Pet Knows

Maybe this poor little Koala’s habitat is being destroyed and therefore it is resigning itself to climbing electric poles to perch upon instead of trees? Or maybe it went through a bad time in Koala Kindergarten and needs electric shock therapy? This Daily Mail story gives more details. But for now - Koala call home!

No matter how well you take care of your dog, some ailments will still come with age. I have been lucky with Mosby – at 14 he has had very few medical issues. But in the past two years, his arthritis has gotten slowly, but undeniably, worse. In the last few months I have seen the greatest change in his balance and control of his hind legs. Fearing that he could really hurt himself when he falls or slips, I took him to an orthopedic specialist so we could rule out anything more serious than arthritis and discuss treatments so we can reduce the chances of a serious injury. The doctor’s recommendation for treatment surprised me: acupuncture.

I had never before considered something like acupuncture as a treatment for an animal, and kind of wanted to laugh at the suggestion. But something about it intrigued me. If it works so well for people, why can’t it work for an animal? The doctor offered me a list of acupuncturists who specialize in treating animals, and gave me a prescription for pain medication in case I would rather treat my dog in a more traditional manner, acknowledging that not everyone believes in alternative medicine. I got back home and started researching alternative treatments for dogs, and posted questions on a few pet-message boards to see if anyone had any experiences (good or bad) with something like acupuncture. I got back an overwhelmingly positive response.

The doctor I decided to go with explained that acupuncture is a treatment, not a cure, and will not help all dogs. (always good to manage expectations) I figure it’s worth a shot. It’s not the cheapest method of treatment but if your dog responds well and only needs a few treatments a year, I think it is much cheaper than giving him medication every day.

Mosby’s first appointment is next week, and I am eager to see how it goes and share the results. If you have any experiences with alternative treatments for pets, please share them with us here!

We knew it wouldn’t be long until the doggy dog world found it’s place on reality television. With the series, “Greatest American Dogs” now playing on CBS Thursdays at 8 PM, these prime time pups are taking part in the chase of their lives and proving their worth to their owners and friends.

The series boasts of twelve extraordinary teams of dogs and owners from across the nation who live, eat, breath and drool together and compete in a series challenges that put the owners’ ability to train their dogs to the test for the opportunity to win $250,000 cash prize and the title of “GREATEST AMERICAN DOG.”

Here at PetKnows, we want to ask readers watching this series who they think should win and whether the owners really can wag the tail of their dog or if our four-footed friends will triumph in the competition by using a mind of their own?

On a hot summer night, nothing hits the spot better than a nice cold serving of ice cream. Any dog would agree with this as well, but ice cream is not really the best for dogs. I have experimented with a few recipes at home for Mosby, but still occasionally splurge on Frosty Paws or similar products. If you live in the DC area, I have another special treat for you to try!

The Dairy Godmother, which happens to be one of my favorite ice cream spots in Virginia, also makes Pup Pops and Squirrels (cookies, not real ones) for your furry family members. For the humans, Dairy Godmother makes their frozen custard in the store (check out the custard cam!) and has a new special flavor every day. I highly recommend the Blueberry Cheesecake or the Mint Oreo.

For the dogs, puppy pops are made from plain yoghurt, peanut butter and banana (since many dogs are lactose intolerant, they use yoghurt because the active cultures are beneficial to digestion) and Squirrels, their baked dog treat, are made primarily from spend barley malt (a by-product of brewing beer), eggs, milk, vegetable oil and baking powder.

Dairy Godmother is located at 2310 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, VA, and has now extended their hours to accommodate their summer crowds: Monday 12-9, Tuesday 6pm-10pm, Wednesday-Sunday 12-10pm. Please note that The Health Department is not a fan of dogs actually coming into the store, so Fido will have to wait outside while you make your purchase, but I promise he will think the wait is worth it!

Many of us have been caught up in the recent Twitter craze, PetKnows included. But you can imagine our sheer delight when we stumbled upon Riblet, the world’s first micro-blogging cat.

From what we can tell by her updates, Riblet loves to eat and keeps its followers posted on the day’s eating habits with pearls of wisdom such as:

So Mr. Food Bowl, need I remind you who alpha cat in this house?

Bleh! Tepid water, again.

Moist food is the fishy nector of the gods.

And one of our favorites:

Prey successfully hunted, it’s in the right-most bowl.

Seems that Riblet’s clever parent has rigged a motion sensor to prompt an automatic update when Riblet snacks on kibble. Now that is a well-connected feline.

You can find and follow Riblet’s culinary journey at http://twitter.com/Riblet. And while you’re at it, follow us, too.

And cats! In the Washington, DC metro region, a new tennis craze is in full swing. The Washington Kastles are part of the World Team Tennis league, founded by Billie Jean King. The team is comprised of such tennis greats as Serena Williams, Justin Gimelstob, Mashona Washington, Scott Oudesma, and Sacha Jones, all coached by Thomas Blake. The three-week season boasts matches that include John McEnroe and Anna Kournikova, among others.

So how does this relate to Pets? The Washington Humane Society has partnered with the Washington Kastles. If you buy tickets for any of the Kastles Tennis matches through Ticketmaster, be sure to enter the promo code: PETS1 - 10% of the purchase gets donated to the Washington Humane Society.

