Back to the regular Sunday Picture Parade.
Warmest thanks to Larry Little from next door for sending these great pictures across to me.
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Another wonderful set next Sunday.
Be happy good people!
Category: Dogs
Addiction Dog Food Recall
Haven’t had one of these since the start of June.
Do please note and share.
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Addiction Dog Food Recall of September 2016
August 31, 2016 — Addiction Foods of Seattle, WA, has announced it is voluntarily recalling limited quantities of its New Zealand Brushtail and Vegetable and New Zealand Venison and Apple canned dog foods.1
What’s Being Recalled?
The affected product was shipped to select distributors and online retailers between February 11, 2016 and March 19, 2016 and include the following:
- Addiction New Zealand Brushtail and Vegetables Canned Dog Food Entrée
Size: 13.8oz/390g
UPC Code: 8 885004 070028
Lot Number: 8940:02Dec2018
Expiration Date: December 2018 - Addiction New Zealand Venison and Apples Canned Dog Food Entrée
Size: 13.8oz/390g
UPC Code: 8 885004 070462
Lot Number: 8936:01Dec2018
Expiration Date: December 2018
No other Addiction Pet Food products are affected by this recall.
What Caused the Recall
Addiction’s testing has identified elevated levels of Vitamin A and a slight variance in calcium / phosphorous ratios.
There have been no reports of animal health concerns. However, the company claims the affected lots do not meet its quality standards.
According to the company, Addiction Food’s top priority is the safety and quality of its products. For this reason, they are taking immediate action and implementing additional operating procedures to prevent a similar issue from occurring in the future.
What It Means to You
If dogs were fed exclusively these products for 60 days, the expected effect would be a reduction in appetite.
Exposure to excessive Vitamin A levels for an extended period of time may cause adverse health consequences in young, growing animals.
Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, the company is voluntarily recalling these products.
What to Do?
Consumers who purchased the affected items are asked to discontinue use of the product.
Unused cans may be returned to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Consumers may contact the company at 425-251-0330, Monday thru Friday 9am to 5pm PST.
Or via email at info@addictionfoods.com
U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.
Or go to http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints.
Canadians can report any health or safety incidents related to the use of this product by filling out the Consumer Product Incident Report Form.
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All of you stay safe out there!
Kindness in our animals.
A wonderful follow-on to yesterday’s post.
A number of domestic circumstances are taking priority at the moment so you will forgive me for the brevity of my words today. But that won’t stop you enjoying this recent item over on the Care2 site.
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Rescued Horse Befriends Dog
This rescued horse made an instant friend in his new family’s dog!
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Short but just wonderful!
That fickle finger of fate!
Coping with an emergency includes looking after our dogs.
Most of us live our daily lives without paying too much attention to the likelihood of an emergency. But as Hurricane Hermine and the recent explosion of that SpaceX rocket show the unexpected does come along.
All of which is my preamble to a recent item over on the Mother Network Nature site that reviewed taking care of our beloved pets when an emergency does strike.
I have pleasure in sharing it with you.
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5 steps to ensure your pet is cared for in an emergency
Jaymi Heimbuch August 31, 2016
A car crash, an arrest, a natural disaster or a medical emergency. While no one wants to think about these awful possibilities, sometimes we should to protect and provide for those we love, in case one day we can’t make it home as planned. And those we love include our pets.
Imagine something happens to you and you can’t get home to your dogs, cats, birds or other critters. You need a way to not only alert others to the fact that you have pets at home, but also the information they need to care for your pets in your absence. Here are five ways you can ensure that your pets will be looked after.
Carry a card in your wallet
Create a card that you can carry in your wallet or purse. If you’re ever in a medical emergency, a rescue worker or paramedic looking through your wallet for identification will also know that there are animals at your home that need care.
The card can be as simple as a note that you have pets at home on one side, and on the other side lists contact information for friends or family members you’ve designated to care for them. Or it can be detailed, listing how many pets you have at home, their names and the kind of animal each pet is, your address, and emergency contact information for two people you trust to care for your pets. How much information you want to include is entirely up to you.
You can create your own card, download a free template online to print out, or buy cards online that you can fill in information with a pen.
