Dog Blog

New West vet issues warning after cats ‘tortured’ with paint thinner

A New Westminster family is horrified after their cat was allegedly dipped in paint thinner last week.

Jennifer Szoke said Harley, her two-year-old orange cat, is suffering from a burnt tongue and throat after trying to groom the toxic substance out of his fur.

“I’m just so upset,” Szoke said. “It looks like it was deliberate because he was only soaked waist down.”

Szoke’s eight-year-old son, Nate Milanov, has taken to hugging a stuffed toy that is the same colour as Harley, who is currently under a veterinarian’s care.

“He keeps on saying he wants his cat to come home, but I just don’t know how to tell him his cat has been poisoned,” she said.

Szoke said the incident happened last Friday when Harley and another cat, Linden, were both “tortured.”

“I saw my cat running down the street and she was completely drenched,” said Linden’s owner, Corrine, who didn’t want to to give her last name. “I picked her up and she just reeked of paint thinner.”

She was able to wash Linden, who is recovering well despite being lethargic.

Corrine also saw Harley but he unfortunately ran off and was not found until two hours later. By then, the cat had attempted to groom himself clean and swallowed the chemical in the process.

“I just can’t imagine what kind of sick person can be so cruel to do this to an innocent cat,” said Tammy McEvoy, Szoke’s former roommate said.

She and Szoke have been forced to take out a loan to cover Harley’s medical costs.

Dr. Trevor Enberg at the Canada West Veterinary Hospital said Harley’s chances of a full recovery are good.

“He is actually in better condition than we expected, although he is not able to breathe by himself and needs a feeding tube,” Enberg said.

Sukh Deepak of New Westminster Animal Services is warning pet owners to be extra vigilant. He has also informed New Westminster police, who are now investigating the crime.

Meanwhile, the cat, nicknamed “Mr. Davidson,” for his loud Harley Davidson-like purr, remains affectionate to his doctors and owners.

Harley’s treatment costs range from $5,000 to $15,000 depending on how his condition worsens, but Szoke is determined to raise the money she can ill-afford.

“He’s just part of the family and we won’t give up until he gives up fighting,” said a teary Szoke.

McEvoy and Szoke also approached Trev Deeley Motorcycles, located near the vet hospital, for a partnership to raise money.

“His voice is almost gone, so hopefully we can get his roaring meow back,” McEvoy said.

To donate money for Harley’s care, please visit here. A drop box will also be set up at the Deeley motorcycle dealership at 1875 Boundary Rd.

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Like most pet owners, you probably know by now that chocolate is toxic to dogs. You would never share chocolate bunnies with your dog. Since Easter is this month, be sure to remind everyone in your family of the danger and ask them to take extra precautions to keep Easter candy out of your dog´s reach. Don´t allow small children to have chocolate candy when the dog is nearby. Remind guests not to share Easter goodies with your friendly little pup, no matter how cute she looks when she begs.

If your dog has the house to himself when you´re away, make sure everyone´s Easter baskets are up high or in a room behind closed doors, where your dog could not possibly reach them. Big dogs might not be able to resist the temptation of a counter full of chocolate candy. Small dogs, who are at highest risk, can climb on a chair to reach a table full of candy or pull on a tablecloth to bring the candy to the floor.

Chocolate toxicity is among the 20 most common poisonings reported by the National Animal Poison Control Center. It´s more common at Easter, Halloween and Christmas when chocolates and candies are sometimes all around the house in open candy dishes, treat bags, baskets, gift bags and shopping bags.

Chocolate contains theobromine, a stimulant related to caffeine, that´s harmless to us but toxic to dogs. It can cause vomiting and diarrhea, restlessness and hyperactivity, excessive thirst and increased urination, a rapid heart rate and excessive panting. Larger amounts can be fatal.

Small dogs have a much higher mortality risk after consuming chocolate than large dogs. One small chocolate rabbit might have little or no affect on a German Shepherd, but the same amount of chocolate could kill a Chihuahua. The severity depends on the dogs’s weight, the type of chocolate and the amount of chocolate consumed. Milk chocolate is harmful, but unsweetened baking chocolate has six to nine times as much theobromine as milk chocolate. Milk chocolate contains 44 mg theobromine per ounce. Semi-sweet chocolate has 150 mg per ounce, and baking chocolate has 390 mg per ounce. The toxic amount of theobromine is about 50 mg. per pound of a dog’s body weight.

- For milk chocolate, about 1 ounce per 1 pound of a dog’s body weight can be lethal.
- For semi-sweet chocolate…. the chocolate in semi-sweet or dark chocolate candy bars and Easter candy, the chocolate coating in a box of “dark chocolates”, or the chocolate in semi-sweet morsels or chocolate chips… about 1/3 ounce per 1 pound of a dog’s body weight can be lethal.
- For the dark unsweetened chocolate used in baking, about 1/10 ounce per 1 pound of a dog’s body weight can be lethal.
- That means that for a 10 pound dog, about 10 ounces of milk chocolate, 3 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, or just one ounce of baking chocolate could be lethal.

