Open Wide!
Dr. Peter Emily, Exotic Animal Dentistry

Dr. Peter Emily was a human dentist AND a wild animal dentist. One day you would find him putting a crown in a person's mouth and the next he might have done a root canal on a polar bear. He used anesthesia on both, but what happened when the anesthesia wore off one of his four-legged patients?

He stated he worked on anything that had a mouth, including people, dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, rhinos, hippos - he worked on them all!

So what kind of dental work can a snake need? Dr. Emily mainly worked on setting broken jaws, which are usually the result of trauma.

Dr. Emily always had his instruments ready to go on a moment's notice, as he travelled all over the world, including Brazil and Africa. One job included working on 60 Cheetahs that were kept in a large sanctuary. The cheetahs were rounded up randomly and only 5 or 6 were re-released that didn't have dental issues. He also did over 100 root canals in the jungle.

Another time he worked on a dozen jaguars in sanctuaries in South America and on bush dogs. Bush dogs are a very dangerous species and they have different numbers of teeth than most carnivores. They are squatty looking animals, sort of like Corgis, but they are really not dogs, as we know them. Unfortunately, there are not many of these animals left.

Another time he went in to a zoo on the east coast and worked on a polar bear who needed a root canal. You needed to do everything that needed to be done at one time so there wouldn't be any further problems, so that the animal doesn't have to be re-anesthetized. Dr. Emily was just preparing to sew up the surgical site and the polar bear started to wake up. The anesthesiologist said he was having a hard time keeping the bear down and that Dr. Emily needed to go now! They put the bear on the cart and started wheeling him back to his enclosure, while Dr. Emily was riding on top of the bear suturing him up!

Fortunately, animal's teeth are spread out more than in humans. We need to floss to get between tight spaces, but nothing gets stuck between an animal's teeth.

Along with all of his dental work, Dr. Emily also ran his own foundation called the Peter Emily International Veterinary Dental Foundation (PEIVDF). His organization takes care of dental disease in animals in shelters and sanctuaries all over the world, pro bono.

In the United States alone, there are about 20,00 to 30,000 wild animals, at 1,000 different shelters and sanctuaries. These are not zoo animals, but whatever animals you can find in a zoo, you can find in a sanctuary.

Dr. Emily always worked with a team to help him treat the animals, as he couldn't do it alone. He used a lot of interns at the College of Veterinary Medicine; so they could learn how to work on animals other than cats and dogs. And if they were good enough, Dr. Emily sent them out to a sanctuary by themselves. Basically, a teacher becomes a teacher becomes a teacher!

Although Dr. Emily is no longer with us, his work continues through his foundation, the Peter Emily International Veterinary Dental Foundation (PEIVDF).

Demanding Pet With 8 Legs & Personality
Nancy King

Nancy King hadn't always dreamed of having a pet octopus as she grew up, but when her husband presented her with a stuffed, plush octopus, she decided to learn more about them.

After going to The Octopus News Magazine Online (TONMO), Nancy decided she wanted to keep one. She knew it would be difficult, as she had no saltwater experience.

Once she got started, it took her over six months to set up a tank. She was then able to go online and buy an octopus over the Internet and have it shipped to her.

When Nancy got her pet octopus, Ollie, she made a serious commitment: She wouldn't spend a night away from her home in Dallas the entire time she had it. She knew octopuses didn't have a long lifespan, maybe six months to a year, and she wanted to be there for Ollie.

So do octopuses make good pets and do they interact with you? Nancy says they do if you get a good one. Just like our dogs and cats, they all have different personalities. But if you get a good one, they will actually watch you and make eye contact with you. So they're watching you and you're watching them.

Nancy started out by putting shrimp on the end of a feeding stick, which helps them get used to you feeding them. Unfortunately, you can't just run out and get octopus chow! They mostly like crabs and shrimp, which can get very expensive.

Ollie also demonstrated an ability to manipulate both objects and people by inventing a game. Ollie made use of a glass-cleaning tool with two pieces held together by a magnet, one inside the tank and one outside. Ollie would pull it off the inside magnet, creating the outside magnet to fall and make a loud "clunk." Nancy or her husband would come running to see what happened and Ollie would retreat in her den and dangle the inside cleaning magnet out on one sucker. Nancy would reach into the tank to get it back, and Ollie would snatch it back inside her den. Ollie would do this over and over again. While Nancy said it was frustrating, she also though it was funny at the same time!

