A Finger and Delta Society

Today we have two subjects that just kind of fell together. We actually think this post title should be "A Finger for ..." but Jan says we have to be polite.

Anyway, we were kind of confused to read this article on The Delta Society, a non profit that runs a Therapy Animal (Pet Partner) Program that trains pets owners to visit nursing homes and hospitals with their pet. After banning a raw diet and kicking out all therapy pets who eat one, they have now turned the remaining partner teams into a walking advertisement for Purina Pet Food. Yes, they are now partnered with Purina Pet Foods and it says so on every vest. Does this seem right to any readers? It seems just too "coincidental" to us. Are they going to require all dogs in their program to eat Purina foods next? 

You can read the article "This is Nuts" here.

The Delta Society's raw protein diet policy can be found here.

And in case you're wondering about the title, we do have a finger for you. This one.

This finger -- obviously not human -- suddenly appeared on our living room floor after we dogs took Jan on her Thursday evening walk. Jan is scratching her head wondering where it came from. Did Sam pick it up and carry it home without her noticing? It would have fit in his mouth.

Did he find AND EAT one of the large leather work gloves a neighbor gave her and she has around here -- somewhere? She can't find them but she's sure the gloves were not anywhere he could reach.  Work gloves are behind the cat litter box barricade or in a plastic storage container with a lid.  (Oh, Jan doesn't remember this yet but the gloves the neighbor gave her were rubber, not leather.  He used to work at an ice cream plant.)

But Sam is one of those dogs who eats just about anything -- plastic, material, paper, stuffed toys .... Jan tries to keep things away from him but you all know how we kitties love to shove everything onto the floor so we can make more room and be comfortable.

So Jan is concerned. Wondering whether she should worry again.(That's a separate story.) But Sam's not talking. So Jan watches him and worries anyway.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

PS: The photo contest to help Maxie with his vet bills is open to kitties AND woofies.  Be sure to stop by and enter.

Frankie, Walk 'n Roll Dog

Hi, this is Cyndi and today I get to do our post.

We are still without our computer, photos, links, etc, and we can't do much online. So when today's mail brought a package, we thought this a great time to do something we don't need our own computer for -- read. 

We recently did a book review on Almost Perfect. This led to a request to review a couple of books for children on an "almost perfect" dog named Frankie.  Both books are by Barbara Gail Techel with illustrations by Victoria Kay Lieffring.

Frankie: the walk 'n roll dog is the true story of a miniature daschund that at age six suffers a spinal cord injury that paralyzes her hind legs. But life goes on. And so does Frankie. She is fitted for a canine wheelchair and continues living life with zest and enthusiasm, even chasing butterflies and bees in the yard. She can do anything she wants with her new "tires" -- even ride in the basket again on her mom's bicycle with her ears flying in the breeze as they go to market.

Frankie: the walk 'n roll therapy dog visits Libby's House. In this book, Frankie and her mom become a certified therapy dog team and they become regular visitors to a senior assisted living facility where some residents are in wheelchairs, some use walkers, and some have Alzheimers or dementia. There are many joys associated with visiting a senior facility, both for the residents and for the therapy team, but inevitibly there is the pain of losing a friend.

Our Jan was an avid reader as a child and she says she can picture herself reading these books in school had they been written several centuries ago.

Uh-oh, Percy, you need to correct that typo before Jan reads it. She said several decades ago, not several centuries.

"Barbara hopes Frankie's story will teach children that no matter what challenges we face, we can still give back to the world." Frankie is a good example of this. And so is Barbara. She could have had Frankie euthanized when she was injured. There are those who would have made that decision, and we're not trying to judge them because they might be either physically or financially unable to care for a disabled pet. But Barbara and Frankie became a team teaching others to have love and compassion for the disabled.

We recommend both books. Even though we're not children, we enjoyed them.  You can purchase a book here. A portion of all proceeds from books & products is donated to disabled animal chairities.

Stop by and visit Frankie on her blog and also follow her on Twitter - www.twitter.com/walknrolldog.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.  We hope to be back soon.

PS -- I forgot to mention that we were not paid for this review, although the books were provided. Any opinons expressed are purely our own.

Courthouse Dogs

Yesterday we posted on Zoey, the grief therapy dog at a funeral home. Today we want to bring you another type of therapy dog -- courthouse dogs.

From the website:

A courthouse setting can be an intimidating place for most people who enter the building to participate in criminal or family court matters. However the presence of a well-trained dog that provides emotional support by offering a soft head to stroke can make the experience a less stressful one.

Since 2003 courthouse dogs have provided comfort to children who have been sexually abused while they undergo forensic interviews and testify in court. The dogs also assist drug court participants in their recovery, visit juveniles in detention facilities, greet jurors and in general lift the spirits of courthouse staff who often conduct their business in an adversarial setting.