If you think your dog may have found and eaten a harmful amount of chocolate, call your veterinarian or take your dog to an emergency animal hospital immediately! Symptoms will usually begin within two hours but sometimes it could also take as long as 24 hours. Delaying treatment could be a fatal mistake. In addition to those symptoms mentioned above – restlessness, hyperactivity, vomiting and diarrhea, excessive thirst, increased urination, a rapid heart rate and excessive panting, more advanced symptoms can include muscle tremors, stiffness, seizures, Cardiac arrhythmia and coma.

Emergency care will vary depending upon the elapsed time since the ingestion. It will also be important to know the kind and quantity of chocolate that was consumed, if possible. Treatment might include induced vomiting and administration of activated charcoal to reduce the absorption of chocolate. It might also include IV fluids, medication to prevent shock, anti-seizure medications and/or cardiac medications to stabilize the heartbeat.

For more precise information about toxic doses, according to a dogs weight and the kind of choclolate consumed…
See Chocolate Toxicity – Toxic Amounts of Chocolate.

Also… Hershey’s Chocolate has a chart that lists the theobromine concentration of their products. – Click Here

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An Inuit commission is getting ready to present its findings on claims by Nunavut Inuit that RCMP officers killed thousands of sled dogs from the 1950s to the 1980s.

The Qikiqtani Truth Commission, which has spent the last two years exploring allegations of an organized dog slaughter in Nunavut’s Baffin region, is currently getting feedback on its findings and recommendations before they are released in May.

Led by retired judge James Igloliorte of Newfoundland and Labrador, the panel gathered testimony from people in 13 communities across the Baffin region in 2008 and 2009.

“We’ve heard from many people who say, ‘I’m so glad that on behalf of my parents or my grandparents, I was able to tell this testimony,’” Igloliorte told CBC News on Wednesday.

“When someone speaks to you in that manner, and they’re able to do that in public and to say it so that it’s permanently recorded, [it] gives much more authority to the way they speak and the value of that as a piece of evidence.”

Livelihoods changed

Inuit have long alleged that police killed a total of about 20,000 sled dogs from 1950 to 1980 in Nunavut, the Nunavik region of northern Quebec, and the Nunatsiavut region of Labrador.

As a result of losing their dogs, Inuit say their livelihoods were dramatically affected. Many have accused governments of forcing families to move from their traditional settlements into western-style communities.

“People were sincere in how they told about their stories and the impacts on them today, after so many years of having gone through this transition period, moving from beloved homes and families to the larger settlements,” Igloliorte said. “It was a tough experience.”

In its own report in 2006, the RCMP concluded no organized dog slaughter took place. Some dogs were lawfully destroyed because they were disease-ridden or dangerous, according to the police force.

Quebec report calls for apology

Last week, a Quebec inquiry led by retired judge Jean-Jacques Croteau concluded that the governments had turned a blind eye as provincial police killed more than 1,000 Inuit sled dogs in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec.

Croteau called on both levels of government to apologize and compensate Inuit for the dog deaths.

“They knew that the dogs were essential for the people to go hunting, to go fishing,” Croteau told CBC News.

“They killed the dogs and they never offered help to people. That embarrassed me to learn that.”

Croteau was commissioned by the Quebec government and Makivik Corp., the land-claim organization for Nunavik Inuit, to visit all of that region’s 14 communities and gather testimony on the dog slaughter issue.

Makivik Corp. president Pita Aatami said Inuit in northern Quebec have waited a long time for confirmation of their claims.

The organization hopes to meet with both the federal and Quebec governments to discuss what comes next, Aatami said.

As for the Qikiqtani Truth Commission’s report, Igloliorte said there will be many ways people can access the document once it’s released. The report will also be made available in Inuktitut, he added.

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Like any good mom, Pam Powell gives a pig ear to Abby when she’s been a good girl.
But that’s just the beginning of this supermom’s spending on her 11-year-old Australian shepherd.

There is the vitamin-enriched premium dog food. There are haircuts and nail jobs. There is the $70-a-month anti-inflammatory medication. And most recently? An orthopedic bed for those creaky hips.

“She is definitely my child,” said Powell, who lives in south Broad Ripple and estimates she spends as much as $300 a month on Abby. “People say I’m lavish. I don’t think I am. I see a lot of my friends who are a lot more lavish with their pets.”

Lavish seems to be the trend in the pet-care industry, which has remained virtually recession-proof even as other retail and service sectors have nosedived.

Spending on pets is expected to reach $47.7 billion in 2010, a 16 percent jump since the recession began in December of 2007 and 83 percent more than even a decade ago, when spending was $26 billion.

