Cherry Beach Dog Owners Association

Audie Agnew passed this on to me this morning:

I'm in newfoundland working for the summer heading home next friday. our studio is right beside the SPCA. i used to visit regularly but it just got to depressing since they have way too many animals and so little space so it is like death row for most dogs and cats. they often don't last more than a few days and i'm not kidding.

the editors go every day at lunch to give treats and they have been going for the past three years (it is season 3 of this show). this guy newfoundland/lab mix called tank was left at night tied up the spca. they think he is approx 1 years old. anyway he has been at the SPCA since july 20th..super long. mostly b.c he apparently is a heart breaker. a real sweetheart. gentle. he is the next on death row since they just haven't had any success finding a suitable home for this newfie mix. for some reason i thought of you...i know you have a few big dogs but any chance you'd be interested? i could fly him to toronto on fri aug 26. the editors have asked everyone on the crew...and i think it is telling that after three years and so many dogs they have selected this one to campaign for. i haven't met him but am sending his infor. apparently he looks way more like a newfie dog in real life but with shorter hair...this pict is not that accurate they tell me but good enough. i could take more pictures if you are interested.

if you want him let me know asap. his days are limited.

Contact me if you're interested...Chris

Click on the poster to download a PDF version, and if you can, post it where you feel it might be read!

From Newf Friends...

Penelope is a lovely girl with a gentle, sweet disposition who loves to be around people she knows and will always welcome a soft pat on her head (or a big bear hug) from her family. With loads of promise, this shy girl will absolutely blossom with the right family. Once she is comfortable in her surroundings she is very affectionate and loves having attention heaped on her. She is a gentle girl and likes to be with her foster family. 

Prior to coming to us, Penelope and her sister lived an isolated, sheltered life and were not given proper opportunities to get out and explore the world, so everything they see is new to them. Penelope needs to take her time when meeting new people, animals, or experiencing new things. Her foster family has been working hard to socialize her and have been taking her out and exposing her to different situations. Penny is hesitant and fearful with new situations, so it takes patient coaxing to get her to try new things – a few treats seem to help the process and she is never unpleasant in the process, just timid. Sometimes when fearful Penny will bark nervously and attempt to flee. This is all typical behaviour of a dog who spent all of her time at one location, and was never given proper opportunities for socialization.

Dogs are great--until their poop gets all over your new shoes. Even when dog owners responsibly dispose of dog waste, the excrement continues to generate methane, a potent greenhouse gas. That's where the Park Spark project, billed as the first public methane digestor for dogs, comes in.

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If you have a dog ... PLEASE read this and send it on.  If you don't have a dog, please pass along to friends who do.

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 patient was 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 and shaking 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 creatinine 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 creatinine 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 creatinine 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.