The problems of moving house with pets
Buying a new house takes on a different dimension if you’re a dedicated animal lover, says Tom Cox
Labrador crowned UK’s best pet slimmer by veterinary charity
A formerly porky Labrador has been crowned the UK’s best slimming pet by a veterinary charity after shedding 1st 6lbs (10kg).
Keano, from Plymouth, was so overweight at 7st 2lbs (46kg), he could not roll over on his back before joining the PDSA scheme.
But regular walks and proper dog food helped him find a new lease of life.
Five obese dogs and one cat completed PDSA’s 100 day diet and fitness programme, devised by vets.
The charity says canine obesity rose by 9% in the last year, which can cause potentially fatal conditions.
Looking Pet Insurance in the UK?
Pet insurance is for life, not just when you can afford it
March 2, 2009 by admin
Filed under Pet Insurance
In these times of financial hardship consumers are looking at ways of saving money and insurance is an area that will come under scrutiny, warned Mike Powell, Principal Consultant for General Insurance at Defaqto, the independent financial industry expert.
Powell has warned that because it is not a compulsory insurance, and is usually seen as a luxury, consumers may choose to cancel their pet insurance policies to try and save money.
Don’t let pets pass on bugs
Owning a pet is one of life’s pleasures and can be good for children and adults.
Pet owners have a reduced risk of heart disease and tend to visit the doctor less often with other illnesses. Stroking a pet can aid stress relief and caring for a pet helps children to learn nurturing skills.
However, people are sometimes worried they may pick up diseases from pets. This does not happen very often, it is more common for illness to be passed on from another human, but keeping your pets healthy is an important precaution.
Dignity For Owners And Pets
Leading veterinary charity PDSA has announced the launch of an innovative scheme to help supporters beat the credit crunch and raise funds for sick and injured pets.
As the average cost of a funeral continues to rise, PDSA has joined forces with one of Britain’s largest providers of funeral services to offer a range of pre-paid funeral plans.
The joint initiative with Dignity Funeral Plans will cover policyholders’ funeral expenses with a donation being made to PDSA for every plan purchased, helping the charity to achieve its goal of funding treatment for pets in need of vets.
John Cole, PDSA Head of Direct Marketing, said, “We believe that this scheme will appeal to the many people across Britain who support the very vital work we do as a charity as well as providing them with peace of mind.
“It’s never easy to talk about planning a funeral, whether it’s your own or that of a loved one. However, dealing with arrangements in advance, including the cost, is a practical and sensible thing to do and can also bring comfort at a most sensitive time.”
Pet euthanasia service prosecuted
A company called Pet Heaven are being prosecuted in the US for a mobile pet euthanasia service they offered.
Spirits high at 10th Global Pets forum
The pet market will remain robust in the global downturn, according to Euromonitor International head of pets research Lee Linthicum. Speaking at the Global Pets Forum in Amsterdam on Thursday, Linthicum said a shift in global attitudes towards pets will keep the market growing in the next five years.
This outlook was mirrored by many of the delegates at the conference, who claimed the position of pets at the centre of the modern family would keep the industry buoyant through the downturn.
The pet population is growing both locally in the European market and in countries like Brazil, India, Russia and China, Linthicum explained. He added that pets are now seen by many in these countries as members of the family and as such, these consumers were unlikely to trade down.
Dog Owners More Likely To Share Germs With Pets By Not Washing Hands Than By Sleeping With Dog
Dog owners who sleep with their pet or permit licks on the face are in good company. Surveys show that more than half of owners bond with their pets in these ways.
Research done by a veterinarian at Kansas State University found that these dog owners are no more likely to share the same strains of E. coli bacteria with their pets than are other dog owners.
Dr. Kate Stenske, a clinical assistant professor at K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, studied this association as part of her doctoral research at the University of Tennessee. The research is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Veterinary Research.
Stenske said the finding that these human-animal bonding behaviors aren’t more likely to spread germs is good news because there are physical and psychological benefits of pet ownership.
“I became interested in the topic because there is such a strong bond between dogs and their owners,” Stenske said. “If you look at one study, 84 percent of people say their dog is like a child to them.”
Stenske said surveys also show that nearly half of all dog owners share food with their dogs, and more than half allow the dog to sleep in the bed and lick them on the face.
“We also know diseases can be shared between dogs and people,” Stenske said. “About 75 percent of emerging diseases are zoonotic, meaning they are transferrable between humans and other animals. With these two pieces of knowledge, I wanted to examine the public health aspects of such activities.”
Stenske’s study centered on E. coli bacteria, which is common in the gastrointestinal tracts of both dogs and humans.
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“People have it, dogs have it, and it normally doesn’t cause any problems,” she said. “But it can acquire genes to make it antibiotic resistant.”
The study examined fecal samples from dogs and their owners and looked at the bacteria’s DNA fingerprints. Stenske found that 10 percent of dog-human pairs shared the same E. coli strains. She also found that the E. coli had more resistance to common antibiotics than expected, although the owners had more multiple-drug resistant strains than their pets.
“This make us think that dogs are not likely to spread multiple drug-resistant E. coli to their owners, but perhaps owners may spread them to their dogs,” Stenske said. “What we learn from this is that antibiotics really do affect the bacteria within our gastrointestinal tract, and we should only take them when we really need to — and always finish the entire prescription as directed.”
The research showed that bonding behaviors like sharing the bed or allowing licks on the face had no association to an increase in shared E. coli. However, Stenske said the research did show an association between antibiotic-resistant E. coli and owners who didn’t wash their hands after petting their dogs or before cooking meals.
“We should use common sense and practice good general hygiene,” she said.
Stenske said future research might focus on the relationship between shared E. coli and the behaviors of cat owners. Not only is cat ownership higher than dog ownership in the United States, but cats also interact with people in different ways than dogs, she said.
“We have a lot to learn,” Stenske said. “In the meantime, we should continue to own and love our pets because they provide a source of companionship. We also need to make sure we are washing our hands often.”
Source: ScienceDaily
Adapted from materials provided by Kansas State University.
More homes needed for animals
An animal charity is still appealing for people to open up their homes to a new furry friend.
RSPCA staff in Brent Knoll wants families to come forward and adopt one of the many animals at the centre.
The January 8 edition of the Weston & Somerset Mercury featured pictures of 20 pets that wanted a loving home.
Pet MRI scans
A technique more commonly used to diagnose medical problems with humans is being used for pets in south Wales.
A mobile MRI scanner visits Bridge Veterinary Group in Pontllanfraith, Caerphilly county once a month.
The scans, which cost about £1,000, use a magnetic field to produce a detailed image of part of the animal’s body.
Burgess Diagnostics, a company in Preston which owns four scanners across the UK, has previously carried out scans on lions and a shark.