The tough economy, while it has halted spending on some things, actually has made things more cushy for some pets.

Their companionship often helps Americans get through that layoff or tight budget, said Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Association.

“As times have gotten tough and scary for people, pets are where people find comfort and solace,” he said. “Pets don’t have bad days. They can’t tell you a sad story. They are just there saying, ‘Let’s play.’“

But there can also be a downside to the poor economy for animals, as job losses and pay cuts force people to give up their pets. The Humane Society of Indianapolis has noticed an increase in people bringing animals in during the recession — many because they’ve been forced to move from a house to an apartment that doesn’t allow pets, said Tristan Schmid, spokesman for the society.

“A smaller but significant number of people surrender simply because they can’t afford an animal’s care anymore,” he said.

For those who can afford it, they seem to be going all out. One trend that is driving that pet spending is the humanization of pets, Vetere said.

“We no longer feel satisfied if we just reward them in pet terms,” he said. “We want to reward them in human terms. We want to treat them like humans.”

Annie Zoll knows that firsthand and is ready to capitalize on the pet craze by launching an edgy new doggie day care — even in this down economy.

Urban Doghouse, filling a 13,333-square-foot vacant warehouse on Senate Avenue, will open in the fall. It will include an in-house organic bakery, chic boutique with clothes from New York and L.A., a pool and private suite boarding. It also will offer slumber parties for dogs and webcams so workers can log on and watch their dogs play.

More than ever, people are going to great lengths to take care of their pets, said Zoll, who is opening the day care with her partner, Laura Seifert.

“They are our children. They’re our siblings. They’re our babies,” she said.

Some might say opening a new business in the midst of a recession is a risky move. Zoll says not in the pet industry.

“The timing is just right,” Zoll said. “People are spending more on their dogs than on themselves.”

At Uncle Bill’s Pet Centers, Vice President Joe Street says he’s noted a major jump in spending on premium food for dogs.

“Instead of just feeding them that old grocery store stuff, they are seeking out better nutrition for their dogs, which is a good thing,” he said.

There are foods for dogs with itchy skin who may have allergies. There are foods for dogs with bad hips and joints. There are foods for senior dogs.

“Pets are family members, and we take as good care of them as we can,” he said.
And sometimes that even goes to an extreme.

On the market today are pet cemeteries and funeral services. There are pet spas and massage therapy.

And there are places like Pets Palace, an online pet luxury store that includes doggy bling jewelry, dog socks and seasonal pet attire such as goggles, life jackets and sunglasses.

The company said it has been “inundated” with calls since opening in March 2009.
Georgia Swenson sheepishly admits she bought two pairs of sunglasses from Pets Palace for her two Chihuahuas, Pretty and Pink. But she said she felt immediately guilty.

“I think it’s pretty much excessive and wasteful,” said Swenson, who lives on Indianapolis’ Southside. “They need food and a place to sleep and maybe a treat every now and then. That should keep them happy.”

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Are dogs just as harmful to the environment as gas-guzzling SUVs? That’s the claim by a new study from researchers in New Zealand.

AFP reports that Robert and Brenda Vale who wrote the book “Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living” calculated that a medium-sized dog eats around 360 pounds of meat and over 209 pounds of cereal a year.

The land needed to produce such food is calculated to be 2.08 acres, which is more than twice the 1.01 acres needed to create enough energy to build a Toyota Land Cruiser. But because the Land Cruiser drives an average of 12,000 a year, the carbon footprint of the SUV and the dog are roughly equal.

“Owning a dog really is quite an extravagance, mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat,” John Barrett at the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, Britain, told AFP. The Vales asked the Institute to run their own calcuations that compared dogs to SUVs, and it got the same result.

Cats were also found to be harmful, but their footprint was less — about the equivalent of driving a Volkswagen Golf for a year.

But many say that the benefits of having a pet outweigh the potential harm to the environment.

“Pets are anti-depressants, they help us cope with stress, they are good for the elderly,” Reha Huttin, president of France’s 30 Million Friends animal rights foundation, told AFP.

“Everyone should work out their own environmental impact. I should be allowed to say that I walk instead of using my car and that I don’t eat meat, so why shouldn’t I be allowed to have a little cat to alleviate my loneliness?”

But the Vales said their point is there are things that can be done to limit pets’ carbon footprint. “If pussy is scoffing ‘Fancy Feast’ — or some other food made from choice cuts of meat — then the relative impact is likely to be high,” Robert Vale said. “If, on the other hand, the cat is fed on fish heads and other leftovers from the fishmonger, the impact will be lower.”

Scientists say that cows produce 18 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Some farms, like Stonyfield Farms in Vermont, are starting to change the diets of cows — from corn and soy to flaxseed and alfalfa — to cut cow emissions.

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