Category: Companion Animals

ANIMAL HEALTH

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

“Often dogs show signs of lead intoxication
before children, and the signs in humans are more subtle
than in dogs,” University of Missouri veterinary toxicologist
Stan Casteel advises. Canine symptoms include prolonged
diarhea, vomiting, and stomach upset.
Fort Dodge Laboratories, a division of
American Home Products, has introduced the first vac-
cine for treating and preventing ringworm in cats. T h e
vaccine replaces traditional oral and topical treatments.
Michigan State University professor of veteri-
nary medicine Sally Walshaw, 49, on May 1 became the
ninth annual winner of the Leo K. Bustad Companion
Animal Veterinarian Award––and the first female recipient.
Walshaw teaches laboratory techniques. Said Richard
Walshaw, her husband and a fellow member of the MSU
veterinary teaching staff, “Before Sally, few people really
ever bothered understanding laboratory animals’ feelings,
and they indeed have a lot of feelings.”

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Hartz Mountain ignites a powder keg

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

HARRISON, New Jersey––The Hartz Mountain
Corporation on May 6 lit a powder keg by donating 10 cases
each of Blockade flea and tick repellent to numerous animal
shelters. Blockade hasn’t been controversial recently, but
some shelter staff recalled the history of the product and
responded by not only rejecting the gift, but also setting up
a telephone tree to warn other shelters.
The initial furor erupted in 1987, when Blockade
was introduced. Within a year it was blamed for 366 pet
deaths, 2,700 pet injuries, and 56 “alleged unsubstantiated
human injuries,” according to a letter Hartz Mountain sent
the EPA in December 1987, when it took Blockade off the
market for further testing.

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CHILDREN & ANIMALS

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

“Higher levels of childhood pet keeping
were related to more positive attitudes toward
pet animals and greater concerns about the wel-
fare of non-pet animals and humans,”
researchers J.S. Paul and James Serpell discovered
in a recent survey of 385 British university students,
published by the Universities Federation for Animal
Welfare (8 Hamilton Close, South Mimms, Potters
Bart, Herts EN6 3QD, United Kingdom). Serpell,
author of In The Company of Animals, now holds
the Marie Moore Chair for Humane Ethics and
Animal Welfare at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Who needs low-cost neutering? PART ONE OF A NEW NATIONAL STUDY

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

PORT WASHINGTON, New York––Low-cost neutering doubles the number of
poor people who get their pets fixed––and cuts animal shelter intakes in half.
Any doubts that either shelter administrators or veterinarians may have about the
efficacy of low-cost neutering should be laid to rest by the results of a new national study car-
ried out over the past six months by ANIMAL PEOPLE, under sponsorship of the North
Shore Animal League. The first part of the study, investigating the impact of low-cost neu-
tering on pet overpopulation, is published here. The second part, a comprehensive review of
veterinary experience, will appear in our July/August issue––including veterinarians’ ideas
about how to improve low-cost neutering pro-
grams to get even better results and resolve
grievances that often hamper programs.

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A sad place for a pit bull

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

by Shannon Lentz
Founder and Director, Kalamazoo Animal Rescue
We had Nikki euthanized this morning. She was a
purebred pit bull terrier, rescued from an animal collector
here in southwest Michigan. When we responded to the call
from Children’s Protective Services, who had gone to the
home for other reasons, we found Nikki chained to a dog-
house. The chain was bolted to her collar. It was the dead of
August, and Nikki had been without food or water for who
knows how long. She lay in the dirt, barely moving. We
were able to convince the collector that her dog was days
away from death, and she finally consented to let us take her.
At our veterinarian’s clinic we took photographs, in
case we were able to pursue cruelty charges against the col-
lector. Nikki was grossly underweight at 25 pounds, and was
full of worms, fleas, and mange. Her age was estimated as
two years. When her heartworm test came back negative, we
determined that she was salvageable. I took her on as a foster
project, and watched this pitiful wreck of a creature bloom
into a healthy, handsome dog. It took weeks. We kept her
indoors, though she was smelly and crusty from the mange.

