Itchmo: News For Dogs & Cats

Dogs are born to run. Fast. Much of their physiology is geared for speed due to their wolf ancestry, as wolves rely on the ability to pursue and take down prey on the run. Even though a dog’s running prowess is rooted in predatory needs, this very ability can also cause severe injury or even death for the dog.

Such was the case for Moon, a greyhound who died after colliding with a golden retriever at a dog park. Apparently the force of the collision hurtled Moon into the air and resulted in a fatal spinal injury — either from the collision itself or upon impact with the ground. While this may sound like a freak accident, the potential for speed-related injury is very real among dogs.

Speed can kill. It’s not the dog’s fault — it’s physics that deserves the blame.

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(Thanks Stan)

Once in awhile a “lost cat returns” story comes along that is just too unbelievable to be true. This would be one of those, probably, if the cat in question wasn’t still wearing the same collar she’d been wearing when she disappeared seven years ago.

Found less than two miles from her original home in Greenacres, Washington, Sarah seemed mostly herself, though she was missing a bit of an ear and was a little skittish around her food, as if half expecting someone to come along and snatch it away at any moment.

Local animal folks are quick to point out that this is one pretty darn good reason you should have your pets licensed. If Sarah hadn’t been wearing that collar, she likely wouldn’t have been returned to her family.

The other family cats, who figure prominently in Sarah running off in the first place, were none too happy to see Sarah return. But Sarah has picked up some street smarts in the mean time, it seems, and is currently spending most of her time snoozing in a bedroom with the door closed, and she may return with her closest companion to college when classes pick up again in winter.

In the mean time, we would like to encourage those of you who haven’t licensed your pets to do so right now.

Source: Spokesman Review

Three-year-old Daisy Mae usually goes out on her nightly walks outside and enjoys the peaceful neighborhood. But on Thursday night, something went completely wrong.

The white longhair cat came back to her owner’s front door with bloody injuries. Daisy Mae had been shot during her romp outside.

Veterinarians found that she had a .22 caliber bullet lodged in her abdomen after puncturing her shoulder and lung. The doctors must stabilize Daisy Mae before they perform surgery on Monday. Her jaw and broken teeth must also be mended so she can eat.

Her owner said, “It looks like she was shot while she was curled up sleeping. It was bad enough when we thought at first she’d been hit by a car. Who would do this kind of thing? She’s just a shy little kitty; she didn’t deserve this. There’s a monster out there.”

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As a bestselling dog writer and humorist, I would very much like to know how it is that the Bulldog Club of America could hold their National Show in My Town and I don’t even know about it until halfway through the event when the local newspaper announces that Liberty Soft Tail Huntress won best female dog in the open class.

I just may have to get myself down there and meet some dogs. Any Itchmo readers in Spokane this week for the festivities? Feel free to write me a hello.

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Acting manager Al Dams of King County Animal Services (in Washington state) was on the defensive in the wake of a scathing report submitted recently by a citizens advisory committee describing the conditions at their two animal shelters as “deplorable”. They point to unsanitary conditions that result in high disease rates, undersized cages and inadequate attention paid to exercising the animals and providing them with social contact.

The committee report proposed more than three dozen changes to the county’s Animal Services program. They describe the county’s animal care as “well beneath the standards that should be expected in a prosperous, compassionate and generous community.” Recommendations for immediate action included renovation of the facilities, hiring additional staff and an overhaul of shelter policies. The two shelters take in more than 12,000 dogs and cats annually.

The committee reserved their most damning observations for the shelters themselves. An open sewer drain that runs through several dog pens at the Kent facility, exposing the animals to diseases such as parvo and upper respiratory infections. The report also cited 135 animals that went missing in the past year through bad paperwork, theft and unknown factors. Most troubling of all was the revelation that cages face the euthanization table, meaning that the captive animals can see the procedure being performed.

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Pygmy goats in the city of Seattle can celebrate. They are now legally recognized as pets.