Add a sign on your door or windows to save your pet
Another place to put an alert card is in your window or on the door to your home. An emergency 
pet alert sticker is ideal when you can’t get to your home but someone like a firefighter or rescue worker can.
Like a wallet card, a sticker should list how many pets are inside and what species they are, so any rescue worker would know if they’d found all the animals inside.
This is a small but potentially life-saving step in preparing for emergency situations such as after an earthquake, tornado, fire or flood, so that someone who is searching through homes can rescue your pet even if you can’t — or aren’t allowed — to get back to your home.
Ensure at least 2 separate people you trust have access to your home
Your emergency wallet card states contact information for people you trust to care for your pet if you’re in an emergency situation and can’t get home to them. The next step is ensuring they can get to your pet when needed.
Make sure each person listed as an emergency guardian has a set of keys, or that they know the secret hiding place for your spare set of keys. If you have an alarm system on your home, you’ll need to provide these friends with the access code.
Because these friends or family members not only have access to your home but also will take responsibility for your animal companion, you’ll need to put some thought into who you’ll have in place as a temporary caregiver or as a permanent caregiver.
The ASPCA notes:
When choosing a temporary caregiver, consider someone who lives close to your residence. He or she should be someone who is generally home during the day while you are at work or has easy access to your home. When selecting a permanent caregiver, you’ll need to consider other criteria. This is a person to whom you are entrusting the care of your pet in the event that something should happen to you. Be sure to discuss your expectations at length with a permanent caregiver, so he or she understands the responsibility of caring for your pet.
You may want to put down temporary caregiver contact information on your emergency cards, and ensure they know who is designated as the permanent caregiver should you not be able to return home to your pets for a long time, or at all.
Create a kit for your pet
A disaster preparedness kit is a great idea both for you and your pet. This also benefits your pet not just for a natural disaster, but if you’re in an emergency and can’t get to them.
An emergency supply kit should include a document that a temporary caregiver or potential permanent guardian can use to understand your pet’s needs. This includes:
- vet and vaccination records
- pet insurance details
- information about any medications your pet needs
- an extra leash and collar
- a carrier if you have a smaller pet
- information on any behavior problems, quirks or habits that a caregiver should know about
Be sure to tell your emergency contacts and temporary caregivers where this information is located in your home, so they can access it should they need it.
Make formal long-term arrangements for your pet
We briefly discussed designating someone as a permanent caregiver for your pet should you not be able to return to them. You may want to consider setting up a formal arrangement for this to ensure that your pet definitely goes to the person you’ve designated and receives the care they need.
This could be a formal written arrangement with a permanent caregiver or it may be part of your will. You might also consider creating a trust or other financial arrangement to ensure your pet is cared for if you’re incapacitated. However, Petfinder notes:
Before making formal arrangements to provide for the long-term care of your pet, seek help from professionals who can guide you in preparing legal documents that can protect your interests and those of your pet. However, you must keep in mind the critical importance of making advance personal arrangements to ensure that your pet is cared for immediately if you die or become incapacitated. The formalities of a will or trust may not take over for some time.
Such a document may at first seem like a lot to handle for a “what if” situation, but by taking the appropriate precautions ahead of time, you can be sure that your pets are immediately cared for should something occur that prevents you from returning home to them.
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This all seems like very sound advice and, believe me, advice that Jeannie and I will review and adopt wherever we can.
Please, good people, do take care of yourselves including all your pets.
Peggy Love
They ask for so little!
That sub-heading was inspired by a comment left by Barb, author of the blog Passionate About Pets, in response to Maria Matthews’ story on Monday. This is what Barb wrote (my emphasis):
I loved Maria’s story, very uplifting and special. I can’t imagine my life without a dog, they give us so much and ask for little in return, just to be loved and cared for.
Yesterday, I mentioned that as well as Maria’s guest post there would be another today. In fact, the guest post will be in two parts. That guest is Peter Sonne.
Today, I am going to focus on the email that Peter sent to me and then on Thursday I will publish the article that accompanied Peter’s email. Peter also included pictures of Peggy that will be shared with you both today and tomorrow. So here’s Peter’s email:
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Hello Paul, I hope you all have been well.
