Pleasing 4 Pets

UK Veterinary Charity, The Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) issued a stark reminder to pet owners recently, warning them of the dangers of hypothermia and frostbite in pets during the winter months.

Despite often having thick coats of fur, the PDSA confirmed that any animal has the potential to develop frostbite after ongoing contact with any cold surface, although Hypothermia is more likely to be seen in small, aged or sick animals, particularly in breeds with thinner coats or naturally low body fat.

The PDSA advises owners of small furries, such as Guinea pigs and Rabbits to house them indoors during sever winter weather. Puppies and kittens experience particular difficulties controlling the temperature of their bodies and the PDSA recommends that they are kept indoors during spells of cold weather.

The charity also advises pet owners to dress smaller dogs particularly those with thinner fur, appropriately, and to remember to clean and dry body and paws thoroughly when they have been outside in cold or wet weather.

One senior veterinary surgeon, Sean Wensley revealed that shivering in an animal is the primary sign that an animal is cold, but that shivering stops when an animals body temperature becomes critically lowered after which animals appear subdued with cold paws and ears. He said:-

“Frostbite, which develops through prolonged contact with cold surfaces, can affect a pet’s ears, paws, tail, scrotum and mammary glands. Affected skin will at first appear white and will be itchy and painful.

In severe cases, the skin will turn black. Owners should check their pet over regularly as a pet’s fur can hide frostbite damage. The first thing you should do if you suspect your pet is suffering from hypothermia or frostbite is to make sure they are dry.

Then, gradually raise their body temperature by placing them next to a well-covered hot water bottle or use a hair dryer, on a low heat. It is very important to call or visit your vet for advice.

Don’t ignore the signs of possible hypothermia and don’t take any chances.

It’s easy for us to wrap up warm and add on layers to keep us snug, but it’s not that simple for our pets, That’s why, at PDSA, we are keen to give owners some important seasonal advice to help keep their pets safe and healthy as the cold winter weather sets in.”

A group which campaigns for animal rights are going to the European Commission to petition an end to what they claim is the greatest abuse of horses in Europe.

The group, World Horse Welfare have alleged that more than 100,000 horses are forced to live out the last part of their lives in unacceptably cramped and pitiful conditions, as they are transported across the continent to be killed.

The charity believes that the horses should be slaughtered prior to being shipped in order to avoid what they consider ‘ injury, stress and cruelty’.

World Horse Welfare has composed a report abound with evidence and research obtained over the past 7 years, illustrating the appalling conditions which arise from transportation over long distances.

The director of the charity told a national new group:-

“This dossier of evidence along with our list of recommendations is the culmination of many years’ hard work and I’m confident that by providing such a strong case to the European Commission we will see a positive change to current laws.

Our evidence of injury, extreme exhaustion, dehydration and stress demonstrates that existing safeguards are not sufficient in protecting horses from suffering and in addition, they are not being effectively enforced.

We want a journey limit to be implemented and for the European Commission to put in place a more rigorous enforcement structure.”

World Horse Welfare has the backing of the British government and claims that the majority of their concern is focussed in Eastern Europe and in Mediterranean countries.

The governments’ environmental secretary Hilary Benn has introduced an eight week period of consultation on codes of conduct for the nations owners of dogs, cats and horses, which will provide practical guidelines on the responsibilities that pet owners are required to adhere to under the Animal welfare act of 2006.

He commented:-

“These three new codes of practice will outline the responsibilities under the Animal Welfare Act and give practical advice on how to fulfil them.

“This means no one will be able to claim ignorance as an excuse for mistreating any animal.”

Despite the fact that there are no financial penalties recommended for those who do not adhere to the code of conduct, the fact that pet owners break the code could be used against them in cases of animal cruelty.

Although criminal convictions dropped by 20% throughout 2006, there was an acute rise in the number of complaints investigated and there were nearly 1,700 convictions, many of which were for acts judged as ’shocking’ cruelty by the RSPCA.

