Did you miss it?
Cheryl Mercedes' story on pet injuries at grooming facilities and the possibility of licensing groomers. The story generated a lot of comments on this blog and plenty of calls to Channel 9. Find out what all the commotion is about.
Here's the link: http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?s=8256490
Tune into Channel 9 this Wednesday at 10 p.m. for Cheryl Mercedes' story on pet injuries at grooming facilities and the possibility of licensing groomers in Louisiana. Complaints of pet injuries at grooming facilities is on the rise and there is a national debate on whether licensing groomers could help. Tune into Channel 9 April 30th at 10 p.m. for details.
The Wall Street Journal recently published results of their tests of several pet health insurance companies. Their findings in brief:
Buying pet insurance, we learned, is a crapshoot -- just like any other policy. The occasional benefits checks we received seemed to take the edge off veterinary expenses. But we soon realized that our premiums could ultimately cost more than veterinary care over our pets' lives. For example, one of our policies would cost about $4,200 over 10 years. Pre-existing conditions are generally excluded in policies. So insuring our pets in their infancy, before those ailments developed, could have helped offset bigger bills as our pets grew. We'd consider buying a policy for breeds prone to specific health problems -- such as pugs, who often suffer eye conditions.
Read the article here. Subscription may be required.
Last summer, Paris Hilton brought home a new Chihuahua and Britney Spears a Yorkie -- both purchased from Pets of Bel Air, L.A.’s pet boutique to the stars.
At Pets of Bel Air, staff members perfume and coif their tiny puppies for sale, creating an illusion of perfection. That illusion fooled Paris, Britney, and many others -- showing that even the rich and famous believe what pet store clerks tell them about the puppies they sell.
The HSUS's undercover investigation revealed that many of the puppies sold at Pets of Bel Air come from puppy mills in the Midwest including Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. At these large-scale factory farm operations, HSUS found hundreds of breeding dogs living in barren wire cages where they are treated like production machines. Some had untreated injuries, were pacing frantically, and were housed in overcrowded cages that reeked of urine.
Each mother dog at these mills is sentenced to a miserable life in a cage so her puppies can be sold at pet stores across the country. In addition to the lifetime of neglect their parents will suffer, the puppies are also much more vulnerable to illnesses and disease due to the conditions in which they were born -- with many falling ill or dying within days or weeks of purchase.
Source: Humane Society of the United States. Click to watch their exclusive undercover video
If you think your pet has been affected by any of the foods recalled, here are some practical steps to take:
Source for post Animal Legal Defense Fund
The Louisiana House Committee on Agriculture finally approved legislation to ban cockfighting! This is an enormous step, but unfortunately the bill allows a phase out of this cruel sport. Please encourage your representatives to support an immediate ban on cockfighting. Louisiana is the last state to allow the sport and President Bush just signed a federal law making interstate cockfighting a felony. It's time for Louisiana to step up to the plate.
For more information on making a call to your representatives and for a list of representatives, click here.
I encourage you to sign up for the National Pet Foundation Pet Food Recall list. The recall list is still growing.
The latest email (5/3/07) contains this information:
Over 200 cat and dog food item were added to the recall list today.
Please forward this information to any family or friends that have pets.
Some of these are new brands and some are extended recalls
(within already recalled brands). This is the largest recall since the
initial FDA findings that pet food was killing dogs and cats. (emphasis added)New Dog Recalls:
http://www.nationalpetfoundation.com/foods/0307dog.htmlNew Cat Food Recalls:
http://www.nationalpetfoundation.com/foods/0307cat.htmlGet notifications within the hour of new recalls and save your
pets life. Sign your family and friends up for the free pet alerts at:
http://nationalpetfoundation.com/pet-food-recall.html
Technorati Tags: pet law
A recent ruling by Judge Robert Junell in Texas district court held that drugs compounded by pharmacists are not the same as new drugs subject to FDA approval. The court also ruled that it is legal to compound bulk pharmaceutical ingredients for non-food animals. The latter ruling is of particular interest to veterinarians and their patients because vets often prescribe compounded medications to treat a variety of pet conditions. Some medications are only available by compounding bulk pharmaceutical ingredients. The FDA had asserted that prescribing and preparing these treatments was illegal.
Compounding pharmacies provide a variety of medications and services to vets. For example, a pharmacy may create a suspension with tuna, liver, chicken or fish flavor to make it more palatable to a pet. They also create transdermal gels, which allow pets to be medicated through the skin. Additionally, the pharmacies provide access to drugs that may not be available from pharmaceutical manufacturers, such as potassium bromide, which is used to treat animal seizures, but is no longer used for human seizures.
Technorati Tags: Pet Care, Pet Care Business, pet law
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Senate substitute to H.R. 3858, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, just before adjourning for the August recess. H.R. 3858, as originally introduced in the House, was approved by that chamber in May by an overwhelming vote of 349 to 24.
The bill that passed the House in May calls for emergency preparedness plans to include consideration of people with pets and service animals before a disaster strikes. The Senate substituted its bill for the House measure, and that measure grants FEMA the authority to assist in developing these plans, authorizes financial help to states to create emergency shelters for people with their animals, and allows the provision of essential assistance for individuals with household pets and service animals, and the animals themselves, following a major disaster. The Senate version is preferable because it is more comprehensive.
Read more about the passage of the bill here.
Source for Post: HSUS.org
Technorati Tags: Humane Society, Pet Care, Pet Law
Nicole Stackpole dropped off her nine-year-old Pekingese, Toby, at a grooming salon in Branford, Conn., for a bath and a haircut. Later, she received a call from the groomer, who told her to go to a veterinarian's office. When she arrived, she found Toby dead. According to local animal-protection authorities, Toby had been strangled by a restraint device after being left unattended for at least 15 minutes.
This experience is one of a number of pet deaths that have occurred at groomers around the country in the past year, raising concerns among some pet owners. The disturbing cases include reports of dogs overheating under dryers and the recent mauling of a poodle mix by larger dogs at a pet salon in West Virginia. Legislators in a number of states are considering laws that would more tightly regulate the pet grooming industry. While the number of pet deaths and injuries is small, there is evidence that it is a growing problem. According to the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Arlington, Va., there were 340 complaints against pet groomers in 2005, up 50% from 2000.
Tips for Safer Grooming
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Technorati Tags: Pet Care, Pet Care Business, Pet Law
