“Experts: Gators in northern waters probably pets - Batavia Sun” plus 3 more |
- Experts: Gators in northern waters probably pets - Batavia Sun
- Global Weather Found to Affect Pets' Dietary Needs - New Company Responds With ... - Yahoo Finance
- Coming soon to Charlotte restaurant patios: pets - Raleigh News & Observer
- Katrina Pets Still Await Return Home - FOXNews (blog)
| Experts: Gators in northern waters probably pets - Batavia Sun Posted: 29 Aug 2010 02:31 AM PDT August 29, 2010 The Associated Press CHICAGO — Two gators in the Chicago River. One strolling down a Massachusetts street. Another in bustling New York City. And that's just in the past few weeks. From North Dakota to Indiana, alligators are showing up far from their traditional southern habitats — including a 3-footer captured Tuesday in the Chicago River. But experts say it's not the latest sign of global warming. Instead the creatures almost certainly were pets that escaped or were dumped by their owners. "People buy them as pets and then they get too big and at some point they decide they just can't deal with it," said Kent Vliet, an alligator expert from the University of Florida who tracks media reports about the reptiles.In the past three years, he said, there have been at least 100 instances of alligators showing up in more than 15 states where they're not native. North Carolina is the farthest north that alligators are found naturally, Vliet said. A 3-foot-long, collar-wearing alligator was found Sunday strolling down a street in Brockton, Mass. On Monday, a 2-foot-long gator was spotted under a car in New York City. In fact, since spring, gators also have been found in Fargo, N.D., eastern Missouri, upstate New York, rural Indiana, Ohio and a Detroit suburb. After being spotted by boaters on Sunday, Chicago's rogue gator drew scores of gawkers to the banks of the river. It peered from the water at the people staring back through binoculars, and swam away when a duck got too close. "It's not scary," 8-year-old Caleb Berry said Monday. "It was a baby and it wasn't eating anything." The alligator eluded capture and apparently ignored traps baited with raw chicken until Tuesday, when a volunteer from the Chicago Herpetological Society was able to snare it with a net. Three weeks ago, the volunteer captured a 2 1/2-foot gator in the same area. Vliet said such small alligators don't pose much of a threat to humans — preferring to dine on fish, snails, crayfish, frogs and small snakes — though they probably would bite if handled. "It's not like it's going to hunt you down," he said. The greater risk is to the reptiles, which probably wouldn't survive long in northern climates, experts said. "The animal is going to die a slow death," said Franklin Percival, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey in Florida who says alligators most often are abandoned when they reach 3 feet or so and "people wonder why they made the early decision" to buy them. "Ecologically, it's not responsible and maybe ethically it is not a good idea, either," Percival said. Alligators can be kept as pets in some states as long as the owner gets the proper permits, though some municipalities — like New York City — ban them outright. Illinois stopped issuing such permits three years ago because of problems with illegal ownership and people releasing unwanted pets, said Joe Kath, endangered species manager for the state Department of Natural Resources. Cherie Travis, executive director of Chicago Animal Care and Control, said owning an alligator is a bad idea. "No one in Illinois needs to own an alligator. Period," Travis said. Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php | |||||||||||||||||
| Global Weather Found to Affect Pets' Dietary Needs - New Company Responds With ... - Yahoo Finance Posted: 30 Aug 2010 07:09 AM PDT Press Release Source: Seasons Natural Pet Food On Monday August 30, 2010, 10:03 am MIRA LOMA, Calif., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2006, the United States National Research Council (NRC) published "Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats" as part of its report on dog and cat nutrition. Based on years of research, this report revealed that as the weather changes, so do the nutritional needs of pets. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100830/LA56228) (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100830/LA56228) Seasons Natural® Petfood was founded to offer pet owners a new type of pet diet -- one specifically designed to address the changing metabolic energy requirements of pets caused by changes in the weather. The premise behind their unique patented blends, one for cool weather and one for the warmer months, is based in part on the NRC report. As ambient temperatures rise or fall, the amount of energy a pet needs for normal metabolic function changes. With as little as a 20 degree Fahrenheit temperature fluctuation, a pet's metabolic needs may change by as much as 40%. Seasons Natural® pet food is specifically formulated to enhance nutrition according to a pet's changing metabolic energy needs. It has been scientifically proven that pets require more energy in the cooler months, less in the warmer months. To address this effect, Seasons Natural® has created two dog food blends. Cool Weather Blend™ is formulated for cooler temperatures by providing an increase in proteins and fat. As the weather warms, however, less protein and fat are usually required. Warm Weather Blend™ is formulated with these requirements in mind. The patented process properly regulates the amount of digestible metabolic energy available in each formula, providing it to pets when they need it, as directed by nature. Specific micro-ingredients are added to the Cool Weather Blend™ for the cool months, including L-Carnitine, which utilizes fat efficiently to help provide extra energy. For the warmer months, the Warm Weather Blend™ contains a blend of electrolytes to foster healthy heart function, muscle function and hydration, as well as helping provide a healthy skin and coat. Both blends deliver the proper amount of protein, fat, and climate-specific nutrients when the pet needs it most. Both blends are also similar in base ingredients so that the conversion between warm and cool weather formulas is easier on the pet's digestive system. Seasons Natural® Petfood, whose slogan is "Seasons Change -- So Should Your