NYCityPets.com

At least once a week, if not more, I am battling the chicken bone epidemic on the streets of NYC. I kick them to the curb every chance I get. Anything to keep them away from my ravenous dog. If you have ever walked a dog in this city, this comes as no new story. I have seen people chucking the bones onto the street on a rare occasion. It is also possible that the city wildlife (pigeons, ferals, and rats) are the culprits too. So it seems I will never win battle chicken bone. But I’ll keep fighting. I’ll keep kicking them under cars.

If you think I am blowing this out of proportion, check out Ms. Heather’s Chicken Bone Cavalcade or Lulu or these other ones.

Photo by shoehorn99@ Flickr.com

No comments

Jen over at Gotham Unleashed wants you to send her a smile. Show off your pet’s clean teeth and win some prizes during the February Pet Dental Health Month.

For some inspiration, visit my favorite dog page, the Bark’s Smiling Dogs. If you have never seen the two-page spread of readers’ photos published in every issue, go get Bark Magazine.

Here are our smiles. Notice the rawhide bone. Her favorite tool for dental health.

No comments

Here’s a bit on this kibble:

Nutrish is Rachael Ray’s brand of dog food and treats. Ray’s dog, Isaboo, was the main taste tester. According to people involved with creating the food, if Isaboo did not like it, then they would have had to go back to the drawing board.

There are Nutrish treats in two varieties: Booscottie and Grill Bites. The Booscottie smells like my own oatmeal cookies, which are pretty tasty, I do say. Honey really likes them, but we don’t taste test anything on her because everything is consumed so fast that no food will ever fail her.

Veterinary nutritionist, Dr. Ernie Ward (in photo), gives the diet his thumbs up and is really excited that the Booscottie has such a low calorie content. Dr. Ward really cares about the epidemic of pet obesity (check out a podcast of his lecture). He nearly choked when I showed him a photo of my favorite fat cat (who is now on a diet!).

Unfortunately, the Rachael Ray website was not very informative and I am unable to find Nutrish in the city. I was able to find a counterpoint to Dr. Ward’s on Nutrish: an in-depth analysis of Nutrish ingredients by Ryan Eisenbrei.

The philosophy of Nutrish is to give a good quality food, for a reasonable price, to people where they shop for all the family needs. Nutrish is sold at big chain stores and not in the little pet shops that dominate NYC. I don’t think this food is comparable to the more expensive diets out there, such as Innova, Merrick, Wellness, etc. If you are interested in giving your pet the Nutrish taste test, get a free sample.

The people behind Nutrish are very excited that proceeds of food sales go to Rachael’s Rescue. This Rescue supports the work of other animal welfare organizations by providing funds and food donations. They presented Anne Marie Lucas of the ASPCA with a $10,000 check last week. Through their webpage, Rachael’s Rescue highlights the good work that rescue groups do to an audience who might just learn something about the cause.

2 comments

Imagine having a serious medical emergency like an accident or heart attack. The first thing on your mind is not “Who will feed my cat.” So what happens to your pet when you face a hospital stay and have no fall back person for pet care? The stress over concern for your pets’ well-being could potentially keep you from recuperating. Hospital intake forms do not ask the question of “Do you have pets at home?” since asking creates the inherent liability that the hospital assumes for caring for pets. (ED. note: This is not the thought of anyone affliated with the program, rather it is the thought of the author here.) It is up to you as a patient to notify the hospital staff that you need assistance with your pets. If you don’t have a case worker or nurse who has the time and kindness of heart to help you, your pets could be in trouble. Pet care is the last item on a long list of things to coordinate for a patient.

This is where a program like Patient Pet Care (PPC) really makes an impact for people. PPC is a forward thinking, thoughtful, and a one-of-a-kind service for the patients of St. Vincent’s hospital in Manhattan. The program is coordinated by Kate Fischer. Here is what she told me about the program:

PPC started in 2004 as a supportive system of pet care for those who need it. Kate Fischer has a group of volunteers and a few third party pet care professionals in contract to help when they are called to duty. The range of services of PPC goes from making phone calls to a patient’s family or neighbors to coordinate care all the way to direct pet care services.

There are some complications involved when volunteers for the program are doing the hands on work of walking and feeding pets. Some cases require a cat or dog to be relocated temporarily while a person is incapacitated. Any ill pets are taken by volunteers for treatment and medical boarding at local veterinary hospitals. If a home environment is unsafe for the pets or if the pets themselves are not agreeable with strangers, then alternate plans must be made by Fischer for their care. The Center for Animal Care and Control (CACC) provides a backup system for Fischer.

