In the war the pigeons would all have had to be shot for dereliction of duty: released from the hands of actor Jenny Seagrove, instead of swooping in the planned elegant V-formation across one of the most extraordinary cemeteries in Britain, they took one look at the assembled crowd of photographers, did a swift U-turn over the hedge, and headed north for Manchester and home.
Among thousands of domestic moggies and much mourned mongrels, many with expensive headstones describing the grief of humans signing themselves "Mum" and "Dad", 12 animals described as war heroes lie in a sloping field on the north eastern borders of London.
Pet heroes honoured as cemetery reopensMaev KennedyFriday December 14, 2007Guardian Unlimited In memory of brave pets ... the PDSA's Ilford animal cemetery. Photograph: Cate Gillon/Getty
In the war the pigeons would all have had to be shot for dereliction of duty: released from the hands of actor Jenny Seagrove, instead of swooping in the planned elegant V-formation across one of the most extraordinary cemeteries in Britain, they took one look at the assembled crowd of photographers, did a swift U-turn over the hedge, and headed north for Manchester and home.
Among thousands of domestic moggies and much mourned mongrels, many with expensive headstones describing the grief of humans signing themselves "Mum" and "Dad", 12 animals described as war heroes lie in a sloping field on the north eastern borders of London.
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It was still deep countryside when the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, a 90-year-old charity, which each year still cares for thousands of pets of people too poor to pay vet bills, created the cemetery. After over 3,000 burials it closed in the 1960s, and soon became overgrown and forlorn, tree roots toppling monuments and moss blurring inscriptions.
Yesterday it was formally reopened to the public, after restoration work funded by a £50,000 Big Lottery grant. The site includes the graves of 12 Dickin Medal winners, the animal equivalent of a VC, a fifth of all those ever awarded.
The pigeons passed the grave of Mary of Exeter, a pigeon that made four flights carrying messages back from wartime France, returning seriously injured each time. On her last return shrapnel damaged her neck muscles, but her owner, an Exeter cobbler, made her a leather collar which held her head up and kept her going for another 10 years.
Jake, a present-day Metropolitan Police explosives detector dog, sniffed curiously yesterday at the grave of Simon, the only cat ever to win the medal, for heroic ratting on board HMS Amethyst during the 100 days the ship spent trapped by Chinese communist rebels on the Yangtze River, in 1949.
Fortunately, according to Commander Stuart Hett, who briefly served as the cat's correspondence secretary, Simon was a small but fearless creature who quite liked dogs. Simon was originally the captain's cat, a privileged creature who fished ice cubes out of his water jug and crunched them, but after he survived being blown up along with the captain's cabin, became the pet of the whole crew. Hett, then a 23-year-old sub lieutenant, had the chore of replying to thousands of letters after the ship escaped the barrage and the story went worldwide. The decision was taken to bring the furry hero back to Britain, which proved the death of him: he caught cat flu while still in quarantine.
"Can a cat be brave?" Commander Hett considered yesterday. "Is it right to call an animal a hero? I think so, yes. To continue doing everything required of you under fire, to continue giving comfort and succour to your comrades, yes I think you could properly call that bravery."
Friday, December 14, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Animal group says Westside pet shop sold from puppy mills
The head of the Humane Society of the United States on Tuesday accused a Westside pet store catering to celebrities of selling puppies obtained from puppy mills.Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of the society, a national animal advocacy organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C., made a presentation on what he called an undercover investigation of Pets of Bel Air, a pet store and grooming business tucked into the Beverly Glen Circle shopping plaza in Bel-Air. The store has attracted such high-profile customers as pop star Britney Spears and actress Denise Richards, among others.