On Monday, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to reclassify the goats, also known as dwarf or miniature goats, as small animals rather than farm animals, and that the goats can be kept as pets.

“One small step for man, one giant step for goatkind,” said council member Richard Conlin, who sponsored the measure.

People who want to keep goats will have to license them like a dog or cat and get them dehorned. Male goats will also need to be neutered. Goats will not be allowed in off-leash areas or outside of the owner’s yard. Although there is an exception: the goats can be lent to other owners to graze in their yards.

The measure was suggested to Conlin by Jennie Grant, president of the Goat Justice League, which she says has 100 members. She asked the council to change their law after a neighbor complained about potential health risks with the goats.

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Sunny is lucky to be alive after someone put him in a duffel bag filled with clothes. The bag was left on the ground besides a dumpster outside an apartment complex.

The kitten was weak, but he had enough energy to cry and alert anyone that could hear him. A resident in the apartment complex heard the six-month-old kitten crying and saw the bag moving.

It is uncertain how long Sunny was outside in the afternoon sun.

The man took the black-and-white kitten to the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Lynnwood, Washington. The kitten was suffering from heat stroke.

Sunny’s body temperature was 107 degrees. A cat’s normal temperature ranges from 100.5 to 102.5 degrees. Shelter workers wrapped him in cool blankets and gave him intravenous fluids. The kitten was also unable to stand up on his own and was unresponsive.

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Jane Balogh is registered to vote. And so was her dog, Duncan M. MacDonald.

Balogh, a Washington state resident, registered Duncan, an Australian shepherd-terrier, to vote by putting his name on a phone bill. This was used as identification to register him as a voter. Balogh did this because she wanted to prove how easy it is for non-citizens to register to vote.

She even submitted absentee ballots in numerous elections that she marked “void” and put paw prints on the line for the voter’s signature.

Balogh was to face up to 90 days in jail for registering Duncan as a voter. But a deal has been reached for her to avoid criminal conviction for making a false statement to a public servant. She is required to fulfill 10 hours of community service, pay $250 in court costs, and avoid violating the law for the next year. The misdemeanor charge will be dismissed after one year if she follows these conditions.

Source: MSNBC

Photo: Seattle Times

Amidst all of the news surrounding Michael Vick and his involvement in dog fighting, it’s nice to hear that there are some football players out there that show care and concern for animals.

The Seattle Seahawks are helping dogs at local animal shelters and rescues by donating their old towels. Towels for Shelters is a campaign organized by Deena Cornish, owner of the Uneek Dogs company.

“Towels are in constant need at animal shelters and rescue organizations,” says Deena. “Most people are not aware that this is an ongoing need. I’m so grateful to the Seahawks for their generosity in participating in this campaign and I know the shelters will be, too.”

Longtime animal advocate and Seahawks employee, Karleen, contacted Uneek about donating their old, used towels that would normally be thrown out. The Seahawks are not only dog lovers, community minded and generous, they are thinking green.

Photo: Tailgating.com

A doggy daycare owner and groomer is being accused of severely beating a customer’s dog.

Catcher, a Jack Russell Terrier, went in for grooming at The Dog Zone in Longview, Washington and came out with a hemorrhage behind his eye.

Jen Comin, Catcher’s owner, rescued him three years ago. She said the dog had been abused in the past and is afraid of men due to the abuse. She said the groomer knew that and he decided to groom him anyways.

According to Catcher’s owner, one of the employees at The Dog Zone said they saw the doggy daycare owner/groomer vigorously shake and hit him. Comin said the veterinarian stated that the only reason her dog ended up with a hemorrhage behind his eye is if he had been shaken or hit by a blunt object to the head.

The owner of The Dog Zone, Doug Kalbery, said Catcher snapped at him and got a hold of his fingernail.

“At that point, I decided I was going to rehabilitate this dog, but I wasn’t asked to rehab this dog,” he said. He did admit he made a mistake.

