organized crime

Feet, united

Hero Dog Protects Monrovia Teen From Rattlesnake

Five-year-old "Boone," a Siberian Husky mix, got between a 14-year-old and a rattlesnake and was bitten on the snout in the process. He's expected to recover after the venom caused him to lose a large chunk of flesh.

Daniel Whitman never heard the rattle but his dog Boone must have seen something because he came running over anyway.

The 14-year-old Whitman was supposed to be cleaning up after Boone in the backyard of their home on Norumbega Drive last week. He was walking over to the corner where Boone likes to do his business when the dog rushed over.

"Daniel was headed in that direction and that's when I think Boone had noticed something different and darted over there and got between the two of them," said Dan Whitman, the teen's father.

That's when the younger Whitman saw the rattlesnake, and he shouted to his dad and ran inside. The dog soon followed, and he stayed with Daniel for some time afterward.

"He just stuck by Daniel's side," Dan Sr. said. "He followed Daniel all around the house. He did not leave his side."

What the family didn't know was that before Boone came back in the house, he had been bitten. They soon found out, however. Nothing was visible, but the 5-year-old Siberian Husky mix started behaving strangely about 20 minutes later.

"There didn't appear to be anything physically wrong with him," Whitman said. "He started to kind of twist his head funny and look up at the ceiling like he was in pain."

Whitman knew something was wrong. A retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy, he also knew that they didn't have much time to save Boone.

So Whitman called 911 and let the police know they had a rattlesnake in the backyard. Then he called Family Dog and Cat Hospital on Lime Avenue and was was eventually directed to the only local place that carries anti-venom and is open after-hours, a veterinary clinic in El Monte.

"I ran him down there real quick. Got him there within 40 minutes of the bite," Whitman said.

The anti-venom saved Boone's life, but he still sustained serious injuries. Rattlesnake venom is an anti-coagulant and it causes tissue destruction, according to David Garcia, a registered veterinary technician who has since treated Boone.

The venom killed the tissue on Boone's snout where he was bitten, and the flesh there started falling off in chunks, Whitman said. The wound has "just progessively gotten larger," he said.

And the dog's face also swelled up severely the morning after the bite.

"In the morning his face had gotten the size of a canteloupe," Whitman said.

Garcia said Boone is expected to recover, but not before the Whitmans had to shell out $500 for rattlesnake anti-venom. The dog could have been saved a lot of pain and suffering if he was vaccinated against rattlesnake venom.

Garcia recommended that every dog owner living above Hillcrest Boulevard get the vaccine after seeing four other cases of dogs with rattlesnake bites over the last month. With the vaccine, a dog's bite survival rate increases, though it would still need to be treated with anti-venom, Garcia said.

Whitman said he was going to make it his mission to raise the awareness of the need for pet owners to get their dogs vaccinated. In the meantime, he's grateful for what Boone did to protect his son.

"I'm sad that Boone took the bite but I'm thankful my son didn't," he said.

Tim Tebow renames his dog ... and Twitter responds

Jets QB Tim Tebow and his new teammates got to work yesterday. He's striving to earn an important role in the offense while the rest of the team is hoping he can help the franchise achieve a memorable 2012 campaign and bury last year's ugly implosion.

Yet such events have been superseded by real news: In an homage to his new environs, Tebow is changing the name of his dog, a Rhodesian ridgeback, from Bronco to Bronx.

Funny ... and enough to start a new trend on Twitter: #RejectedTebowDogNames.

Some of the suggestions:

Elway

Completion

Starter

Champ

Peyton

Judas

Patriot Killer

Spiral

Satan's little helper (that'll be on The Simpsons soon enough)

Excited

We're just waiting for "Rex" to catch on ...

Colleges Turn To Dogs To Break The Stress Of Final Exams, Lift Spirits

ATLANTA -- Just down the hall from the reference desk at Emory University's law library in a room housing antique legal texts is Stanley the golden retriever puppy, barking his head off.

Stanley rolls around on the floor and chews on a squeaky toy while zombie-like law students wander in, a giant grin breaking out on their weary faces when they see the cuddly boy. Puppy therapy – just in time for finals week.

