BE IN THE KNOW

BE IN THE KNOW: City of LA Crackdown on Unlicensed Dogs

by Irene Soriano Brightman

I saw a posting on Found Animal’s FB page this week of a story that actually broke a couple of weeks ago. It seems that the financially strapped City of Los Angeles are looking for ways to raise more $$$ and will now work with the Department of Water & Power’s database to identify customers with dogs in their homes AND use this information to enforce dog licensing requirements! Yikes! Sounds a bit scary this cross-referencing information….hmmm.

Well…off to the LA Animal Services front desk! Yikes, but first I gotta make sure my dog’s Rabies shots are up to date! Ahhhh…….

BE IN THE KNOW: City of LA Crackdown on Unlicensed Dogsadmin2017-05-24T08:44:29-07:00

BE IN THE KNOW: COCOA MULCH found harmful to pets! Theobromine alert!

Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if you don’t have a pet, let your pet owning friends and family know about the potential harm regarding the use of this theobromine-containing product.

Over the weekend, the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden. The dogs loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog (Calypso) decided the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn’t acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk . Half way through the walk, she had a seizure and died instantly.

Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company’s web site, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats.

Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey’s, and they claim that “It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won’t eat it.”

*The SNOPES SITE has the following information: COCOA MULCH

BE IN THE KNOW: COCOA MULCH found harmful to pets! Theobromine alert!admin2017-05-24T08:44:33-07:00

BE IN THE KNOW: Volunteers may be needed for a Haiti response

From:

On Friday, Best Friends Animal Society joined a multi-agency coalition called Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH). The coalition was initially formed by World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). Coalition members include the American Humane Association, Kinship Circle, ASPCA, Humane Society of the United States, and others. ARCH is working in a coordinated fashion to address the needs of animals affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

Due to the overwhelming destruction, information regarding animal needs has been slow to materialize but the coalition has been able to gather enough information to begin planning. The initial priority focus will be in providing food and water to animals surrounding Port-au-Prince. ARCH is also actively planning to set up feeding stations to draw community dogs away from destruction areas so they can be trapped and vaccinated against rabies. Long-term plans will involve addressing animal health issues. As these plans begin to materialize, the possibility of sending in volunteers is likely. While an exact deployment timeframe is not known, it is possible that ARCH volunteers may start deploying next week. Says Dick Green of IFAW, “As things start to pick up in terms of security, greater military presence, and the possibility of USDA on the ground, we are starting to plan for activities in and around Port-au-Prince.” Best Friends is asking Rapid Response volunteers who might be interested in deploying, to let us know. We will only consider sending highly qualified, experienced rescue volunteers with a history of responding to major disasters.

Specifically, we are looking for individuals with:

– Experience handling small and/or large animals. At this time, we do not need people with sheltering experience.
– Experience working in hazardous conditions.
– Ability to be completely self sustained. There is no food, water, shelter available. Volunteers will therefore need to bring their own provisions, sleeping bag, tent, etc.
– Physical fitness is a must. Volunteers will need to be prepared to work long, arduous hours in hot temperatures.
– Ability to make a minimum commitment of nine days.
– French/Creole speaking a real bonus.

Also, all volunteers will need to take their own personal safety into account, including disease prevention. Click here to read the CDC’s recommendations for persons responding to Haiti. If you are interested in volunteering for Haiti, please email bfvolcoord@bestfriends.org.

Photo of stray dog in the aftermath of the Peru earthquake by Best Friends photographer Molly Wald

Posted Mon, Jan 18 2010 by cmoon

PITStop obtained permission from […]

BE IN THE KNOW: Volunteers may be needed for a Haiti responseadmin2017-05-24T08:44:38-07:00