Pet Health

It’s getting into the dog days of summer – we know our readers would never leave their dog(s) in a car because they are aware of the dangers of overheating and death. They know that cracking the windows does not prevent deadly heat buildup inside a car and that even on a relatively mild 70-degree day, the inside of a car will quickly reach 90 degrees. But do you know what to do if you see someone else’s dog alone in a car on a hot day? Two things. Call 911. Then, if the car is near a store or public building find the manager and request an emergency public service announcement about the dog in the car.

What can we say about Marnie? She’s a cat – sort of a layabout to be honest. As you can see, a very good eater. She’s used to other cats, dogs, kids. She’s friendly and likes to be around people, but strictly on her own terms. If she wants affection, give it to her – NOW!

I just took in Bentley, a stray kitten that was hanging around my front porch and I am glad to give him a home. At first he seemed fine. I had him checked by my vet and he is starting his vaccinations. But all of a sudden his poop got all runny and really really stinky. I took him back to the vet and they think he has a parasite called “giardia.”

We’ve featured Trouble before, but he still needs a home where he can romp around and get into, well . . . trouble . . . like any other exuberant and good-hearted teenager. He is a handsome young boy, lively, affectionate, and totally playful. He likes to head butt his foster mom while he purrs his little heart out. He loves the other cats where he lives and he really needs to go to a home that has other cats for him to play with.

I am looking to adopt a puppy and a friend of mine is suggesting that I look for one as young as possible, 4 or 5 weeks, so that the puppy can get his early socialization from me and really bond with me. That sort of makes sense to me, but on the other hand my friend is sort of a “know it all,” if you know what I mean, and is basing his opinion on something he read on the internet.

Buttercup has an interesting story. Sometime in the late spring he manged to get inside the home of his foster mom, unbeknownst to her, and take up residence in the basement. He looked so much like another shy pretty buff-colored resident cat that he was there, maybe for weeks, before she finally realized that she had two shy pretty buff-colored cats living with her. OK, so she was really busy getting ready for the Humane Society Fur Ball and maybe not paying a lot of attention.

You may have noticed, if you check out our Facebook page, our recent efforts to find a good home for Buster, an enthusiastic but somewhat unruly Jack Russell Terrier who had lost his original home because of a family illness. We think we succeeded in that effort and have high hopes that Buster will thrive in his new home. One of the questions that many people asked about Buster (and really all dogs that we have available for adoption) was “How is he with cats?”

Gabrielle was surrendered to the Humane Society by a well-meaning but not very well-equipped “cat lover” who had acquired 24 cats. We are helping her find homes for most of them, one by one. Gabrielle, as you can see, is a beautiful young tortie, as friendly and laid back as can be.

It was only in January this year that the Unites States Department of Agriculture agreed to a new rule requiring that farms raising animals for the “USDA Organic” label meet certain minimum standards of animal care. Known as the organic animal welfare rule, it was to be the first comprehensive on-farm federal protection for animals in American history. But that was January. This week, new leadership at USDA announced that they will delay implementation of the rule until November – or possibly never.