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Editorial: The cause of the homeless

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

The ink wasn’t even dry on the New York Times edition of April 4 when we
received our first outraged call from a dog rescuer. A full-page advertisement placed by the
Coalition for the Homeless showed a forlorn-looking dog at the top. “According to statis-
tics,” the caption read, “his chances of finding a home are 70%.” Below, the photo
expanded to include the homeless woman sitting beside the dog. “Now they’re next to
zero,” said the caption. “Some might say the homeless are treated like dogs. But actually,
a homeless dog is better off than a homeless person. Over 100,000 people bedded down on
New York City’s streets and in shelters last year. But only 2,000 homeless single adults
ended up in homes of their own.”
The statistics cited are accurate, but out of context. As we pointed out to the
Coalition for the Homeless on behalf of our upset readers, the 30% of New York City stray
dogs who don’t find a home within a week to 10 days of pickup are euthanized at one of the
American SPCA shelters. The numbers of stray dogs euthanized are falling much faster
than the number of homeless people on the streets, but the ASPCA still killed 16,760 dogs
in 1991, the most recent year for which we have complete statistics, plus 22,595 cats,
whose chance of adoption ran around 20%.

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San Francisco adopts no-kill animal control: WILL DECLARING VICTORY WIN THE WAR?

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

SAN FRANCISCO, California––Euthanasia for animal population control offi-
cially ended in San Francisco effective April 1. Taking San Francisco SPCA president
Richard Avanzino up on a challenge issued last October, the city Department of Animal Care
and Control has agreed it will no longer euthanize any dog or cat who meets Avanzino’s
“adoptable” and “treatable” criteria. The SFSPCA has agreed to accept, treat, and place all
such animals. The agreement is expected to cut by two-thirds the number of euthanasias per-
formed by the city shelter: 5,379 in 1993, already by far the smallest number of euthanasias
relative to human population of any major urban animal control district.

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High-volume adoption: THE NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE HAS MONEY–– BUT THEIR METHODS DON’T TAKE MEGABUCKS

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

PORT WASHINGTON, New York––At 10 a.m. on a
Friday morning, the North Shore Animal League adoption center
is already as crowded as most shelters ever get. The familiar ken-
nel odor assails the nostrils at the door––and stops one step
beyond. Shelter manager Michael Arms wrinkles his nose and
winces. “That’s very embarrassing,” he says. “That’s the only
place that stinks, and it’s right at the entrance. We think there’s
a problem with that drain,” he adds, pointing. Staff architect
Steve Preston looks uncomfortable. “We’ve had all kinds of guys
in here trying to sort it out,” Arms continues, “and we won’t
stop until we get it fixed, because we think it’s very important
that the adoption center smells clean and fresh. We don’t want
people walking in and thinking, ‘Oh my God, if I get a pet my
house is going to stink.’”
As the tour moves on, Preston lingers behind to peer at
the offending drain in evident frustration.

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Animal control & rescue

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

A DISMAL TUNE FROM DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE OHIO
MANSFIELD, Ohio––A recent
survey of Ohio county animal control depart-
ments done by neutering advocate Diana
Nolen found that 64% consider their shelters
to be overcrowded, 58% see parvovirus as
their greatest health problem (a disease associ-
ated with overcrowding), and only 27%
expect to be able to expand or improve their
facilities soon. Two-thirds of the departments
depend wholly upon dog licensing, fines, and
redemption fees for their income.
Nolen’s survey forms were returned
by the animal control departments in 33 of the
88 Ohio counties, containing 47% of the
human population. The findings indicate that
Ohio animal control agencies took in about
197,000 dogs and cats in 1993; euthanized
135,000, or 69%; adopted out 37,000 (19%);
and returned 25,000 (13%) to their owners.
Thirty percent reported declining intake and
euthanasia figures, 42% reported no change,
and 24% reported increases.

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