A charming video of Thanksgiving Pets. Give thanks for them. They always do such a great job of giving it back!
Archive for November, 2011
Giving Thanks for Our Pets
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011[Pictures] A Lioness’ Will To Save Her Baby
Thursday, November 17th, 2011These pictures originally ran in the British Tabloids – amazing because the wildlife photographer just happened to be there while this drama unfolded…
The dramatic rescue, captured by wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot, was played out in Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve.
Clinging on for dear life to the side of a vertical cliff, the tiny lion cub cries out pitifully for help.
The drama begins: His mother arrives at the edge of the cliff with three other lionesses and a male. The females start to climb down together but turn back stopped by the sheer drop-off.
Her son cries out for help, unable to move without falling further.
Eventually one single factor determines which of them will risk her life to save the youngster – motherly love.
Slowly, agonizingly, the lioness edges her way down towards her terrified son, using her powerful claws to grip the crumbling cliff side.
One slip from her and both of them could end up dead at the bottom of the ravine.
Just as the exhausted cub seems about to fall, his mother circles beneath him and he is snatched up in her jaws.
She then begins the equally perilous journey back to the top.
Minutes later, they arrive and she gives her son a comforting lick on his head.
When one dog attacks and kills another dog, who is to blame, the dog or the dog’s owner?
Saturday, November 12th, 2011An incident involving an escaped pitbull and a poodle was in the news a couple of months ago.
Unfortunately it is an all-to-common story. A loose dog (and when pit bulls are involved it usually makes the news)and an attack on another dog who ultimately dies.
(if you want to see some of the many instances of pitbull attacks that have resulted in death, just go to youtube.com and search for pit bull kills.)
Our pets are like our family. Most dogs live to be at least 10 years old, many live to be 15. That’s a big amount of time that we have cared for, cooked for, shared time and adventures with and given our love to a pet.
When something like this happens, it is like having a member of our family murdered. In fact, that is what it is.
When something like this happens, who do you blame?
Is the animal naturally aggressive or did the owner encourage that behavior in their dog? What more could the owner have done to prevent the tragedy from happening?
It seems to come down to a classic case of nature versus nurture. Is the pet born with natural aggressive traits, or did it acquire them under the watch of its owner?
Although it is a bit farfetched to think that a pit bull is born a natural killer, some people feel the breed is just that and want to see all pitbulls put down.
However, many pit bulls go their entire life without doing harm to anyone, human or canine. Would it be right to kill an animal who was innocent of any wrong just because he/she was a pit bull?
Pit bulls are naturally combative – which is why they are favored for dog fighting, but not all pit bulls will act on that instinct. Some of the best pet/owner love stories I’ve seen involve pit bulls.
One thing is for certain: owning a pet is a responsibility and anyone who chooses to own a pit bull must be alert for and take precautions against their breed’s tendancy to show little fear and to agressively fight to death another animal.
It is the owner’s responsibility to train the animal to behave around other animals and people, it is the owner’s responsibility to ensure their pet is secured when left outside, it is the owner’s responsibility to discipline the animal so it knows right from wrong, it is the owner’s responsibility to make sure the animal receives the kind of care it deserves and it is the owner’s responsibility to take the correct steps to isolate or remove an animal that he or she sees is dangerous so that animal does not have the opportunity to kill another. If you did happen to do the youtube search for pit bull kills, you will have seen several videos with titles like – pit bull kills child and pit bulls kills boy. These horrifying videos have to do with the family dog.
But what about an owner who tries to do the right thing and still winds up with a bad situation? Although an owner can argue they did everything right, it is still the owner’s responsibility to right any wrongs that happen as a result of his or her pet’s behavior, whatever that right might entail.
My opinion,
Linda
VetLocator.com
Duke The Natural Therapy Dog
Friday, November 11th, 2011Our offices are in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, a lovely, pet friendly area to be located in and I frequently find some great pet stories in our local news.
Here is one that really touched my heart. It’s the story of Duke the Therapy Dog.
It’s a beautiful story of how Duke found his true purpose helping another and how his wonderful owner Tawny recognized that Duke’s joy in helping was greater than helping just one individual.
I’ll share the video Duke’s ‘Mom’ made of him getting ready for work, and below the video is the link to his story, written by Shelly Maslak.
Have you heard your pet’s illness can be predicted?
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
Although it is something I’d not specifically heard before, I am not surprised at this statement. It comes to us from VPI – Veterinary Pet Insurance who have been keeping statistics on our pets for many years.
They track which animals are prone to what types of injuries, illnesses and conditions and based on the type of breed, age and sex, can predict what illnesses your pet will be prone to.
To sum things up, pure bred dogs (and cats) have many more problems than mixed breeds. For example:
“A Golden Retriever is prone to hip dysplasia. It is more common in a Golden Retriever than a Labrador. German shepherds are even more prone than Golden Retrievers.”
Although insurance companies are skilled at predicting veterinary costs, they can’t factor into their numbers what a pet owner can do.
Example, preventing pet injury by securing your pets when you drive with them is an easy thing you can do to help keep them safe (and when you are driving – a pet on the loose can be a driving hazard to you too).
Pet owners who stay alert to changes in their pet’s behavior, appearance and who take care in what they feed can keep vet bills down by preventing or lessening health problems.
Also doing a little breed research on health problems that are typical for that breed will let you know what to be alert for if you choose one of these as a new pet.
Below is a chart from VPI on the most common pet medical conditions owners are making insurance claims for.
Top 10 pet medical conditions
| Dogs | Cats | Exotics |
| 1. Ear Infection | 1. Lower Urinary Tract Disease | 1. Bowel obstruction |
| 2. Skin Allergy | 2. Gastritis/Vomiting | 2. Gastritis/Vomiting |
| 3. Skin Infection/Hot Spots | 3. Chronic Renal Failure | 3. Bladder Infection |
| 4. Gastritis/Vomiting | 4. Hyperthyroidism | 4. Upper Respiratory Infection |
| 5. Enteritis/Diarrhea | 5. Diabetes | 5. Eye Infection |
| 6. Arthritis | 6. Enteritis/Diarrhea | 6. Cancerous Tumor Requiring Surgery |
| 7. Bladder Infection | 7. Skin Allergy | 7. Arthritis |
| 8. Soft Tissue Trauma | 8. Periodontitis/Dental Disease | 8. Skin Inflammation |
| 9. Non-cancerous Tumor | 9. Ear Infection | 9. Skin Abscess or Pressure Ulcer |
| 10. Hypothyroidism | 10. Upper Respiratory Infection | 10. Inflammation of Hair Follicles |
| Source: Veterinary Pet Insurance Co., 2010 data | ||
Do you have pet health questions you want answers for? Contact one of the vets in our directory or post your question in Ask A Pet Pro.
