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Did you know that cooking with Teflon pans might kill your bird? Or that the wrong flea medication can kill your cat? How about that raisin for your dog? Think again. March 21st-27th is National Pet Poison Prevention Week in the US. The ASPCA has a nice list of toxic houseplants to avoid.
In addition, Dr. Steven Hansen who is the manager of the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is featured on the Pet Life Radio Program, Pet Peeves. His information is very interesting and informative. You can listen online or download to an MP3 player.
If you are like me, there are those nights when you come home after a long day of work and open the fridge to find nothing to eat. Too tired or too cold to go back out, what can you do? While there may be nothing for me to eat, there is never a shortage of dog food. I just grab some of theirs and I have a meal. If the thought of eating your pet’s food repulses you, then you might want to reconsider what you feed your pet. Last night my dogs ate grilled sardines, chicken, and beef (Tasmanian, of course-no BSE). This was topped with boiled sweet potatoes, cabbage and a dollop of yogurt. Delicious.
In March of 2007 there was a massive pet food recall in the US. This prompted many people to question what exactly is in their pet’s food. The answer might surprise you. In her book, Food Pets Die For, Ann Martin investigated the pet food industry and what she found is truly shocking. As she says in her introduction, she, “learned that there are many deplorable ingredients that can legally be used in pet foods as a source of protein- in particular, euthanized cats and dogs, diseased cattle and horses, roadkill, dead zoo animals, and meat not fit for human consumption.” Probably one of the most shocking aspects of the book is her investigation into how euthanized pets end up in pet food. As a child, I remember mom taking the dog to the vet because it was “time.” We never gave any thought to what happened to the euthanzied dog. Did the body of my beloved childhood Labrador become part of the meat meal for someone’s puppy? Quite possibly, yes.
The book is a fascinating read and an important one for any pet lover. Food Pets Die For is available in both English and Japanese from Amazon Japan.
Last summer, I volunteered at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah (USA). One of my tasks was dog walking. I had the chance to walk a few dogs that had been rescued from Hurricane Katrina. I can’t imagine being forced to leave my pets behind in the case of a natural disaster. Local governments here in Japan are always reminding people to have food and water on hand in an earthquake “kit.” However, I have never heard or seen any publications on how to prepare our pets for an emergency. The American Veterinary Medical Association has a nice brochure available online that has some very useful hints on how to prepare for a disaster. In particular, having a first aid kit specifically designed for your companion animal is a great idea since veterinary care may not be readily available.
AVMA’s brochure: Saving the Whole Family
The above is a new book to be published in March 2008. Written by Martha Sherrill, it tells the story of Morie Sawataishi and his life long devotion to saving the Akita dog. By the time Japan surrendered in 1945, there were only 16 Akitas left in the country. They were used by the military as either food or fur to line the vests of military jackets. It became Morie’s passion to save these dogs from an almost certain extinction. Today, Morie is 94 years old an still lives with his Akitas. According to the review in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of The Bark,
“In the old days of Japan, honoring the specific look or ‘breed’ was never part of the dog tradition. Spirit was the thing one hoped to keep alive.” Dog Man is a celebration of a man with spirit to spare, and of the dogs who marked and enriched his life.
Barnes and Noble offers a more in depth review here.
The book is available for preorders from Amazon Japan.
I used to be a responsible dog owner. Every May the postcard from the vet would arrive reminding us it was time for annual vaccines. Off we would trot as soon as we got the card. We wouldn’t want the dog to catch any dangerous diseases. What exactly are annual vaccines anyway? With the exception of rabies (which I am NOT addressing here), can you name what is in the vaccine cocktail that your pet gets every year? Probably not.
Such was the case in May of 2006 when the postcard arrived reminding us it was time for Renga’s vaccines. Off we went. He got his rabies shot and his “annual” vaccines. The next day we noticed that the hair between his shoulders where the vet inserted the needle had turned purple. Not, the skin, the hair itself was purple. At first I thought the vet had jiggled the needle and caused a bruise. But as I said, the skin was normal. Anyway, it was odd and life went on.
At the end of July the groomer found a marble sized lump on the back of Renga’s leg. Fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, we were off to the vet again. A biopsy revealed the worst. Lymphoma. We were devastated. When my eyes were dry enough, I spent every waking moment researching canine lymphoma. Somehow I’d hoped that I’d find a cure. The more I read and researched, the more the cure eluded me. However, a cause started to appear. Repeatedly in the literature I found things like, “pets are over vaccinated,” “over vaccination is killing our pets,” “over vaccinating is leading to cancers.” There it was: vaccines and cancers. I couldn’t help but think back to that purple vaccine day in May. Did one vaccine cause cancer, or was it the 10 years worth of vaccines that had finally worn out his immune system? On October 3rd, 2006, four and a half months after the vaccines, and 2 months after the initial lump was found, Renga died. The cancer won, but for me, the battle had just begun. I would never again give unnecessary vaccines to my pets.
