Eastwood Leaves No Pet Behind
Alison Eastwood, Eastwood Ranch Foundation

Daughter of actor Clint Eastwood, Alison Eastwood, founder of the Eastwood Ranch Foundation, makes her second guest appearance on Animal Radio®. Alison tells us how she recently went into a Southern California animal shelter and pardoned 200 animals from Death Row.

Alison organized a "No Pet Left Behind" pardon and adoption event in February at the San Bernardino City Animal Shelter, which ensured that no animal would be euthanized for one week. In the meantime, they worked to find homes for every animal at the shelter. As a result, over 200 dogs' and over 50 cats' lives were saved. The Eastwood Ranch Foundation also paid for over 50 feral cats to be fixed and released into a feral community.

Alison works with a lot of rural shelters in areas such as San Bernardino and Lancaster, California. These shelters are all high kill shelters and are struggling. The reason being, in Alison's opinion, is the mentality of the people who have animals and don't have the education or resources to spay or neuter them. Alison tries to encourage spay and neuter clinics to go out to these areas to help by offering low costs or no costs spays and neuters to these communities.

There are also a lot of backyard breeders in these cities. People tend to have a great amount of land, with little ranches, and people breed a lot of dogs. Alison believes that when they can't get rid of these puppies, thinking originally that they would make a great amount of money selling them, they end up dumping them at the shelters because they don't want to deal with them. You will see a lot of purebreds, mainly Chihuahuas and Pit Bulls, as well as many cats in these areas.

In addition to providing support to animal sanctuaries, rescue organizations and animal shelters, Eastwood Ranch Foundation find homes for homeless and abandoned dogs and cats and works to reduce pet overpopulation and increase pet adoptions through campaigns, events, education, spay/neuter programs and rescue partnerships, mainly in Southern California.

http://www.eastwoodranch.org

"HERO PERSON OF THE WEEK" - Kim Sturla, Animal Place

When "Mr. G" (a goat) got transferred to a foster facility, he went into a severe depression. He wouldn't eat. The facility then learned that he had been separated from "Jellybean," (a donkey) at Mr. G's last home. After trying many solutions to bring Mr. G out of his funk, they reunited the two. Kim Sturla from the foster facility tells the story and she's our Hero Person this week.

Kim Sturla is the Executive Director of Animal Place, a sanctuary for farm animals in Northern California. They have two locations, one in Vacaville and another in Grass Valley.

She tells us about a hoarding case in Southern California, where the remaining animals were an old goat and older donkey. No one knew at the time that these two were very close friends. Animal Place only had one spot so they took the goat and the donkey was placed with another facility that also only had one spot.

Once the goat arrived at Animal Place, he stopped eating and wouldn't leave the barn. This went on for many days. They even had him checked out by a veterinarian who couldn't find anything wrong.

After four days, the sanctuary knew they needed to do something. Kim immediately got on the phone and learned about the special friendship Mr. G had with Jellybean for the past 10 years. She was able to locate him and arrange for the donkey to come to Animal Place's Vacaville location where poor Mr. G was pining away.

It took three days and a 14-hour round trip, but the reunion was accomplished, which was videotaped. The video has now gone viral and has been see over 5,000 million times.

It was almost instantaneously that Mr. G came to life as soon as he was reunited with his buddy and even started eating.

Kim states that Mr. G appears to be more bonded to Jellybean. Jellybean, who is female, seems to rule the roost and Mr. G. won't let her out of his sight!

Mr. G and Jellybean will not be placed for adoption. Instead, they will spend the rest of their days, together, at the group's Grass Valley sanctuary.

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Allergy Season Is Here!
Dr. Patricia White, Veterinary Allergist & Dermatologist

This is the time of the year when vet offices across America fill with allergic reactions to environment, food and even medicines. Dr. Patricia White is a Veterinary Allergist and Dermatologist at the Atlanta Veterinary Skin and Allergy Clinic and she'll tell you how to determine the allergy and what to do to comfort your pet.

Many of the things that we humans are allergic to can also trigger allergies in our pets, but their symptoms are a lot different than what you and I experience.

The most common problem that Dr. White sees in her clinic is itching. This can keep both the owners and dogs up all night. Dr. White is a referral practice, which means she gets the cases that no veterinarians can fix. Pet owners just want their pets to feel better and be comfortable. With itching being the number one complaint and allergies being the number one cause.

It's a process to determine the cause of itching. It can be many things, including but not limited to, parasites and infection, or allergies vs. autoimmune disease. Itching is just a symptom, and it takes practice, patience and the desire to get to the bottom of the problem to solve it.

Can't you just give your dog antihistamines, such as Benadryl, for itching? You first need to make sure this medication is appropriate to give your pet. Antihistamines work in a small percentage of animals that have seasonal allergies. It doesn't necessarily work in every animal that itches. It is important to find out the reason your pet is itching and then prescribe the appropriate medication.

Because our pets can't talk, it is difficult to know what the cause is. If it is something that occurs on a seasonal basis, such as every spring when the tree pollens pop, you can probably deduct that it is an allergic problem.

