Jobs That Bite
Jeremy Brandt, NAT GEO WILD
Jeremy Brandt had a strange and scary job. It was all part of a day's work as a Nat Geo WILD television host.
According to a Gallup survey, 70-percent of workers were disengaged from their jobs. Luckily, Nat Geo WILD found a small sliver of Americans who actually loved their jobs and they even bit!
When he was the host of Nat Geo Wild's series "Jobs ThatBite!" Jeremy Brandt dove into the world of Americans who worked with all creatures great and small. He went across the country and experienced a wide array of animal jobs, including bear tattooer, camel milker, lion dentist and mounted cop and the real Americans who kept these careers and traditions alive.
One one episode, Jeremy told us they were up in Maine "tattooing" bears. This was a way to maintain the health and the population of bears. Jeremy didn't know why they didn't just tag them, but perhaps those tags were falling off, and somewhere along the line they switched to tattoos. He said you did this with a regular tattoo gun, the same you would find at a tattoo parlor. You would then tattoo the inside of their lip with a series of numbers. Those bears were of course sedated, where they were then weighed, measured and their overall health was determined after the tattoo.
Another episode they filmed was Jeremy milking a camel. To give milk, a camel has to have her baby next to her for her milk to drop down. When her milk actually does drop down, you only have 90 seconds to milk her before the milk goes away. While it is not big business, they do turn this milk into soaps and lotions. The camels were 7 to 8 feet tall and weighed on an average 1,500 pounds. While Jeremy was told that the camels wouldn't spit on him, he was told they might kick. As if right on cue, when Jeremy was told this, a camel kicked him and spilled all of the milk.
While Jeremy wasn't so terrified of these jobs that he thought he might die, he did go into a shark tank one time at the Long Island Aquarium in New York to clean it. He had just received his scuba certification two days prior and wasn't a diver prior to this. He was in a tank with about 10 different types of sharks, with 5 of them being the sand tiger shark, which is the most dangerous to humans. These sharks were eight to nine feet long and they had hundreds of teeth. You just see these teeth, as they are unable to shut their mouths. He had fed them about an hour before, and he saw how quickly they moved. He was worried that if they thought he was food, he was going to be "toast!" He said there was a point when their cameraman was getting into the water and was at the surface putting his mask on, and a shark came up and jabbed him in the side. The shark didn't bite the cameraman, but he swam around him and hit him again. The dive master then ordered everyone out of the water. Jeremy wondered why they were risking all of this for a TV show!
Jeremy's favorite job was at Lion Country Safari, where he got to travel around with the curator. This allowed him to work with so many animals at one time. He worked with zebras, rhinos and even did a neo-natal exam on a 12-hour old giraffe, where he was the first one to touch her. She was already 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 170-pounds. The best part for him was then he did a dental exam on a 420-pound male lion. Jeremy always wanted to go on an African Safari, and this is the closest he may ever get, or even closer than he would get on an African Safari.
Jeremy told us that he made sure he had good health and life insurance before he took these jobs on, to make sure his family was covered should anything happen to him!
Jeremy is a successful television and film actor who has appeared on all the major networks, playing a variety of roles in series such as "Criminal Minds," "NCIS," "Lincoln Heights," "Alias" and "The O.C."
Black Widow Spiders Poisonous to Pets - Dr. Debbie
Pet Threats Come in All Sizes
Our doggie family ambled along on our typical morning walk along the community trail. With a family of two Labradors and a Yorkie mix, my crew is always up for fun and they investigate anything and everything.
Sometimes it's a crunchy cockroach snack or the fortunate edible remnant in a discarded candy wrapper. My dogs enjoy the "date game" where they snatch up shriveled fruit fallen from date palms, crunching away before the mom and dad notice. And sometimes it's a half-hearted game of chase with an unsuspecting rabbit. A more gut wrenching episode once involved my Labrador ingesting a rat with tail slipping down his gullet like a piece of spaghetti. My furry kids are professional trouble finders, so I try to keep a watchful eye for things that make them go "Oooh," and make me go "Ugh!"