The new code of practice states that pet owners are expected to provide their pets with both mental and physical stimulation and include dietary advice, stating:-

“It is your responsibility to provide opportunities for your pet to satisfy all of its behavioural needs, such as play and companionship.”

At least 10% of individuals will experience an intense phobia during their lifetime, and one of the most common known phobias is a fear of animals - or Zoophobias.

By definition, a phobia is an illogical and irrepressible fear of a certain entity or circumstance. Some people suffer from such extreme phobias that will go to incredible lengths in their daily lives to avoid the subject of their phobia.

An illustration of this is an individual suffering from a phobia of birds - or ornithophobia may be too afraid to go outdoors in case they encounter one.

When confronted with the subject of their phobia, some suffers may even experience panic attacks.

Others become so stressed when they encounter the source of their phobia that they suffer from panic attacks.

Rather than a general fear of animals some phobics are affected by a fear of certain animals, for example common animal phobias include dogs, cats, mice and spiders.

Regrettably, most phobics never attempt to seek help, although the vast majority of sufferers who do undergo therapy for a phobia are cured.

Some common Zoophobias are:-

Alektorophobia Fear of Chickens
Cynophobia Fear of Dogs
Gatophobia Fear of Cats
Ichthyophobia Fear of Fish
Hippophobia Fear of Horses
Entomophobia Fear of Insects
Musophobia Fear of Mice
Batrachophobia Fear of Reptiles
Ophidiophobia Fear of Snakes

The nations animals could become the next costly item on the agenda in the divorce courts, after a court in the UK awarded the wife of a wealthy banker a divorce settlement which included £50,000 per year for the maintenance of her horses.

Her city-worker husband who declared annual earning of £60,000 with additional bonuses claimed that the horses were unnecessary extravagance and that without them his ex-wife could purchase a property without extra land for less than £600,000.

But the court awarded the bankers ex-wife with a £1.5million overall divorce settlement, £900,000 of which was to purchase a property which housed sufficient grounds for her animals to graze.

Although the couple had no children, the court was advised that the horses had become child-substitutes throughout the course of the 11 year marriage

The case was heard by the most senior family judge in the UK, who said of the case:-

“During the marriage the horses played a major part in the wife’s life with the consent and encouragement of the husband. The animals took on this role all the more so after she lost a baby in 2001 and the husband gave her a third horse to celebrate their 10th anniversary in 2004, to add to her own two horses which she had bought herself for £20,000 out of a personal inheritance in order to justify her eventing”.

This Sunday 5th October at 6.00pm, the Holy Trinity Church in Southport will hold its 3rd annual pet service
Local Reverend, Rod Warner will thanks for the animals which enhance our lives and offer us unconditional companionship and love. Each pet will be individually blessed by the reverend at the altar.
The pet service remembers the patron saint of animals - St Francis of Assisi. In 2007, the Holy Trinity Church made acquaintance with many of its parishioner’s domestic pets from cats and dogs to ferrets and hamsters and even the odd turtle!
One church goer transported her dog which was suffering from severe arthritis, to the altar to be blessed in a shopping trolley.

The Rev Garner commented recently:-

“We have an open door so you never know what will be coming down the central aisle. Thankfully, in the previous two years the animals have been on the smaller side. I always take care when blessing the ferrets, though, and the parrots always seem to be well behaved. A warm welcome will be given to everyone, whether they have been before or not. It is not just for pet owners but pet lovers too, animals mean the world to many people and this is a great opportunity to give thanks to God”

After the sermon and blessing have taken place a community vet will provide a short address on his efforts inside the local area.

Having your pet microchipped is a highly successful way to ensure that your pet is linked to you for life, improving the prospect of the two of you being reunited should your pet ever be stolen or lost.

Many thousands of pets go missing each year and great numbers of them are not ever united with their devastated owners. Many pet owners, vets and animal charities alike consider that the most important factor in the event of a missing pet is whether or not the animal has been microchipped.