Nancy had heard about other Octopuses watching television but Ollie never seemed to be interested in it.

One thing you have to watch out for is the escape artist, as they can get out of a tank. You have to make sure you "octopus proof" your tank. An octopus can live out of water for a short period of time, maybe around 30 minutes, before they need to go back in the water.

Nancy learned many things along the way. She said if there were a next time, she would get a larger tank (her first one was 55 gallons) and she would have an emergency tank as a backup. You can use this extra tank for food as well as in an emergency if your octopus "inks." Inking is a protective thing. If they were in the ocean and they wanted to escape from a predator, they would puff out a big ink cloud, which would confuse their predator and allow them to escape.

You can also only keep one octopus in a tank, because they'll eat any tank-mates, including other octopuses.

How To Achieve Litter Box Success - Dr. Debbie

It's important to realize not all cases of inappropriate elimination are a "behavior" problem. In confirmed behavioral driven house soiling cases, 20-percent of the cats also had a contributing medical condition at the time. So even if it sounds like a behavioral problem, see your veterinarian to ensure your cat isn't the 1 in 5 that has discomfort, infection, or other health problems influencing her litter box use.

Drawing Kitty To The "Right" Spot
Check the condition of the box - is it urine stained on the bottom? Throw it out and get a new one. Keep the box clean by scooping twice daily and by performing a complete litter change out twice a week for non-clumping litter or every 2-3 weeks for clumping varieties.

To entice kitty back to the litter box try a litter box attractant like the herbal-based cat litter additive called "Cat Attract."

Multi-cat homes, or those with outdoor cats nearby, should use pheromone (scent hormone) products to ease social stress and facilitate litter box harmony.

Kitty Eliminates Near, But Not Quite In The Litter Box
Your kitty is telling you that she understands what you want her to do, but something isn't quite right in the litter box environment. First start with providing a larger box, even if this means buying a plastic under bed storage box for this purpose. Look for one 18 x 36 inches in size.

Remove any litter box covers. Revisit the traffic flow in the litter box area. Ensure the box is in a quiet, low traffic area. Keep the box unquestionably clean.

Is Your Cat Urinating In Tubs Or Sinks?
Chances are your cat has urinary tract inflammation or infection. The cool surfaces provide relief to the inflammation or discomfort of a medical condition. See your veterinarian for a urine evaluation and treatment since environmental changes alone will not stop the behavior.

To preventing further episodes, decrease access to tubs and sinks, close doors to bathrooms, or fill the bottom of sinks and tubs with a small amount of water.

Kitty Eliminates On Throw Rugs And Won't Use Litter Box
Your cat has already made a litter preference. Perhaps the texture of carpet is more appealing than the litter used. Provide a litter box smorgasbord. This is when you provide multiple litter pans at the same time, each with different litter varieties such as clay, clumping, and natural pine litter. Be sure to include one litter box with sections of throw rugs or carpet remnants lining the bottom. During this time, remove all throw rugs from the house or block kitty's access to those areas.

If kitty demonstrates a litter preference, switch her litter boxes to that style of litter.

If kitty chooses the rug-lined box, then continue providing carpet lined litter boxes to establish a good pattern of repeated box use. Gradually start sprinkling small amounts of cat litter in the box on top of carpet surface. With time, many cats can be retrained to accept the box as the carpet is phased out and just litter remains.

Prevent Returning To Scene Of Crime
Clean all house soiling accident sites with an enzyme based pet cleanser. The enzymes break down the chemical component of the odors and do more than just cover up with scents. Do not use ammonia based cleansers on accident areas - doing so is counterproductive. (Remember that urine contains ammonia products.)

Cats dislike eating in areas that they eliminate, so place food and water bowls in the site of the accidents, or try placing pieces of aluminum foil in areas to deter kitty's use.

Citrus scents are offensive to cats and can be an effective cat deterrent. Use citrus or potpourri scented air fresheners in the area. If your cat is eliminating in house plants, place lemon or orange peels in the pot to make the area less attractive. And of course, make sure you aren't using citrus scented cleaners on the litter pan!

To keep your kitty away from areas she continues to eliminate on, use double sided sticky tape or turn plastic carpet runners upside down. Another option is to invest in motion-activated devices that spritz out citronella or puffs of air when the electronic eye picks up motion in the off-limits area.

