Pleasing 4 Pets

The Northumbrian forces police dogs may be under the threat as a financial and structural appraisal of the canine unit in Northumbria gets underway.

The force has revealed that its squad of police dogs is currently under scrutiny but also confirmed that at present no decision has been made regarding cutbacks.

Throughout Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, expertly trained dogs, usually German shepherds or spaniels, take part in police operations including terrorism prevention, searches for firearms and explosives, drugs busts and searches for missing persons.

The Northumbrian police dog squad consists of around 50 general purpose and specialist animals. The canine crime fighters are managed by a team of 55 dog handlers – consisting of 6 police sergeants and 49 constables.

In November, Police Review magazine revealed that Greater Manchester Police had already cut its dog squad by 50% from 120, down to just 60 police dogs.

The same report declared that Northumbria Police was expected to slash its numbers by around 30%, but the Northumbrian police force is adamant that at present no such decision has been made.

A spokes person for Northumbria Police said in a statement:-

“Police dogs play a valuable role in assisting our officers in tackling crime and disorder.

The dogs are trained by the force and work alongside fully- trained dog handlers in each of our six area commands.

We are always seeking ways to improve all aspects of policing and a review is currently ongoing to look at the way in which we work with police dogs across the force.

No decisions have been taken and the review is continuing.

We have got a strong neighbourhood policing ethos and need to make sure we have sufficient specialist resources to support that.”

An animal sanctuary in Bath is hoping to reopen shortly after it was closed down by an outbreak of the canine disease Parvovirus.

The potentially fatal illness infected several dogs at Bath cats and Dogs Home, and sadly of the animals treated for the infection at the home, two puppies have died of the virus.

Parvovirus first become apparent during the 1970s, when an epidemic killed many thousands of dogs before a successful vaccine against the disease was discovered.

These days, although the disease is not present on the scale of the epidemic in the seventies, it is still fairly widespread amongst dogs who have not been vaccinated against it, and vets around the UK frequently report occurrences of Parvovirus.

The disease is highly contagious and can be passed from dog to dog via both direct and indirect contact with the faeces of an infected canine, so protection via vaccination is crucial.

Symptoms of parvovirus include, depression, rejection of food and water, vomiting, abdominal pain and severe diarrhoea. These combined effects often lead very quickly to acute dehydration, which can ultimately result in the death of the infected animal.

The Manager of the Bath Cats and Dog Home said:-

“I think we’ve got to have seven clear days without another dog going down with it to enable us to reopen.

Touch wood we haven’t had anything else, so we’re just keeping our fingers crossed at the moment.”

A concerned animal charity has reported that since the downturn in the UK’s economic climate more and more pet owners are abandoning their pets amid fears that they cannot afford to feed or care for them.

The Cats Protection League in Reading said that although there are many owners prepared to abandon their pets, there are still those who are prepared to take care of them after they have been dumped.

One animal lover from Berkshire came across a cat which had been left in carrier bag at the side of canal.

The Caversham resident, known only as Joanna, spotted a carrier bag in the road whilst on a canal walk and cautiously looked into the bag.

Inside she found a tiny ginger kitten. He was shivering and both his eyes had stuck together and his nose was running.

Joanne took the poorly cat home and contacted her local Cats Protection League. She was concerned that the kitten could be suffering from cat flu and was determined to have him looked at by a vet.

Luckily the kitten was given the all clear from pet flu and it was decided that he was simply suffering the effects of the cold after being dumped by the side of the canal.

Now the lucky kitten, christened Socks, is happy and healthy and living with Joanna and her existing pet cat.

A spokesperson from the Cats Protection League admitted that the charity is struggling to cope with the increasing numbers of cats being abandoned. She said:-

“This is a heart-warming story indeed; but many kittens and cats aren’t so lucky.

We’ve had more animals being left on the doorsteps of our centre than usual, and we think that is because people think they can’t afford to feed them or pay their vets bills.

We often see an increase in abandoned animals at this time of year. Sometimes because people are getting a new pet for Christmas, so they get rid of their old cat for the new arrival. But we’ve had more than normal and I think it’s because of the credit crunch.

This time of year is very bad for abandoned animals. The weather is terrible, so they find it harder to survive outside.

We have over 70 cats waiting for homes in Reading and the surrounding areas.
We also have a disproportionate number of kittens also waiting to come in, not uncommon for this time of year but nevertheless there are more than usual.

