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Here are a few tips to consider if you live in an area prone to wildfires or other natural disasters:

Planning: Be proactive! Start a neighborhood program to make sure everyone has vital information including e-mail and all phone numbers. Create an email list for your neighborhood that will give everyone easy access to important information such as pets’ names and ages, their favorite hiding places, their vaccine history, and where to take them in the event they need to be evacuated.

Circulate schedules so all people in the neighborhood know if you are out of town or who is home during the day. If you are on vacation, make sure your house sitter or pet sitter has a copy of this information.

Consolidate the Essentials: Create a small kit to keep near an exit. This kit may include a copy of your pet’s medical history, a supply of any daily medications your pet may require, a favorite toy and information on local boarding facilities. Photos of your animals may be important if someone other than you attempts to rescue them from your home prior to your family being permitted to return home.

Keep Collars and Tags Near the Door: Some guardians remove their dog’s identification at night for comfort or because of the jingling of the tags. If this is a habit in your household, you may want to keep the collars, leashes, harnesses, etc. near the door you would exit through. This way, if you need to leave in a hurry, everything is in one place. A currently registered and up to date microchip listed in a national database can help reunite you and your pet should you be separated.

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Hip dysplasia (HD) in dogs is affected to a larger degree than previously believed by the environment in which puppies grow up. It is particularly during the period from birth to three months that various environmental factors appear to influence the development of this disease. During the puppy stage, preventive measures can therefore be recommended with a view to giving dogs disposed to the condition a better quality of life.

Randi I. Krontveit’s doctoral research has studied the incidence of HD in four breeds of dog in Norway and examined factors in the environment where the dogs grew up that can have an affect on the number of cases. HD is a genetic disease which also occurs in several other species. Dogs are not born with HD, but genetically disposed puppies can develop varying degrees of HD. The degree of HD has an affect on when the dogs show symptoms and on how long they live.

Five hundred privately owned dogs participated in the study and the four breeds investigated were the Newfoundland, the Labrador Retriever, the Leonberger and the Irish Wolfhound. The environment in which the dogs were born and grew up was registered by means of questionnaires filled out by the breeder and the new owner, and by examinations carried out by veterinary surgeons.

Findings from previous experiments and studies from other countries have indicated that rapid growth and a high body weight are factors that increase the likelihood of developing HD. Randi I. Krontveit’s research has shown that rapid growth and high body weight in the first year of the puppies’ life did not result in an increased risk of HD. On the contrary, she found that the breed that had the slowest growth rate — the Newfoundland — had the highest incidence of HD (36%). The Irish Wolfhound had the lowest incidence of HD (10%), yet had the fastest rate of growth.

Puppies usually live with their mother at the breeder’s for the first eight weeks of their life. Several factors related to the living conditions at the breeder’s were shown to have an influence on the incidence of HD. Puppies born in the spring or summer and at breeders who lived on a farm or small holding, had a lower risk of developing HD. After about eight weeks, the puppies began life with their new owner. The opportunity to exercise daily in parks up until the age of three months reduced the risk of HD, whereas the daily use of steps during the same period increased the risk. Overall, it would appear that daily exercise out in gently undulating terrain up until the age of three months gives a good prognosis when it comes to preventing HD.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Pet owners in San Francisco are on high alert after one dog became seriously ill from eating what appears to be a poisoned meatball. Veterinarians are now warning owners to keep an eye out for some serious symptoms.

Walking a dog in San Francisco is supposed to be relaxing. But owners are facing a new stress — the possibly poisonous meatballs left along city streets where dogs can easily find them.

“Certainly not letting them eat anything,” dog owner Mike Teck said. “I’m just keeping a real close eye on them.

A 7-year-old dachshund named Oskar was rushed to the vet after eating one of the meatballs. Dr. Carrie Journey says his symptoms are consistent with strychnine poisoning.

“This is a very rapidly absorbed toxin,” she said. “This is something that gets in the system within 10 to 15 minutes. So it’s important that people act quickly and get to a veterinarian ASAP if they think their dog has eaten something.”

But Oskar may not be the only victim. Another dog is showing symptoms of strychnine poisoning, which includes agitation, hyper-reactivity to light and noise, and seizures.

And here’s the big concern for dog owners — dozens of similar meatballs, stuffed with pellets, are being found all across the city. This includes neighborhoods like Diamond Heights, Twin Peaks, Cole Valley, and lower Haight.

One woman spotted a man collecting evidence.

“So I was like, what are you doing, and he was like, oh, gosh, you didn’t hear, so and so down the street told me that her dog was in the hospital because it had allegedly been poisoned” resident Sarita Groisser said. “So he showed me what he had been collecting and he had, and I’m not exaggerating, two dozen little balls in his bag already.”

Oskar’s vet says he has a good prognosis if he can make it through the next 24 to 48 hours.

Neighbors wonder if this is intentional. And if so, why in the city of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals.

“I think it’s just terrible, if it was actually deliberate,” Teck said. “I don’t know who would do that in this neighborhood. Everyone seems so dog friendly.”

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(NaturalNews) It may sound like nonsense to some of you, but there are those who travel with their pets and in doing so would like to keep them safe when they are on the road.