"Our employees were on the inside of Pets of Bel Air," said Pacelle, who made his presentation at the West Los Angeles Animal Care Center, accompanied by Ed Boks, general manager of L.A. Animal Services, which runs the city's shelters."Our undercover investigators found staffers were knowingly misrepresenting how the dogs were obtained," Pacelle said.Just hours after the news conference, the pet store was shut down by L.A. Animal Services for selling pets without a proper permit from the city and for not having veterinary records available for inspection."This is largely symbolic," Boks said. "They can buy a permit and reopen."He joined Pacelle in denouncing the store's alleged practice of selling puppies from puppy mills, calling it "unconscionable."Neither operating a so-called puppy mill nor securing dogs from one is a crime. But animal welfare advocates denounce as inhumane and cruel the breeding practice of keeping dogs on a mass scale to produce puppies for sale.Pacelle said the Humane Society reviewed records of 28 breeders supplying the pet store. Undercover investigators went to five of those breeders and found them to be "large scale breeding facilities -- like factories," Pacelle said.Pacelle showed a video of people who the Humane Society contends were Pets of Bel Air employees, on which they state that they try not to refer to an animal as "sick" even if it is ill.Store owner Tom Demick said Tuesday night in a phone interview that he had not bought puppies from a puppy mill -- "not to our knowledge. I've worked with pet stores in the past. I've seen the worst. I set this store up to do the best. We pride ourselves on our animal husbandry. We're all very compassionate about how we do it."Demick, who said his store had been open since 1999, took issue with the Humane Society's videotape of employees downplaying dogs' illnesses. "That was so twisted," said Demick of the video. "They cut that segment short."He said it was an "oversight" that he had not paid for a permit. "I told the [animals services] officers I had no idea I was three years behind on this," said Demick, who added he would take care of it immediately.Tuesday afternoon, as animal services officers conferred with employees inside the shuttered Pets of Bel Air, puppies for sale tussled with each other in crib-like structures in the front windows, or napped, undisturbed by the small crowd of reporters and photographers peering in at them.Pacelle defined puppy mills as places where female dogs are bred every time they come into heat, a practice he called "incredibly stressful on the system."Pacelle said the dogs and puppies are usually not socialized and are often housed in small wire cages -- causing the animals to endlessly bark and circle, he explained. In addition, inbreeding leads to genetic problems.Pacelle said some of the Humane Society's documentation had been turned over to the county district attorney's office as possible evidence of fraud."We have on tape a number of false representations made to clients," said Pacelle, referring to footage that appears to show store employees stating that the store never sells from puppy mills.Both Pacelle and Boks urged potential dog owners to get dogs from shelters. The West L.A. shelter had some mixed breed puppies Tuesday, several of which should be available for adoption in the next couple of weeks.carla.hall@latimes.com
"Our employees were on the inside of Pets of Bel Air," said Pacelle, who made his presentation at the West Los Angeles Animal Care Center, accompanied by Ed Boks, general manager of L.A. Animal Services, which runs the city's shelters."Our undercover investigators found staffers were knowingly misrepresenting how the dogs were obtained," Pacelle said.Just hours after the news conference, the pet store was shut down by L.A. Animal Services for selling pets without a proper permit from the city and for not having veterinary records available for inspection."This is largely symbolic," Boks said. "They can buy a permit and reopen."He joined Pacelle in denouncing the store's alleged practice of selling puppies from puppy mills, calling it "unconscionable."Neither operating a so-called puppy mill nor securing dogs from one is a crime. But animal welfare advocates denounce as inhumane and cruel the breeding practice of keeping dogs on a mass scale to produce puppies for sale.Pacelle said the Humane Society reviewed records of 28 breeders supplying the pet store. Undercover investigators went to five of those breeders and found them to be "large scale breeding facilities -- like factories," Pacelle said.Pacelle showed a video of people who the Humane Society contends were Pets of Bel Air employees, on which they state that they try not to refer to an animal as "sick" even if it is ill.Store owner Tom Demick said Tuesday night in a phone interview that he had not bought puppies from a puppy mill -- "not to our knowledge. I've worked with pet stores in the past. I've seen the worst. I set this store up to do the best. We pride ourselves on our animal husbandry. We're all very compassionate about how we do it."Demick, who said his store had been open since 1999, took issue with the Humane Society's videotape of employees downplaying dogs' illnesses. "That was so twisted," said Demick of the video. "They cut that segment short."He said it was an "oversight" that he had not paid for a permit. "I told the [animals services] officers I had no idea I was three years behind on this," said Demick, who added he would take care of it immediately.Tuesday afternoon, as animal services officers conferred with employees inside the shuttered Pets of Bel Air, puppies for sale tussled with each other in crib-like structures in the front windows, or napped, undisturbed by the small crowd of reporters and photographers peering in at them.Pacelle defined puppy mills as places where female dogs are bred every time they come into heat, a practice he called "incredibly stressful on the system."Pacelle said the dogs and puppies are usually not socialized and are often housed in small wire cages -- causing the animals to endlessly bark and circle, he explained. In addition, inbreeding leads to genetic problems.Pacelle said some of the Humane Society's documentation had been turned over to the county district attorney's office as possible evidence of fraud."We have on tape a number of false representations made to clients," said Pacelle, referring to footage that appears to show store employees stating that the store never sells from puppy mills.Both Pacelle and Boks urged potential dog owners to get dogs from shelters. The West L.A. shelter had some mixed breed puppies Tuesday, several of which should be available for adoption in the next couple of weeks.carla.hall@latimes.com
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Does your pet need a dietary supplement?