Female Black Widow Spider
While walking along the pedestrian pathway we came upon the day's discovery - spiders and lots of them living in the recesses of a block wall. The hairs on my arm stood up as my Yorkie mix approached their lair. I recognize what these spiders are and what could happen to a 16-pound pup.
The long legged spiders were over 1 and 1/2" in length, black in color with a distinctive orange hourglass mark on its underbelly. Meet the black widow spider, a common arachnid found in every state in the U.S. except Alaska.
The Black Widow Bite
Black widow spiders contain a potent neurotoxin that causes pain, swelling and can lead paralysis. Female black widows are the dangerous ones, while the males rarely ever bite. While some black widow bites go unnoticed, others cause immediate pain at the site or result in pain at the nearest lymph node. Pain intensity reaches its maximum within 1 to 3 hours after the bite, but can last up to 48 hours.
Symptoms of a black widow bite appear within 8 hours after a bite and include muscle twitching, restlessness, rigid abdomen and difficulty breathing. Symptoms may result in high blood pressure, a racing heart rate, seizures and collapse. Cats are very sensitive to the toxins and can suffer fatalities, and while dogs are more resistant to a black widow bite, they still can suffer serious illness.
Symptoms of black widow bite include:
- Pain and numbness around bite site
- Anxiety
- Racing heart rate
- Muscle pain and stiffness, especially abdominal muscles
- Difficulty breathing
- Paralysis
- Seizures
Treatment for Black Widow Spider Bite
Call your veterinarian if you suspect your pet was bitten by a black widow. Initial home emergency care of a black widow bite may include ice packing the bite area and oral antihistamines like Benadryl. Your veterinarian will need to see your pet to evaluate and treat the more serious symptoms. Treatment may include medications to control muscle spasms and seizures. Blood pressure and blood sugar are monitored and intravenous fluids may be administered. An antivenin is available for more serious confirmed cases of black widow bites.
Prevention
Avoidance of spider habitats is the best prevention. These eight-legged critters favor dark recesses both indoors and outdoors. Look for cobwebs with a distinctive funnel-shaped opening at the top. Keep a close eye on your dog when out exploring and inquire about spider control methods with your pest control company.
With pet noses so close to web level, the risk of black widow bites is just natural to being a dog. Our morning spider encounter ended without any drama, thankfully. After one firm "No!" my doggies retreated to unearth some other lucky find. Here's to hoping it doesn't involve any rats or bugs next time.
Featured veterinarian known as "Dr. Debbie" on national pet radio program, Animal Radio. Ebook author of "Yorkshire Terriers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend"; "Pugs: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend"; "Mini Schnauzers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend"; and "Shih Tzu: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend." Dr. Debbie's books.
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Maintaining A Stress-Free Feline Lifestyle
A Minute with Doc Halligan
When cats get stressed out they show it in many ways, including aggression, urinary behavior problems, change in appetite, and even hair loss. Here are a few helpful suggestions to help you nip these conditions in the bud.
Keep A Consistent Schedule
Felines are creatures of habit. Try to establish a routine that accommodates both your family's and cat's daily needs and stick to it as much as possible.
Gradually Introduce New Family Members
Don't force interaction with a new baby, a visitor or houseguest if kitty isn't interested.
Tone Down The Festivities
With all the hustle and bustle, holiday times can be especially unnerving to cats. Be sure to leave kitty's favorite "home base" space minimally disturbed.
Animal Radio News with Stacey Cohen
Protestors Shut Down Dog Lab
A Brazilian lab that used dogs for drug tests said it permanently shut down three weeks after being targeted by protesters who freed nearly 180 beagles. The Instituto Royal in Brazil said it was the only lab of its kind in Brazil. It carried out pre-clinical trials for drugs to fight cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and other diseases. As a result, Brazilian drug makers sought approval for such medications by doing testing outside of the country. Animal rights activists broke into the lab and freed the beagles.
Medicines Safe For Humans May Not Be Safe For Pets
When people feel pain, they often reach for common medicines such as aspirin or Motrin. These types of drugs, known as NSAIDs, also are used to treat arthritis pain in dogs and to manage pain after surgery in dogs and cats. But NSAID use in pets carries risks as well as benefits. Pet owners need to be informed about possible side effects, including those that could signal danger. Some of the most common side effects of NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) in animals reported to the FDA are vomiting, loss of appetite, reduced levels of activity and diarrhea. If you see any of these symptoms, call your veterinarian immediately, "Many people don't realize that a medicine that's safe for people may not be safe for dogs or cats, or that a dose that is safe for people may not be safe for their pets." Pet owners should never assume that a medicine that is safe for one animal is safe for another.