When a domestic pet is microchipped it is implanted with a minute microchip tag which bears a unique identity code that it painlessly injected under the animals skin. The owner’s details are recorded against the unique code to the UK’s PetLog database.

If a missing pet is recovered, the code on the microchip can easily be read by a vet, dog warden or animal welfare organisation by running a scanner close to the area where the microchip has been implanted. It is then simply a matter of identifying the code on the PetLog computerised files which in turn reveals the owners details.

These tiny microscopic chips ensure that your pet is identifiable and connected to you safely, reliably and permanently. Any pet can be microchipped, and more than 450,000 cats, dogs and horses within the UK have had a chip implanted over the last five years.

As loving pet owners most of us recognise that the care and maintenance of our adored animals costs money.

And as articles revealing a growing number of pets being abandoned by their cash-strapped owners seem to be on the increase in the media, the news that a global leader in pet insurance has confirmed a significant increase in the numbers of responsible pet owners taking out insurance policies on their domestic animals has been met by animal lovers across the world with much relief.

Allianz UK confirmed that its Petplan venture had taken £200million in the last year alone in pet insurance premiums, whilst awarding claims of more than £1million per week. Petplan is a specialist in insurance for domestic pets, and was one of the earliest pet insurers to enter the UK market more than 30 years ago.

The company revealed that their move to make pet insurance available online has encouraged major growth in the pet insurance industry overall.

So it s seems that in increasingly a difficult economic situation, we are still prepared to spend our hard earned cash on our pets.

A leading retailer of pet products and accessories, Pets At Home also confirmed that its revenue has risen twofold over the last 12 months, with much of its income gained from the growing success of its organic pet food produce.

Their commercial director commented recently:-

“People spend more money than ever on their pets, whether that is on better quality food, healthcare, insurance, accessories and even fashion.”

A recent report has revealed that there are almost twice as many domestic pet insurance policies held in the UK as there are private health insurance policies, with 23% of our pet population insured in comparison to only 12% of us being covered by private medical policies.

The report confirms UK pet owners as being amongst the most considerate and caring across the globe, surpassed only by Swedish pet owners, who lay claim to the largest populace of insured pets in the entire world.

Ewan McNeil, a former leader of the British Society of Practicing Veterinary Surgeons, went on record as saying:-

“We are a nation of animal lovers, and many of us regard our pet as part of the family; I’m not surprised that pet insurance is becoming so popular - people will do everything they can to ensure the best for their pets. Veterinary healthcare has made great strides in the last few years offering highly sophisticated treatment for a huge range of animal ailments. Pet insurance helps owners choose the best treatment for their pets without worrying about costs.”

In addition to this the report revealed a 41% increase in the demand for the insurance of smaller pedigree dogs – or ‘handbag’ dogs which are often more costly to insure than other types of dogs

As a growing number of people decide to treat themselves using holistic or alternative methods, it seems that an increasing number of caring pet owners are calling for their vets to treat their beloved pets using natural alternatives and organic forms of healing as a replacement for conventional medicines.

Holistic remedies can be explained as a philosophy that envisions the patient, whether that patient is human or indeed animal as a complete unit encompassing the mind, body and spirit.

The impetus of holistic pet care is on evading ailments with a combination of a healthy existence including the benefits of a decent diet and the effects of exercise to keep your pet stable and in optimum health.

While some pet owners research the benefits of holistic treatment in a last ditch attempt to relieve painful or complicated animal illnesses there are a wide range of other possible uses for these unconventional remedies, from acupuncture to deep tissue massage.

Other complimentary treatments include the use of herbal remedies to manage a variety of animal behavioural issues such as separation anxiety or uncontrollable obsessive behaviours, and all holistic remedies can be used in conjunction with traditional or conventional medicines prescribed by your vet.

If you are considering treating your pet using any form of holistic therapy you should ensure that any alternative treatments are issued under the close direction of a holistic specialist or under the supervision of a vet.