“PHOTOS: Pets of the Week - Times Herald-Record” plus 3 more |
- PHOTOS: Pets of the Week - Times Herald-Record
- Rabbits: Britain's most neglected pets? - Daily Telegraph Blogs
- National Kids and Pets Day celebrates universal bond - Cincinnati.com
- Daniel Rubin: Tackling health-insurance crunch - for ... - Philadelphia Inquirer
| PHOTOS: Pets of the Week - Times Herald-Record Posted: 26 Apr 2010 04:38 AM PDT The following animals are available for adoption from area nonprofit animal shelters and rescues. Adoption fees are required and vary from shelter to shelter. BG: Humane Society of Blooming Grove GH: Goshen Humane Society Inc. HVS: Hudson Valley SPCA-Orange County MRR: Mountain Rottie Rescue of New York, Inc. MTN: Humane Society of Middletown Inc. NEW: Town of Newburgh Animal Shelter PA: Pets Alive PJ: Humane Society of Port Jervis/Deerpark PK: Pike County Humane Society WL: Humane Society of Walden Inc. WV: Warwick Valley Humane Society Inc. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Rabbits: Britain's most neglected pets? - Daily Telegraph Blogs Posted: 26 Apr 2010 02:08 AM PDT  Rabbits - too popular for their own good Rabbits – the UK's third most popular pet, with a national population of over a million – are sadly misunderstood creatures. There's a myth that they're soft fluffy children's pets that are an easier option than dogs or cats. As a result, they're more likely than other pets to be bought on a whim, with little understanding about the long term implications of rabbit ownership. A recent survey has shown that most rabbit owners have a depressingly poor lack of knowledge about what pet rabbits need to live long, healthy and happy lives. Perhaps the most startling result was that 90% of respondents didn't know that owning a rabbit is likely to cost more than £3,000 over the course of its lifetime. People seem to dip into rabbit ownership with not much more thought than buying a Sunday newspaper, and it's the rabbits that suffer the consequences: neglected and forgotten in bare hutches at the bottom of Britain's suburban gardens. Other results of the survey give other clues about the inadequate understanding of rabbits' needs. Almost half of the respondents believed that vegetables, fruit and carrots are the most important food for rabbits. Whilst a small daily amount of green veg is good, a diet based solely on vegetables, fruit and carrots does not provide all the nutrients that rabbits need, leaving them malnourished. In addition, 71% didn't know that fibre, in the form of hay and grass, is the most vital food for rabbits – it's essential for their digestive health, and they can die without it. More than 50% of those surveyed did not know that rabbits should be kept in pairs. Companionship is key to the welfare of rabbits – without the company of another neutered rabbit they get lonely and bored. In the wild, rabbits are social creatures, a fact that doesn't change just because they are kept as pets. Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW), running 26th April – 2nd May 2010, aims to promote good rabbit health and wellbeing amongst owners of all ages. The focus of this year's campaign is tackling rabbit obesity – an ever-increasing problem caused by poor diet and lack of exercise. Obesity is a serious issue for rabbits and can lead to a range of life-threatening health problems, including flystrike. During RAW, participating veterinary practices nationwide are holding free rabbit health checks. These health clinics are open to all rabbit owners and will provide practical advice on how to keep rabbits happy and healthy, including information about feeding, environment, vaccinations and husbandry. I know that this blog post may seem irrelevant to all those political pundits out there who are excited about a general election that's happening soon, and I'm fully expecting jokes about rabbit stew, bunny boilers and fur coats. But hopefully the message will filter through to a few genuine rabbit owners out there: visit the RAW website, and you'll gain more useful information in ten minutes than you'll get out of a hour of reading about political promises and pontificating. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| National Kids and Pets Day celebrates universal bond - Cincinnati.com Posted: 26 Apr 2010 12:42 AM PDT There's a universal bond between children and pets, marked today by "National Kids and Pets Day." Whether a new baby or a new puppy is joining the family, parents can keep them safe through preparation and proper teaching and training. Here are some tips from Chris Hayden, a veterinarian technician with PetFirst Healthcare. If a dog is going to face new habits when a newborn comes home - such as off-limits areas, or no rough-housing indoors - begin introducing the new rules about a month in advance. Families looking to adopt a dog or cat should consider an adult, rather than a puppy or kitten. At 8 or 9 weeks old, you don't know the temperament yet," Hayden says. "They're fragile and very impressionable at that age. If a child accidentally steps on them, it could make (the dog or cat) turn out to be not a good fit." Teach children to approach a dog or cat slowly, and not to reach for the animal's head. Pet softly on the back instead, and don't pet a cat on the belly unless you know it's safe. Pay careful attention to toddlers who are unsteady on their feet and often like to grab things. Don't give a dog toys that resemble a child's toys or clothing. Let older children help with pet care, which will also help the pet create a positive association with the child. Playing fetch with a dog is ideal, but kids should avoid tug games which can lead to injuries. Make sure that children know to leave a dog's food bowls, bones and other treats alone. