His name is Zeus and he’s a three-year old Great Dane. Living in Michigan, Zeus is 44 inches (1.1 m) tall and 155 pounds (70 kg). He’s a very big dog but he’s fit and trim for his size which is great to see since we are seeing more cases of obesity in dogs.
Here’s a brief video of Zeus at home:
Posted in dog breeds, special dogs and awards
Tagged animals, great dane, Guinness Book of World Records, tallest dog
Weeks after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York and New Jersey, animal rescue efforts continue.
In the affected areas, shelters were hit hard with damage and loss of power. And because people are busy trying to recover from the storm, potential adopters just aren’t coming through the doors like they used to. Through donations to a range of charities such as Best Friends and the Humane Society, animals are being re-located to safer areas of the country for adoption.
Earlier today, for example, 60 cats and dogs were flown to California on a plane donated by Southwest Airlines. Crew members donated their time and BP donated the fuel.
You can help The Helen Woodward Animal Center by making a donation in support of the Hurricane Sandy refugees.
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In other rescue news, the ASPCA has established a new emergency boarding centre in Brooklyn thanks to a $500,000 donation by television personality Rachael Ray. The boarding facility will help families care for their pets because their homes have been destroyed or badly damaged.
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And the Best Friends Animal Society continues to help through grants to a range of animal welfare organisations in the area. Here’s their latest update:
Thank you for the outpouring of support for rescue groups and shelters in need after the tragedy of Hurricane Sandy. Your generosity has been astounding.
Because of you, Best Friends has—in a very short time– been able to award nearly $50,000 in grants to groups in need throughout the region. Here’s just a sample of some of the organizations we’ve been able to help.
Groups like Liberty Humane in Jersey City NJ were able to get help after the roof of their kennel was blown off! They had no power for eight days, their medicines were destroyed, and despite it, they were working to distribute pet supplies to displaced residents in their area. Thanks to you, we were able to offer financial assistance to help them rebuild.
Groups like Little Guild of St. Francis in Connecticut who took in 88 animals from areas affected by the floods were able to get some relief from those extra costs.
Road Runner Rescue in Upper Fairmount, Maryland had rescued more than 5,000 animals from high kill shelters over the past seven years, when suddenly, all of their medical supplies were wiped out from the storm.
“The supplies we lost were not just for our animals, but we also share them with our local county facilities,” said Sue Nevins, Road Runner’s founder. There are a lot of homeless pets depending on us….Our budget is already very tight and we recently had a costly cat surgery that was stretching our funds. Thank you Best Friends for supporting us in our time of need. We’re all in this together and it’s wonderful to be part of a great effort to save more lives.”
All in all, 14 animal groups and shelters so far have received desperately needed assistance, thanks to your support of Best Friends’ disaster relief. Thank you for pulling together for all of the victims of this storm at a time when it means so much to so many.
We’re continuing to give out grants to organizations affected by the storm, and we’ll keep you posted as shelters and rescue groups continue to rebuild. Your kindness is truly appreciated.
Posted in animal welfare
Tagged animals, Best Friends, BP, Helen Woodward Animal Center, HSUS, Hurricane Sandy, shelters, Southwest Airlines, transportation
My mother was never happy when our dog got too close and managed to lick her on the mouth. In the Snoopy cartoons, you might remember when Lucy would run around yelling ‘Get the iodine, get the hot water. I’ve been kissed by a dog.’
It turns out that there is need for caution when considering the mouth-to-mouth contact with your dog.
Researchers from Japan have tracked a microbe that is very common in dogs but rare in humans. In dog owners, 16% of them had the microbe and it appears that they share close contact with their dogs – including kissing.
The researchers also found ten human strains of periodontitis-related bacteria in the dogs’ mouths. And they found that low levels of contact were enough to transmit mouth bacteria either way.
In considering the research, Dr Paul Maza, of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, told America’s Fox News: ‘Many of the different types of bacteria in dogs and cats are the same type of bacteria as in humans. If owners practice oral hygiene on their pets, such as brushing their teeth, a pet’s mouth can actually be even cleaner than a human mouth.’
Read the full story in the Daily Mail.
As we start the Labour Day weekend here in New Zealand, I thought I’d share these photos of a Mastiff who is helping to raise a chimpanzee in Russia.
The chimp didn’t bond with its mother and so a zookeeper took it home because her Mastiff had just given birth to pups. As you can see from the photos, the chimp settled right in and mimics the puppies’ behaviour.
Enjoy your weekend whether it’s a long one or not!
Posted in Dogs
Tagged animals, chimp, chimpanzee, inter species adoption, labour day weekend, mastiff, science, zoo
Today (18th August) is International Homeless Animals’ Day.
On the third Saturday of August each year, organisations band together to raise awareness about pet overpopulation. This year is the 21st year of the initiative!
If you are thinking of adding a dog to your household (or another dog), please adopt from a shelter or rescue organisation. And spay/neuter your pet to avoid adding to the pet population in your area.
We’ve all seen our dogs deeply asleep, with paws and legs twitching. There have even been times when my dog puts her head up while sleeping and howls like a wolf. (She usually wakes herself up, too).
Do our dogs dream?
All evidence points to an answer of ‘yes’.
Researchers know, for example, that the EEGs (electroencephalograms) of sleeping dogs show brain wave activity similar to humans during sleep. There is a period of sleep known as REM sleep (REM means rapid eye movement) when breathing becomes irregular and the eyes twitch. Sound familiar?
When humans have been wakened during REM sleep, they report that they have been dreaming and so there is no reason to think that our dogs aren’t dreaming.
