Monday, June 14, 2010

“Springfield firefighters get pet resuscitators - koamtv” plus 3 more

“Springfield firefighters get pet resuscitators - koamtv” plus 3 more

Springfield firefighters get pet resuscitators - koamtv

Posted: 14 Jun 2010 04:59 AM PDT

Associated Press - June 14, 2010 8:04 AM ET

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Springfield firefighters hope to save more cats and dogs with a gift of pet resuscitation kits.

The Ozarks Kennel Club and Dr. Michael Opsomer's Gentle Care Animal Hospital in Nixa have donated 3 of the kits to the Springfield Fire Department.

The kits have special cup-shaped masks that fit animals' muzzles more tightly than oxygen masks made for people.

Battalion Chief Kevin Trogdon says he's responded over the years to several fires where pets needed medical attention. Trogdon says the oxygen kits designed for humans sometimes work on pets, but not always.

The donated kits will be placed on selected vehicles that respond to every fire call in Springfield.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Oil Spill Hardships Force Owners To Leave Their Pets In Shelters - Thaindian.com

Posted: 14 Jun 2010 05:34 AM PDT

pet June 14, 2010 (Pen Men at Work: The oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico has been having far reaching effects. The latest news is how the oil spillage affected the pets prompting the pet owners to leave them in pet shelters all across Louisiana. The hardship of pet shelters is not confined to the lone state either. The effect has affected Florida as well.

Most of the pet owners are now concerned about the ways to make ends meet. The fishermen have been hit badly and are at their wit's end trying to etch out a living for themselves and their families. Most of them have no other choice except to give up their pets under the circumstances.

While the pet shelters do not have oil on them, the pets are none too well off either. More than 40 pets are reportedly packed into the confines of a small shelter which cannot be termed as ideal by any stretch of imagination. The queue of pet owners waiting to place their pets into the shelters are going longer by the day as the BP oil spillage fall out shows no signs of abating.

The shelters are trying to cope as best as they can and donation of pet foods are being arranged by the local parish as well. More than three dozens of pets have also been taken in by the Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society. There have also been reports coming in of owners abandoning their pets in a hope to survive. A person had reportedly tied three of his dogs to a post after leaving behind a note which stated that he was unable to care for them.

Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Part 1: Answers on Pets in Dorms - New York Times Blogs

Posted: 07 Jun 2010 11:34 AM PDT

As a follow-up to an article I wrote for Sunday's Times on pet-friendly college campuses, I've asked Deb Duren — the vice president for student services at one such college, Stephens in Columbia, Mo. — to answer selected reader questions on The Choice this week.

Stephens — following the lead of Eckerd and Washington & Jefferson Colleges, among others — is setting aside an entire dorm this fall for dogs, cats and other animals (as well as their student-owners). It is being called Pet Central.

Ms. Duren can serve as a resource not just on Stephens's policies, but on those of other colleges, too.

Readers may submit questions (or comments) using the box on the original post, or the box below.

Questions and answers have been edited, including for length. — Jacques Steinberg

I experience a reaction around cats and the airborne dander they leave behind, and avoid friend's homes or cars if I know an animal has been there. Would I have to avoid the classroom or library as well?

—Will

It's our first priority to respect the rights of every individual on campus — and that includes those who love animals and those who do not. In those rare instances when a student does bring a pet into a "public" space — a classroom building, or a residence hall other than those identified as "pet friendly," she does so only after receiving permission from the students, staff members and residents in those spaces.

Every community — on campus and off — is a mix of pet-owners and people who would prefer never to be within 10 feet of an animal; at Stephens, we're teaching our students to be respectful of those differences, and to communicate clearly so all of our community members are safe and comfortable.

Who pays for the cost of the dorm renovations to accommodate pets and for the work-study students who take care of them? Do the students with pets pay this cost, or does the entire student body face an increase in tuition and fees?

—Elizabeth

Pet owners pay a slightly higher fee to live with their pets, mostly because they're paying a premium to live in single rooms, but we don't charge more to bring a pet to campus. Our Pet Owners Association has received a gift that will pay for some of the materials we'll need to get the program started.

Will the dorm be limited to those who bring pets or will people who want to enjoy a "pet-filled" life but don't have their own be welcome, too? How do you plan to deal with any pet "disagreements"?

Will the policy be one pet per room? Will there be breed/weight limitations on animals?

—Mila

Pet Central was conceived as a community of pet-owners, so initially rooms will be assigned to them. After all pet-owners have been accommodated, any remaining rooms will be open to others who may wish to live there, whether or not they own a pet.

