Community
10.03.10
Who’s guilty?
Posted by admin in Pets Magazine Blog
According to the Straits Times, dog attacks have been steadily increasing in the past five years, with an average of about one attack a week.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) have taken a stand against these dog attacks with their latest campaign to encourage considerate pet ownership. However, this has garnered some mixed reviews.
Who's guilty?
03.03.10
Pets banned from Air Cabins?
Posted by admin in Pets Magazine Blog
Pet owners thinking of flying to Canada with their pets should take note that pets may soon be banned in passenger cabins on airlines like Air Canada and WestJet.
11.12.09
Keeping pets safe during the holiday season
Posted by admin in Pets Magazine Blog
Credits: www.petamore.com
For most of us, the holiday season means shiny Christmas decorations, beautifully wrapped presents and a delectable selection of tasty holiday treats. In the midst of all the seasonal cheer, it is important to look out for your pets, as they are many new dangers they face during the holiday season.
A Christmas tree filled with fragile ornaments and fairy lights will be extremely tempting for cats that love to climb. If the tree is not properly secured, the tree may end up toppling over, which may result in damaged furniture and an injured cat. Sharp ornaments can be dangerous to pets if they have a habit of batting at dangling objects. Glass ornaments can also be hazardous if your pet decides to knock it onto the floor and chew on it. Keep Christmas light wires covered or concealed as cats and dogs may see these as an ideal chew toy, running the risk of getting electrocuted.
Common holiday plants like mistletoe and holly berries are known to be toxic to pets. Lilies, which are used sometimes in floral decorations, can cause kidney failure in cats. Other decorations like ribbons or wrapping paper are also harmful when ingested as it can cause internal obstruction. Candles are also a popular decoration choice around this time of the year. Animals are naturally attracted to bright lights so keep candles on high surfaces so your pets cannot get to them or knock them over.
Even though it may be tempting to share food with your pets during this time, you should refrain from doing so. A change of diet, even for one meal, can cause indigestion for your dog or cat. Make sure garbage bags are securely tied and placed in an area where your pets cannot get to it. Spicy or fatty food can give your pet an upset stomach and bones can cause blockages or choking. If you are planning on having alcoholic beverages, do make sure you keep it out of your pet’s reach. Alcohol makes animals extremely sick and weak. Holiday candy and chocolate should never be given to your pets. Chocolate and raisins contain a substance that is potentially deadly to dogs and cats. Other food like walnuts, macadamia nuts, onions and coffee can also be harmful.
During this time, you may have many guests over for Christmas parties or dinners. If your pet is timid or very young, do make sure that you place your pet in a quiet area or room. This will prevent it from feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. Also ensure that your pet is given an ID tag with your contact details, in case it gets lost.
The holiday season is an exciting time for all of us, but it’s important to keep a look up for our furry friends as well. This will ensure that both you and your pets will have a great time this holiday season.
02.12.09
Killing with Kindness
Posted by admin in Pets Magazine Blog
Barney at 69kg (Credits dailymail.co.uk)
Pet owner John Greene, 50, was charged by a British court who banned him from keeping animals for 10 years. Green was also ordered to pay nearly $1,300 and to perform 200 hours of unpaid work. This was after the authorities at RSPCA had discovered that his 8 year old Dalmatian, Barney, was severely overweight, and that Green did not exhibit any intention to remedy this pressing issue.
Barney weighed 69kg (almost twice his ideal weight) and was still being fed fatty treats such as chocolate bars and potato chips by Green. Despite several warnings to stop overfeeding his dog, Green did not appear to take any action. It was then that the authorities decided to take serious action – they seized Barney from Green’s care and charged Green formally in court.
RSPCA inspector Rachel Green said “Prosecution was very much a last resort in this case. [But] we gave Mr Green strong advice to take Barney to the vets and have him put on a diet to ensure he maintained a healthy weight, but Barney’s condition ultimately deteriorated. In the end we were faced with no choice but to remove Barney, for his own health and well-being.”
Barney was unable to walk; doing so for short periods of time made him wheeze and unable to breathe. Jumping or running was an impossibility. It appeared that Green treated Barney more like a friend than a pet. Along with regular bars of chocolate, Barney was also fed potato chips if Green was having some. When confronted, Green said he “thought the dog was a little overweight but did not know what weight he should be”.
Green, who is unemployed, admitted to being guilty of animal cruelty and has accepted his punishment by the courts. His solicitor John Temperley said, “The phrase “killing with kindness” comes to mind. He just overfed and overindulged his dog.”