Matthew Wilson, Associate Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that animals have complex dreams and are able to retain and recall long sequences of events while they are asleep.
His work involved rats and monitoring their brain wave activity when they were asleep and awake. He also tracked the effect of sleep on learning of repetitive tasks.
Professor Wilson has said of his work “dreams are the ultimate off-line experience. This work demonstrates that animals are capable of re-evaluating their experiences when they are not in the midst of them.”
By the way, dogs, cats and rabbits are crepuscular which means that they naturally tend to be more active at dawn and at dusk. Humans are diurnal which means they are most active during the day (which explains why night shifts are so hard on people). Dogs seem to adjust their own sleep habits to match those of their owners.
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened”
– Anatole France
This time, the cause of concern is salmonella contamination. Salmonella is a zoonotic infection, meaning it can be transferred to humans too.
Salmonella infection in dogs causes gastroenteritis, septicemia, and spontaneous abortions. Humans usually experience vomiting, diarrhea and fevers. It’s not pleasant.
The best prevention is to wash surfaces in the kitchen after feeding your dog and to ensure you wash your hands after handling pet foods.
The brands currently under recall are:
Solid Gold Health Products for Pets, Inc.
Wellpet LLC
Canidae Pet Foods
Apex Pet Foods
Natural Balance Pet Foods
The Kirkland Signature products included in the recall are:
It’s hard to know if some of these foods are available in New Zealand (Canidae definitely is) because some foods are imported in smaller quantities. If you are feeding one of these foods, stop immediately and check with your supplier for more details on the recall.
This website from the FDA gives all the latest information on pet food recalls.
Posted in dog care, dog nutrition and labelling
Tagged animals, C, Canidae, Diamond, food, Natural Balance, pet food recall, salmonella
Researchers at Emory University have published new research into canine cognition. Entitled Functional MRI in Awake Unrestrained Dogs, the paper outlines findings of research that required two dogs to remain motionless in an MRI machine.
Yes – that’s right. Motionless. The two dogs were outfitted with special ear muffs to protect them from the noise of the MRI and trained to rest their heads on a chin rest inside the machine. As the MRI took scans of the dog’s brain activity, hand signals were used to show the dogs whether there was or wasn’t a food reward.
This is a first-ever study on awake dogs, rather than those that have been sedated. Importantly, part of the animal ethics of the study was to ensure the dogs were willing participants.
The findings show a definite brain activity response when the hand signals indicated a food reward. Those dogs are paying attention!
The lead researcher, Professor Gregory Berns, says “We hope this opens up a whole new door for understanding canine cognition and inter-species communication. We want to understand the dog-human relationship, from the dog’s perspective.”
Professor Bern’s dog Callie in training in a mock-up of the MRI scanner (copyright Emory University)
Listen to Professor Berns talk about this project in the Emory University YouTube video:
Posted in ethics and pet rights, research
Tagged animal ethics, animals, behavior, behaviour, brain scans, Callie, canine cognition, dogs, ear muffs, Emory University, MRI, Professor Berns, research, science, thinking, thought, youtube video
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I thought I’d share my experience of dog-friendly shopping in the state of Colorado, where I recently traveled for my business.
Colorado is a state that clearly values the companionship of dogs. They were everywhere: in trucks, cars and – unlike New Zealand – they were welcomed in many shops and public shopping areas. On my flight from San Francisco to Denver, there was even a passenger who had a small dog in a carrier. (Many U.S. airlines now allow small dogs into the cabin as carry-on luggage.)[1]
I wished my Daisy could have traveled with me to enjoy the sites (but she wouldn’t have appreciated the long flight or the required three-month quarantine on our return to New Zealand).
Dogs welcome
Dog owners could easily identify shops where their dog would be allowed to enter. These shops displayed a Dogs Welcome logo in their window. Interestingly, these shops sold clothing and footwear for people and were not just pet stores. An outdoor mall in Castle Rock went a step further by providing grassed park areas and dispensers of plastic bags for dogs to have a ‘comfort stop.’
Other shops made up their own signs, such as one retailer whose sign proclaimed, “Four Legged Friends Welcome.”
I asked a shop attendant if they get many shoppers accompanied by their dogs. She replied, “Yes. Lots. Particularly on weekends when people who work all week want to be out with their pet.”
Dog rest stops
I noticed that many communities welcomed dogs in their shopping areas by providing bowls of water for passing dogs to drink from. I quickly became accustomed to seeing these ‘dog rest stops’ in virtually every town that we visited.
Rest stops varied in style and offerings. Some were simply a single water bowl or raised water bowls. Pet shops would often include extras, such as a bench for owners to sit in. In Manitou Springs, a popular tourist destination at the foot of Pike’s Peak (elevation 4,800 m), a sweet shop provided vending machines with dog treats. For 25 cents, a passing dog owner could purchase a handful of treats.
Good behaviour required
In all of the communities I visited, dogs and owners acted responsibly. There was never a pile of poo left on the footpath and dogs didn’t jump on passers-by. Responsible dog ownership is clearly essential for communities to embrace dog-friendly shopping.
And so, I leave you with good wishes for the summer holiday season and encourage you to think: Is dog-friendly shopping appropriate for New Zealand and, if so, what will it take to get dog-friendly shopping established here?
[1] The dog carrier is considered the single piece of carry-on luggage for the owner; the dog must have current vaccinations and is not allowed out of the carrier during the flight.
Additional photos of my trip can be found in this blog post.
Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
Posted in dog ownership, dog-friendly shops, Uncategorized
Tagged airlines, animals, Castle Rock, Colorado, Denver, dogs welcome, Manitou Springs, Pike's Peak, San Francisco
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