Fast forward to today. I cannot prove that the vaccines caused Renga’s cancer. What I do know from my year and half of research on the topic is that they are now believed by many vets to be a leading cause of cancers and other diseases in pets. Two months ago I got yet another postcard reminding me it was time for vaccines for Agner (Renga spelled backwards!). At 16 months old, Agner had only been vaccinated twice. Puppies are normally given 3 sets of vaccines before 4 months old. He’d had the first set (parvo and distemper) before I got him. Not wanting any more vaccines than necessary for my dog, I refused to have three sets. I waited until he was around 14 weeks old and had the final set (parvo, distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza).
At one year dogs begin the cycle of “annual” vaccines. During my research I learned of a little word that just might be a lifesaver. A titer. A blood titer is when blood is drawn and tested to see if the animal has immunity to particular diseases. There is NO NEED for annual vaccines if your dog is already immune to the disease! I told my vet no vaccines. I wanted a titer done. Low and behold, the numbers astounded me. According to the lab, in order for a dog to be considered immune to distemper, he needed 640 or above. Agner’s result was 1280. For parvo he needed to be above 160. He was 640! Four times the amount necessary. In other words, he is completely protected from these diseases based on his vaccines as a puppy. There is absolutely NO NEED for him to be given an annual vaccine. And yet, the upsetting part, is that vets WANT to continue to vaccinate rather than titer! Had I still been a “responsible” pet owner, I would have just gone in and had my vaccines done and possibly killed another dog. I am now an informed pet owner.
I strongly suggest that you ask your vet for a titer rather than a vaccine. The company here in Japan (there might be others) is Marupi Life Tech in Osaka. It is actually in katakana. Ask your vet. Amazingly, they know the company but probably will not offer you a titer unless you ask. The vet will draw blood and send it to Marupi. About two weeks later you will have your results. Our vet charged 4,200 yen for this. Probably, about the same as annual vaccines, but certainly much cheaper than a cremation.
On Friday Feb. 1st, the Los Angeles City Council voted to approve mandatory spaying and neutering of cats and dogs under the age of 4 months. The goal of the initiative is to empty all shelters of unwanted pets. A worthwhile goal, surely, but one that has opinions on both sides. Questions abound, one of them being, how will this be enforced? Will dog owners be stopped out on their daily stroll and asked to show proof of desexing? What about cat owners? Bob Barker, who many may remember as the host of The Price is Right, supports the initiative. He always ended his game show reminding people to spay and neuter their pets. You can read more about the law in this Los Angeles Times article.
One has to wonder if the Japanese authorities are aware of this new law. Is it one they’d be willing to copy? How would Japanese pet owners react to such a law? This is still the land where vets tell pet owners not to neuter dogs until after one year or to spay females until after their first heat. It would be interesting to hear their justification for the wait now that L.A. is mandating it at 4 months. We’ll have to wait and see if this is something Japan chooses to adopt or not….
We have all heard and seen the stories on puppy mills. Fortunately, many of the larger pet chains in the US have stopped selling dogs and cats and only offer adoption days. Kudos. One such chain in Petsmart. According to their corporate page, they are the largest specialty pet retailer in the US and Canada with 993 stores. While they do not sell cats and dogs, you can still go there to get your kid a small pet like a hamster or a bird. Certainly animal activists might complain, but it can’t be that bad. Who ever heard of a hamster mill? Well, PETA has….
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) recently sent an undercover investigator into Rainbow World Exotics, a major supplier of small animals for Petsmart. They captured on film the horrific conditions of the animals at the supplier. On the Petsmart corporate homepage they have their statement regarding the footage shot by PETA. They currently have no plans to discontinue using this company as a supplier. However, they do acknowledge that, “The loss of any life is upsetting, and while images of sick pets and death are always difficult to accept, sadly it’s inevitable in nature.” Most people would probably accept the fact that a small rodent dying because it was scooped up by a hawk is in fact, death in nature. However, being stomped on by a company employee is another story.
The video is certainly disturbing, but PETA didn’t create the conditions. They just showed the facts. Be sure to notice the use of Clorox handiwipes as the employee, not vet, operates on the rabbit. Please copy and paste if the link doesn’t work.
What about small animal breeders here in Japan? Did Chirping Charlie come from a budgie mill? Are conditions here any better? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t bet my birdseed on it.
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