In the King County Bar Bulletin, Superior Court Judge Wesley Saint Clair, who has had the experience of a facility dog assisting two witnesses during a trial and providing companionship to everyone in the drug court setting, stated that he “finds that the dog's presence dissipates tension for everyone when dealing with difficult issues and provides a sense of normalcy.”

You can read the rest of this and find more information at CourthouseDogs.

We think it's terrific that humans are finding we furries are not just flea buffets but flesh and blood comforters. There are entire blogs dedicated to therapy dogs. And we know a few therapy cats in the Cat Blogosphere.

So, if all these dogs and cats can be therapy animals, why won't Jan let us do therapy on her toe? Does she have something against furry therapy?

We added a new design to our Zazzle store for mugs, cards, misc. items.

Zoey, Grief Therapy Dog

Humans are finding new ways to allow furries to help them. We already know we're comforting to be around in times of stress and few things are more stressful than attending the funeral of a loved one. so what could be more natural than a therapy dog for a funeral home? (We kitties would like to know whether there are any therapy kitties for funeral homes? We're comforting too.)

Sharon L. Peters, USA TODAY

Most of the time Zoey the golden retriever is just a typical, good-natured family pet. She cheerfully submits to being dressed up in little outfits to play house with the three young girls who adore her. She's a regular on family rollerblading outings. And when things get a little slow around the house, she rounds up the family's socks and slippers for reasons known only to her. But about once a week, she dons a red and yellow vest and slips into another role. Zoey is a grief therapy dog. She offers empathy and comfort to friends and relatives who have gathered at Michigan Memorial Funeral Home in Flat Rock, Mich., to say goodbye to a loved one. "It's almost as if Zoey knows that her calm presence just seems to make people who are sad a little less sad," says the dog's owner, Kelly Dwyer, whose husband owns the funeral home where Zoey has become a regular. Read the rest of the article here.

It's been a while since we've added a new design to our Zazzle store but we think you'll like the new one. There are a few miscellaneous items displaying it on the site and once it's approved by the USPO, it will be available for sale from our store as a 44 cents US postage stamp.

Saturday afternoon we learned from our friend Khyra of a woman in North Georgia whose rescue was closing down. The economy is hitting many rescues hard and funding has dropped significantly. Rescue is stressful enough, but this was evidently too much stress. She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Most of the dogs are already gone, but there are still about 20 left at Dog Pack Rescue in need of a home. Some of them are pictured here. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of .Shari Johannes.

Momo, Baxter & Cat Food Recall

Graphic & text bySassy & Gracie's mom.

Momo is having some health problems now, she isn't eating much and doesn't drink, her kidneys are compromised. We need prayers sent her way by all praying that she will get feeling better soon.

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Cat food recalled for inadequate thiamine level

Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin is alerting Georgians to the recall of some cat food manufactured for Premium Edge because it contains an inadequate level of thiamine.

Diamond Pet Foods is recalling the following date codes of Premium Edge Finicky Adult cat food and Premium Edge Hairball cat food:

RAF0501A22X 18 lb., RAF0501A2X 6 lb., RAH0501A22X 18 lb., RAH0501A2X 6 lb. The date of manufacture is May 28, 2009.

Symptoms displayed by a cat with a thiamine deficiency may include in coordination or muscle weakness, paralysis of the hind limbs, seizures, lack of appetite, vomiting, ventroflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, dilated pupils and abnormal eye movement called nystagmus. Any cats fed the recalled food that display these symptoms should be immediately taken to a veterinarian.

Veterinarians who diagnose any cat that has become ill from consuming the affected pet food are asked to file a report with the Food and Drug Administration.

To contact Premium Edge Pet Foods, please call 1-800-977-8797 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday. Anyone who purchased the recalled products should return them to the place of purchase.

From HAGA email: http://www.HumaneAssociationofGeorgia.org

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We hope you will vote for Merci as cutest dog. Her link is

http://www.cutestdogcompetition.com/vote.cfm?h=194291465301F78C17ECD3F5BA4AB250

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And now we'd like to you visit Baxter, a 19 year-old therapy dog. He died October 16, but what an inspiration and comfort he was to those who were also in the last days of their life. Moments With Baxter has a blog with photos, information on his book, and misc. information. All proceeds from his book is being donated to animal and hospice charities.

There are a number of articles on the web. One is at examiner.com.

And if you haven't seen it, you will enjoy this video of Baxter. He became a therapy dog the last 4 or 5 years of his life. During that period, he became unable to walk, but he still visited patients.



If the video doesn't play, you can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIrDbzoOxZc