Meet Quan Yin, our latest staff member of Four Paws Acupuncture and PR dog in charge of Pawsitive Relations. She is also the administrator of this new blog, The Barking Oracle. So many titles for a 55 pound rescue dog.

Quan Yin has a very sweet disposition and an old soul. She is named after the Buddhist Goddess of Compassion Quan Yin, also spelled Kuan Yin or Guan Yin. Quan also means dog in Chinese. click here for more info on Quan Yin

Originally from TN, Quan Yin was abandoned during the floods and was fostered by very kind folks working with the SPCA of TN . Thanks to Sheila Duncan and her organization Trouble Says Be Tough we learned about this sweet girl and decided to adopt her. A month later she was transported up to New England via http://www.petsllc.net The sound of diesel engines still terrify her. She is still adjusting to the noises and smells of Salem with the aid of Bach Flower remedies, melatonin, and with lots and lots of love. Quan Yin is teaching us all to have patience.

This dear girl loves her new feline roomies, especially Nubi wan Kenobi, who is really a dog in a cat’s body (aka the puppy-cat). Our other two cats, Zevo Calamari and Luna miso Poosie tolerate Quan Yin but have yet to cuddle with her. More lessons in patience! Can a cat learn to have patience?

Soon Quan Yin will be writing the canine advice column Ask Quan Yin. If you have any dog related questions please email her at QuanYin at fourpawsacupuncture dot com. It is hard to type with paws so she will only be answering a few questions per month.

Thanks to Quan Yin i will be taking more time off to play and relax. We are working on our new summer schedule for house calls and hoping to have an office by fall of 2010 for all those patients who are out of our travel zone.

We are so grateful to have this new dear girl in our lives. There are so many dogs who need homes. Please consider adopting a rescue dog the next time you consider getting a dog.

This came from a forwarded email. Thought i would post it for all. I have met so many dog owners who feed their dogs grapes as treats. Please pass on this info to other dog owners. (and if you email this please use the Bcc and not the Cc to add your email addresses!)

Written by:
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic Danville , OH

This week I had the first case in history of
raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patientwas a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime
between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday.

He started with vomiting, diarrhea andshaking about 1 AM on Wednesday but the owner didn’t call my emergency service until 7 AM.

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn’t seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me – had heard something about it, but… Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 1 & 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.
The dog’s BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and Creatine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal).
Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values
at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and Creatine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At that point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a
urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given Lasix as a
diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn’t control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased
again, his BUN was over 120, his Creatine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220 … He continued to vomit
and the owners elected to Euthanize.

This is a very sad case – great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk.

Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our
ex-handler’s. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

Onions, chocolate, cocoa, avocados and macadamia nuts can
be fatal, too

Here’s Trouble!” In January, 2006, after some tough times of her own, then twelve year old Kendra Duncan of Marblehead, Massachusetts, decided that kids (and adults too) could use some help during difficult times … maybe they were ill, or had lost a loved one … or were simply feeling a little bit afraid. They needed a great big hug … and more!

She sat down and drew a very simple little pup, and named him “Trouble”! She then worked with her aunt, Sheila, to design a cuddly plush toy as well as a children’s book which tells Trouble’s story of rescue and hope…and how to “be tough” when times are hard.

Trouble has a mission … to make people feel better … and he does! It’s magical! ” To learn more visit http://www.troublesaysbetough.com.

Purchase this adorable stuffed Trouble dog or the children’s book and the proceeds are donated back to the SPCA of TN towards rescuing another poor dog that has no hope.

I just received this email and thought it should be shared with all pet owners.

Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if you don’t have a pet, please pass this to those who do. (When sending emails to large groups of people please put all email addresses in the Bcc not the Cc for the privacy and safety of all!)

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 website, 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.”*Snopes site gives the following information: click here

Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman’s Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores contains a lethal ingredient called ‘Theobromine’. It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks.

Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker’s chocolate which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline.

A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal
amounts of theobromine.

It is shocking that the FDA still allows the pet food industry to add harmful and disgusting ingredients in their products after all the recalls in the industry. These are the same brands that have the wonderful commercials on TV, sponsor ACK Dog Shows, and have full page ads in most dog magazines. Advertising at its best.

These are just a few of the ingredients found in some well known brands of pet foods. A warning to those with weak stomachs please read with caution!

*Animal meat meal and animal by-products: this is what is left of the slaughtered animal after the meat is removed. It can include things like beaks, feet, blood, intestines, bones, and tissue.

*Beef and bone meal: another by product of beef which can include hair, hooves,horn,manure, entrails and blood.

*Chicken Byproduct Meal: Consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines — exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

*Corn bran: which is the outer layer of the corn kernel. It has no nutritional value.

*Corn Gluten: is the residue from corn which can be used as a protein but can cause allergies in many dogs just like wheat gluten.

*Wheat Gluten: The tough, viscid nitrogenous substance remaining when wheat is washed to remove the starch. An inexpensive byproduct of human food processing with almost no nutritional value left, serves mostly as a binder.

Wheat also exacerbates pain in dogs and humans.

Take the time to research your pet’s food before buying a pretty package. Most of the smaller pet supply shops carry the healthy brands. It is difficult to find those in most grocery chains unless it is a natural health food store.