I wanted to send you this little write-up and photos that Leslie put together for our little cattle dog, Peggy.
We had to let her go about a week ago. We had sent this out to all our animal friends and I thought of you as I have started to read your book. It is giving me a good deal of comfort, for I can relate to most everything. This one has been particularly hard on me.
Peggy was with me most everyday, and went just about everywhere with us. I think what stands out in my thoughts is that we know the first half of her life was pretty much a nightmare all around. When she was rescued, most of her hair was gone, her skin was in terrible shape, her teeth the same, etc. We quickly found that loud noises would send her running and she was a grubber for sure; food was her top priority, even up to the end.
I could see in her eyes when we first met her that she still had a spark, a desire if you will, to be a ‘good’ part of something; a pack.
She took to us, and to me right off she sensed a good change for her. Up until the end, however, when I would reach over to her to put my hand on her, she would always, always have a slight flinch – but followed through the connection.
I would catch her just staring at me many times while in the truck or in the house, just relaxing. You know, as I have mentioned to people before, if its dogs, cats, horses or what ever, if one takes that extra second to pay attention, to look at what’s happening when these beings see you each time, it’s really amazing. They do recognize you, and if one always tries to make that connection a positive one, that reward of seeing the reaction between that animal and you, time after time, can be extremely fulfilling for both, and that bond grows.
I think I felt more protective over her than all the others. That alone is a strong statement from 
me, as I have loved all those so dearly that have blessed us, by allowing us to be a part of their pack. Leslie was speaking with our cancer vet, whom we have worked with many times before, and mentioned this never gets easier only harder it seems.
Our vet said that is true and more so for us as we always have 3 to 5 dogs, and the odds of dealing with this loss are much, much higher for us. Most families have maybe 1 dog for 10 or so years and then something happens, and it’s time to let them go.
So with us, and others who always have multiple dogs, the need to deal with sickness and that final decision to let them go is greatly increased. It makes sense, but it is still very hard to deal with.
Didn’t mean to ramble, but it seems to help a little. Thanks again for writing that book! It helps as well.
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All dogs respond to our love and affection as does almost every species of warm-blooded animal, and a fair few humans as well!
But those dogs that are rescued truly appear to find a joyfulness, call it an inner happiness, that is just a tad richer than with dogs that were born straight into loving families.
Impossible to prove; just my ‘pet’ theory!
Come back tomorrow and read Leslie’s story.
More rescue tales.
Or should that be rescue tails!
I have another guest post for you tomorrow that, as with Maria’s story yesterday, will be appreciated greatly by you.
But for today I’m going to republish an item that appeared on the Care2 site that isn’t a million miles away from Maria’s theme about her Ellie finding lost persons.
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3 Rescued Dogs Who Saved Their Family Members’ Lives This Year
By: Laura Goldman
August 25, 2016
Celebrated on August 26 every year, National Dog Day encourages pet adoptions and honors dogs who save lives, keep us safe and bring us comfort. Created in 2004 by pet lifestyle expert Colleen Paige, the holiday falls on the date her family adopted their first rescue dog. Among the ways you can celebrate are by adopting a dog of your own or donating $5 to your local animal shelter.
In honor of National Dog Day, meet three rescued dogs who really “pawed” it forward this year by saving the lives of their forever family members.
Leon Alerts Family to Home Intruders
As Theresa Lero was feeding her horses outside her Gulfport, Miss., home early one April morning, two armed and masked men entered her house.
When she went inside, her rescue dog, Leon, was growling at the door to the sunroom. Peeking through a window, Lero saw a man with a gun.
She ran to wake up her husband. Grabbing a gun, she ran back to the sunroom with her dog by her side. “Get ‘em, Leon,” she told him.
The men began shooting. They missed Lero, but shot Leon in the head. “You shot my dog. I’ll kill you myself,” Lero yelled at them. A neighbor heard her and called 911.
The intruders ran off and were later caught by police. In the meantime, the Leros rushed Leon to the veterinarian. Amazingly, the bullet skimmed his skull and exited out his ear. He was able to walk in and out of the animal hospital.