We also allow our students to "foster" a pet from our local humane society, so students who may not come to campus with a pet can enjoy the experience of having a dog on campus without worrying about what happens when it's time to head home in May; their foster pups just go back to the shelter until they can be adopted.

Doggie Daycare — a makeshift kennel on the first floor — will be another way for animal-lovers to become involved in the program, regardless of where they live on campus.

Our policy is to allow one pet per room initially. An additional pet may be approved by the Pet Council, a group of faculty and students assembled to handle questions related to our pet policies.

Pet "disagreements," like disagreements among people, are solved through third-party intervention. At Stephens, this is a residence-life function. Our Judicial Board has the power to handle minor cases of pet misbehavior.

Concerning weight, we've lifted weight limitations because we've learned that size isn't the best way to predict whether a residence hall is a good environment for many pets. Some large dogs, for instance, can be quieter and more docile than other smaller, more active ones. But a few dog breeds are still not allowed – they include Pit bull, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Chow and Akita.

Snakes and spiders are not allowed at Stephens either (it turns out that most of our young women don't really like snakes and spiders anyway).

What if you have strangers as roommates – how do you know they will treat the animals well? As for Doggie Daycare, having to take a dog/cat for boarding is tough anyway mentally for an animal.

—Steve

We decided to create a pet program, instead of simply allowing students to bring pets without providing a support network, in order to avoid issues such as the ones you bring up (roommates who might mistreat animals, the stress of boarding, etc.).

Our pet program is a way for students to form a community in which pet owners are supportive and responsible to one another. Doggie Daycare will be a familiar environment (complete with dog runs and space to play) where pets will be cared for by students who like pets and who understand the commitment they've made to the animals and to their fellow students.

Also, the residence hall includes a fenced-in backyard where students will be able to relax or study while their pets run free. And all students in our pet-friendly residence halls live in single rooms, so roommates are not an issue.

Regarding pets spending too much time in Doggie Daycare, our policies include limits on the number of hours per week that a pet can spend boarded. And, of course, all of this will happen under the close supervision of our residence-life staff.

Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Poll: Money is huge factor in care of pets - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 13 Jun 2010 11:58 PM PDT

When a vet told Nancy Gates that her dog Arabella had heart problems, needed surgery and it would cost $500, she had no choice but to put her pet down.

"It was pretty straightforward because I had four young children to feed. The vet said surgery was my only option. I did not want my dog to suffer," she said.

Gates, 41, of Cotati, about 50 miles north of San Francisco, made that decision 11 years ago, but said nothing has changed. She still couldn't afford high-priced health care for her current pets, an 11-year-old cat, Cocoa, and a 9-year-old golden retriever, Sadie. And Gates isn't alone.

Money is a consideration for the majority of people when dealing with the cost of health care for animals, according to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media.

While most pet owners, 62%, would likely get vet care if the bill was $500, the percentage drops below half when the cost hits $1,000. The number drops to 35% if the cost is $2,000 and to 22% if it reaches $5,000.

Only at the $500 level are dog owners (74%) more likely than cat owners (46%) to say they would likely seek treatment. In the higher price ranges, the two are about equally likely to seek vet care.

"Grief gets complicated when we can't do everything we would have liked to do for our animal," said veterinarian Jane Shaw, director of the Argus Institute in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo.

That's especially true in hard times, when spending money you don't have on an animal can have a lasting impact on children, the mortgage, grocery bills, heating bills.

"Euthanasia is always sad, but when finances have to be considered, when you feel there is a possibility you didn't or couldn't do the right thing, you feel guilty," Shaw said. "We are at a point where we are talking about basic life needs or survival needs."

Terry Cornwell, 55, of Newport, Ore., has had to put down a couple of pets, but none was harder than a dog that was diagnosed with cancer.

"My income decides a lot of my expenses," she said.

So far, her current year-old cocker mix, Buddy, and her 8-year-old cat, Boo Kitty, have had few health problems. Cornwell would do everything she could, but if a vet told her surgery was her only option and she had to have the money up front, "I would be done."

Cornwell does worry, though. So do one in five pet owners who said they fret a lot about being unable to afford seeing a vet. Dog owners are more likely to worry than cat owners, and women and low-income people are among the biggest worriers.

About one in four people, or 27%, said pet insurance is a good way to save money on vet bills, though that's five times the number who actually carry insurance on their pets.

Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
Posted by at

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)