It’s only thanks to eagle-eyed members of the public acting quickly that some are saved - young kittens are especially vulnerable during the long, cold nights.”

A family of domestic dogs in Germany has adopted a baby wild cat after its Mother was unable to produce enough milk to feed all of her litter of cubs.

The cub, named Shakira is an African Wild Cat and was born in a German Zoo.
She became sick when her Mother was not able to feed her and sadly, all of her siblings born with her died.

Fortunately for Shakira, animal lover Adam Roland aged 53, opted to care for the cat at his home with his existing family of dogs.

He said:-

“Shakira came to us when she was just 14 days old. A friend of mine from the zoo contacted me and told me how Shakira’s mother had not produced enough milk for her litter and her other brothers and sisters had died. When I heard this, I decided to take her

in.”

Adam cared for Shakira and nurtured her, tenderly feeding her with drops of milk. Her weight and general health slowly began to improve and she was presented to her new family, Adam existing pets - a pack of Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

The peculiar household bonded immediately, as the Mother, Katjinga and her litter of 11 puppies received Shakira into their home. Shakira and her new Mother fostered a strong relationship from the start.

Adam said of his unusual decision:-

“I wanted to provide her with some animal kids that could be a substitute for her own brothers and sisters and for her mother. It turned out that Shakira was integrated immediately into this dog family. She plays hide and seek, catch and even play fights with the dogs. When they tire from playing with each other, the cubs lie down together.”

When wild cat Shakira eventually grows to her full size, she is expected to be around 3ft in length and some 2ft in height, weighing in the region of 3stone - a similar size to her those in her adopted family.

The PBBuk or Pet Blood Bank UK has received its 1,000th donation of blood. The non-profit national canine blood donation charity opened its doors after its launch in March of 2007 at the annual Crufts show.

The charity was started after a change in the law enabled UK veterinary surgeries to store blood reserved for domestic dogs.

The national canine blood donation service now conducts frequent blood donation assemblies, akin to the human blood donation services.

The canine blood collected at the sessions makes it possible for vets across the country to save the lives of many sick or injured dogs that might otherwise not have lived without a blood transfusion.

PBBuk’s Director, Wendy Barnett said of the scheme: -

“We are absolutely delighted to have reached this important milestone and it just shows how far we have come since we launched just over 18 months ago.

The fact that we are at donor 1000 now is testament to the generosity of dog owners all over the country who bring their dogs to donate at local blood collection sessions and of course the veterinary practices who kindly provide the premises for these sessions to take place.

Without these owners, we wouldn’t be able to supply the veterinary profession with the blood products they need to save the lives of hundreds of dogs in the UK.”

The canine blood is separated into a range of blood products and stockpiled at the PBBuk labs in Leicester. The blood products are then sold on to veterinary surgeries in the UK as required. PBBuk has confirmed that it expects to launch a similar scheme for cats shortly.

Local police officers in the market town of Arundel in the South Downs of West Sussex have been left bewildered after a finding a series of abandoned pets left in a country lane on the fringes of the town.

So, far a total of five pedigree rabbits and two dogs have been found abandoned in the country lane which leads to the neighbouring town of Burpham, just before the junction at the A27, close to the railway station at Arundel.

The latest animal to be found was a Staffordshire bull terrier puppy which was thought to be around 3 months old. The puppy, wearing a blue coloured collar was discovered roaming the lane alone and in the darkness. Local police confirmed that the puppy was very fortunate not to have been hit by a car in the lane.

In October, five rabbits were found abandoned at the same spot, but unfortunately had to be put down by a local vet after it was discovered that the bunnies had contracted myxomatosis from wild rabbits.

Shortly before that an elderly dog was discovered roaming the same stretch of road, but has since be re-homed with a local family.

Community police officer Lorraine Dixon confirmed that the Staffordshire bull terrier puppy found in the lane was being cared for at the Carleton Kennels in Ford, and that attempts to re-home the animal would begin shortly. She said:-

“He is lucky to have survived. A couple from Warningcamp saw him in the road after the vehicle in front of them swerved to avoid him. He was handed over to the Arun dog wardens, who checked the area, but no one living round there owns the puppy.

Now there have been three cases like this, we are asking people to keep a look-out in that lane and to contact the police if they see anything suspicious”.