for Val is triggering my memories of caring for my mother when she was dying. (Those who think comparing my mother to a dog is insulting can leave now; I assure you, my mother would have welcomed it.)
Like my mom, Val has to get up to pee every couple of hours, all night long. I’ve actually got my bed covered with my mom’s quilted, washable incontinence blankets. And while the sleep deprivation is only a few days old, the memories of the months of it I went through while my mom was dying are crowding into my mind all the time.
I needed a break. I’m not good at taking breaks, not from work or caregiving. But if my experience of losing my mother, and the hell of workaholism I got trapped in afterward, have taught me anything, it’s that if I don’t put myself first, I won’t be any good to anyone else.
Hence, Starbucks, where someone else made my coffee, and everything is clean and cool and impersonal, which will hopefully give me the serenity I need to go back home and take care of my girl.
We’re heading for Michigan State University for a comprehensive work-up to get to the bottom of her condition on July 10. I think we can manage until then, as long as she keeps improving or at least, doesn’t get worse, and I remember to care for myself half as well as I care for my dogs.
Wish us luck!
Note: This was originally posted at HonestDog.com. Please click below to read the original comments to the post.
Continue reading "Caregiver stress affects pet owners, too" »
No, we don’t live hip-deep in dog doo. Nor have my dogs learned to use the toilet.
As a new resident of Michigan, I had my first experience with scooping in freezing temperatures this winter, and it will come as no shock to my fellow Midwesterners that I didn’t like it much.
I had assumed that frozen poops would be easier, not harder, to scoop. I was wrong. You see, for those, like me, from warmer climes, fresh poop is warm. That means it melts the ice or snow on which it falls, and then that slowly re-freezes into something of which I believe the technical name is “permafrost.” Or “permapoop.” Either way, after actually snapping my scooper in half while trying to hack at a hunk of poopsicle, I gave up.
I went to Google, typed in “pooper scooper service in Michigan,” and discovered The Pet Butler. I phoned them and learned that yes, they do service my town (not a done deal, since I’ve had trouble finding just about every service you can think of, despite what seems to me to be a pretty convenient location less an hour or less from three major cities — Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Flint. But I digress). I signed up.
Joel, who owns the local Pet Butler franchise, turned out to be a dedicated small business guy and true dog lover. Rawley in particular worships him, and while I do lock the dogs in the house when Joel gets here, once or twice I’ve gone out with the dogs to talk to him and I have to say, his skillz at going through a gate without letting even one needle-nosed sighthound go with him are really quite mad.
And how many businesses can you say the following about: Never late. Never done a bad job. Never not come, despite rain, sleet, hail, snow, and mosquitoes, which in Michigan is the same as saying “gigantic bloodsucking forces of pure evil.”
I really only meant to use The Pet Butler until it warmed up, but unless my personal economy collapses, I’m a customer for life.
And no, they don’t come every day. I’m on the twice-weekly plan, and yes, I lied in the beginning of this post. I still scoop. But it’s awesome knowing if I get sick, or it’s 4 degrees out, I don’t have to scoop.
Because of all the things I love about dogs, scooping? Not one of them.
Note: Originally posted at HonestDog.com. Click below to read the comments on the original post.
Hey, San Francisco Bay Area! It's time for Maddie's Matchmaker Adoptathon, being held at 80 different locations in San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. And that means loving people can adopt dogs and cats for free all weekend long!
More than 60 shelters and rescue groups will be participating, and Maddie's Fund will pick up the adoption fees. In addition, they'll donate between $500 and $2,000 for every pet adopted during the event on June 9 and 10, with the higher amounts going for the adoptions of senior pets and/or those with certain specific health issues.
This is the third year I'll have worked on this event, helping with blog outreach and social media. I'll be covering it live all weekend, both on the Maddie's Matchmaker Adoptathon Facebook page and on #maddiesmatch on Twitter.
So if you or someone you know in the Bay Area is looking for a new dog or cat, by adopting through this event you'll not only save a life but save yourself some bucks and earn a donation to the groups that work so hard to find homes for pets all year round.
And that's my feel-good story of the month!
Photo: Heidi, a deaf and blind 17-year-old who was adopted at the 2011 Adoptathon.
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