Holiday Pet Dangers

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Valkyrie

New member
Good Morning Brats,

My wife, Marcia, is a veterinary internist and yesterday appeared on the local FOX news channel doing an interview on holiday pet dangers. Every year she comes home with heart-breaking stories of how people lose their dogs and cats due to well intentioned, but very misinformed attempts to give their furry friends special holiday treats. Perhaps this might be useful.

I don't know how to post the link, but Google FOX News Cleveland and click on Holiday Pet Dangers and you'll be there. She is the local go-to person for media in the Akron/Cleveland area on pet issues and I am, obviously, very proud of her. The hospital where she has her practice has close to thirty veterinary specialists and Marcia draws clients from a four state area.

One of my perks is that when she presents at conferences (which she does frequently) I tag along if the location is warm, sunny and tropical or has good fishing. I just wish there were more in Hawaii! We'll be in Vancouver at a conference in July and hope to do some fishing in the Vancouver or Seattle area then.

Actually, Marcia and I met years ago when my Airedale had some chronic derm issues. She owned an Airedale, as well, and things took off from there. The Airedale in the clip is her constant companion Odin.

Perhaps someone could help me out with the link.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Thank you for sharing. We've been pretty good about only giving our 15 year old golden only "dog" food and treats but every now and then those brown eyes get me to share a little something I'm snacking on. There were some surprising warnings in this piece.

The Marcums
 
I remember a few cases of Marcia's very clearly.

Last Christmas an owner's present to her Yorkie was over a cup of drippings from a roast. That resulted in pancreatitis, which killed the little guy.

Other common problems include owners giving their dogs corn cobs, which cause obstructions, and the netting used at clambakes are always seasonal offenders.. Often Marcia has to go in late at night to scope out fish hooks and coins, especially coins that contain zinc, which causes zinc toxicity.

Years ago, she x-rayed a sick dog only to discover that it had swallowed a watch. After she removed the Seiko with an endoscope she found that it was still ticking and the x-ray and story wound up in a full age ad by the company, although they got creative with the story.

Another time, Marcia spent hours working on a Great Dane's stomach scoping out the blade from a spatula that the owners had let it lick, but the blade came off the handle. Surprisingly, a month later the same dog was back with the same problem and the SAME spatula blade in its stomach! She didn't return the blade that time.

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
We had a blue Dane eat a loaf of bread, bag and all. we just thought we had missed placed the bag until the dog passed it. No wonder he was moving slow for a few days.
 
Thanks for posting


Pet food can be dangerous to pets and their owners.
Here is the latest outbreak related to chicken jerky

Archive Number: 20111122.3420

PET FOOD ALERT - USA: ex CHINA, CHICKEN JERKY
*********************************************

A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Fri 18 Nov 2011Source: US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) News [edited]http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm280586.htm


FDA continues to caution dog owners about chicken jerky products
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is again cautioning consumers
that chicken jerky products for dogs (also sold as chicken tenders,
strips, or treats) may be associated with illness in dogs. In the last
12 months, FDA has seen an increase in the number of complaints it
received of dog illnesses associated with consumption of chicken jerky
products imported from China. These complaints have been reported to
FDA by dog owners and veterinarians.

FDA issued a cautionary warning regarding chicken jerky products to
consumers in September 2007 and a Preliminary Animal Health
Notification in December of 2008. After seeing the number of
complaints received drop off during the latter part of 2009 and most
of 2010, the FDA is once again seeing the number of complaints rise to
the levels of concern that prompted release of our earlier warnings.

Chicken jerky products should not be substituted for a balanced diet
and are intended to be fed occasionally in small quantities.

FDA is advising consumers who choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky
products to watch their dogs closely for any or all of the following
signs that may occur within hours to days of feeding the products:
decreased appetite; decreased activity; vomiting; diarrhea, sometimes
with blood; increased water consumption and/or increased urination. If
the dog shows any of these signs, stop feeding the chicken jerky
product. Owners should consult their veterinarian if signs are severe
or persist for more than 24 hours. Blood tests may indicate kidney
failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may
indicate Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs
appear to recover, some reports to the FDA have involved dogs that
have died.

FDA, in addition to several animal health diagnostic laboratories in
the US, is working to determine why these products are associated with
illness in dogs. FDA's Veterinary Laboratory Response Network (VLRN)
is now available to support these animal health diagnostic
laboratories. To date, scientists have not been able to determine a
definitive cause for the reported illnesses. FDA continues extensive
chemical and microbial testing but has not identified a contaminant.

The FDA continues to actively investigate the problem and its origin.
Many of the illnesses reported may be the result of causes other than
eating chicken jerky. Veterinarians and consumers alike should report
cases of animal illness associated with pet foods to the FDA Consumer
Complaint Coordinator in their state or go to
http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail


[This has been an ongoing issue for several years. Interestingly, it
is all imported products. There are products made in the USA that are
not causing a problem in pets. However, it is wise to remember that
treats are designed to be given periodically and are not to make up
the majority of the pet's diet.

FDA seems to have received verified information of at least 70 dogs
affected this year (2011), which is up from 54 last year. - Mod.TG]
 
Great reminders!

We have a harness which allows Angel to be attached to a seat belt female end--yet allows her freedom to lie down or sit on the seat. We use this both in the car and RV.

We also have had to made a lot of adjustments in our lives with a poodle which can jump up onto a table which is 36" or more off the floor--and has gotten into trouble a couple of times already. It means that all food or dangerous materials are put up and secured before we leave the house.

We had an incident on our last trip. Angel uses Advantage, as well as a tick collar, but I found a tick one afternoon. We do a fur check every evening--but at 2 PM this tick was full! We removed it and the next day had the vet check her--as well as placed on antibiotics "just in case".
 
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