A slimmer Barney at half his original weight. (Credits dailymail.co.uk)
Since being seized by the RSPCA, Barney was put on a diet and exercise regime and has lost half his weight and is now at a healthy 36kg. The RSPCA are looking for people to adopt him.
With Christmas just round the corner, it is important to remember not to overfeed our pets even though we want to pamper them. Those extra calories can be detrimental to our pets’ health and wellbeing.
01.12.09
A Man and his Pride
Posted by admin in Pets Magazine Blog
Kevin Richardson has a huge family of thirty-eight members. The unusual thing is that he’s the only human. Kevin, who lives on a vast private reserve in Johannesburg, has a pride of thirty-eight lions.
He was first introduced to two lion cubs eleven years ago. Both of them are now adult lions and are part of the pride that lives on his reserve. The entire pride was hand-raised by Kevin and are familiar with him. They tackle him and wrestle him like they would one of their own. It’s not everyday you witness a man calling out to lions with a roar of his own, even more surprising is how the lions emerge from their habitat and stride toward him, the earth vibrating as they return his call.
Kevin admits that the lions could easily hurt him, or kill him even, but he refuses to go into the reserve with any type of weapon. Kevin asserts that if the lions do kill him one day, they would not be apportioned any blame. His love for his big cats is obvious. Kevin says “I know they could kill me in a second. But that doesn’t bother me. If I came back to life, I would do it all again.”
Just as apparent is the strong bond he has with his lions; a lionness who is particularly devoted to Kevin will follow him into the river and play with him. Lions in the wild typically shun water as they are wary of predators such as alligators and crocodiles. While lionnesses are usually fiercely protective of their cubs, the mothers in the pride seem relaxed when Kevin played with them.
The lions in Kevin’s care may be hand-raised but they are not tame. They reside on Kevin’s vast reserve with plenty of space to roam free and have thus retained their wild instincts. The young cubs are especially skittish as they have never been hand reared so a human may cause them to become defensive. But Kevin is a natural – he strokes them as though they were house pets and not the kings of the animal world.
Kevin and his lions (Credits news.sky.com)
Kevin’s work is awe-inspiring even as he lays on the ground with his pride as they jostle one another, competing to be petted and rubbed.
30.11.09
Compulsory Pet Care Course
Posted by admin in Pets Magazine Blog
Pet owner with pet (via channelnewsasia.com)
Pet owners can rejoice after the recent spate of events regarding unprofessional grooming and general dissatisfaction over unqualified pet shop owners. The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has answered this call for help by implementing compulsory pet care courses for all pet shop operators to enable them to handle pets properly and provide continued guidance to pet owners.
Come January 2010, all pet shop operators and staff who have worked for more than six months will have to attend this pet care course taught at Temasek Polytechnic which is supported by the Pet Enterprises and Traders Association and the Workforce Development Agency.
The pet care course which can be done intensively or part time, comprises of sixteen lecture hours, eight workshop hours and include question and answer segments. The objectives are to impart skills and knowledge important for responsible animal care and welfare amongst the pet retail shop personnel as well as to provide knowledge about client education as part of their responsibility in promoting responsible pet ownership. At the end of the course, an MCQ assessment is given and only those who meet at least the 75% attendance requirement, passed assessments and complete the workshop will be awarded the Certificate of Completion for the module.
This is part of Temasek Polytechnic’s veterinary technology diploma, covering areas of laws, animal health, occupational health and client education. There will also be a fee subsidy of up to 90 percent under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience.
AVA expects a turnout of about 120 out of the 277 pet shops to sign up within the first half of 2010 and expect the rest to follow suit when they update their annual licenses next year.
Dr Maliki believes that the new training programme will be well received by pet lovers and pave the way for a higher standard of animal care. Among the many reasons why such a course was implemented is the rising number of dog attacks (currently at 65 this year) that are brought about because of lack of education. This in turn leads to many dogs being dumped because owners are unable to tolerate their disobedience.
Selina Sebastien, education executive from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Singapore), adds that “the first thing you should do when you get a dog is to sign up for an obedience course.”
The SPCA look forward to the “knock on effects on (pet) owners and owners-to-be” that the course will generate.
Channelnewsasia.com also reported Dr Maliki announcing that “as a result of risk management measures such as rabies vaccines, blood testing and microchip identification for animals, the AVA will waive quarantine requirements from January 1 for pets imported from countries with minimal rabies risk.”
Thus, dogs and cats imported from places such as Japan, Hong Kong and Norway are now able to enter Singapore without the need for quarantine. As of now, pets imported from countries other than Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland are quarantined for 30 days.