From Kent State University in Ohio to Macalester College in Minnesota, more and more pooches are around campus during exams to help students relax and maybe even crack a smile or two.

"We had a student who came in and a staff person commented they had never seen that student smile," said Richelle Reid, a law librarian who started Emory's pet therapy program this year after hearing about one at the University of California, San Francisco. "It has had positive effects, helping them to just have a moment to clear their minds and not have to think about studies, not have to think about books."

Pups are in counseling centers for students to visit regularly or faculty and staff bring their pets to lift spirits.

Pet-friendly dorms also are popping up where students can bring their dogs or cats from home.

Want to check out a pet? It's possible at Harvard Medical School and Yale Law School, which both have resident therapy dogs in their libraries that can be borrowed through the card catalog just like a book.

Some dogs, like Harvard Medical School's resident shih tzu Cooper, hold regular office hours. Researcher Loise Francisco-Anderson owns Cooper and said she got permission to bring him to campus after her husband read that Yale Law School had a therapy dog on campus named Monty.

Cooper, who sports a crimson scarf with paw prints on it, is so popular that undergraduate students have been petitioning for him to spend time on their side of campus. Many of them take the shuttle across the river to the medical school just to visit the pup on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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"You can release some of the emotions to a pet that you can't to a human. A pet keeps it confidential. You don't have to worry about someone else saying, `Oh, I think she's having a nervous breakdown over the science exam,'" said Francisco-Anderson.

Most schools, like Emory, partner with organizations that train companion dogs so that the canines get their social training while students get stress relief. Others, like at Harvard, have faculty members bring their dogs – which are certified to be therapy pups – to campus certain hours during the week.

The service is almost always free for students.

Research shows that interaction with pets decreases the level of cortisol – or stress hormone – in people and increases endorphins, known as the happiness hormone. Scant research exists on the how pet programs on college campuses help students cope with stress.

That's why Kathleen Adamle, a nursing professor at Kent State, hopes to garner a grant so she can conduct research as part of her "Dogs on Campus" program. Adamle launched the program in 2006 with just her dog and has since added 11 other therapy canines to the team that visits dorms regularly throughout the year.

The dogs belong to Adamle or other community members and are certified therapy dogs.

She has plenty of anecdotal evidence that her program works. As soon as there's a tragedy on campus – a student dies in a car wreck, for example – dorms scramble to book the dog team to help comfort upset students, she says.

"I don't care if it's 10 at night, we go to that dorm and sit on the floor. The kids are crying, and they grab the dog and put their face in the fur and just let it go," said Adamle.

Since 2006, Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., has asked faculty and alumni to bring their dogs to campus during finals as part of the "Dog Day Afternoon" program. At Kenyon College in Ohio, the counseling center and dorms offer puppy play dates with Sunny the yellow lab and Sam the poodle-Chihuahua mix.

Last month, Indiana University students romped around with dogs in the first ever "Rent-a-Puppy" day. For $5, students could book time with one of 20 puppies from the local animal shelter – and could adopt them if they couldn't bear to say goodbye.

First-year Emory law student Anna Idelevich took a break from studying for exams at the library on a recent afternoon to visit Stanley and Hooch, two golden retrievers training to be companion dogs for disabled owners. The private university brought in the dogs as part of a new program to help students cope with the stress of exams.

"I've literally been here every day. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me," said Idelevich, 22. "They couldn't have thought of a better way to relieve stress. If they don't do it next year, I'll be upset."

Life questions

Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily...let me ponder that....

To be is to be perceived....I would suppose, but perhaps not....I shall ponder this as well

Who is also aware of the tremendous risk involved in faith – when he nevertheless makes the leap of faith – this is subjectivity … at its height...welll, maybe, I shall ponder this

There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide... Camus...what a fraud...ha! I laugh him!  

Is toilet water cooler to drink in the winter months or is that simply my perception?