If you take a multivitamin every morning and perhaps a supplement or two because you care about your health, does it make sense to do the same with your dog or cat? Stephanie Pendleton of Emerald Isle, North Carolina, would say yes.
Pendleton caught on to pet supplements a few years ago when she noticed that her 13-year-old cat, Sierra, wasn't up to her usual antics.
"She was having a hard time jumping up on the counter, and she wasn't playing as much as she used to," Pendleton says. "Finally, she just spent less time up there, I think, because it was painful for her."
Pendleton researched Sierra's problem online, and learned about the joint supplements glucosamine and chondroitin. She asked her veterinarian, and they agreed to give the cat a product that combines both joint supplements.
"Sierra is jumping all over the place again," Pendleton says.
Now, Pendleton is a believer in pet supplements. She gives Sierra and her other cat, 2-year-old Serenity, a multivitamin, probiotics to help their immune systems and essential fatty acids for skin and coat health. Sierra gets seven pills, Serenity four.
Demand for supplements is on the rise. The pet supplement market has grown about 15 percent annually since 2000 and is now a $1.3 billion business, according to the National Animal Supplement Council. Simmons Market Research Bureau says approximately 17 percent of pet owners give their cats and dogs some type of supplement.
A pet supplement is a product that is intended to complement the diet and help support and maintain a normal biological function. Products range from multivitamins for overall health to targeted formulas that claim to alleviate joint problems or canine cognitive dysfunction.
Dr. Tim Montague, a veterinarian at Eads Animal Hospital in Eads, Tennessee, started using supplements in 1992. He was wary at first because he didn't learn about them in veterinary school, and there weren't many on the market. But when an old professor of his recommended a joint supplement for one of Montague's patients, he took notice. Montague's golden retriever Ayla had an arthritic shoulder, so he also tried a joint supplement on her.
"She could barely make it up and down the stairs, but within a week after the supplement she was running and catching Frisbees in the yard," Montague says. "That sold me on that product." He said his patients have had good success with joint supplements and he prescribes them all the time.
But some substances, such as St. John's wort, may not be suitable for pets, according to the Food and Drug Administration, and their safety and effectiveness is untested in animals. What's more, some supplements have been found to contain lesser amounts of an active ingredient than the manufacturer claims, or substances like lead have been detected.
Dr. Tod Cooperman is president of ConsumerLab.com, which independently tests supplements for humans and animals. In the past few years, his company has reviewed roughly a dozen multivitamins, joint supplements and fish oils for pets and found that about half of the products tested don't pass.
"We have repeatedly found the quality of supplements for pets to be worse overall than for supplements for people," Cooperman says.
With the pet supplement market burgeoning, especially online, the FDA urges pet owners to talk to their veterinarians before giving supplements to their animals, something Montague agrees with.
"People need to be careful about self-medicating," he says. "I've seen many animals harmed by people getting the wrong information over the Internet."
Dr. John Bauer, professor of clinical nutrition at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine, offers four factors to consider when evaluating supplements:
1. Product quality How much of the functional, active ingredient is in the product? Responsible manufacturers will have 800 numbers on the package to call with technical questions about the ingredients, and your veterinarian should know what specific questions to ask.
