Blame small dogs that bite
While I can sympathize with the animal that was attacked in a story told in a
recent letter to the editor, the owner is wrong in singling out Rottweilers and
other “dangerous dogs.”
Most dog bites and attacks come from small dogs yet aren’t reported because of the dogs’ size. The prejudice against Rotts and others has to stop. I know many owners of Rotts, and their dogs are very well-behaved and gentle. It’s a shame that ignorant people and the media zero in on these animals as opposed to the real problem � the “cute” little ankle biters
Pet adoption, yard sale planned
Friday, June 29, 2007Submitted by Downtown Animal Clinic
They are affectionately called "The Class of 2007." That sounds much better than
"abandoned."
But in truth, as often happens at this time of year, the procreative efforts of local dogs and cats have filled area shelters with abandoned puppies and kittens.
Because the local shelters are full, the Downtown Animal Clinic in Fairhope has taken in as many as possible in order to keep them from being put down. Unfortunately, they too have run out of space.
"We are calling out to the community for help," said veterinarian Teresa Marshall, who owns and operates the Downtown Animal Clinic and founded the no-kill animal shelter, The Haven, located right next door.
This Saturday, The Haven and the clinic are teaming up to draw animal lovers far and wide to the aid of these puppies and kittens in need of a home.
There will be a special adoption event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Downtown Animal Clinic at 359 Morphy Ave. in Fairhope. All of the pets have been spayed or neutered and they have had their shots.
Next door at the The Haven, there will be also be a yard sale with all proceeds going to support the no-kill shelter's efforts.
For more details about Saturday's adoption event or other adoption information, call the clinic at 928-7728.
Citizens group unleashes ideas for dog park in Belfast
BELFAST (July 1): A Belfast citizens group is preparing to ask the city for
permission to create a $40,000 dog park, likely as part of the Walsh Field
complex.
Thirty supporters of the plan met Thursday night at the Boathouse to discuss the
campaign and to ask questions of Friends of Belfast Parks, which is the major
backer. FOBP President Carol Good said the group has pledged $10,000 to the
effort, which will not involve city funds.
Jay Davis
This slide sums up the pro-dog park position succinctly. (Photo by Jay Davis)
A dog park, members of the group said, is a place where dogs can run around unleashed, and their owners can both look after them and socialize with other dog lovers. Good said there are about 700 dog parks in the country, and the number is growing rapidly.
Keep your pet smiling
Once derided as a cop-out for treating behavioural disorders in animals, medications such as Prozac are now a routine part of veterinary care.
Once derided as a cop-out for treating behavioural disorders in animals,
medications such as Prozac are now a routine part of veterinary care.
A week after Chicago's Katharine Pflaum adopted a temperamental calico cat named
Stella, she knew she had a serious problem on her hands. Stella wasn't just
warlike during the day; she also pounced on Pflaum in the middle of the night.
But Pflaum didn't want to give up on the cat, who already had been abandoned twice. So she started her on a behavioural program that included Prozac, the same antidepressant given to humans.
"Prozac has been an amazing thing for her," says Pflaum, a nanny who works away from home 12 hours a day. "I definitely had reservations, but it has calmed her. Since we started, she hasn't bitten anyone."
Once derided as a cop-out for treating behavioural disorders in animals, medications such as Prozac that contain serotonin-reuptake inhibitors are now a routine part of veterinary care.
They are given to cats that spray walls with urine, pet parrots that might self-mutilate when bored, dogs that get spooked by thunderstorms or obsessively lick their paws, and zoo animals suffering outside their natural habitats.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved psychotropic drugs for dogs in 1999. This year, targeting dogs with separation anxiety, it licensed beef-flavoured Reconcile tablets containing fluoxetine hydrochloride, the generic name for Prozac.
In Australia, Prozac isn't specifically registered for use by animals but vets are able to prescribe it for so called "off label use".
"Pets are an important part of society these days; they're family members," says Thomas Graves, chief of the small-animal internal-medicine section at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital. "If there are ways to keep them healthier and living longer, you're doing a favour for the pet and the people that love them. The idea that they shouldn't get high-quality health care is one that is fading away."
But are medications such as Prozac really high-quality health care? Or are they the easiest way to calm a pet when you're out of the house all day? After the FDA approved Reconcile, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Britain charged that giving dogs drugs to treat behavioural problems merely masks symptoms of a deeper problem. Instead of medicating, it said, dogs should be given more exercise or companionship.
"Cats and dogs are basically people-pleasers unless they are forced into situations that are contrary to their instincts," says, Illinois-based artist and cat owner Jeanine Coupe Ryding, who considers Prozac to be a last resort before euthanising a pet with major problems. "Abuse and loneliness affect pets like they would people. Prozac is not a cure, it just makes it easier on everyone who has to live with the person or pet who takes it."
Most animal behaviourists agree: Pill popping alone won't eliminate the problem. But there is a place for medication if it's used with other behaviour-changing strategies, said Valerie Chalcraft, a psychologist who consults on companion-animal behaviour.
"Medication doesn't teach new responses; it can only bring down the dog or cat's level of anxiety to a point where he or she can learn more efficiently," said Chalcraft, who turned Stella into a purring lap cat. "Just like a person, a calm dog or cat learns more easily than an anxious one."
If you're comfortable using prescription drugs, medicating your pet may not be an issue. If you're ambivalent, Chalcraft recommends it only for chronic cases.
"The longer it has been going on, the more entrenched it is in the dog or cat's behavioural repertoire, so it takes longer to correct with behaviour modification," she says.
Resident Dale Kuhnert said dog parks "are really for dog owners, a place for people to take their dogs."
The owner of a 125-pound German shepherd, Kuhnert said dogs are social animals that like to play together. They also need more exercise than a walk along city streets provides.
He said Belfast has 630 registered dogs and another 100 or more that are not registered and likely not vaccinated. Creating a tighter community of dog owners will help with those and other problems, he said.
Dog trainer Lane Fisher said dogs playing together are vulnerable to bad behavior and bullying just like children at a park. She said the park would have rules, such as no dogs in heat allowed and expulsion for those that are prone to fight, that would reduce bad behavior.
Dog feces are not a problem in parks in other areas, she said, and owners are good at policing the spaces. Educating owners about the signs of stress in dogs will help reduce the potential for dogfights, she added.
Jay Davis
Dale Kuhnert wants a dog park in which to exercise his 125-pound German
shepherd. (Photo by Jay Davis)
Chris Urick said a recent cross-country trip to check out dog parks showed most are about an acre in size, with sections for large and small dogs and sometimes for dogs that do not socialize easily. She said she saw no fighting at the parks she visited.
Deb Hockensmith traced the site research done by the group, starting with the lawn outside the Boathouse that is the favorite spot for dog walkers today. But it is too valuable for other uses to be fenced for a park, she said.
The group looked at all the city-owned parcels, finding the lawn just east of the children's playground at City Park and Wales Park too small. The best spot, with water and restrooms handy, is the 1.5-acre field adjacent to the Little League diamond at Walsh Field, she said.
Hockensmith said it was "serendipity" that brought the group to that conclusion, though she said a private parcel that could be donated was also a possibility.
Good said the cost of a perimeter 6-foot chain link fence, a water fountain and other equipment for the park would be about $40,000 if the land is donated by the city. She said the money would be raised privately.
The next step, she said, is for a final proposal to be presented in July to the Parks and Recreation Commission. If it is approved, the group would approach the City Council in August with the hope that construction could begin in September.
City Councilor Robert Gordon said he was impressed with the presentation. Parks and Recreation Director Jim Bell said a dog park would help make Belfast a destination for tourists traveling with their pets.
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