Ask the Trainer | Dogs can be obsessive compulsive

By Carla Brown

Dear Carla,

We have a 2-year-old Jack Russell Terrier named Charley who constantly chases his tail. This problem started about 6 months ago. Once he starts doing it, he will continue for quite a long time unless we interrupt him. My husband thinks it is funny, but

Dear Not Amused,

I think you are right to be concerned. Dogs are subject to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) just like humans. OCD is a medical condition where a dog engages in normal canine activities in an abnormally repetitive, frantic and self-destructive manner. There are many OCD-type behaviors in dogs including, but not limited to, self-mutilation, compulsive shadow chasing and laser-pointer chasing. Fortunately, this condition can usually be controlled through behavior modification and possibly medication. You should consult with your veterinarian about the best course of treatment. They will want to rule out or treat any underlying medical problems first.

From a behavior perspective, I would start by trying to determine if there are specific triggers that lead to his tail chasing and eliminate them. Do visitors make him nervous? Do the kids come home after school and run around making lots of noise? It will help to keep his environment calm and predictable. Next, redirect Charley when he begins to chase his tail. Ask him to do something he knows well like “sit” or “lay down.” You will need to consistently interrupt the tail chasing so he can learn new behavior patterns. Jack Russell's are infamous for their high energy level. When he chases his tail, play with him or take him out for a walk. Adequate daily exercise is very important.

The one thing you don't want to do is punish a compulsive behavior. Punishment is not an effective form of treatment and can actually increase a dog's level of arousal and anxiety, which in turn can make the symptoms worse. Punishment can also interfere with a dog's ability to learn new, non-ritualistic behaviors successfully.

The behaviors associated with OCD almost always worsen without treatment, so the sooner you get started the better.

— Carla Brown, CPDT is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and owner of The Savvy Dog Training and Education Center in Truckee. If you have a pet topic/issue you would like to see covered in the Ask the Trainer column, please email her at savvydogtruckee@mac.com

“My Dog Ate It!” Never Gets Old For Some Dog Owners

“My Dog Ate It!” Never Gets Old For Some Dog Owners

By Erika von Tiehl

LEVITTOWN, Pa. (CBS) - Most dogs, no matter how well-trained, have a way of getting into things.

Those slippers you gave your husband for Christmas or the roasted turkey sitting on the counter waiting to be carved. You just have to turn your back for a second and you may find yourself at some point saying, “The dog ate what?”

Erika von Tiehl has some crazy dog tales.

They’re man’s best friend.

But some dogs can put that friendship to the test because they’ll eat just about anything!

Veterinarians’ radiographs reveal golf balls, fish hooks, stick pins, rubber ducks and in one dog’s case, a toy dinosaur.
Mocha, the poodle, likes jewelry.

Her 6-year-old owner David Bottino found that out the hard way.

“It was like sliding across and I was going to catch it and it dropped onto the floor,” that’s how David described what happened when he was playing with his mom’s crucifix on the kitchen table.

“The dog immediately grabbed it and he chased her and she ran and she basically swallowed it whole,” said Christina Bottino, David’s mother.

“My son knew what he had done, he was panicking, he was screaming, ‘I killed the dog, I killed the dog,’ and we’re trying to calm him down and the dog is prancing around,” she said.

The Bucks County family rushed the dog to the Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center in Levittown.

An x-ray revealed the crucifix in Mocha’s stomach and it was removed with an endoscope.

Today, the crucifix is on a necklace and back around Christina Bottino’s neck.

Dogs’ dietary indiscretions may sound funny, but it’s serious business that often requires life-saving surgery.

I found that out when my dog Sophie, a King Charles Cavalier, ate my underwear.

“One of the really dangerous objects are some of the things in the hamper,” says Dr. Robert Orsher, chief surgeon at Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center.

“It can get stuck in the stomach, go into the small intestine, cause bunching up of the small intestine and even lead to perforation so those animals can get very very sick,” says Dr. Orsher.

Also dangerous are pieces of metal, just like the hooks on a bra that were revealed in Sophie’s radiographs.
Doctors got them out in time.

It was even more serious for Pepper, a black Labrador Retriever.

The lab is recovering after doctors at Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center in Delaware removed a 3-inch utility blade from his stomach.

“I’m so happy and excited, and so happy the doctor was able to fix him,” said his owner Helena Fallin of Clayton, Delaware.

