The ASPCA Website Lists Plants that are Toxic to your Pet

The ASPCA website has become one of my favorite websites to visit. It is loaded with valuable information for the animal lover and has answers and resources for almost any question  or issue you have with your pet.

A resource I have had to use in the past when Gilkey has gotten into various "things" is their Animal Poison Control Center. With Spring just about here and plants starting to pop up and say hello for the season I began to wonder about what plants are toxic and non toxic to household pets.

The ASPCA has a list of Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants, and 17 Common Toxic Plants. 

I was surprised by some of the common household plants listed as toxic to dogs including: Amaryllis, Aloe, Azalea and many more. Here is a comprehensive list.

For gardeners and green thumbs whose pets spend time with them planting an weeding you can view lists toxic and non-toxic plants to dogs, cats and horses.

• Toxic Plants to Dogs
• Toxic Plants to Cats
• Toxic Plants to Horses
• Non-Toxic Plants to Dogs
• Non-Toxic Plants to Cats
• Non Toxic Plants to Horses

For more information of possible poisons around your house visit the ASPCA

Gray

Maine Friends of Animals Fundraiser at O'Naturals

March 9, 2010, O’Naturals in Falmouth, Maine will donate 10% of their total sales from 4:00 - 8:00pm to  Maine Friends of Animals!

Please join them for dinner that night, and you’ll automatically support their work to protect Maine's animals!

50/50 Raffle at the door!

MFOA Board Members will be on site to meet our members and friends!

Location:
O'Naturals

240 US Route One, Falmouth, ME

207.781.8889

The objective of Maine Friends of Animals(MFOA) is to bring together members,animal advocates and associations in Maine to more effectively take legislative and political action on issues that affect animals.

Being an organized statewide organization  that works for the protection for all Maine’s animals - companion, farm and wildlife.

Through legislative action, education, and advocacy, Maine Friends of Animals is dedicated to ending animal cruelty and promoting the humane treatment of animals in Maine.

For more information please visit their website: www.mfoa.net. You can also become a fan of MFOA on facebook. It's very easy to become a member and join too!

I'm a fan of MFOA!

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FDA Continues to Receive Complaints about Chicken Jerky Products for Dogs and Cautions Consumers

The following is a recent alert (Dated 12/19/08) from the FDA regarding Chicken Jerky products for pets...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to caution consumers of a potential association between the development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats.  FDA continues to receive complaints of dogs experiencing illness that their owners or veterinarians associate with consumption of chicken jerky products. The chicken jerky products are imported to the U.S. from China.  FDA issued a cautionary warning to consumers in September 2007.

Australian news organizations report the University of Sydney is also investigating an association between illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky in Australia. At least one firm in Australia has recalled their chicken jerky product and the recall notification stated the chicken jerky product was manufactured in China.

FDA believes the continued trend of consumer complaints coupled with the information obtained from Australia warrants an additional reminder and animal health notification.

Chicken jerky products should not be substituted for a balanced diet and are intended to be
used occasionally and in small quantities.  Owners of small dogs must be especially careful to limit the amount of these products.

Pet Food Recall Update. 3 Companies Indicted.

Two Chinese companies and a US company were indicted on Wednesday, February 6th for their involvement in the tainted pet food scandal of last year when thousands of dogs and cats died. Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co.; Suzhou Textiles, Silk, Light Industrial Products Arts and Crafts I/E Co.; and Las Vegas-based ChemNutra Inc. were charged in two separate but related indictments in the tainted pet food scandal of last year when thousands of dogs and cats died.

Read this news story for full details on the indictment.

Hopefully 2008 will continue to be the year of responsibility and justice for these companies who are involved in the food recall....

Gray

Pet Health Insurance Policy. A Benefit

Health Insurance. For pets? Yes. Pet health insurance is a topic I have heard being brought up more and more by our customers in our retail store the last few months. This past week there was an interesting article in the Portland Press Herald about companies beginning to offer pet health insurance to their employees. Here is a summary:

  Pet health insurance is becoming a more feasible option for many pet owners and for some companies pet insurance is being offered as an employee benefit. Employees pay the cost of the insurance, however workers typically get a 5% or 10% discount if pet policies are obtained through their company.

Some companies offering pet health insurance as a benefit are: Comcast Corp., Home Depot, Del Monte, Walt Disney Co., and Sprint. Since it is not actually costing companies any money to offer pet health insurance as a benefit... it is fair to think that the number of companies offering pet insurance as a benefit will increase in the coming years. 