Does Your Cat Have A Smart Phone?
There are some apps for you to benefit your cat. Human-to-Cat Translator: This intriguing app says it can translate human words into cat language. Speak a word or phrase into your phone or tablet's microphone, and the app plays back a collection of meows that has supposedly translated your English into, well, Catlish. When we tried a translation for "come here," our cat tester showed a little curiosity but not enough to actually get off the couch. Of course, even if the app does translate human speech into cat language, there's a good chance your cat will ignore you, anyway. Carbs Calculator for Cat Food: Like their human friends, cats are living longer, and they, too, are subject to diseases of old age and sedentary lifestyles. Diabetes has become a major problem for older cats, and this simple but useful app can help cat owners buy the right food. Type in the various percentages of ingredients in a can of wet cat food, and the app calculates whether it is suitable for diabetic cats.
Illegal Pet Deer Mauled And Partially Blinded Man
An Alabama man was charged with illegally keeping seven deer as pets, including a buck that mauled and partially blinded him. The man entered a fenced pen on his property in the northern part of the state and was attacked by a nine-point buck. He said the deer lifted him up on its antlers and carried him 30 feet. One antler punctured his face and severed the optic nerve to an eye. He also suffered puncture wounds in his rib cage, hips and legs. He said he would never again keep deer as pets. His injuries required several surgeries. "People need to know that these things are dangerous," he said. "You never know when they are going to turn." Bucks can become combative during breeding season, normally fighting with each other or even people when the deer are kept in captivity. Female deer, or does, can inflict serious injuries by kicking. State wildlife officials eventually killed the deer to determine if they were infected with any disease.
Colder Weather Means Adequate Shelter For Animals
It's starting to get cold and you want to make sure your pets are ok and have adequate shelter. "Adequate shelter" means sufficient space to allow each animal to easily stand, sit, lie, turn about, and make all other normal body movements in a comfortable, normal position for the animal and interact safely with other animals in the enclosure. "The shelter shall provide protection from the weather elements, specifically wind, rain, direct sun during times of excessive heat, extreme cold temperatures and will have clean dry flooring." There have been several instances recently where people have left puppies and adult dogs outside in this cold weather without any shelter. If you have inside dogs, they still need time outside, but keep that time limited. If you have an outside dog, you still need a warm, dry shelter for your dog to get in out of the weather. Doghouses that are plastic are not insulated, but they can help keep your pet out of the direct wind. You also need to add straw or a big blanket for warmth and check the inside of the doghouse to make sure it stays dry. Preferably, the opening to the doghouse should be more to one side than in the center. This will allow your dog a place to lie down out of the wind. You could also hang a rubber mat or piece of carpet over the doorway. And even if it's cold outside, your pets still need fresh water. If your dog is a shorthaired breed or getting on in years, keep it toasty in cold weather with a warm coat or sweater. Make sure it covers from the neck to the base of the tail, as well as the chest. You'll also want to wipe off any salt or other chemicals used to melt ice. These can hurt your dog if it ingests any particles while licking its paws. One of the problems when the temperature drops is a tendency for outdoor cats to sleep under the hoods of cars. It may be warmer, but a car's fan belt can kill or injure them when the motor is started. If there are outdoor cats in your neighborhood, bang loudly on the hood of your car and wait a few seconds before starting the engine. If you own a cat, it's better to keep it inside on cold days.
Woman Died When Euthanizing Her Dog
A woman died after spending her last moments with her dog at an animal hospital. The woman collapsed in a room at the veterinary hospital where she had taken her dog to be euthanized. She was pronounced dead after being rushed to an emergency room. "It was determined that the female had a host of health issues," a Sheriff's Office report stated. No one at her home would comment about her death. Staff at the clinic also would not comment. Only the dog was in the room with her at the time that she collapsed.
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