If you would like to learn more about the best commercial dog foods on the market please visit the link below. Your dog will thank you!
www.dogaware.com

West Hollywood expected to ban dog, cat sales
Associated Press

WEST HOLLYWOOD — West Hollywood is expected to ban the sale of cats and dogs at pet shops under a measure designed to strike a blow at so-called puppy mills.

The City Council will take a final vote on the ordinance today after giving it a preliminary approval earlier this month. It would take effect next month and give existing pet stores until September to stop sales.
City officials say the idea is to reduce demand that can lead to inhumane conditions by breeders at puppy mills and kitten factories.
The law exempts home breeders, animal rescue groups and shelters.
The ordinance says 35,000 dogs and 67,000 cats were euthanized in city and county shelters in Los Angeles in the past year

Join the Planet Dog Foundation to Fund Canine Search Teams in Haiti

Here is a message from Planet Dog:

Dear Friends:

The Planet Dog Foundation specializes in grant funding for programs that work with dogs to help people in need. Nowhere is there more need to help people in crisis than in Haiti. Search dog teams are working around the clock in Port-au-Prince and beyond to locate survivors and dangerous materials in the rubble.

PDF will be making an emergency donation to the National Disaster Search Dog Rescue to support the efforts of their teams currently active in Haiti. Their teams train rigorously for years, so they can immediately mobilize in times of unthinkable disasters like this one.

If you have not yet given, or would like to offer additional support to fund the work of life-saving dogs in the rescue efforts, please make a donation to the Planet Dog Foundation by Monday, February 8. Your donation will be matched by PDF, and then our donation to the Search Dog Foundation will be matched by Joanne Woodward Newman, of Newman’s Own, and the Newman Foundation – so your gift will be QUADRUPLED!

You can make a donation at the Planet Dog Company Store at 211 Marginal Way in Portland, or mail your donation to PDF, 49 York Street, Portland, ME 04101. When sending by mail please note that it is a gift for the Matching Grant Program for Haiti.

PDF will match all pledges up to $1,500 and send a donation to the Search Dog Foundation on Wednesday, February 10. The Newman Foundation will match the PDF gift on February 15. You contribute $20. PDF sends $40. Newman contributes an additional $40 = $80 to SDF – your contribution go FOUR times as far.

To learn more about the work of these incredible dogs, and see daily updates on their successes on the ground in Haiti, visit http://www.searchdogfoundation.org/98/html/1-2_haiti.html

Thank you very much for considering a donation in support of this amazing example of how dogs are helping people in need. Please pass this along to all of your dog loving friends.

Kristen Smith
Executive Director

New Patient Special at Four Paws Acupuncture ! We will donate 10% of the fee for your dog’s first acupuncture session to this fund.

Long way to go’ after dog inquiry

A report on pedigree dogs calls for breeders to make sweeping changes to improve the animals’ health. The inquiry follows concerns highlighted in a BBC documentary.
Jemima Harrison, the film’s producer/director, welcomes the recommendations but believes they may not be implemented fully.

The Kennel Club’s 137-year-old self-appointed role as the governing body of dogs has come to an abrupt end.
The eagerly-awaited Bateson Inquiry recommends that responsibility for the health and welfare of pedigree dogs is devolved to an independent body. The Kennel Club has been sent to the doghouse.
The inquiry is the third to publish since our Pedigree Dogs Exposed, the film we made for the BBC in 2008 that lifted the lid on the extent of health and welfare problems in pedigree dogs – what we dubbed “the greatest animal welfare scandal of our time.”
In graphic detail, we showed what more than a century of inbreeding and selection for the show-ring had done to some breeds and it was not a pretty sight.
Well, other than to those judges who seemed to think that a German shepherd is supposed to look like a frog.

The film provoked uproar from the public – and denial from the Kennel Club, although they have since introduced changes, including the revision of many breed standards, a ban on mother/son and brother/sister matings and a specific decree that no healthy puppy can be put to sleep on purely cosmetic grounds (a practice that we highlighted was still going on). ”
To read more http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8460012.stm

Scientists in Moscow say stray dogs have learned to use the subway to travel to the city centre in search of food.

Biology professor Andrew Poyarkov said he had seen several dogs unaccompanied on the city’s underground rail system, reports rupor.org.

He claims the dogs travel into the city centre, where they can more easily find food, each morning and travel back to where they live each evening.

“They do not just go to the subway station, they actually board the trains,” he said.

“They seem to have learnt how long they need to stay on the train to leave at the right station.

“Sometimes they fall asleep and miss their stop. Then they get off take another train back to the centre.”

Dr Poyarkov said he had also noted the same dogs waiting for a green light to cross the road.

He says they have somehow managed to pick up habits from humans and is investigating the phenomenon.

Duke is a 1 1/2 yr old male purebred GSD, healthy and loves kids. He is about 85 pounds. Up to date on shots and is fixed. Eats Evo brand dog food.

His owners are not home during the day and he is put outside in the yard for long periods of time in the yard. His neighbor Mary takes him in from time to time and he gets along with her other dogs and kids. He may be OK with cats.

Duke will need some training and a home that he will have lots of exercise and stimulation. He is a smart dog and needs a job. I think he would be great in a home with kids since he loves them. He loves to play.

If you are interested in Duke please email Mary at mary.walsh@net1plus.com