“More owners of disabled pets opt for medical treatments, specialized carts - Green Bay Press-Gazette” plus 2 more |
- More owners of disabled pets opt for medical treatments, specialized carts - Green Bay Press-Gazette
- THQ Announces Fantastic Pets for Xbox 360 - DailyGame.net
- Growing Industry Helps Disabled Pets - WHSV
| More owners of disabled pets opt for medical treatments, specialized carts - Green Bay Press-Gazette Posted: 24 Oct 2010 11:55 AM PDT When Beverly Tucker's dog Tobi ruptured a disc in his back, the veterinarian gave her a stark choice: expensive surgery with little chance of success, or euthanasia. Like a growing number of pet owners, Tucker opted for a third choice thanks to medical advances and shifting attitudes about animal care. She bought a wheeled cart specially fitted for Tobi's hind legs, restoring mobility to her paralyzed pooch. "I would never have my dog put down," Tucker said. "Our option was the wheels, and we're going strong ever since." Pets with disabilities still struggle more than their healthy counterparts, but their futures are no longer as grim as before. An industry catering to owners of disabled pets has sprung up, offering everything from carts to chiropractors specializing in canines. Animal health specialists, rescue volunteers and medical supply makers all say they've seen a growing willingness in the American public to adopt or care for pets with ailments that once would have met certain euthanization. Dianne Dunning, director of the Animal Welfare, Ethics and Public Policy Program at North Carolina State University, said that shift has shadowed breakthroughs in veterinary medicine. "You're seeing in many cases now that pets are equivalent in status to children within a family," she said. It was much different 21 years ago, when Buddha, a Doberman owned by Ed and Leslie Grinnell, awoke one morning unable to use her hind legs. There were no online support groups, no doggy physical therapists. The only options offered by the vet were $5,000 back surgery with a 50-50 shot at recovery — or immediate euthanasia. Instead, Ed Grinnell put his skills to work as a mechanical engineer and designed a wheeled cart for Buddha, who lived three more years. Ten years later, vets were referring so many people to the Grinnells that they went into canine cart manufacturing fulltime. Since 1999, Eddie's Wheels has expanded to 14 workers at its facility in Shelburne Falls, Mass., and now ships its carts worldwide for dogs, cats, bunnies, goats, sheep — even alpacas. That isolation the Grinnells felt was similar to what Joyce Darrell and her husband, Mike Dickerson, experienced when their dog Duke severed his spinal cord in an accident in 1999. Instead of euthanizing Duke, the Grinnells got him a wheeled cart. They've since adopted another dog with paralyzed legs. Those adoptions have since grown into a full-time rescue operation called Pets With Disabilities, which Darrell runs from her home in Prince Frederick, Md. 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 |
| THQ Announces Fantastic Pets for Xbox 360 - DailyGame.net Posted: 21 Oct 2010 01:10 PM PDT 10/21/10"Fantastic Pets offers an incredibly high level of interactivity, creativity and originality," said Martin Good, Executive Vice President, THQ Kids, Family, Casual Games, and Global Online Services. "As you discover your pet's personality and become enmeshed within the world, Fantastic Pets becomes more like a personalized adventure and less like a game." About Fantastic Pets Fantastic Pets brings a world of adventure into the living room. Players start with four domestic animals - dog, cat, horse and lizard - that can be morphed into imaginative creations from mystical unicorns to ferocious dragons. Kinect for Xbox 360 technology enables players to step inside the world and onto the screen where they can play and care for their pets. Voice recognition allows players to command their pet throughout mini-games and Talent Shows to reach the professional ranks of a Pet Trainer. Players can unlock news items and activities, in addition to taking pictures of themselves and their pet to share with family and friends. 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 |
| Growing Industry Helps Disabled Pets - WHSV Posted: 18 Oct 2010 08:20 AM PDT Cats, dogs and other pets with disabilities that would have once caused the animals to be euthanized are living longer lives, thanks to a growing industry that caters to their owners. From canine chiropractors to companies that make wheelchairs designed for dogs, a segment of the $47 billion pet market is expanding to meet the needs of humans and animals alike. Pet industry consultant Leslie May says the growth in services and products for disabled animals has been robust over the last five years. Dianne Dunning is head of the Animal Welfare, Ethics and Public Policy Program at N.C. State University. She says people increasingly see pets as members of the family. That makes people more willing to devote more resources to their animals. ©2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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 |
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