Itchmo: News For Dogs & Cats

Picture sent in by Mabelle.

MissyMoe, the love of Mabelle’s life

Max the dog likes to be in the driver’s seat.

When Charles McCowan of Azusa, California stopped for a cup of coffee and left his dog in his truck, he would never have guessed what would happen next.

After getting his coffee, McCowan went back to the parking lot to find his truck gone. He thought that both his truck and dog were stolen, and he reported the incident to the police.

But not until the authorities saw a surveillance video did they figure out what had happened to McCowan’s truck. The officers told McCowan that he would not believe what they saw.

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In a Minnesota study, cat owners had a decreased risk of death from heart attack or other cardiovascular diseases, including stroke. Researchers found no such correlation in those with a pet dog.

Researchers analyzed 4,435 participants, 30–75 years of age, from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Study. All participants were free of cardiovascular disease at the start of the study. Researchers used the Cox proportional hazards analysis during 20 years of follow-up to determine relative risk of death from all causes, heart attack and cardiovascular diseases, including stroke.

Previous or current cat owners represented 55 percent (2,435) of the study participants. Researchers adjusted results for differences in age, gender, ethnicity/race, systolic blood pressure, cigarette smoking, diabetes, cholesterol levels and body mass index. They observed a 40 percent higher relative risk of death due to heart attack in participants who had never owned a cat as a pet compared to those who had previously or currently owned a cat.

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RNL Bio, a company based in Seoul, South Korea, is offering to clone pet dogs in cooperation with the scientists who created the world’s first cloned canine.

The company has already received its first order from an American woman who wants a clone of her dead pit bull.

Bernann McKunney of California, provided RNL Bio with ear tissue from her dog. She had the tissue taken and preserved at a U.S. biotech company before the dog died a year-and-a-half ago.

A company spokeswoman said the chances of successfully creating a clone are about 25 percent, but scientists will continue to work on it until they are successful.

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A New York groomer has been accused of abusing and beating up Nusha, a three-pound Burmese cat.

Igor Kisil, Nusha’s owner, alleges that his groomer beat his cat and caused her to bleed in June 2007.

Kisil said, “The cat was literally crying. That was the first time in my life where I saw an animal actually crying, with the tears on her eyes.”

He said his six-year-old cat was in pain, had blood on her face, and even a veterinarian said it was one of the worst cases of animal abuse he has ever seen.

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Pictures sent in by Leslie Ann.

Jules and Gus.

Bert Clark would give anything to get his dog back — including a $15,000 reward.

Huckleberry, a 3 1/2-year-old chocolate Lab, went missing last weekend. It was believed Huckleberry was taken when he was outside a cafe.

Clark was so distraught over the disappearance of his dog that he offered a $15,000 reward for the return of his dog.

He not only offered money, but he and his friends and family put up posters all around town to try and find Huckleberry. He sat by the phone waiting to hear word about his missing dog.

On Monday morning, Huckleberry was returned safe and sound. Police had received a tip from the alleged doggy-nappers and the dog was reunited with Clark.

Clark said the $15,000 reward that he offered was definitely not excessive. He stated, “This is a member of my family. I’ve never been in this house alone without him. He and I – it’s our house. My life revolves around him. You know the adage: `A dog is man’s best friend.’ Well, he is my best friend.”

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Picture sent in by Michelle.

Harley loves Tonie, the cat.

Lurch has a heart as big as his body.

This 200-pound 2-year-old English mastiff is one brave dog. He has donated blood at least 20 times to save other dogs including a dog who became ill when he got into some rat poison.

Lurch is being honored for helping other canine friends by being named one of the Livingston County (Michigan) American Red Cross’ “Everyday Heroes.”

Joni Melvin-Thiede, Lurch’s owner, said, “The blood itself goes to a lot of places like MSU and goes to certain clinics. You really don’t end up knowing which dogs he helps, but his little picture goes on each bag so the person that gets it will actually know it.”

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Pictures sent in by Lois.

3 Cotons de Tulear: Sir Oliver, Nymphea & Petey with wind in their hair in Ocean City, Maryland.

Meet Simon Allison. He samples pet food for a living.

Allison, a UK resident, is a senior food technologist for Marks & Spencer and is responsible for pet produce.

He said he has trained his palate to detect the delicacies preferred by dogs and cats - and their owners.

Allison added, “I have trained my palate to look for materials that we will not allow in the recipe, such as tripe - pet owners react badly to the smell of tripe. I’m looking for a patè texture, almost to the point where you could spread it on crusty bread.”

This pet food taster said he loves his job and his favorite sample is the organic luxury chicken dinner with vegetables for cats.

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Miko had been missing since December.

This black and white cat disappeared after a fire started in Jade Schulte’s house in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The cat was nowhere to be found and Schulte had given up hope that she was never going to get her cat back.

But two weeks ago, Schulte received a call from someone in Pueblo, Colorado informing her that Miko was safe and sound.

“I was like, ‘Great I’ll pick her up!”‘ Schulte said. “I figured she was here at the shelter but they said, ‘We’re in Pueblo, Colorado,’ and I said, ‘How on earth did she get to Pueblo, Colorado?’ and they said ‘I don’t know, where are you?’ I said, ‘We’re in Albuquerque.”‘

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Picture sent in by Alison.

Jax, a pure bred black lab. He will be 2 in April and his favorite past-time is playing fetch!

This is the story of one cat who survived the Tennessee storms in a tree.

The cat got stuck in a tree behind the home of Tom Hendrickson. When Hendrickson’s daughter and her friends spotted the cat, they knew they had to help the cat because of the storms and the high winds.

Hendrickson said, “He was getting weak in his meow and we had three stressed out little girls who were really concerned about him.”

One of the daughter’s friends had a father who used to climb and trim trees for a living, so they called him. He climbed up the tree and rescued the cat and brought him to safety.

The cat was brought to an animal hospital and is recovering from his experience in the tree. The cat is very friendly and is house-trained but didn’t have a collar on.

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Molly simply went in to have her teeth cleaned, but her owner says she came out with burns to her belly after the cleaning.

Sandy Alexander, a Florida resident, is suing Calusa Veterinary Center in Boca Raton, for the negligence and emotional distress that the clinic caused her five-year-old toy poodle two years ago.

When Alexander picked up Molly after the cleaning, she was told that Molly may have developed sensitivity to the heating pads used during the procedure.

Alexander claimed that Molly seemed listless and she began to develop blisters and would cry when she was picked up.

The lawsuit claims that members at the vet center denied that Molly sustained burns, even though they wrapped Molly in bandages and treated her with ice packs after the procedure. It also claims that Calusa should have been aware that Molly had sensitive skin because she had been going to the clinic since she was a puppy.

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