Some innovative companies have honed in on this consumer “need” and have been working on products designed to lower risks to pets when traveling, particularly in automobiles. One such innovation is called a dog harness.

Only, so far anyway, none of the dog harnesses widely used by pet owners can withstand crash testing; all of them have failed miserably, according to recent reports. From CBSMiami:

A first-of-its-kind crash test for dog harnesses widely used by pet owners showed that none offer adequate protection, with not a single harness passing the test. The non-profit Center for Pet Safety (CPS) said during its harness tests, crash-test dog dummies turned into projectiles and were even decapitated.

Not a good start for a product designed to protect your pet.

Something is better than nothing?

“We tested them to the child safety restraint standard and we experienced a 100 percent failure rate to protect either the consumer or the dog,” CPS founder and CEO Lindsey Wolko told My33, the local CBS affiliate. “That is a very real concern for consumers.”

Indeed.

CPS did not disclose which harnesses it tested over fears that even fewer people would secure their pets while riding in automobiles.

But then again, if the harnesses it tested were ineffective, what would be the point of trying to secure them?

Well, Wolko says that, though some harness makers claim to do their own testing, there’s no government standard. That, she says, leads to an unregulated industry that can be dangerous for drivers (personally I was shocked that any “industry” in the U.S. remained unregulated, but that’s just me).

Some veterinarians are coming down on the side of “a little protection is better than no protection,” or, at least, the “appearance” of protection. One of them is Dr. Kim Haddad, who has treated pets that have sustained injuries in motor vehicle accidents.

“Broken legs, broken jaws, soft tissue injury, it can be pretty traumatic,” Haddad told My33.

Still, while injuries can be far worse for pets whose owners allow them to roam inside vehicles freely, just using a harness isn’t good enough either. And, in some cases, harnesses can prove to be just as lethal as getting thrown around a vehicle during an accident.

“Something is better than nothing, but again, it is only going to be as good as the manufacturer, the fit and the user application of the product,” Haddad said.

Some states require you to secure your pet

Not surprisingly, there is an organization – in this case the American Automobile Association (AAA) – that has researched the issue of pets riding free in vehicles. AAA says 20 percent of dog owners have admitted allowing their pets ride unrestrained. No word on whether these same owners had heard of the failure of dog harnesses to protect their pets.

Hollywood was jolted yesterday with the tragic news of James Gandolfini’s sudden passing. Gandolfini, 51, was vacationing in Italy when he died of a massive heart attack in Rome. Gandalfini had a soft spot for animals, especially Pit Bulls. It’s unknown if it was coincidence or compassion that brought Gandolfini to sign on for his latest film “Animal Rescue”. According to IMDB, “Animal Rescue” is a crime-drama centered around a lost Pit Bull, a wannabe scam artist, and a killing. The film will very likely bring much needed attention to Pit Bulls and shine a light upon the discrimination BSL laws place on the breed. The film will also showcase to the world just how misunderstood the breed is and what amazing, loving, loyal dogs they are. Tom Hardy also stars in the film and he was recently snapped on set cuddling with the adorable Pit Bill. Gandolfini is survived by his wife, baby daughter and teenage son from a previous marriage.

Natura Pet Products of Fremont, Nebraska, has today announced it is voluntarily recalling specific lots of dry pet food because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.

The recall includes specific lots of these brands…

• Innova
• EVO
• California Natural
• Healthwise
• Karma
• Mother Nature

No canned food is affected by this announcement.

The news of the event has been confirmed in a news release posted by the FDA.

What Products Are Recalled?

Where Were They Distributed?

The affected products are sold in bags through…

• Veterinary clinics
• Select pet specialty retailers
• Online in the USA and Canada

About Salmonella

Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea or bloody diarrhea
• Abdominal cramping
• Fever

Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms.

Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.

Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

These products were packaged in a single production facility. During routine FDA testing, a single lot tested positive for the presence of Salmonella.

There have been no reports of pet or human illness associated with this product. In an abundance of caution, Natura is voluntarily recalling all products with expiration dates prior to June 10, 2014.

What to Do?

Consumers who have purchased the specific dry pet foods listed should discard them.

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An Alaska man whose boat overturned while he was out with two friends and a dog said the canine survived under the vessel for four days.

Jeremy McDonald, 34, said the boat overturned May 26 while he was out with his friends, brothers John and Billy Minerva, ages 35 and 25, and John Minerva’s girlfriend’s 30-pound Labrador retriever and terrier mix, Cutie, were out on the Chena River, the Fairbanks News-Miner reported Thursday.

McDonald and the Minerva brothers were able to make it to shore, but they were unable to find Cutie despite hours of searching.

McDonald said he was able to reach the damaged boat May 30 and Cutie revealed herself, alive and still wearing her canine flotation device, when a retrieval crew righted the vessel.

“I was pretty sure we were going to go there and find a dead dog,” McDonald said. “It was pretty much a miracle.”

John Minerva said he and his girlfriend, Grace Sommer, were overjoyed to have the dog back. He said she is recovering from her ordeal on the river.

“She was sore for a couple of days, but other than that she was fine,” Minerva said.

Big News Network (UPI)