Resolutions and 101 Ways to Help Your Local Animal Shelter

Posted by Clare Bristow | Leave a Comment

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I came across an article today written by Jim Johnson who is a co-founder of the Happy Tails Animal Sanctuary in Columbia, Missouri.

Jim's article in the Columbia Tribune gives 10 resolutions for us humans so we can make 2008 a better year for our pets, and 10 resolutions for our dogs so they can give us even more joy over the next twelve months!

Number 10 on the list of human resolutions - "I will support a local animal rescue or shelter. After all, they might help my pet someday" - reminded me of an excellent list Karen Shanley posted on her blog a couple of weeks ago titled 101 Ways to Help Breed Rescue Without Adopting or Fostering.

Karen's list has some great ways to help out your local rescue shelter and many of them shouldn't take too much time to complete but would make a much welcomed contribution to the running of the animal shelter.

Number 102 could be to forward the list to your local animal rescue so they can start the new year off with 101 ideas for encouraging voluntary support over the coming year.

I've spoken to Zoe and Fritz about their new year resolutions; Zoe said she'll make an extra effort not to be sick in Dad's car every time she travels in it, but if it does happen she'll try and avoid the air-conditioning vents. Fritz said he'll try and stop wiping his beard on the sofas after he's eaten as he realises the stains don't look attractive.

Have your dogs made any new year resolutions?

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Filed Under Dog News, Blog

Westies Join Fight Against Fatal Lung Disease

Posted by Clare Bristow | Leave a Comment

westie

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a disease that kills approximately 40,000 Americans each year - a similar number die annually from breast cancer.

IPF occurs spontaneously and results in normal lung tissue being converted into scar tissue. It's a progressive disease that gradually robs people of the ability to breathe. There are no known causes or treatments for IPF, and it's usually fatal within three years of diagnosis.

West Highland White Terriers (Westies) are prone to a disease that is remarkably similar to IPF.

The symptoms in Westie's are a shortness of breath and excessive panting, and the disease is usually fatal within eighteen months of diagnosis.

Pulmonary fibrosis tends to affects Westie's when they are 7 to 9 years old; this is equivalent to 40 - 60 human years and is when IPF typically shows itself in humans.

Earlier this year veterinary and human medical researchers met to discuss and share information about IPF, and determine how they could work together to find the cause and a treatment for the disease.

For veterinarians the advantage of any collaboration is that they can learn from human research how to better diagnose and treat dogs that are dying from fibrotic lung disease.

As it's believed that dogs age at a rate that is approximately seven times the human rate of aging, scientists would have the opportunity of studying the disease in 'fast forward', which may mean the cause and treatments can be found more quickly.

Cracking the IPF code is still a long way off, but hopefully it will become that much closer with this collaborative research.

Kudos to the Westie Foundation of America who initiated the conference, and to the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation and Morris Animal Foundation who both contributed additional funding.

Keywords: dog health, pulmonary fibrosis, westie lung disease

Filed Under Dog Health, Blog