It can be scary for a pet owner and it can be expensive.

Tonka, a 160-pound Newfoundland in Chester County, has a love for tennis balls and he’s had 3 surgeries to remove them.

His owner Mary Buffington says the surgeries to remove the fuzzy green balls cost nearly 18-thousand dollars.

“He chews it and chews it until it pops and then he swallows it,” says Mary

Now Tonka wears a special basket muzzle when the other dogs are playing ball.

“So, my husband says it’s like looking at Hannibal Lecter in Silence of The Lambs,” said Mary.

So why do dogs eat crazy things?

Doctors aren’t sure, but some dogs are more likely to end up in the emergency room.

Dr. Mark Cafone at Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center of Delaware says younger dogs are more prone to do it, even the larger breed dogs like Labradors and Retrievers.

“Some dogs should come with zippers,” said Dr. Cafone.

But they don’t.

So whether it’s subway tokens, handballs, baby bottle nipples or even your dentures. Keep them out of sight!

The Million Dollar Dog

Often its the dog that loves us most.

In a pet industry filled by our wants, desires, bank accounts, and of course dogs; we have the good, the bad, the ugly, and the extreme. Magazines, TV, and now Social Media engulf us with ideologies of what the value our four legged friends should be. We’ve seen everything from the Hollywood teacups, the unfortunate reality of dog fighting infamously tied to Mike Vick, the courageous search and rescue dogs finding people after a disaster, and even the special dogs who gets royalty treatment as if they were human. We are truly creatures of fine taste and others frenzies’. Yet, in all the madness, there is a sense of pride and joy that makes us spend money on things we value, and that value could be a million bucks. But would some really spend a million dollars on a dog?

It’s safe to say that most of us have run across the neighborhood stud that managed to get loose and find his way to the neighborhood pooches that were in heat. Just for clarifying terms I am still talking about dogs, not people. It seems so random how he chooses, and yet we are often captivated with curiosity as he does his thing, and then finds the next pooch. If we’re lucky and watch long enough, the studs may even look at us as if to say, “Mind your Business”. The results of his choosing pooches are often a mixed breed of who knows what that find their way around the neighborhood, and sometimes even animal shelters because they aren’t valued. Then you have those prized breeds. You know the ones that require the scientifically selective bloodline and breed matching capable of putting Match.com out of business. They often go through more test and security screening then the poor guys dragged on The Maury Show for DNA tests just to be told, “You are or are not the father”. Like everything else that we humans do, in some odd sense it’s about the control of it all. Knowing what we need to do to yield a specific personality, character trait, color or size is often just for convenience of having it. We invest time, research, planning, or possibly just spend the money to get exactly what we want without regard for the true value of it all.

Over my tenure working with dogs and now running Whistling Wings Kennel, I have seen a variety of breeds, shapes, sizes, and personalities in dogs and their owners. Even with our goal of helping to create the Ultimate Sporting Dogs, the value still has a funny way of standing out. From the little boy who loves to play in the pond, the elderly couple seeking a house pal, the Hunting Pro needing a good hand, and even the dainty little girl with her teacup Yorkie; it is truly to each its own. Still for many people out there, the value isn’t driven by the color, the height, the breed, the historical references, the bloodline, the gender, or whatever other qualifier there may be. The value is driven by the compassion, the character, or the simple fact that our four legged friend found a way to our hearts by filling a void, or servicing a need. Even if that need cost us a $25k just to have a piece of a selective bloodline; whatever it is, it’s yours for the choosing. Just be sure that when you do choose, you don’t abandon the value of your choice like the neighborhood stud who does his thing, then runs off to find the next best thing to do. It’s easy to get involve in someone else’s business, but sometimes the best thing we can do is to simply mind our own. Someone will always have a different value to place on things not theirs, but only we know what we’re willing to pay for something. So as you go out today, or any day with your four legged companion, your children, your spouse, your business , your job, your car, or whatever else this can apply to; remember the value YOU place on it, and be happy with it. After all, it is the value that You Placed On It. So Mind Your Business.