Diamond Pet Foods Pays in a Settlement to Pet Owners

Last year we tried to keep our blog readers up to date with the latest news in the massive Pet Food Recall. For a while it seemed everyday there were conflicting reports about what food was poisoning pets, what food was safe and what was being done about it.

Well if 2007 was the year of fear, heartbreak and sadness for many pets and pet owners...perhaps 2008 will be the year of responsibility, justice... and to borrow the dominant theme from the current presidential race...the year of "change" in the world of pet food and nutrition. On January 4th Diamond Pet Foods agreed to pay 3.1 million in a settlement with pet owners. Be sure to visit recalledpetfoodsettlement.com to get details on the fund set up by Diamond Pet Foods  to reimburse pet owners for their expenses. 

***PLEASE NOTE***...To make a claim for settlement benefits, you must send in a completed Claim Form, postmarked no later than April 15, 2008.

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center...A Valuable Source

Our daughter Posie takes a multi-vitamin which contain 5mg of Iron per tablet. Sephie or I break the tablet in two pieces for Posie every morning.There have been a few times when one of the halves has fallen to the kitchen floor and our Cairn Terrier, Gilkey is always there ready to eat it off the floor. Until a few days ago we had always been successful in getting the vitamin off the floor before Gilkey could actually be successful in licking it up.

We knew the vitamin wouldn't be good for Gilkey to eat. In fact it is fair to say that we thought the vitamin might make Gilkey "sick"...but the vitamin being "poisonous" to Gilkey never really occurred to us.  Well, within about 20 minutes of Gilkey eating half the vitamin she started throwing it up. We immediately called our Vet and they informed us that if the vitamin contains Iron than it can make Gilkey quite ill and to "keep an eye on her"...within minutes I was "Googling" to find out what Iron can do to dogs. One of the first websites I found was the ASPCA website...

Carts for Handicapped Pets. Eddie's Wheels

A cart for a handicapped dog. Have you considered getting a cart (or wheel chair)for an injured dog or  an elderly dog? We  have never been in the situation of needing one but we have met people in our store who have acquired them and on occasion we see people walking through the Old Port with their dog walking with a cart. Tonight after closing Agatha & Louise I met a cheerful  tennis ball gnawing Dachshund walking with the assistance of a cart on wheels. The Dachshund's owner told me his dog had become paralyzed and is very happy getting around with his cart. He told  me a great place to get a cart for a dog is from Eddie's Wheels.

That reminded me that this past summer a couple had been in Agatha & Louise and had told me an inspirational story about their Yellow Lab, Duke who had been injured and unable to walk.

Canine Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease in dogs. Is it an issue we need to be concerned about? Yes, especially if you live in the Northeast. We know. Gilkey was recently tested positive for exposure to Lyme Disease. "Exposure" meaning she was bitten by a deer tick which had Lyme. However, she is not showing any symptoms. Often symptoms include fatigue, arthritis and lameness and may also include loss of appetite and depression. The July issue of Downeast Dog News has a very informative article about Lyme disease in dogs and also The Pet Center has some valuable information.

When was Gilkey infected by a Deer Tick? We have no idea. Neither does our Vet. He told us that 30% of the dogs he is testing in the Portland area are coming up as positive for exposure to Lyme and on the Maine/ New Hampshire border as much as 50% of the dogs being tested are coming up positive for exposure. Why isn't Gilkey showing any symptoms? Being exposed to Lyme bacteria doesn't mean Gilkey has Lyme. At this point she has been exposed to the bacteria and her body's immune system has responded. Without symptoms she can not be diagnosed as having Lyme Disease.

The question is: What should we do?

Pug Recall...Please Read!

About everyday I read various publications and surf the net to find the latest in the world of dog. And while The Onion is not usually a source for breaking dog news it's typically a good place to find...well...a different take in world events. The May 23, 2007 edition of The Onion covered a story which hasn't received much (if any) coverage in the "main stream media"...The American Pug Breeders Association has issued a massive recall of '07 Pugs.

The primary reasons for the recall seem to be due to: "centuries of quality control issues that have resulted in chronic unreliability, cascading system failures, and even total unit shutdown". The American Pug Breeders association has recalled all pugs produced between February '06 and present day". Please refer to Pug image above for more recall details.

Pug owner Lee Krauss feels vindicated by the APBA's recall announcement.