2nd Annual Howl-O-Ween Costume Contest

2007 winners featured clockwise above:

First Place is Oprah (starring Alexis Weigand)

Second Place (tie) is Paris Hilton (starring Piper Weigand with her pet, Tinkerbell) and The Ace of Spades (starring Callie Brown, can you find all 5 spades?)

To enter the 2008 Howl-O-Ween Costume Contest e-mail your picture (one per pet, please) to yourfriends@kingsbrookvet.com by October 24th. Winners for first, second and third place will be anounced on October 31.

First place will receive $75 in "Kingsbrook Dollars", which may be applied towards any goods or services provided by Kingsbrook Animal Hospital. Second place winner will receive $50 "Kingsbrook Dollars" and third place will receive $25 "Kingsbrook Dollars".

Good Luck and Happy Howl-o-Ween

Fine Arts in the Valley

Once a year, artists in Maryland's beautiful Middletown Valley throw open their studio doors to the public. The self-guided Fine Arts in the Valley tours allow friends, patrons, and visitors to explore the Valley, talk with each individual artist, and learn about how and why they create. It's also an opportunity to view and buy their latest works in a variety of media, subjects, and styles.

10th Anniversary Group Showing at
Frederick Cellars October 4th, 5-9pm
Frederick Cellars, 221 N. East St, Frederick, MD

This event is FREE and open to the public.

Art will be for sale and commissions are welcomed. Studios are open at other times by appointment with the individual artists.

Anne Gibson Snyder, a Kingsbrook Animal Hospital client, will have her art featured at the show.

Anne's formal art training began at age nine with noted art educator Edwin Connelly. She studied with Julien Binford at Mary Washington College, and received the Schnellock Award for the most promising painter upon graduation. Anne was selected as one of 25 artists to participate in "Paint Annapolis", a juried exhibition sponsored by the Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painter's Association. She divides her time between her studio in Middletown and a North Carolina retreat.

"I paint from life. The smells, sounds and subtle colors that occur in nature give added inspiration to my work".

Open House Art/Ceramic/Sculpture Show

Saturday, September 27 through Sunday, September 28
from 10am-5pm at 802 Young Place, Frederick MD 21702

Meredith's All media paintings, Ceramic Sculptured Teapots, Bowls and Tiles
Val Parsons' Woodfired Bowls, Jars and Birdhouses
Fran Blauer's Metal Sculptures and Lawn Art

An artist since childhood, Meredith Mercer-Akre is a creator of small worlds of color, texture, and context. Across the plastic and graphic arts, she maintains an approach that is, by turns, pure, contemplative, rough, sharp, light, dark, but always unabashedly optimistic. An eighth generation Fredericktonian, she has dedicated herself to the local history and service of the area as tour guide, storyteller, volunteer, teacher, and as ambassador for the cultural life and the philanthropic goals of her city. She splits her time between studios in Frederick and St. Michaels, Maryland.

Collecting Donations for FCAC

Hi. My name is Olivia Carlson and I am currently attending Middletown Middle School. I am collecting donations for the Frederick County Animal Control for a student learning project. The reason I picked this project is due to my love for animals. I will have a drop box located at Kingsbrook Animal Hospital for collecting donations from September 20th until October 4th. If you donate, one more animal will be happy. Any donation will be GREATLY appreciated.

Needed items:

*Pet toys (all types; small animals, including birds and farm animals)
*Pet cages
*Pet beds, bedding and litter
*Pet food and treats
*leashes and collars
*towels and blankets
*Pet care books
*Pet care videos
*Pet shampoos or baby shampoo (used and samples okay)
*Bleach
*Dawn dish washing detergent
*Gift certificates from Drs. Foster and Smith pet supply
*Acidophilus from health food store
*Hay-Timothy
*Fencing material or fence repair

Happy Ending

Above: Scruffy is reunited with his happy owners.

A little stray dog was found wandering the streets of Baltimore. He was turned over to Maryland Bichon Frise Rescue (www.bichonbash.com) because he looked like a Bichon Frise mix. He was placed in a foster home and his foster mom, Ginny, brought him to Kingsbrook Animal Hospital to be examined and vaccinated. Since the dog was a stray, Ranee scanned him to see if he was microchipped. He was. Ranee copied down the microchip number and called the microchip hotline to locate the owner's information.

Unfortunately, the owner had never registered the microchip number. Ranee had to shift into Sherlock Holmes mode. She contacted the distributor that sold the chip to see who had purchased it. She then called the pet store that purchased the chip to see if they had kept records on who purchased the dog. Unfortunately, the pet store's computer had crashed and had not been updated. Luckily, the pet store kept hard copies of the microchip information. Ginny's sister, Pam, visited the pet store with a picture of the dog. With a little prodding, they were able to locate the owner's information. Ginny contacted the owner and found out that the little dog, named Scruffy, had slipped out of the gate two weeks before and was picked up five miles away from his home. Scruffy was reunited with his appreciative owners.

