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    Issue No. 6, Vol. 1
    May 9, 2009

    INSIDE THIS ISSUE     

FEATURE

Home-made or Store-bought: The Dog Food Debate Continues

With one out of every four American households now including at least one dog, the dog food industry has become a big business.

According to the Pet Food Institute, dog owners spend about $8 billion a year on food for the 67 million canines living in the United States. With that large of a market for their products, pet food manufacturers are able to offer foods especially designed for the age, size and special health needs of the animal.

Close to home are researchers and students devoted to the topic of your pup's diet. UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine has the largest veterinary medical residency program in animal nutrition in the United States. The nutritional research conducted at the veterinary school not only contributes to the production of commercially available foods but also to the overall body of knowledge regarding dog and cat nutritional requirements in health and disease.

Veterinary nutritionist Andrea Fascetti, who heads the UC Davis's teaching hospital's nutrition program, warns on the school's website that dog owners should be careful when attempting to prepare homemade food for their animals.

"One of the biggest risks is using a recipe that hasn't been formulated and balanced by a trained veterinary nutritionist," Fascetti said. "We certainly can see problems of nutritional deficiencies both in dogs and cats eating diets that do not contain all the nutrients that they need."

In recent years, there has been a trend among some pet owners to favor raw foods for their animals. Fascetti says that she and colleagues are not encouraging raw-food diets for dogs.

"There is no evidence to support that feeding a raw diet compared to a home-prepared, cooked diet, has any additional benefits," she said, noting that uncooked foods also carry a higher risk of contamination with harmful bacteria such as Salmonella or E. coli. "So when we do recommend diets that are home-prepared we always recommend cooked products."

This runs contrary to a popular movement advocating food for pets made with whole, fresh, minimally processed and usually raw ingredients. Groups such as San Francisco Raw Feeders, a raw feeders' buying group, have sprung up across the nation since the early '80s when dozens of books were published on raw pet diets. Another spike hit after the 2007 pet food recall.

Early raw food advocates include Dr. Richard Pitcairn, DVM, author of "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats." In his book, published in 1983, he suggested that a lifetime of processed food wasn't any healthier for our pets than it was for us.

More recently, Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst's proposed diet of "bones and raw foods," or BARF as it is commonly known, has taken root. The name "BARF" was coined on the Wellpet e-mail list, where Billinghurst's book, "Give Your Dog a Bone," was being avidly discussed. Billinghurst wanted dog owners to reproduce the elements of a prey animal when they fed their pets. He recommended a diet of muscle meat, organs and bones along with pulverized raw vegetables, probiotics, cultured foods like yogurt and a few supplements.

The BARF website also features links to distributors of BARF-approved pet foods, supplements, BARF breeders and even a blog.

If you do choose to buy prepared pet food, here are a few more tips from UC Davis specialists:
  • Purchase pet food in small bags, so that it is not stored for a long time under less than optimal conditions. Often dog owners store pet food in the garages where high summer temperatures can cause the fragile dog food fats - mostly from fish - to go rancid.
  • Focus on keeping your companion animal trim and, when purchasing dog food, to not assume that the food with the highest price tag is the best.
"Part of it has a lot to do with marketing," Jennifer Larsen, a UC Davis veterinary clinical nutritionist, states on the school's website. "Pet food companies have to pay for shelf space in certain stores, and depending on where they market their diets, those costs are going to be different. Advertising budgets and ingredient costs for the company all factor into that final product."

One website devoted to analyzing off-the-shelf products is DogFoodAnalysis.com. Unfortunately, Consumer Reports hasn't published a dog and cat food comparison report since 1998, and the report issued that year was apparently faulty, causing CR to issue a correction.

NEWS


The Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center will soon be developed at the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas. Thanks to a generous donation of $250,000 by the Doris Day Animal Foundation, the new center will serve as a model facility for the re-homing of horses.

The Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch is the most diverse sanctuary for rescued abused, neglected and abandoned animals, according to the Humane Society of the United States. The new center is projected to open by the end of 2009.

"Cats 101," one of the many shows aired on Animal Planet, will feature in an upcoming episode Animal Outreach and its efforts to place a homeless cat. The film crew visited Animal Outreach's Diamond Springs headquarters Saturday, April 18, and interviewed staff. The segment explores how a growing number of animals are being abandoned by their owners as a result of the economic downturn. The episode will air sometime in the fall.