For saving his family, Leon was given a framed certificate of bravery from the county sheriff.
When the Leros adopted their dog from a shelter two years ago, they thought he was a redbone coonhound, so they named him after the singer Leon Redbone. As it turns out, Leon may actually be a red nose pit bull. One thing is certain: Leon is definitely a hero.
Haus Saves Girl from Rattlesnake
In May, 7-year-old Molly Deluca was playing in her Tampa backyard with Haus, the German Shepherd her family adopted in March from a rescue organization, when her grandmother noticed Haus jump in front of the girl and then rear up.
He was protecting her from a venomous Eastern diamondback rattlesnake that had slithered in from a habitat at a nearby state park. Haus “had every opportunity to run but he didn’t,” Molly’s mother, Donya Deluca, told the Associated Press.
Molly was unharmed, but Haus was bitten three times in the leg. He was successfully treated at an animal hospital for kidney damage, and was given a blood transfusion and anti-venom. A week later, Haus was well enough to return home. His expensive veterinary bills were covered by generous donations from an online fundraising campaign. Haus received a Heroic Dog Award from PETA.
“He just exceeded our expectations all the way around,” Molly’s dad, Adam DeLuca, told the Associated Press. “He’s the type of dog that when you want to go buy a dog, you pay thousands of dollars and that’s the dog you get. But we adopted him and got him for free.”
Earl Wakes Up New Owner as House Burns
Barely a week after he was adopted from Petco’s Stray Animal Adoption Program in July, a pug named Earl rescued his new dog mom by alerting her to a house fire in their Erlanger, Ky., home.
“He just fell asleep with me on the couch along with (another dog named) Tucker, and the next thing I know, he’s waking me up, licking my face. It’s the first time he’s done that,” Kristina Brate told WLWT.
The fire, believed to have been caused by faulty wiring, started in the basement and quickly spread through the rest of the house.
Brate lost almost everything in the fire, but she’s alive thanks to Earl. Petco awarded the hero dog with a $500 shopping spree to help replace the lost pet items and also stock up on some well-deserved treats.
“I believe that he came to me for a reason,” Brate told WLWT. “I think that, for some reason, the first family had passed him up and that there’s a reason why I got him.”
Photo credit: YouTube
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Physically, psychologically and emotionally the number of ways that dogs save us is almost limitless!
Delivering a new purpose in life.
Such a precious relationship!
Very frequently when I connect with dog lovers I make it clear that if they have any stories that they would like to share with you good people that they don’t hesitate to submit something. I am always blown away by these submissions. Indeed, there are two being offered to you dear readers this week.
So the first is from Maria Matthews and without any further delay from me, here it is.
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How an amazing Collie pup gave me a new purpose in life.
By Maria Matthews, 28th August 2016.
I was redundant, sitting at home, days divided between housekeeping, writing and walking Bob our dog who was then 7 years of age.
The trouble was I hate cleaning a house, and Bob an Norwegian elk-hound is allergic to being energetic.
My husband mentioned he would love to find a husky and as I was at home I agreed; I was 51 years of age and didn’t hold out much hope of finding work. Our search took us to a well known dogs rescue centre. They suggested we needed to build up our walls, as a husky needs a secure environment, plus the home and us would have to be inspected. We agreed, went home and made the necessary changes. When we returned we discovered there was one hiccup in the plan, a dog taken from the centre had to be housed indoors. We couldn’t agree to it, as Bob loves being outdoors.
I pointed this out and stressed that the backdoor is always open, but it was useless for they wouldn’t budge. The internet is a terrific place and google, God Bless him, suggested loads of places but when I rang there was no husky available. Until I contacted a lady in Easky, County Sligo (the Western side of Ireland) and she informed me she had twenty dogs for re-homing.
So on a sunny Saturday morning we, including Bob, set off. He wasn’t impressed with spending more than half an hour in the car and refused to lie down. We joked that he was watching the road, noting the sign posts, etc., in case he needed to make his own way back. However to cut a long story short, none of the twenty dogs liked him or he them. “We do have one other option,” she paused. “We have a collie cross husky who is extremely active, but she is still a pup.”