This program is not needed every day, but when a patient is in need, Fischer and her volunteers are ready. They will travel to the patient’s home to meet the pets and assess what kind of care they require while the owner is away. Many of the people who are helped by this program are elderly or patients with bipolar disorder. Fischer estimates that the program actively helps about 40 patients per year with hands-on pet care. This number does not reflect the many calls from case workers and nurses for patients who require screening for the program. When patients learn that the program is not entirely free and that the pets have to be handled by volunteers, Fischer notes that patients who have a network of support will ask her to contact a family member or friend and even pass along apartment keys. The program relies on donations for most of the funding, so that patients who cannot afford the program are able to use the service.

Volunteers for PPC must go through an application and training process, due to the sensitive nature of working in a hospital setting. The people who do this work must be compassionate, flexible, kind-hearted, and discreet. Volunteers will be assigned a case at a time, so they will become familiar with a particular pet or family. Safety is a major priority for volunteers. For this reason, it is a challenge to find new recruits since many people are reluctant to enter into the homes of patients alone.

Fischer says the number one need for the program is foster homes. Boarding, as all pet owners know, is costly. Foster families can really help keep pets out of the shelter system when these patients need help. This can help keep costs to CACC down.

The goals in 2009 of Fischer and the program are to increase the outpatient support for the pet care program. Patients recovering from surgery or undergoing cancer treatment may need support for their pets for a duration of time. Fischer’s plan is to increase the volunteer base and to offer more patients care for longer periods.

The second goal of 2009 is to support the foundation of a pet care program at Beth Israel hospital in Manhattan and to promote growing similar programs in other hospitals. Fischer expects her efforts to grow similar pet care programs in hospitals thanks to her strong outreach and alliances with groups like the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals. Hospital administrators will likely be very slow to adapt to the program. Despite an animal-friendly administration, it took over a year at St. Vincent’s to get all of their legal representatives to approve the PPC.

Pets are often overlooked in social services, but not at St. Vincent’s. The Patient Pet Care program is about helping people through helping their pets. You don’t expect your doctor to walk your dog or feed your cat when you are recovering in the hospital, but it is good to know someone is thinking about your concern for your pets well-being too.

Email Kate Fischer or call her at 212-604-8649 to learn more, volunteer, or donate to PPC. Email Not Home Alone to learn more about efforts to expand the program in other hospitals.

You can also download forms from the NY State Bar Association that will assist the hospital in caring for your pets should the need ever arise.

St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan is located at 170 West 12th Street, New York, NY 10011

No comments

Are you thinking about switching your dog’s diet? If you are considering preparing dog food yourself, a necessary resource is the book Home Prepared Dog & Cat Diets: The Healthful Alternative by Donald R. Strombeck, DVM, PhD. Strombeck specializes in gastroenterology and has been a veterinarian for over 40 years. You get over 200 recipes, some of which are formulated for the management of specific diseases (ie. kidney disease, obesity control, heart disease). It is dangerous to feed a home cooked diet to your pets without the proper guidance of a nutrition expert, so this book should be a welcome addition to your veterinary library.

If you are hard pressed for time, but want to try local, home made dog foods here is a list of companies to check out:

Scooter Food
FreshPet and their Homestyle Select Food
Zen Chien
The Healthy Pet Gourmet
Trudy’s Homemade Dog Food

Chicken and turkey recipe image from Trudy’s website. Mmm, palatable.

6 comments

Spay and Neuter. It isn’t just something Bob Barker told you to do. Pet owners in the northeastern US choose this option of sterilization for
their pets because there are not any other effective and cost-efficient options available right now. The average cost in New York City to spay or neuter a dog is between $290 and $600 (and this price does not necessarily include the pre-surgery examination or any bloodwork to make sure the pet is healthy enough to withstand anesthesia).

Since this is a tad out of the price range for some pet owners, there are alternatives like the Big Fix.

At the Center for Animal Care & Control, you can have a spay or neuter performed for $35.00 per dog or $25 per cat. This is a life saving program for some people who have taken in pets but are unaware of the financial situation they face in the first year of pet ownership.
The procedures take place every Monday at the Bronx shelter (464 East Fordham Rd) and every Thursday at the Brooklyn shelter (2336 Linden Boulevard). You need to call ahead to book an appointment (212-788-4000).