Cinco de Mayo Chihuahua costume party falls short of record

KANSAS CITY, Mo Hundreds of tiny tacos, ballerinas and other costumed dogs fell short of a world record Saturday morning in Kansas City, but organizers said they were encouraged by the turnout for the inaugural Cinco de Mayo Chihuahua parade.
Mark Valentine, the president of the group that organized the parade, said 500 dogs showed up in costume — about 200 fewer than what was needed to break the Guinness Book world record. The event, organized by United Entertainment to benefit a local animal shelter, was open to any breed.
Valentine estimated that 80% of the costumed canines were Chihuahuas, more than the 50% he anticipated.
"We are going to keep doing this until we run out of dogs in Kansas City and have to start shipping them in," Valentine said. "For a first try, we did OK."
Valentine said he was told Chihuahuas were among the most common breeds in animal shelters. Saturday's event raised about $2,500 for The Pet Connection, a local no-kill shelter.
"Chihuahuas get killed in animal shelters almost as much as pitbulls," he said.
Anne Fisher, a food stylist from Stilwell, Kan., about a half-hour south of Kansas City, said her male Chihuahua, Willie, seemed relieved when she slipped off his ballerina outfit after the parade.
"We figured he was going to be the smallest Chihuahua here, but he's not," she said of the 3-pound dog. "We're having more fun than he is. It's hysterical."
Just after 11 a.m., everyone in the crowd with a Chihuahua raised their pets over their heads. The result was a sea of tiny heads adorned with sombreros, cowboy hats, bows and even a Green Bay Packers football helmet.
Afterward, participants lined up and participated in a slow-moving procession along a sidewalk, as dozens of people in lawn chains watched the colorful animals strut past.
Valentine thought it was a little extreme that Guinness required a veterinarian to be on hand to make sure every dog registered for the event was alive. No dead dogs showed, he said, but someone did bring a potbellied pig.
"Apparently, they've had trouble with people sneaking pigs in," Valentine said.

Salmonella in dog food sickens 14 people in US

Published May 05, 2012

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Fourteen people in at least nine states have been sickened by salmonella after handling tainted dog food from a South Carolina plant that a few years ago produced food contaminated by toxic mold that killed dozens of dogs, federal officials said Friday.

At least five people were hospitalized because of the dog food, which was made by Diamond Pet Foods at its plant in Gaston, S.C., the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. No pets were sickened, according to the Meta, Mo.-based company.

"People who became ill, the thing that was common among them was that they had fed their pets Diamond Pet Foods," said CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell.

Three people each were infected in Missouri and North Carolina; two people in Ohio; and one person each in Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the CDC said.

"Our folks are really wanting people to be aware of it. They want to be aware that this is causing people to get sick because they may have product in their homes. For every one that is reported, there may be 29 others," Russell said.

People can get salmonella by handling infected dog food, then not washing their hands before eating or handling their own food, health officials said.

The South Carolina plant temporarily was shut down April 8. Diamond Pet Foods has issued four rounds of recalls for food made at the plant, located outside of Columbia, S.C., between Dec. 9 and April 7. The latest recalls were announced Friday.

"We took corrective actions at the plant, and today the plant is up and running. Our mission is to produce safe pet foods for our customers and their pets in all Diamond facilities," the company said in a written statement Friday.

In 2005, a toxic mold called aflatoxin ended up in food made at the same Diamond Pet Foods plant in South Carolina and dozens of dogs died. The company offered a $3.1 million settlement. The Food and Drug Administration determined the deadly fungus likely got into the plant when it failed to test 12 shipments of corn.

FDA officials were not immediately available for comment Friday on the most recent problems with the plant.

Agriculture officials in Michigan found the strain of salmonella during routine testing of dog food on April 2 and health investigators noticed there was a possible link to the food made by Diamond Pet Foods. An ill person still had some of the food, and authorities were able to link the cases to the food, the CDC said.

The recall covers a number of pet food brands made at the Gaston plant, including Canidae, Natural Balance, Apex, Kirkland, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Country Value, Diamond, Diamond Naturals, Premium Edge, Professional, 4Health and Taste of the Wild.