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As the nation becomes more aware of dogfighting in our society due to Michael Vick’s indictment, many local animal organizations are also trying to combat this horrible crime in their own local community.

The Seattle Humane Society is offering $5,000 to the person whose dog-fighting tip leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone associated with this heinous crime in King County.

King County prosecutor Dan Satterberg said no one has been prosecuted for dog-fighting in King County, but “there’s no reason to think it doesn’t exist.”

Satterberg also added that dog and cock fighting do occur in King County and around Washington state, primarily in rural areas and among close-knit groups.

Mary Leake Schilder, a spokeswoman for the Progressive Animal Welfare Society, said that since it is hard to track dog fighting and prove it is happening, money is definitely a good motivator for people to come forward with information.

Source: Seattle Times

Last week, we posted about Oscar, a cat who was able to predict a patient’s death. Now, a Seattle nursing home is saying that they have their own feline predictor of death.

Buckwheat, a ten-year-old tabby, is a familiar face at the Providence Mount St. Vincent nursing home. Nurses say that Buckwheat also has the mysterious power of being able to know when a resident is about to die. He also does his best to give the dying person comfort.

The cat will climb in bed with the person, curl up next to him, nap with the person and will stay with him through the dying process.

Buckwheat was donated to the retirement home three years ago by an ailing woman who could no longer care for him.

During his time at the retirement home, workers say that Buckwheat has been with about three dozen patients when they’ve passed without a single diagnosis.

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If you live in the Seattle area and are interested in volunteering at the Seattle Animal Shelter, the next volunteer orientation is on Saturday, July 28 at 12pm. The orientation will be held in the gym in the Student Activity Center building at Seattle Central Community College, 1701 Broadway. It will last 90 minutes.

Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and must attend an orientation meeting. Shelter volunteers work at least eight hours per month on an annual basis.

“Volunteers are vital to the success of this shelter,” says Shelter Director Don Jordan. “We have more than 600 volunteers and 350 foster parents, who collectively donate more than 100,000 hours of service. With their help, we are reversing a trend and saving more lives. Last year we had more than twice as many adoptions as euthanasias – more than 2,800 adoptions and 1,100 euthanasias. We’re constantly striving to reduce the number of animals euthanized.”

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Andrea Dickson, editor of personal finance blog Wise Bread, sent us this story of making the hard decision when a dog owner has a dog that is aggressive:

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I’ve been told before that the hardest decision to make is the mature decision. I’m sure I first heard the saying from my mother, who was trying to get me to stop spending irresponsibly. But it only occurred to me recently just how true it really is – the most important decisions are the hardest to make, and the most mature decision is often the most horrible option.

My friend, I’ll call her Anna, recently adopted a dog from a shelter outside of Seattle. He was a medium-sized sporting dog, and he took to her immediately. The shelter said that he had had some minor aggression problems (something like extreme barking) and that they had put him through an intensive training course to cure him of his annoying behavior.

Anna was very excited to have a dog in her life. A canine lover through and through, Anna would often come to hang out at my place, where my dogs would loll about on her lap, vying for her attention and her doggie massages. Anna never cared if she was covered in dog hair; she tolerated my dogs’ sneaky face-licking, and was always patient and sweet, even if my dogs were annoying (which they frequently are). Having her own dog to love was obviously a very important thing for her, and she was determined to give this abandoned pooch a good, safe, and happy existence.

Anna brought the dog home and within a few days, began to notice some behavioral problems. The dog, who I’ll call Rover, had some strange territorial aggressiveness. Rover would greet family and friends enthusiastically, with plenty of tail wags, but might suddenly growl should the person linger in the foyer while preparing to leave. Anyone who got into the car at the same time as Rover was considered a friend, but if anyone (save Anna) attempted to get into the car after Rover was already happily ensconced in the back seat, he would growl menacingly.

The rest of the story after the jump.

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