Amazing! Oscar lost his two back feet in a combine, but two, groundbreaking bionic feet are giving the cat a new life. Made me tear up for Oscar, but also for what this means for humans. What is remarkable about these feet is that the skin and bone have grown into the metal pegs. This type of implant is called intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics (Itaps).
Friday Is Take You Dog To Work Day
This Friday June 25th is Take Your Dog To Work Day. I’m thinking, unless you already take your dog to work at least sometimes or you have the most laid back dog and you know the other dogs at your workplace will be laid back too, this may not be the best day to take your dog to work for the first time.
But, that’s not to say you can’t bring attention to the value of dogs in the workplace or focus on the TYDTWD mission of spotlighting the benefits of adopting your dog from an animal rescue organization. In fact, participating workplaces are asked to partner with animal shelters to help increase adoptions of shelter dogs.
Some tips on a successful Take Your Dog To Work Day:
- bring a familiar blanket or bed
- take your dog for a walk before taking her to work
- keep you dog confined to your workspace
- make sure your workspace is pooch-proofed
- identify an appropriate potty place outside & bring poop bags
- bring a puzzle toy like a Twist ‘n Treat or Tricky Treat Ball
- make sure your dog is clean and flea free
- provide water
- avoid any situations where resource guarding may occur
- don’t leave your dog unattended
- keep your dog leashed when outside and in common areas
- be considerate of co-workers
- have a back-up plan if your dog isn’t happy and needs to go home early
Pet Food Recall: Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food
photo credit: Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH
The recall of Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Chicken was triggered when the FDA reported a random sample tested positive for salmonella. There have been no reports of illness. This recall effects:
Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food
- 5lb. bags
- best-by-date June 17, 2011
- UPC code 7-23633-9000-4
- 28lb. bags
- best-by-date June 17, 2011
- UPC code 7-23633-99002-8
The product was distributed to Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Natural Balance’s president has written a letter to customers. If you have product included in the recall, you can return it to the store from which you bought it for a refund. Some good news is Natural Balance had samples tested by a 3rd party and the results were all negative. Natural Balance stands out from a lot of pet food companies in that they have in-house testing, show results on their site, & don’t distribute product until tests are completed. Also, they aren’t burying the recall on their website, though they did do the Friday press release. (Friday night press releases happened all the time during the huge melamine contamination recalls. Friday nights were late nights for me during that time because recalls would be issued in the middle of the night on Fridays so the stories would get minimal coverage. It’s a tradition in business and government.)
What you need to know about Salmonella
Salmonella can cause serious illness in cats and dogs and there can be cross-contamination to humans causing serious illness in humans.
- Here is good information on the symptoms & treatment of salmonellosis in dogs & cats.
- The FDA has information on safe pet food handling to prevent food born illnesses like salmonella.
- The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has a very informative page on salmonellosis in humans.
Friday Fun: Beagle Puppy’s New Howl
How cute is this little booger?! Oh. My. God.
Music For Furred Ones
First Laurie Anderson & Lou Reed had a musical “inter-species social gathering”—a concert for dogs and their people—outside the Sydney Opera House.
Now Devo has had a Cat Listening Party for their new album Something For Everyone that was streamed live. You can see video of the “event”. How to describe it. Riveting? Not so much. I do like the velvety, blue Devo hat feline furniture though.
(Full disclosure: I didn’t watch the 9hrs. of streaming video.)