News, Advice and Resources for Thoughtful Pet People
Dogster is teaming with Traineo to improve pet and owner fitness by starting a new group promoting fitness with dogs.
Dogster is the social network for dogs and their human companions and Traineo is the social network for human health and fitness. You’ll be able to get a training buddy and work with others to find fun and creative ways to get you and your dog fit. Good for you and good for your dog!
This South African tortoise doesn’t like to share his yard with anyone.
Diamond Pet Foods is recalling Nutra Nuggets Lamb Meal & Rice Formula. The production codes are NLR0404A2SL or NLR0404B2SL, “Best Before” Oct. 9, 2008, and was sold in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada. A veterinarian in California became suspicious when four previously healthy dogs all fell ill with renal failure after eating Nutra Nuggets. The food samples he collected tested positive for melamine.
As the list just keep getting longer, remember there is a very well maintained list of safe (not part of the recall) pet foods at PetSitUSA.com. I strongly encourage you to check it out.
You can find out much more on the recall on my Pet Food Recall Archive Page.
osseointegration
Scout lost his leg after getting hit by a car, but now he’ll be getting an implanted prothetic leg. The implant is a revolutionary approach to a prosthetic that uses bio-integration where bone and soft tissue grows into a honeycomb of metal over time. Check out the video of Scout. The surgeries are being preformed by Dr. Robert Taylor from the Alameda East Veterinary Hospital in Denver and who has been featured on Animals Planets Emergency Vets and E-Vets. Dr. Taylor partnered with BioMedtrix to create this prosthesis utilizing osseointegration.
Scout isn’t the first dog to benefit from an implanted prosthetic from Dr. Taylor. Triumph, a Husky, was found in Turkey with both back legs cut off, but international efforts brought her to the U.S. and eventually to Colorado for the groundbreaking surgery. Triumph had numerous surgeries, but you can see from this video she is now up and running.
Soldier also got an implanted prosthetic leg. Soldier was found after three days of being tied to a tree on a shooting range. Don’t miss his story and the people at Best Friends Animal Society who cared for him. Especially Kristi , who cared for, trained, and rehabilitated Soldier for five months and then drove him to his new adopted home in another state. Be sure to see the video of Soldier.
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Gary Burghoff (M*A*S*H*’s “Radar” O’Reilly) did a segment about the Marymoor Off-Leash Dog Park on his TV show Pets Part Of The Family. (direct link to video)
Marymoor Off-Leash Dog Park in Redmond, Washington is our favorite dog park. It’s a 40-acre, fenced, off-leash dog park along the Sammamish River. There is water access for hot, summer days. Big, grassy fields for running all out. Lots of paths, dogs, smells, and people for your dog to enjoy. We’re fortunate not to have a tick problem, chiggers, or poisonous snakes either, so all we have to look out for in the tall grass is the occasional dog poop. It’s a wonderful place for people too. The views are lovely, we see Bald Eagles and Blue Herons, walking the trails is good exercise, and it’s always entertaining watching dogs get to be dogs.
We drive about 25 minutes to take Saffron to this park. It was here that her confidence improved so much with other dogs when she realized she can outrun or out-maneuver most dogs. She loves the grass and is interested in the water, but prefers if we get in with her. That has to wait until it warms up more.
The creation of this wonderful off-leash park was made possible by Save Our Dog Area or S.O.D.A. They continue to be stewards of the park today—maintaining and making improvements to it. The environment is also protected—for a section of time every year, some of the water access is fenced off to protect salmon and flooded areas in the winter are fenced off to avoid degradation. We encourage users of the Marymoor Dog Park to support S.O.D.A. by joining them.