Feral cats will be removed from San Nicolas Island for the sake of the native seabirds they hunt, the U.S. government has decided. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently unveiled the release of a final Environmental Assessment for the San Nicolas Island Seabird Restoration Project, and based on the comments received during the May-June 2008 comment period, the removal of an estimated 100-200 feral cats will proceed this year. The Navy-owned island is about 60 miles off the Southern California coast and provides nesting habitat for numerous native seabirds and shorebirds, as well as other threatened species.

Nonnative feral cats are affecting the native species on the island by preying on adult seabirds and their young, according to Fish and Wildlife Service. The public had a chance to give their input regarding the project, and a provision has been made, said Jane Hendron, spokeswoman with the Fish and Wildlife office in Carlsbad, Calif. A change in the final project allows for the Humane Society of the United States to take any healthy adult cats from the island and transport them to an approved facility, Hendron said. All other feral cats will be trapped and euthanized.

Email your NEWS articles to Debra at to be included in the next issue of Mewsings.

HEALTH


Rattlesnake vaccinations are available but are they necessarily a good idea? The Placerville Veterinary Clinic offers some pros and cons on its website.

Ranchers and veterinarians have long known that after having been repeatedly bitten, dogs become resistant to rattlesnake bites. Vaccination works the same way – it will make your dog resistant but not immune. A vaccinated dog is much less likely to suffer permanent injury or die from rattlesnake bite, but it is still possible.

The vaccine is usually administered as two injections the first year, with a booster each year after that.

 Reasons not to vaccinate
  1. Although rattlesnake bites make dogs very ill and can do serious damage, even untreated bites are seldom fatal and generally cause no permanent damage.
  2. Rattlesnake bites don’t happen very often.
  3. Immunization of any kind can cause an allergic reaction. Most vaccine reactions are mild and easily treatable. Rarely, they can be severe or fatal. Sometimes se see local swelling at the vaccination site, but have neither seen or heard of other problems.
Reasons to do it anyway
  1. If your dog has a high risk of being bitten. Certain neighborhoods have a lot of rattlesnakes. If you live where there are lots of snakes or if you take your dog hiking in the mountains and don’t use a leash, then vaccination is probably a good idea.
  2. If your dog has already been treated with rattlesnake antivenin. Rattlesnake antivenin is made from the blood serum of hyper immunized horses. A single dose can make dogs so sensitive to horse serum that a subsequent dose of antivenin is rapidly fatal. There are a few exceptions, but generally speaking, dogs that have been treated once with antivenin should never be treated with it again. The risk from a second dose nearly always exceeds the risk from the rattlesnake bite. Immunizing your dog eliminates the risk from antivenin by eliminating the need for antivenin.
The staff at the clinic also advise that if your dog has been vaccinated and is bitten by a rattlesnake, antivenin is probably not necessary. Antivenin treatment is likely to cost at least a thousand dollars, so vaccination might be a good investment.

For more information, visit the clinic at 6610 Mother Lode Drive, Placerville; or call (530) 622-3943.

Email your HEALTH articles to Debra at to be included in the next issue of Mewsings.

ADOPTIONS


Sheep make great companion animals, according to the University of Maryland's Cooperative Extension program. And that's great news for the white, neutered adult male sheep (pictured here) now available for adoption at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter.

Information on the care and feeding of sheep, along with loads of other valuable information, can be found on the website, Sheep101. Sheep and goats are increasingly being kept as pets or companions, according to the sheep and goat experts quoted on the site. They are easy to handle and respond well to human attention.

As with any pet, you should not get sheep or goats on an impulse. Do your research and make informed decisions. Make sure your zoning regulations and/or housing development allows you to keep farm animals. Ask yourself if you have the time to take care of sheep or goats and make sure you have a plan if you go out of town. Think about what you will do if they don’t work out as pets. Sometimes, it can be difficult to find other people to adopt sheep or goats as pets.

Any breed of sheep or goat can be raised as a pet or companion. It is usually a matter of personal preference. However, many people prefer the miniature breeds of goats for pets (e.g. Nigerian Dwarf, Pygmy). There are also a few miniature breeds of sheep. Hair sheep are a good choice (for pets) since they don’t require shearing or docking. Their coats contain a mixture of hair and wool that is shed annually. Since sheep and goats are herding animals, it is usually best to have two.