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Daniel Rubin: Tackling health-insurance crunch - for ... - Philadelphia Inquirer Posted: 26 Apr 2010 12:06 AM PDT Her story was sad - anything involving a dog too weak to get up off the couch is sad. Ulyssia Drozd adopted a boxer/pit bull pup from a shelter in February, and within 48 hours the dog was nearly dead. It being the weekend, the Pottstown woman didn't know what to do with the rescue she'd renamed Chance. Take her to the hospital? Leave her at the shelter's weekend "drop door"? She found a vet who'd see the dog. Chance had pneumonia, kennel cough, and a host of other ailments. The bill: $1,072. Drozd didn't have the money, and the dog needed much more care. The shelter where she'd gotten the dog - the Berks County Animal Rescue League - found a second vet who would treat Chance, and it paid for the treatment. After several days the dog got better. But that still left Drozd with the first bill, which a friend put on a credit card. What's the responsibility of the shelter? Drozd asked. Officials there reminded her she'd signed a paper saying the dog was her responsibility now. They told me the puppy showed no signs of sickness before the adoption. It's a classic he said/she said more suited to small-claims court than the newspaper. But now that we've straightened out health care for humans (No? My e-mail's at the end of the column), I'm wondering if we can get any smarter about treating our pets. Talking to a Philadelphia vet a few days before, I mentioned our old dog's great medical adventure in Germany. She went under the knife twice in 2003 after our vet found cancer in her elbow, and the surgeries plus five days in the hospital cost us less than $500. Why would that cost thousands more here? I asked. He didn't venture a guess, but sent me off to visit a peaceable kingdom by the airport, an insurance company where dogs hang out under the desks while the cat, Jethro, prowls the high ground. Unfortunately, it was just humans I saw last week - the place is a construction site as Petplan breaks into an adjoining suite, enjoying the side effects of a battered economy. Bad times and advances in veterinary medicine have conspired to make the pet-insurance business very good, say Petplan's owners, Chris and Natasha Ashton. People will still pay extraordinary amounts to save their animal friends. Petplan is a hedge against catastrophic bills. The idea for the Wharton grads' product came from Britain, where nearly a quarter of pets have insurance. Personal experience instructed them as well. The couple were in business school in 2001 when their cat, Bodey, stopped eating. The Ashtons found Penn's care excellent and expensive - more than $5,000, forcing the couple to juggle credit cards and move to a smaller place. Their business plan won a school-wide competition, and in 2006 they launched a company that employs 40 people today. By partnering with Petplan UK, the Ashtons got access to 30 years of actuarial data. I was curious what sort of window the business opens into the well-being of various breeds of cats and dogs. No dog will cost its owner more than the giant dogue de Bordeaux. In comparison, a Jack Russell terrier or a border collie will cost even less than a mixed-breed. Catwise, Maine Coons and Himalayans are the most expensive to maintain. Petplan has been rated tops by the Humane Society of the United States, but it's tiny compared to the market leader, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. Petplan doesn't disclose how many policies it has sold. The Ashtons sought to be different, by not denying claims for breed-specific diseases and covering holistic treatments. They're able to do that by charging according to an animal's age, breed, and location. The company reimburses the policy holder, creating no paperwork for the vets. Even though the numbers are growing, only 3 percent of U.S. dogs and 1 percent of cats are insured, says the American Pet Products Association. Compare that with Sweden, where about half have coverage. Michael Currie Schaffer., the Philly-based author of One Nation Under Dog, says the disparity is because Europeans have national health insurance for humans. Americans have more experience with private insurers, he says. And that familiarity breeds contempt. "They think, 'Wow, I watched them throw Grandma off her health-care insurance. If they did that to her, what would they do to a dog?' I think a lot of consumers come into this with the prejudice that insurance companies are a bunch of grifters out to get them." The bad news for Drozd is that most insurance plans have a waiting period, Chris Ashton said - Petplan's is two weeks, which would not have covered Chance. But there are increasing numbers of insurance plans for pets leaving shelters, he said. Those adopting an animal need plain talk from their shelters about that option.
Contact Daniel Rubin at 215-854-5917 or drubin@phillynews.com. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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