Good news! Yesterday, a rally was held on the Pennsylvania state capitol to bring awareness to the horrible puppy mill situation currently ongoing in middle America. According to an article posted in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, dog lovers gathered to provide support for bills that would require stricter regulations of dog kennels. Currently, dogs can be kept in small, wire-floored, stacked cages with no daily exercise required. This would be APPALLING for any dog lover, but it is still legal under Pennsylvania law. There are three bills waiting to be passed which would all increase the standard of living for dogs in kennels. There are approximately 90 co-sponsors on each political party! The more people become involved, the better chances of bills being passed!

A friend passed this article along to me from the New York Times; “Researchers Seek to Demystify the Metabolic Magic of Sled Dogs”

The information about these fascinating dogs is what caught my attention and inspired me to share it with you, but if the research done on this topic can help humans evolve into more physically impressive bipedal primates then this could be a rather substantial breakthrough.

Here is a quick stat; before a race the sled dog’s metabolism is very similar to that of a human. Once the race begins, however, the metabolism changes as if a switch was thrown. Get this, “In a 24-hour period, they go back to the same type of metabolic baseline you see in resting subjects. But it’s while they are running 100 miles a day.” said by Dr. Michael S. Davis, an associate professor of veterinary physiology at Oklahoma State University.

There is some money being put into this project with hopes of understanding how they do it, so that we can then do it ourselves. The thought is to help soldiers in combat not get fatigued from such an emotionally and physically draining act such as combat.

Although we like to try and write about positive events, sometimes we feel an obligation to report the negative in order to make people more aware that animal cruelty is real and efforts need to be made in order to stop it. We just received an email today concerning an event that occurred last week about a dog who was forced to where a collar made of fish-hooks!

photo from wpxi.com

The Border Collie mix had to have emergency surgery. Thankfully, the dog should be all right. However, Humane officers state that he could have died had he not received immediate attention. They are working to get to the bottom of the problem. If you have any information you are urged to contact them!

Mitch is ALWAYS yelling at me not to feed Chopper too much “people food”. It’s so hard to resist giving him a little nibble when he gives me the puppy eyes. Not surprisingly, I am not alone in feeling this way. Many other dog owners (or dog aunts in my case) feel this way. Most people feel as though they are depriving their beloved companion. While browsing the web the other day, I came across this article that discusses which people foods are suitable for your pooch. I was surprised at some of the items that were dangerous, like avocados and onions.

pug dog begging food

Thankfully, I’ve only fed Emperor Chopper some sliced turkey! Even though some foods are all right, the article maintains that this food should be given in small quantities as it can have negative effects on your dog’s intestinal track…I learned that the hard way one evening when Chopper had some not so pleasant odors.

- Elizabeth

It has been proven that water therapy has done wonders for people suffering from certain ailments, such as arthritis, but can the same technique be applied to man’s best friend? At Kasetsart University, the Suvarnachad canine pool, has helped to cure more than 5,000 dogs! The university just celebrated the pool’s three year anniversary!

Something hit close to home last week and I thought it would be an appropriate time to share with everyone because ticks are most prevalent from April-October in MA. Most people are familiar with the idea of Ticks being able to transmit Lyme Disease to people and to dogs. I had heard about this, but never actually saw it happen, until last week. I’ve been helping a family in Wayland to train their black lab puppy, Boo, for a about 4 weeks now. She is 4 months old and unfortunately contracted this debilitating disease from a Dear Tick while playing outside.

It was soooo sad!! The poor little girl was unable to even walk… What took the family by surprise was how rapidly the dog went from being just fine to such a suffering state. Of course, the family was very responsive and took her straight to the vet where she was diagnosed and treated. I’m happy to say that she recovered quickly and seemed happy and healthy last time I was there. I get to go see her tomorrow for some distraction training 8^)

There are many different Tick and Flea meds out there (Frontline, Advantage, K9 Advantix)… I’ve used Frontline for about 4 years and it’s been working well. Check out 1800PetMeds for good prices.

Almost everyone knows the character of Cruella De Vil, the fur-hungry villan of 101 Dalmations. Although 101 Dalmations is fictional, dog-napping is not as uncommon as one might think. Just last week, there were two articles detailing the capture of dogs.

The Times of India reports in the article “Thieves Take a Fancy to Pug” that the dog snatching has not been an isolated incident and that purebred dogs can be profitable for purloiners. Another article, “$5,000 Reward Offered for Stolen Puppy”, tells of how a pug puppy was seized from a car in a church parking lot in Fort Myers, Florida!

Coincidentally, both of the dogs that were stolen were pugs… Personally, I think that it is because pugs are so adorable that people can’t help but want them. However, I’m a little bias!

-Elizabeth