The Tough Reality
For some cats, environmental changes aren't enough and drug therapy may be a necessary tool. But remember that behavioral medications aren't a shortcut - drug therapy must be used with veterinary monitoring and in conjunction with environmental changes.

Want to hear some bad news? In households struggling with many years of feline house soiling, it may be necessary to discard urine marked furniture, change out carpet, carpet pads and treat sub-flooring to effectively remove scent triggers for future elimination issues. It may sound extreme, but it can be important step to achieve faithful feline litter box success.

Old Videos Cause New Problems
An old video posted online can still cause new problems. In one old video of two Florida men, one is seen jumping on top of a manatee and her calf. The video was first posted on Facebook years ago, and an investigation was later launched. The Officers identified the men in the video and said they could face state and federal charges for harassing the endangered mammals.

Dogs Go Postal
Dogs go postal in Los Angeles more than any other U.S. city. The U.S. Postal Service released its rankings of the best and worst cities for dog attacks on mail carriers. Los Angeles recorded 65 incidents last year, taking the top spot over Houston with 56. Next was Chicago, Illinois at 48, St. Louis, Missouri with 46, and Cleveland, Ohio with 44. If you look at the sites, California had the most attacks in 2023 of 727, with Texas next at 411 and Ohio at 359. Dogs attacked almost 6,000 postal workers in 2023.

How To Scare Egrets
Residents in Fort Worth, Texas tried to scare away egrets before they nested. The egrets invaded neighborhoods, leaving behind droppings that filled the air with flies and turned some lawns brown. Because the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 protects the egrets, the giant birds cannot be disturbed as they nest. However, residents started taking preventative action and armed themselves with air horns and bells to scare off the giant birds if they flew around looking for places to build nests. People didn't want the birds to get comfortable nesting in their neighborhoods, adding that residents will probably have to scare off the birds every year. In the future, some neighborhoods are looking into building areas where the egrets can nest in peace.

Dolphins Locate Rare 19th Century Torpedo
A rare 19th century torpedo is back in the Navy's hands thanks to the work of a few bottlenose dolphins. Navy owned dolphins discovered a Howell torpedo while being trained to track down underwater objects off the California coast. Only one of the antique underwater weapons was known to exist prior to the discovery. The dolphins are trained to use their natural sonar to discover objects that not even billion dollar military technology can detect. The torpedo went to the Washington Naval Yard, where it was cleaned and put on display.

Hat Transforms A House Cat Into A Lion
A designer in Seattle came up with an easy way to transform an average house cat into the king of the jungle: the lion hat. Yumiko Landers said the idea for the feline headpiece came from her sewing group. While making something to fit the cats' and dogs' theme that week, Landers came up with the so-called hat that allows the cat to sport a lion's mane. The product even came in multiple colors, including golden brown, black, grey, ivory and husky. Landers sold the hats online through Etsy, and said she never would have expected to received orders from all over the world.

Dogs Good For Our Hearts
The American Heart Association (AHA) declared that pets, especially dogs, are good for a person's heart. Further proof that dogs are among the best friends a person could have. The AHA writes that owning a dog, "may help reduce cardiovascular risk," perhaps due to dogs bugging their owners into taking them for walks on a regular basis. Dog owners were, according to the AHA's studies, 57-percent more likely than non-dog owners to get the suggested amount of exercise. Good news, no doubt. But one shouldn't expect a dog to offset unhealthy lifestyle choices. "If someone adopts a pet, but still sits on the couch and smokes and eats whatever they want and doesn't control their blood pressure, that's not a prudent strategy to decrease their cardiovascular risk," Levine told the Times.

Record-Breaking Serpent Killed
A man in Miami was responsible for capturing and killing the largest Burmese python ever recorded in Florida. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the record-breaking serpent was a 128-pound female that measured 18 feet and 8 inches in length, shattering the previous record of 17 feet and 7 inches. Apparently, a man was driving in a rural area of Miami-Dade County when he and a passenger spotted the giant reptile in the roadside brush. Grabbing the snake by the head, he began pulling it out of the brush. That's when the python began wrapping itself around his leg. After getting help from his buddies, he killed the snake with a knife. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said they were "grateful" to the man for "safely removing" the large snake and reporting it to authorities.

Listen to the entire Podcast of this show (#1291)