We decided to meet the pup.This time when the gate opened there was a pause of maybe thirty seconds while this tiny pup, with the biggest ears ever seen, inspected us. Then she raced into the compound, ran around Bob, jumped over him, turned about, and then ducked under him. He responded by diving down, front paws on the ground and joining in the game.
An hour later we left, with Bob snuggling up to his new companion in the back. She snored for most of the way home and once there took control of his bed, his life and everyone’s hearts.
However, we discovered a downside to having a clever pup. She loved balls, would do anything to find one, and learned how to open gates, upend the laundry basket and sneak socks and other pieces of underwear out into the garden.
She needed a job. We tried agility, and she excelled at it, but the class was too crowded for her and a distance away from the house. Then I stumbled on an article about dogs that search for people who are lost.
I began by hiding her ball. She loved this game. I made contact with Irish Search Dogs and a local man who agreed to meet with me. He was bowled over by her ability. She quickly began learning how to find people. Our new weekly regime included a drive to County Cork at 6 am on Sunday mornings, a drive of three-and-a-half hours there and another three-and-a-half back home. All for a training session of fifteen to twenty minutes. I needed to find someone closer to home. After much searching I met Fred Quinn a dog trainer of 40 years who agreed to take a look at her.
He was impressed but decided our training methods needed adjusting. And she loved it. We searched: woods; water; urban areas; for our hidden helpers. It became a challenge to think of new places to hide. So we used cars, car boots, trees, dried out ditches, derelict sheds, wheelie bins, massive drainage pipes under the roads, and on one occasion a huge hollowed out hole in the ground with shrubs, etc., covering the opening. And on each occasion she found our volunteer missing body. Then we upped her training further and began using dead scent.
At each change in her training she took it with a big wag of her tail.
She continues to love it. Three years ago we met with a group who recover and rescue people from the rivers and lakes in the County. They were intrigued with her and asked us to join their group. Now it was my turn to train, I learnt how to cox a boat, took more first aid courses, learnt how to walk a river bed, swam in the river Boyne on a star-filled night, learned how to cross a weir safely and feed a boat across it by rope. I think Ellie viewed my training sceptically as she sat on the boat and watched with interest.
When we are on call out, we are a team. We have worked through rain, snow, freezing temperatures even having a picnic in a wood on the top of a hillside during a snow storm and all through it this medium-sized dog was urging me to get up and move again. She knows she has a job to do and is eager to complete it.
In the past two years she has helped in nine recoveries. People wonder why we do it and I suppose now the answer simply is, because she has this great ability or gift and it would be a shame not to make use of it. However, the greatest gift she has given me are the friendships I have gained and the extra life-skills made during the past few years. It is probably down to all of this extra or new found confidence that I have a blog site, two books published and a great amount of energy.
And I thank my four legged friend, my dear Ellie, for bringing me on so many adventures.
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Not only is this a wonderful story but it is yet another insight into the precious relationship that so many of us humans have with our dogs. Beautiful!
I’m also going to close by including a little of what was in Maria’s covering email.
Ellie has been working now as a search and recovery dog for the past three years and more than proven her worth to all around us.I would love to think other people might read it and consider doing something with their own dog even if it was only to bring them on visits to elderly relatives as I have noticed that my own father and mother-in-law get comfort from Bob’s visits to them.
Many times I stop and ponder about these very strange times we are now living in. How they have the potential to be most unsettling.
Then just as many times I know that while I have my darling Jeannie in my life and so many dogs who make me feel so special to them those strange times ‘out there’ are, to me, like water off a duck’s back.
Maria’s story just reinforced that feeling in me and I bet I’m not the only one affected in that way by Maria’s words!
Quick recovery Casey!
Casey’s return to full health is remarkable!
On the 17th August I published a post Life’s Lottery that was about an injury that our Casey had suffered on the 14th August. It included this photograph:
I’m delighted to say that yesterday morning Casey returned to Lincoln Road Vet Clinic and the sutures were removed.
The drain was removed last Monday.
Jean and I were not with Casey for the five minutes it took to remove the sutures but the picture below shows a very happy Casey just 15 minutes after we arrived.