For pets, females (ewes and does) and wethers (castrated males), such as the one up for adoption at our local shelter, are preferred to intact males. Rams and bucks (billy goats) will get larger and be more aggressive than females and wethers. Male goats have a offensive odor during the mating season (fall). Rams like to butt and should not be trusted. While most sheep do not have horns, almost all goats are born with horns. Polled sheep and disbudded goats usually make better pets than horned animals. Horned animals can get their heads stuck in fences and feeders, and they will use their horns as weapons against other animals or people. It is best not to mix polled and horned animals. Otherwise, it’s okay to keep sheep and goats together.

Sheep and Goat Facts
  • Average life expectancy is 10 to 12 years, similar to a large breed of dog
  • Normal body temperature is 102-103°F
  • Average length of pregnancy is 145-150 days
  • The normal breeding season is August through February
  • Normal birth rate is 1-3 lambs or kids
As with all adoptions, Animal Services requires that potential adopters:
  1. Be at least 18 years old.
  2. Provide verifiable identification.
  3. Guarantee adequate exercise, food, water, shelter, vaccinations, medical care, grooming, identification, lifelong care and love for your new pet.
  4. If you rent, provide permission for a pet from the owner or manager of your rental unit.
  5. Adhere to state and local ordinances pertaining to animal care and control.
  6. Complete an adoption application.
The sheep can be seen at the Placerville shelter, 511 Placerville Drive, Placerville. They can be reached at (530) 621-5795. The shelter is open from 9:30 a.m. until noon and 1 until 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. For more information, visit the shelter's website.

You can find your feline companion at one of the following locations:
Animal Outreach
6200 Enterprise #D, Diamond Springs
Saturdays 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Petco
855 East Bidwell (near Blue Ravine), Folsom
Saturdays 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

PetSmart
2705 East Bidwell, Folsom
Saturdays 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Sundays 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

 El Dorado County Animal Services
511 Placerville Dr., Placerville
Monday thru Saturday, 9:30 a.m. until noon; 1 until 4 p.m.
(530) 621-5795

El Dorado Humane Society
777 Pleasant Valley Road (next to Scalise Meats)
Monday thru Friday, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Sunday, noon until 4 p.m. (530)642-2734

PetSmart
Corner of Greenback and Sunrise, Citrus Heights
Saturdays & Sundays noon until 4 p.m.

PetSmart
10830 Olson Dr., Rancho Cordova
Saturdays noon until 3 p.m.


Email your ADOPTION articles to Debra at to be included in the next issue of Mewsings.

VOLUNTEER


Volunteers are always needed at the local Animal Shelter (both Placerville and South Lake Tahoe). Among the many jobs for volunteers at the shelter are:
Dog Exercising
Cat Socializing
Adoptions
Foster Care
Lost and Found
Special Events
Grooming
Training
Humane Education
 Office Support
Grounds Maintenance
All volunteers are required to complete a Volunteer Application, attend the Volunteer Orientation and be trained, at a minimum, in Basic Dog and Cat Handling before volunteering can begin. Other specific training may be required as identified for specific jobs. If you are interested in volunteering, call (530) 573-7925 in the Placerville area, or (530) 621-5795 in the South Lake Tahoe area and the shelter will end you a Volunteer Application packet.

Email your VOLUNTEER articles to Debra at to be included in the next issue of Mewsings.

PET SERVICES


Dirty Dog Pet Salon not only offers all-breed grooming but large tubs for self service. Flea and tick control applications are available. Dirty Dog Salon is located at 6196 Pleasant Valley Road in El Dorado just down the street from the Post Office. Call (530) 621-1432 for an appointment or more information.

To feature your pet-related business in the PET SERVICES section, write to Debra at . Classified PET SERVICES ads are free; for rates and specifications of display ads, also write to Debra.

FLEAMARKET

Siamese kitten plaque is one of many treasures to be found at the El Dorado Humane Society Thrift Shop. Cost and availability of the plaque, as of press time, $1.25. Drop by the Thrift Shop, 777 Pleasant Valley Road, Diamond Springs. Hours are 10 a.m. until 4, Monday through Saturday; noon until 4, Sundays.