Dog's Food" calls its approach to pet health a "managed nutritional delivery system." "This is the first truly unique dog food to be introduced to the pet food industry in years," said Tom Kapocius, Seasons Natural® Vice-President of Sales and Marketing. "Consumers now more than ever want the best, most nutritious food for their pets. They know their animals deserve the very best foods for their nutritional needs, to help sustain a long and healthy life. With our climate specific formulations, we are confident Seasons Natural® delivers exactly what pets need and will enjoy." Seasons Natural® Cool Weather Blend™ will begin shipping to independent pet stores arriving in time for the Autumnal Equinox on September 23 -- the start of the cool season. Both the cool and warm season blends will be available in three flavor formulas: Chicken Meal and Brown Rice, Lamb Meal and Brown Rice, and a Multi-Protein formula. To learn more about Seasons Natural® Pet Food and how to order, contact their customer service department at info@seasonspetfood.com or by phone at 877-808-0838. For more about Seasons Natural® Pet Food Company, or to learn more about the science behind their pet foods, visit their website at seasonspetfood.com. Seasons Natural® Pet Foods – U.S. Patent # 7,120,588,B2 (global patents pending)
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| Coming soon to Charlotte restaurant patios: pets - Raleigh News & Observer Posted: 28 Aug 2010 11:11 PM PDT CHARLOTTE -- Gary Kelly has brought Birdie to Thomas Street Tavern since the dog was no bigger than a beer can. Like a number of restaurants with outdoor seating, the Plaza Midwood tavern has welcomed dogs for years - even though state officials had interpreted an existing rule as banning pets from restaurants unless they were police dogs or service animals. That changes Wednesday when a rule takes effect allowing restaurants to open outdoor areas to dogs - and even cats. "She's my companion," Kelly said Saturday, sitting on a patio bar stool with his 6-pound Pomeranian pooch. "It's nice being able to go someplace with your dog" Animals in restaurants are regulated as part of health inspections, said Larry Michael, head of the food protection branch of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Because of unclear language, the rule was reviewed. Health departments, restaurants and residents agreed restaurants should be able to choose whether they'll open their patios to pets. On Wednesday, restaurants can welcome dogs and cats outdoors as long as they're leashed, don't come inside and don't come in contact with employees preparing food or food service items. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php | |||||||||||||||||
| Katrina Pets Still Await Return Home - FOXNews (blog) Posted: 27 Aug 2010 12:28 PM PDT Among the countless souls rescued from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, there were thousands upon thousands of pets. Five years later, some are still waiting for a return home. 1400 miles away from New Orleans, sits the largest companion animal sanctuary in the United States, and about 40 dogs and 4 cats left homeless in the storms wake. The Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, located in picturesque Kanab, Utah saved 6-thousand animals in the days, weeks and months after Katrina. Shortly after the storm hit, staff and volunteers headed to the Gulf. Francis Battista was one of the many. "We were located in Tylertown, (Mississippi) at St Francis Animal Sanctuary...that is kind of a sister organization and the folks there are great folks and they opened up their facility to set up and emergency shelter there. So Best Friends built a...temporary capacity for about 400 animals at any given time and we were bringing animals through," Battista tells Fox News. Volunteers and staff would go into St Bernard Parish and surrounding areas to look for animals that had been left behind. In the rush to save human lives, rescue workers traveling by boat through the flooded streets told residents being evacuated that they had no choice but to leave their family pets. Best Friends CEO Gregory Castle says, "It was tragic and we recognized that there were some seriously wrong things about the way that whole operation was conducted...and we felt that was just absolutely wrong, and so one of the big things that we did was to step into those kinds of situations and help who had been forced to do that or did it voluntarily, because many people did....so we felt we had a role to play there in filling the gap." Castle describes the initial part of the rescue chaotic and haphazard, but a situation in which many lessons were learned. In 2006, President George W. Bush signed the PET Act into law. This is legislation that requires state and local municipalities to include disaster plans for household pets and service animals. "That is a big change," Castle states, "A big plus that came out of, sounds weird, but a big plus that came out of Katrina. So in other impending kind of disaster of that sort, communities are required to have evacuation plans for animals too." According to the folks at Best Friends, animals traveled farther during evacuations than many people did. That means that in shelters across the country, there may be pets from Katrina still waiting for a home. Here in Kanab, each animal has its own story and each still shows the effects of that period of time. But here at Best Friends Animal Society, they have had the opportunity to rehabilitate and learn to trust again. Some were trapped in homes, without food or fresh water for weeks or months. Others came to the rescue shelter with the water mark still on their coats, covered in filth, water and toxic waste. And while many of the animals continue to have strong reactions to rain and thunderstorms. They have survived. At Best Friends, where the mission is to see a time when there are no more homeless pets, they will make a home for these animals as long as it takes. This is a 'sanctuary', so they have a no kill policy. If you are interested checking out the pets up for adoption, here's their website: http://adoptions.bestfriends.org/ Or Click on the video to meet some of the Katrina dogs: Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000105 EndHTML:0000020742 StartFragment:0000020537 EndFragment:0000020702 <!--[CDATA[// <
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