Pet Show – prevent disease before it strikes
Listen to Pet Show! Our favorite vet, Dr. Zac Coldiron of Stoneridge Animal Hospital in Edmond, dropped in to give us all kinds of great tips about disease prevention. He covered all kinds of pets – everything from dogs to iguanas to birds.
Bryan gave us some great news for the day:
- - The Tulsa dogs have been given a second chance. (Read our past blog about it!)
- - Special forces dogs in England may start jumping out of planes. (Read that blog, too!)
- - Check out the Midwest City Family Fun Fest for the pet parade today!
- - Pedicures in Virginia are a little fishy.
- Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
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Police dog dies in hot car
A police dog in Florida died Monday after he was left in a police car with the air conditioning running for more than three hours. The air conditioner failed and started blowing hot air. By the time his handler returned, it was too late.
Leaving police dogs in running vehicles is normal, though officials in this small Florida town say three hours is an unusually long amount of time. Of course no one suspects this was done maliciously, but it’s a reminder how deligent all of us must be to protect our animals from the heat.
- Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Animals in the news
Check out this news in the Wednesday edition of The Oklahoman.
- Edmond ranch will stop taking donations of horses
- Youth rodeo takes a lot fo work, both before and after
- Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Pets and Politics
Who knew pets were so important in the presidential race? A while back people started talking about whether presidential hopefuls had pets and, if so, what kind. Barack Obama it turned out had no pet. Now there is a race in the online world to get the Obama family to adopt a pet. The American Kennel Club is advocating a purebred pet while other organizations like Best Friends Animal Society are pushing for a rescued animal. I guess the race is on — the pet race that is.
Staff Writer Dawn Marks
Hot doggies
Breaking news: it’s hot outside.
Everyone knows July and August in Oklahoma are oppressive, horrible, ridiculous hot. And it makes many of us a little cranky. This goes for our pets, too, so we need to take extra precautions to keep them cool.
Of course, we all know not to leave animals in parked car, even though some people who apparently are unfamiliar with common sense still do this.
But pet owners should remember animals can get overheated just being outside, especially somewhere that gets as warm as Oklahoma. Even a few hours in scorching sun can be deadly, says Dr. Rick Hufnagel of Westbrook Animal Clinic in Edmond.
Be on the lookout for any of these signs of heat stroke:
- - Inability to stand or weaking while standing.
- - Vigorous panting.
- - Thick or ropey saliva.
- - Bright red mucous, a less common symptom.
Worried about your dog? Call your vet.
- Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Good news for dogs in a bad situation
Check out this story Staff Writer Hailey Branson wrote for today’s Oklahoman.
Two dogs allegedly abused in the beastality scandal in Tulsa have been accepted to a sanctuary in Utah. Dogs Lucky and Buddy, shown in these photos, are going there the first week of August. The owner of a third dog, Merlin, isn’t giving his dog up.
At first officials said the dogs should be killed. (The Pet Show crew did not think too highly of that.) A judge said a vet should decide. Turns out, the vet had good sense. The dogs can be rehabilitated.
What a good ending to such a horrible story. Hopefully the last dog will be as lucky.
- Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Doggie special forces
The British tabloid Sun newspaper brings us this story of the SAS, Britan’s special forces, using highly-trained German Shepherds to parachute from high altitude with SAS troops. The troops use the dogs, with cameras attached to their heads, to help sniff out insurgents and to keep the soldiers out of the line of fire. Of course, this is incredibly dangerous for the dogs. The accompanying artist’s conception of what one of these parachuting dogs would look like needs no further words. I can’t repost the copyrighted images from the story, so I will simply say that you must click on the link and view the photos.. Also notice the photo they have at the bottom of the story showing an SAS unit with its dog. Newpapers often agree to conceal the identities of special forces soldiers. I am glad the dogs will get the same protection. We don’t want terrorists roaming the dog parks of England in an attempt to terrorize SAS dogs or their families.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Delicious!
Check out this video from Pet Cafe in Norman -
- Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Poop in Paradise
It seems even the pet owners in paradise have problems with pet waste. This story talks about a new regulation that allows the return of pets to a trail in Hawaii but with the stipulation that they must be on a leash. Dogs were first banned because of problems with too much feces on the trails. I saw a cute little dachshund several times while we were on the beach in Hawaii on a recent trip but now that I think about it I never saw him using the restroom. I wonder what his owners did? I suppose that since Hawaii is a tourist area, pet owners have to be even more careful about keeping their excrement picked up. So it seems, even if you live in paradise, you still have to deal with poop!
Staff Writer Dawn Marks
Not as cute as that teddy bear in Snuggle commercials
If you are really afraid of snakes, I apologize for posting this one because it will probably have you paranoid every time you do laundry.
A Maine woman opened her washer, took out her jeans and put her hand back in the washing machine before she noticed something move.
It was an 8-foot reticulated python. When these guys are full-grown, they can eat a human. They are the longest snakes in the world. Someone likely bought it as a pet, then dumped it when it got too big.
This story illustrates the common point we at Pet Show stress whenever we talk about pet ownership and specifically exotic pet ownership: do your research. Getting a pet is a committment. It’s not just a spur of the moment decision. You are taking responsibility for the life and well-being of an animal, so you better know what that means.
In the case of a snake, you need to make sure you know how big it will get, what it will eat and how much space it will need. Only serious reptile collectors should go in for big snakes like reticulated pythons. There are smaller varieties available if you want to try out snake ownership.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