Kitty can dine in style with this double cat dish available at the El Dorado Human Society Thrift Shop. The dish features cat profiles and a sleeping kitty as a bridge. Cost and availability of the white ceramic dish, as of press time, $1.50.



The "New Yorker" magazine offers some very funny pet-related cartoons online. This cartoon, drawn by artist Mike Twohy, appeared in the magazine Jan. 10, 2005. The cartoon can be purchased in two different sizes, matted and framed or simply matted. T-shirts, sweatshirts and note cards are also available. Prices vary. You can check out the Cartoon Bank's offerings and limit your search to "Pets" for all the funny companion animal covers.

Email your FLEAMARKET classified ad to Debra at to be included free of charge in the next issue of Mewsings.

RESOURCES
  • Animal Outreach Provides low-cost spay and neuter for cats and small dogs. Clinics are held Mondays, Thursday and Fridays at the Diamond Springs headquarters. Visit their website or call (530) 642-2287.
  • Social Compassion A non-profit organization devoted to reducing the number of abandoned and euthanized animals through spay and neuter programs. Visit www.socialcompassioninlegislation.org..
  • PetPAC: Protecting the rights of pets and owners An organization formed to protect the rights of pets and owners through public awareness education, grassroots organizing, and advocacy at the local, state and national level. Visit www.PetPAC.net.
  • Breed-specific rescue groups The Sacramento Dog Council has compiled a list of various breed-specific rescue groups and their contacts. Please note that the council has not inspected nor endorses any of the rescue groups. The complete list can be seen at www.sacramentodogcouncil.com
  • California Shar-Pei Rescue I do, however, fully endorse this Redding-based rescue group after many years of working with Anna and Rich. The couple maintain a registered, non-profit, Chinese Shar-Pei dog and puppy rescue that serves the Western U.S. The operation offers Shar-Pei adoption services, Shar-Pei health information and resources. All four of my current dogs came to us via Anna and Rich. You can visit their site at www.californiasharpeirescue.com.
  • The Paw Project exists to promote animal welfare and increase public awareness about the crippling effects of feline declawing, to rehabilitate big cats that have been declawed, and to end the practice of declaw surgery. For more information on health-related issues and legislative efforts, visit their website at PawProject.com.
  • The Senior Dogs Project offers information on why older dogs make better pets, health care tips for older dogs and where to find your senior animal companion. Visit their website and read testimonials by owners of older dogs.
  • Find your lost love Among the myriad of services provided by Animal Services of El Dorado County is a "Find Your Pet" section for bereft owners. Several tips on how to find your lost pet, plus photos of recently found pets in both the Placerville and Tahoe areas, are available on line at www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/AnimalServices
  • P.A.W.E.D.  People for Animal Welfare in El Dorado County (PAWED) is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of companion animals in El Dorado County. Among their information is a list of suggestions for folks forced to "re-home" their pets. You can read their suggestions in their entirety at www.pawedpets.org
  • Find an animal shelter This handy website lets you find the location of an animal shelter in any county within California. The site also offers adoption and information links at www.rescuers.com

Email your RESOURCES articles to Debra at to be included in the next issue of Mewsings.

Quote of the Week: " In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog. " ~ Edward Hoagland

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How Do I Submit an Article, Ad or Question to Mewsings? Write to Debra at
  • How Do I Submit a Graphic or Photo to Mewsings? Send as an attachment in .jpg form to Debra at
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  • What Can I Submit and How Often? Feel free to submit your ad to Debra via email each week for inclusion in the next issue of Mewsings.
  • Where can I view back issues? Past issues of the newsletter are now available at our website, www.PetMewsings.com.
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About Mewsings

Mewsings is a free, weekly newsletter dedicated to the care of companion animals living in the greater Sierra Foothills area. Content is supplied by the publisher, Debra Webster, and members of the community at large. Submissions are reviewed for appropriateness and edited for clarity. Debra, a former journalism instructor and editor, has worked extensively for animal welfare including a three-year stint in Baja California Sur. She is also owner of Gold Rush Consultants, a Placerville-based venture specializing in web development, non-fiction writing and graphic design. She and husband Alan Thompson own four dogs and 11 cats, all rescue animals.
Debra Webster, Publisher
Copyright © 2009. Mewsings. All Rights Reserved.