Itchmo: News For Dogs & Cats

Key points from the FDA press conference:

• 2.5 to 3 million chickens have been fed the tainted pet food and already sold to the public.
• “Hundreds” of plants could have received tainted vegetable protein from China.
• Due to “low risk”, chicken and pork not recalled. Yet FDA says they lack toxicity data on melamine.
• Refuses to name any more company names.

Live blog results of FDA press conference at Pet Connection.

Also, Reps. Dingell and Stupak dispatched congressional investigators to west coast ports to look into contamination (most likely Long Beach, CA).

Nowadays, you can share a vacation home, a car and now a dog. Flexpetz allows people that cannot own a dog on a full-time basis the opportunity to spend time with a dog whenever they want. (Fur real?) All of the Flexpetz dogs (Jackpot, pictured here) are rescue dogs and go through a full training program, so they understand commands and can adapt to various environments.

Members pay a monthly membership fee and a daily doggy time charge when you schedule time with a Flexpetz dog. Flexpetz members can spend time with any available dog anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Currently, Flexpetz is available in San Diego and Los Angeles and is planning to expand nationwide.

On Saturday, April 28, there will be a nationwide march for our pets and we are “marching in memory of our pets that have lost their lives, we are marching in memory of those pets that are fighting for their lives, we march as pet owners, dog lovers, cat lovers and average citizens that are tired of the lowered safety standards for goods coming in to this country”. The march will begin at 10 am Central time and so far, these cities are participating: Austin, Atlanta, Boston, Baton Rouge, Chicago, Southern California area, Santa Fe, Dallas, New Jersey area, Raleigh, Jacksonville, and Columbus. For more information, please visit these websites: Keep Our Pets Safe and Pets Need a Voice Too.

Sometimes I’m amazed over how tall dogs are. Well, Gibson, a five-year-old Harlequin Great Dane, is the world’s tallest dog and will be at America’s Family Pet Expo in Costa Mesa, CA this weekend. Gibson measures more than 43 inches from the floor to his shoulder and weighs 170 pounds. He can stand more than 7 feet tall on his hind legs. Gibson has been on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres. Gibson is also the spokedog for the Veterinary Diagnostics Institute (a company that detects heart disease in dogs) and at the expo, Gibson will be promoting the Canine CardioCare blood test. I’m glad that Gibson is using his celebrity status for good.

April is Animal Cruelty Prevention Month (apparently Menu Foods didn’t get that memo). To highlight this great month, ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) will be celebrating ASPCA Day on Tuesday, April 10 and are encouraging pet owners to “Go Orange For Animals”. Buildings and landmarks in several cities like New York, Chicago, LA, Austin, Washington, DC , Tampa and Philadelphia will be lit up orange in support of the day.

If you live in New York, come to the ASPCA Day Festival in Union Square on April 10 from 4-8pm. There will be music, pet tips, food, photos with your pet and much more.

How can you celebrate? Light up your house orange. Wear and hand out orange glow sticks (it will remind you of all those raves you went to). Tie orange bows on trees, doors or even on your dog. You and your dog can wear orange — get out all of that orange clothing that you thought was cool when you first bought it but haven’t worn it since. Don’t worry, people won’t make fun of you because it’s for a good cause.

A bill called California Healthy Pets Act (AB1634) is being proposed which would require the spaying or neutering of most cats and dogs by the time they are four-months-old. If pet owners do not get their pet spayed or neutered, they will be charged a fine.

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