2. Efficacy Is there any scientific basis to support the use of this supplement? If information about product testing isn't available on the company's Web site or elsewhere, call the company for details about the studies that have been performed.
3. Tolerance. Check the list of ingredients carefully before giving a supplement to your pet. For example, a supplement might include lactose, which some cats and dogs can't tolerate. It's a good idea to consult your veterinarian first to discuss how the supplements may react with any medications the pet is taking.
4. Safety. A product's safety should be proven. For example, the company might state in its literature that it was tested in high doses on mice and found to be safe, or the number of adverse events reported might be few to none.
Pendleton caught on to pet supplements a few years ago when she noticed that her 13-year-old cat, Sierra, wasn't up to her usual antics.
"She was having a hard time jumping up on the counter, and she wasn't playing as much as she used to," Pendleton says. "Finally, she just spent less time up there, I think, because it was painful for her."
Pendleton researched Sierra's problem online, and learned about the joint supplements glucosamine and chondroitin. She asked her veterinarian, and they agreed to give the cat a product that combines both joint supplements.
"Sierra is jumping all over the place again," Pendleton says.
Now, Pendleton is a believer in pet supplements. She gives Sierra and her other cat, 2-year-old Serenity, a multivitamin, probiotics to help their immune systems and essential fatty acids for skin and coat health. Sierra gets seven pills, Serenity four.
Demand for supplements is on the rise. The pet supplement market has grown about 15 percent annually since 2000 and is now a $1.3 billion business, according to the National Animal Supplement Council. Simmons Market Research Bureau says approximately 17 percent of pet owners give their cats and dogs some type of supplement.
A pet supplement is a product that is intended to complement the diet and help support and maintain a normal biological function. Products range from multivitamins for overall health to targeted formulas that claim to alleviate joint problems or canine cognitive dysfunction.
Dr. Tim Montague, a veterinarian at Eads Animal Hospital in Eads, Tennessee, started using supplements in 1992. He was wary at first because he didn't learn about them in veterinary school, and there weren't many on the market. But when an old professor of his recommended a joint supplement for one of Montague's patients, he took notice. Montague's golden retriever Ayla had an arthritic shoulder, so he also tried a joint supplement on her.
"She could barely make it up and down the stairs, but within a week after the supplement she was running and catching Frisbees in the yard," Montague says. "That sold me on that product." He said his patients have had good success with joint supplements and he prescribes them all the time.
But some substances, such as St. John's wort, may not be suitable for pets, according to the Food and Drug Administration, and their safety and effectiveness is untested in animals. What's more, some supplements have been found to contain lesser amounts of an active ingredient than the manufacturer claims, or substances like lead have been detected.
Dr. Tod Cooperman is president of ConsumerLab.com, which independently tests supplements for humans and animals. In the past few years, his company has reviewed roughly a dozen multivitamins, joint supplements and fish oils for pets and found that about half of the products tested don't pass.
"We have repeatedly found the quality of supplements for pets to be worse overall than for supplements for people," Cooperman says.
With the pet supplement market burgeoning, especially online, the FDA urges pet owners to talk to their veterinarians before giving supplements to their animals, something Montague agrees with.
"People need to be careful about self-medicating," he says. "I've seen many animals harmed by people getting the wrong information over the Internet."
Dr. John Bauer, professor of clinical nutrition at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine, offers four factors to consider when evaluating supplements:
1. Product quality How much of the functional, active ingredient is in the product? Responsible manufacturers will have 800 numbers on the package to call with technical questions about the ingredients, and your veterinarian should know what specific questions to ask.
2. Efficacy Is there any scientific basis to support the use of this supplement? If information about product testing isn't available on the company's Web site or elsewhere, call the company for details about the studies that have been performed.
3. Tolerance. Check the list of ingredients carefully before giving a supplement to your pet. For example, a supplement might include lactose, which some cats and dogs can't tolerate. It's a good idea to consult your veterinarian first to discuss how the supplements may react with any medications the pet is taking.
4. Safety. A product's safety should be proven. For example, the company might state in its literature that it was tested in high doses on mice and found to be safe, or the number of adverse events reported might be few to none.
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