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Follow up: Tainted Dog Food…Now Getting People Sick Too
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Tainted Dog Food Sickens 14 People.
Food safety News, Mary Rothschild
At least 14 people have been sickened with Salmonella Infantis infections in a 9-state outbreak linked to dog food. At least nine of the individuals have been hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC reported Thursday that… Read more »
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I am mad at Louise for taking off after a squirrel when we were at the house front steps and then she disappeared into the neighbors yard. I put Sofie in the house and got a lead and went out calling her. I guess there is not much you can do when a Hound/Lab sees or smells a varmint, but I just don’t like it. She fools me because she can be walking with me off lead, so nice and calm and then zoooooooooom – there she goes. Well that is just not safe, and not right, and I just don’t like it. So I am mad at you Louise. I try and try and try but the clicker and the treats are no match for a smelly, peanut eating, tree rat.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
Baby Noel rescued Dec 2007
Noel near death when rescued
We rescued Noel and Constance from Last Chance Cat Rescue at PetSmart during Christmas 2007. I started the adoption process in November, but they put us through a tremendously long wait (which I think was crazy). We had to wait almost a month. By the time we got them home, both kittens were sick and Noel was critically ill. Noel had an extreme case of feline Herbes. She required a tremendous amout of medicine and attention. She was about 9 months old and had never been held or played with that we could tell. When you rescue, you just really don’t know their stories.
Feline Herbes attacks the respiratory system and the eyes. We were not sure if she would be blind. So, for almost 2 months, I held her and gave her medicine, and we taught her how to play with cat toys. It was a long process, but slowly, month after month, she grew stronger and larger and more playful. Now Noel is the biggest cat in the herd and has become the leader. I still pick her up and hold her like a baby (even though she protests for a moment). She rarely lets anyone else near her, but even that, after 5 years, is getting better.
I have been told that Herpes infection is extremely common in young kittens, especially if they are stressed from fleas, poor nutrition, environmental cold, etc. Young kittens can produce so much ocular discharge that their eyes gum closed sealing the infected secretions around the eye. In severe cases, the eye could rupture and become permanently blinded. Treatment is crucial. That is the situation we had with Noel.
Herpes virus as a group are highly dependent on the presence of an amino acid called arginine. WIthout arginine, Herpes cannot reproduce. So I immediately put Noel on Lysine, which is also an amino acid, that is taken up by the virus in favor of arginine. You can take advantage of this situation and saturate the virus with lysine and thus suppress the virus’ ability to replicate. I bought lysine at the health food store in a capsule I opened and put in her food; just make sure that the formula is free of the preservative ‘propylene glycol,’ as cats can have blood reactions against that compound (wow, what we learn when our animals are sick). She also was on Clavomox and Vibramycin. Please seek a Vet’s knowledge on this!
Noel 2008 (1 yr later)
Noel in the window 2011
Look at Noel today! Other than being a nose breather (just like me) and having a scratch on her left cornea, she has no long term side effects that we are aware of. 75% of the rescues that come to us seem to be sick when we get them home. We know that it is a lot of work but Noel, and also Mr. Moto (a guinea pig story for another day) would never had made it, if not for them finding us and telling us they wanted to come home forever and be our special pets.
Just another CatDogDay morning at the zoo ❤
Perspective is very important. How you see things, how you view your world. I notice that the animals like to look at the world right side up, up side down, and sometimes, even sideways. I notice that when I am trying to see something differently, I squint my eyes, and it helps me get a clearer view. I like to get down on a child (or animal) level so I can see things from their perspective. When is the last time you laid in the grass and looked up at the world? Changing how I view things, sitting in a different spot then usual, stopping at the top of the stairs and looking up instead of down, all help me reboot how I see things. Personally, I like a new view every once in a while.
Just another dogdaz morning at the zoo ❤
Let me start by saying Sofie is a wonderful dog and I love her a lot. I am amazed how smart she is and how stubborn and manipulative. Even with the e-collar, which has worked wonders, if I don’t train her every day, she slips back into old habits. If you give this little imp an inch, she will take a mile. Things were going great, until last week when I got really busy with work and could not get the time to train her every day. Today, she decided she just isn’t going to listen to anything and she is whining whining whining. Yesterday, when I was not looking, she sneaked under the pool fence and went for a hop on the winter cover. And she was doing so well. I guess we all have to act out sometimes…..
Just another dogdaz morning at the zoo ❤
Lulu thinks that sitting in the sun is fun. I really do not understand why a black dog loves to lie in the sun, but she does. 
She has a few favorite spots on the deck and she would stay there all day, if I let her. I worry that she will get sun burned. Do dogs get sun burned? Sofie has a really thick coat, so I only worry about her nose, but Lulu has a thin single coat and she has pink skin, so I worry. I’m not a sun worshiper, so I just don’t get it.
Just another dogdaz morning at the zoo ❤
On our walk this morning, I noticed that Louise seemed to have endless energy (it must be the lab in her). She runs like the wind and is distracted just by hearing the word ‘Squirrel.’ She doesn’t get into much trouble, but she does tend to follow scents (I think that is the hound part of her) more than follow my commands. Sofie on the other hand has to herd us all along (the corgi and sheltie in her) but seems to tire easily. She tends to have more burst type of energy (run run run, collapse). I am almost sure during our little photo session (I hold these little photo ops to practice the ‘Place’ and other commands), she fell asleep. We weren’t even done with our mile walk yet. I think both of them, and my cats, and most of the humans I know, are struggling with spring allergies here in the Mid-Atlantic. I haven’t given them anything for their allergies but worry that maybe I should. Lulu sneezes and sneezes and then scares herself. And poor lil’ Sofie Bear, she is whizzing and hacking. They both seem to be eating a lot of grass too, and I assume somehow that is connected, but I do not know (?). Maybe that is why Sofie is so tired today – I know that I sure am….
Just another dogdaz morning at the zoo ❤