Here are other low-cost spay/neuter options from a recent NY Daily News report:

The ASPCA recently unveiled its third state-of-the-art mobile spay/neuter van available to New Yorkers on public assistance. And at the Humane Society of N.Y., low-cost surgery is available to pet owners of all income levels, beginning at only $48 for a female cat.

Purchasing coupons to use toward the cost of spay/neuter surgery from participating vets can also help defray costs. For a nominal fee, the Friends of Animals‘ spay/neuter programs certificate covers the cost of a routine procedure including exam, surgery, anesthesia and pain relief medications at participating vets.

The Muffins Pet Connection offers discount spay/neuter certificates at 83 participating local veterinarians, starting at $38 for a male cat to $72 for a female dog.

The reality is that pet ownership requires taking good medical care of your pets. Spay/neuter is just one part of being responsible. Here are a spay procedure play-by-play and neuter FAQs.

(Cartoon via the Volunteers for Animal Welfare website of Oklahoma)

No comments

News reports first stated canned foods (chunks + gravy styles) were the only affected foods, but now the list continues to grow as Del Monte lists new recalled snacks and foods. Even a dry food, one not manufactured at Menu Foods, Hills Prescription m/d for cats has been recalled.

This writer can tell you from experience, talking all day, every day, with pet owners, that people are freaked out. One person has now proclaimed he’ll no longer feed his bull mastiff manufactured dog foods and will only give sliced deli turkey (packaged) and cottage cheese until a better food source can be determined by his veterinarian. Yes, his dog is smiling and eating happily. But how long will this unbalanced diet continue? When will food manufacturers stop giving this pet owner reasons to freak out?

New York Tails magazine is calling for people to submit letters and photos of their pets (via snail mail) so they can send a huge mailing to the FDA that says: “Hey, we care about our pets and want you to do a better job protecting them from harmful foods.” Visit the link for the form letter.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on that Menu Foods list, here. Also, Brad over at Poop City has been covering the recall in detail.

(Illustration by Jessica at Indexed. Check her out for more venn diagram goodness.)

No comments

Tom over at Poop City Atomische passed along the word that there is a pet food recall in effect for several brands made by Menu Foods and sold between December and March for both dog and cat foods. The contaminated food may cause kidney failure. Take a minute and make sure you aren’t feeding any of the recalled foods now by visiting the link or calling (866) 895-2708.
Scary.

No comments

Pet insurance is a daily topic of discussion for those of us in the veterinary field. To insure or not is a difficult question to answer for many pet owners. As a pet owner pondering this very question, here is exactly what you should do:

1. Get a caffinated beverage.
2. Find a cozy chair if you have a laptop. If you aren’t mobile with your computer, tilt the chair back or grab an ottoman, because you will be doing a bit of research.
3. Read Urbanhound.com’s guide to pet insurance thoroughly and ask yourself if this is enough information before going to the websites for the companies reviewed in the article.
4. Read this, this, and/or this.
5. Remind yourself that veterinary offices will want payment (most likely) when services are provided. Insurance should send a check after you have paid your bill.
6. Check out any or all of the following companies:
-ASPCA Pet Health Insurance or parent company, PetsHealth
-Pet Assure (Not a standard insurance plan, but more like a discount club)
-Veterinary Pet Insurance, aka VPI (A bonus for members of NYU’s Alumni Association: you are eligible for a 5% group discount)
-ShelterCare or parent company, PetCare Pet Insurance (For those thinking of adopting a new furry friend)
-Embrace Pet Insurance
- Pets Best Insurance
7. Now that the day is probably about half over if you followed all the previous steps, take a nap. Then you’ll be ready to get quotes.
8. Finally, let us know what you decided and how insurance is or isn’t working out for you!

(Image by IsolatedIguana from Flickr)

2 comments

The parks department is accepting applications for vendors of pushcarts to hawk their dog-friendly wares in city parks. While it could become a good thing for dogs (eg. the carts could sell dog water bowls or portable water caddies in the summer and booties for cold, wet paws in the winter), it sounds like these carts will emphasize the more edible dog stuffs (read: Cookies, snacks, biscuits, nibbles, kibbles, etc.).
While it could be fun and cute to swing by the cart for a treat for the pooch, couldn’t it also be just one more way to unfortunately fatten up Fido?
Hopefully, these new carts will sell the doggy diet sticks. They are yummy, crunchy, and better for dogs than baked treats!

(Carrot Image from Kind Planet)

No comments