Before you give your pet any type of antihistamine, check with your vet. Make sure it is okay to do and find out what kind of dose you should give. There is no one-size-fits all answer. Also, while Benadryl might work for one animal, it may not work for another.

But will Benadryl, as an antihistamine, help with all kinds of allergies, including food and environmental? No. Food allergies tend to not respond to a lot of anti-itch medications. Antihistamines are appropriate for animals that have seasonal reoccurring discomfort.

If your pet has food allergies, you need to find out what is in their diet that might be causing it and eliminate it. Many owners try to do this own their own without any guidance from a veterinarian, but they are usually not successful. They also don't realize that they need to cut out all treats and snack, and that it can take up to 6 to 8 weeks to see a response to a diet change. If you suspect your pet has food allergies, work with your vet to get them on an appropriate diet.

http://www.atlantaskinvet.com

Animal Radio® News with Tammy Trujillo

Another Recall Of Dog Treats!
Pet-Center-Inc. of Los Angeles is voluntarily recalling it's 3-ounce bags of Lamb Crunchys Treats because they could be contaminated with Salmonella. So far there are no reports of any dogs getting sick from eating the treats, but Salmonella was detected during testing of a random sample. The treats were sold in California, Wisconsin, Colorado and Washington. A pet with Salmonella will be lethargic and might have diarrhea, fever or vomiting and should be taken to the vet right away. The numerous recalls have prompted a lot of pet parents to start wanting to play it safe and cook for their pets and that's actually opened up the door for new companies to join the $21-billion dollar U.S. pet food business. New companies are designing now specifically for what's called 'the happy dance,' that's what the industry calls the jumping, wagging, purring and pawing that hungry dogs and cats do when they know your getting their food ready. A survey done by Petco recently found majority of pet parents now customize their pets meals in some way, like adding bacon or some chopped vegetables.

More Pets Buried In Backyards
More pets are buried in U.S Backyards than anywhere else, but that is quickly becoming illegal in more and more places. That is causing some companies to emerge with some creative options. A new option is with a water-based technology that leaves pure ash that's like powdery beach sand. The process is actually called alkaline hydrolysis. Then there's a company that turns strand or hair or the remains of a pet into a synthetic diamond that you can turn into a piece of jewelry if you wish. There's also a company that sends your pet's remains into the heavens inside a 5-foot round helium balloon, while another one will scatter the ashes at sea.

Who (or What?) Is Vandalizing Flags on Veterans' Graves
Finally, here is one of those believe it or not stories. A sheriff's deputy in upstate New York was sent to a cemetery to find out who was vandalizing flags put on veteran's graves. He was able to catch the culprit in the act. Deputy Voutour says he wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. The thief turned out to be a groundhog, who the deputy actually saw taking the flags, breaking the sticks off them with it's front paws and then taking the flags into its den.

Should Pets Get Yearly Vaccinations?
There is a lot of controversy lately about whether pets should get yearly vaccines or not. The problem centers on pets having adverse reactions to the shots and in some cases, dying. In 2011, the American Animal Hospital Association reviewed vaccine protocols. It said that bad reactions were uncommon, but admitted that they can cause unpredictable effects and that the problems are likely underreported. The latest protocol recommends that most main vaccines only be given every three years. Some vets now are giving pets an antihistamine before the shot to ward off any allergic reactions. And there is actually a test that can be done to see if your pet needs a booster shot. It's called a titer test and it shows how much antibodies or resistance the pet has from getting their first set of vaccines as a puppy or a kitten.

The Problem Of Pet Obesity Is Reaching Epic Proportions
Just over half of the dogs in the U.S. are too fat and about 58-percent of the cats could stand to lose a few pounds. Those are the latest figures from the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. Just like people, that extra weight can cause some serious health consequences like joint disease, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and skin disease, as folds in the pets skin get bigger. It can also shorten a pet's life span. It can be tough to see if your pet is overweight so the best bet, if you think he or she is, would be to talk to your vet and definitely work with your vet before you put your pet on any kind of weight loss plan.

Cat People vs. Dog People
Now the latest on the age-old discussion about 'cat people' versus 'dog people.' The results of the latest study on this were recently presented at the Association for Psychological Science annual meeting. Dog lovers studied tended to be more energetic and outgoing and also were more likely to follow rules, while people who preferred cats were more introverted, open minded and apt to be non-conformists. Cat lovers also scored higher on intelligence than dog lovers.

Pawbags – Purses For Dogs
Just when you think you've heard the utmost in the pampered pet craze, there's another 'you've got to be kidding' moment. Enter Pawbags, purses for pets, and not just any purse. These are miniature replicas of the four-figure, croc skin or calf leather designer handbags their owners are carrying. You pick your bag to buy and then the company will make a tiny one for your dog to carry his or her treats or other necessities. Doggies 'carry' them with a hook that attaches to their collars. And yes, people are actually buying them. In fact, the company did a poll to see what breeds are most fashionable. Topping the list, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Dalmatians and Miniature Schnauzers.

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Listen to the entire Podcast of this show (#758)