(If I could better drive the Apple photos app on my new iMac I would have shown you a closer image! Revised image inserted on Saturday morning as a result of me playing with the app.)
Eating human food?
For our precious dogs, that is!
Dog Food Selector recently published a post about whether or not dogs can eat human foods.
As one might anticipate the answer is neither an unqualified yes nor a no. The article included a detailed list of human foods and an analysis of their potential risks as well as a useful graphical summary.
But first to the article.
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Can Dogs Eat Human Foods?
The most important recommendation for introducing new foods to your dog’s diet is to do so progressively.
Because introducing new foods into your dog’s diet may lead to digestive problems.
Our advice is to introduce only one new food at a time, in small amounts at first and observe your dog for any reactions to the change.
Keep in mind that every dog is different, so if you have any doubts please check with your veterinarian to see which ingredients are appropriate for your dog.
But how about foods you eat?
We’re sure you sometimes wonder yourself: Can my dog eat this? Is this food bad for him? Are human foods for dogs OK?
The following list includes numerous foods organized by alphabetical order.
Every food is marked with the potential risk to induce gastrointestinal or toxicity problems in dogs.
The risk is classified as:
0: Minimal risk if given in controlled amounts
1: Low risk
2: Moderate risk
3: High Risk
We advise you not to give your dog foods marked with risk 2 and 3.
Anyhow, you should always consult a vet to get a specific overview of the human foods’ risks on your dog.
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Then follows an extensive list of foods in alphabetical order. Here’s an example:
Food: Apricot Risk: 2 Comments: The seeds, leaves, and stems contain cyanide. Additionally, the pits can be a potential choking hazard or cause an intestinal obstruction.
But as well as the detailed list of foods with their associated Risk factor and additional comments, the article included the following ‘infographic’.
Produced by DogFoodSelector.com
I think that’s a most useful reference.
What are your thoughts as to how useful this chart is?
The power of love …
….. for the animals in our lives.
In yesterday’s post Senior Smiles there was a lovely exchange between Cindy and me. Cindy wrote:
Just a few days ago I relived in my mind the pain of losing our 16 year old Bichon- and that was a year and a half ago! Honestly, that is my biggest fear of adopting another dog- esp an older one.
Cindy then, mistakenly in my view, thought that, “it’s selfish to hang on to grief like this, and I REALLY don’t mean to“, to which I replied:
Grief is not a selfish attitude, far from it! You will know when it’s the right time to adopt, and love, a new dog.
You can then easily imagine my pleasure when thinking of what to write for today’s post to see a recent item over on the Care2 site about our commitment to our pets. About our love for our pets.
The item was called How Far Would You Go For Your Pet? and is republished here today. I would like to dedicate this post to Cindy! Cindy is the author of the blog: Mermaid in a Mudslide.
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How Far Would You Go for Your Pet?
By: TreeHugger. August 23, 2016
There is simply no denying the power that pets hold over us.
I suppose there are a number of reasons why we love our dogs and cats (and others) so much, but surely their innocence and unconditional love rank right up there on top. Plus they’re cute, and furry, and funny, and sweet, and overall good companions. But I have to think there is something about them providing access to the larger animal world in general as well – domesticated animals are like a bridge between us civilized humans and wildlife, and for this they serve an important role. If we can find compassion for our companion animals, in many cases that compassion seeps out and becomes extended to other elements of the natural world as well.
And we really, really have compassion for our pets. Like, approaching fervency. Last year Americans spent over $60 billion on their pets, a number expected to increase by another $2 billion this year. That. Is. So. Much. Money. If you spent $20 per second, it would take 95 years to spend $60 billion.
But even more telling than how much we spend on our pets is the other sacrifices we would make for them. With pets on their mind, the website Abodo conducted a survey of 2,000 dog and cat owners and asked them all kinds of bordering-on-Sophie’s-Choice type of questions. The following results display just how cuckoo we are for our creature cohabitants.
See more of the survey’s results here.
Written by Melissa Breyer, this post originally appeared on TreeHugger.
Photo Credit: dougwoods/Flickr
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The power of (unconditional) love!
Learning from Dogs 