So, help out your fellow pets right here in DC and support a brand new local sports team!

According to an article on ScienCentral, socializing cats with children at a young age could actually help prevent allergies.

The allergy researcher, Matt Perzanowski,  says “cats may actually be protecting some kids from getting sick.”  Basically, while cat allergies and asthma are often linked, in some cases exposure over a long period of time to the cat allergens at a young age can actually prevent or shield against asthma symptoms.

See this video for further explanation:

ScienCentral: Kids, Cats and Asthma

I got this urgent email from Tara deNicolas, Director of MarComm at the Washington Humane Society. 700 puppies - saved from an infamous puppy mill are in dire need of homes or at least foster homes. Please circulate this to everyone you know and repost it if you have your own blog - every little bit counts! DCist has also covered this story.

URGENT MESSAGE

On Friday the Washington Humane Society (WHS) received an urgent call asking for our help in caring for some of the nearly 700 dogs who were rescued recently from an inhumane dog breeding operation uncovered in Tennessee.

As the only open-access shelter in Washington, DC where no animal is ever turned away, we bear a heavy responsibility to the people and animals of the District. On a typical day, we take in an average of thirty three animals. As we fulfill this commitment, we also bear a responsibility to the greater national sheltering community. WHS wanted to make room for as many dogs as possible from the puppy mill and today will be taking in fifteen to twenty of the dogs rescued from the puppy mill to our private shelter on 7319 Georgia Avenue, NW.

Our dedicated staff, volunteers and medical team are working now to prepare the shelters and line up foster homes. We will be ready to care for these dogs who have been through so much in their lives, and thanks to donations made to WHS’s special Sophie’s Fund, we are prepared to attend to any special medical needs these dogs may have as soon as they arrive.

In addition to stepping forward to care for these dogs, we will offer our WHS National Capital Area Spay & Neuter Center for 2 free days of spay/neuter surgery to any of the dogs rescued from the puppy mill that are being cared for by various rescue groups in the Washington, DC metro region. Because the drastic pet overpopulation problem is the root cause of animal abandonment, neglect, and suffering, WHS makes every effort to ensure that as many dogs and cats as possible are spayed and neutered. The WHS National Capital Area Spay & Neuter Center – the only one in DC, serves animals being adopted, returned to owners, and animals belonging to members of the public.

If you, too, would like to find a way to help these dogs and the other animals in our care, please click here to make a donation, or consider becoming a foster parent. WHS will be holding an open Foster Parent Orientation on Wednesday, July 2nd at 7:00 p.m. at our 1201 New York Avenue location. Please contact our Foster Care and Rescue Coordinator, Kate Zapf, at 202-723-5730 (ext. 149) or kzapf@washhumane.org for more information.

Thank you so much for your support — we couldn’t fulfill our mission without you!

Watch here for ABC7’s coverage: Puppy Mills

By now we have all seen and read a number of tug-at-your-heart-strings news stories on the pets that are being left behind in the housing foreclosure crisis happening around the country. Between tough economic times and situations like what has happened with the flooding in the Midwest, shelters are becoming overrun with pets surrendered by owners who can no long afford to take care of them. These owners face a difficult decision, giving up their furry family members in hopes of giving them a better life. My heart breaks thinking about how difficult that must be.

One issue that these surrendered dogs face is that adult dogs are much less likely to be adopted, and are frequently euthanized simply because there is no room for them. With over crowding at shelters across the country, the popular no-kill shelters are reaching capacity and forced to turn away dogs, making it more likely that they will end up euthanized.

If you are thinking about bringing a new dog into your home, please consider adopting an adult dog from a shelter. Yes, puppies are adorable and cuddly and wonderful. But older dogs offer a lot of perks that a puppy does not. Your average adult dog will already be house broken, will have grown out of the eating shoes phase, and will trained to know at least basic commands, just to name a few. You might also be helping to save his life.

If you are not looking to add a furry friend to your family right now, there are other ways that you can help. The ASPCA lists 10 ways you can help your local shelter, or you can make a contribution organizations like the Humane Society’ foreclosure fund, the ASPCA, or No Paws Left Behind. You can also give directly to a shelter in your area or Furry Tales Farms, the shelter mentioned in the video above.

While there may be nothing better on July 4th than fireworks, barbecue and beer for humans - pets are often freaked out by fireworks.

MSN.com and PetSource.org offer some great tips on how to protect your pet from the fireworks and festivities:

• Don’t leave pets alone outdoors, even if tethered or in a fenced yard.
• Remove sharp objects from enclosures.
• Turn on the radio or TV for distraction.
• Don’t take pets to fireworks shows.
• Don’t leave pets unattended in cars.
• If pets must be outside, keep them on a leash or in carriers.
• Protect pets from children who are using fireworks. * Use sedation on horses and some dogs if necessary; your veterinarian can advise you about giving a pet a mild sedative or tranquilizer to calm fears of an extremely stressed animal.
• Pick up leftover sparklers and other sharp objects after the festivities.

So don’t put your pets in danger (physical or mental) this 4th of July. Make sure they are enjoying their independence, just as much as we humans do.

Photo: Petsource.org