This story had a happy ending. Other dogs have not been as lucky. Sometimes a beloved pet is lost forever. Microchipping works. Luckily, the pet store kept records and the owner was located. It is VERY important to register the microchip as soon as it is implanted and to make address and phone number changes as they become necessary. If Scruffy's microchip had been registered, we would have been able to contact the owner and return him to his family immediately.

Thank you to everyone who helped Scruffy find his way home!

Voluntary Pet Food Recall

Mars Petcare US Announces Nationwide Voluntary Recall

Franklin, Tennessee (September 12, 2008)—Today, Mars Petcare US announced a voluntary recall of products manufactured at its Everson, Pennsylvania facility. The pet food is being voluntarily recalled because of potential contamination with Salmonella serotype Schwarzengrund. This voluntary recall only affects the United States.

Salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and, if there is cross contamination caused by handling of the pet food, in people as well, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune systems. Healthy people potentially infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. On rare occasions, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Animals can be carriers with no visible symptoms and can potentially infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

The company stopped production at the Everson facility on July 29, 2008 when it was alerted of a possible link between dry pet food produced at the plant and two isolated cases of people infected with Salmonella Schwarzengrund.

Even though no direct link between product produced at Everson and human or pet illness has been made, Mars Petcare US is taking precautionary action to protect pets and their owners by announcing a voluntary recall of all products produced at the Everson facility beginning February 18, 2008 until July 29, 2008 when we stopped production.

The company is continuing to work collaboratively with the FDA to determine the nature and source of Salmonella Schwarzengrund at the Everson facility. Since it has not yet identified the source of the Salmonella Schwarzengrund at the Everson facility, Mars Petcare US does not plan to resume production out of a commitment to the safety of our pet owners and their pets, customers, and associates.

The top priority of Mars Petcare US has always been and continues to be the health and welfare of pets and their owners. Consumers can continue to have confidence in the quality and safety of the products produced at other Mars Petcare US facilities. Only those products which were produced at the Everson facility are impacted by the voluntary recall.

Many of the brands involved in the recall are national brands produced at multiple facilities. A chart for all products is below. For example, PEDIGREE® is manufactured in numerous facilities throughout the country, and Everson represents a very small portion of the manufacturing base – 2.7 percent of total PEDIGREE® production.

Mars Petcare US will work with retail customers to ensure that the recalled products are not on store shelves. These products should not be sold or fed to pets. In the event that consumers believe they have purchased products affected by this voluntary recall, they should return the product to the store where they purchased it for a full refund. Specific product details and other information can be found at www.petcare.mars.com

In Dog We Trust

In these dog days of summer, let's consider the most important decision facing Barack Obama. Long ago, as he set out on this race, he made the one campaign promise he can under no circumstances break: that when it was all over, whatever happened, his daughters could get a dog.

In the true spirit of doggy democracy, the AKC asked Americans to vote on the breed they think the Obama family should select. The AKC scoured all of the "canine candidates" to assess each breed's credentials as potential "first pet" and best friend of the Obama family. Choices were narrowed significantly due to their daughters' allergies. Therefore, AKC experts made the selection from their list of hypoallergenic breeds. The candidates are: Bichon Frise, Chinese Crested, Minature Schnauzer, Poodle and Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier.

In addition to having a hypoallergenic coat, other required qualifications to fill the vacant "presidential pet" post include: child-friendly (Obama has two daughters aged 6 and 9 years); a good travel companion (aboard Air Force One); moderate energy level (appropriate for a child to walk), and of course a stable and social temperament - able to adapt to varied visitors - from heads of state to members of the press corps.

The polls have closed. The Poodle won by a (dog) hair, with just a few hundred votes separating the top two contenders.

For more information on presidential dogs of the past visit: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1830236,00.html

Interesting Dog Facts

Did you know...

The tallest dog ever recorded stood at a towering 42 inches at the shoulder. Standing on hind legs, the dog reached 6 foot 9 inches. From nose to tail, he was just under 8 feet. The dog was a Great Dane from Great Britain, who lived from 1975 to 1984.

The smallest dog also hailed from Great Britain. The Yorkshire terrier was just 2.5 inches tall from the shoulder and weighed just 4 ounces. The little dog did not survive to his second birthday; he died in 1945.

The world's oldest dog lived to the ripe old age of 29 years and 5 months. Born in 1910, Bluey, an Australian cattle dog, faithfully herded cattle for more than 20 years before retiring. He died in 1939. (Bluey's longevity is reliably documented; other claims have not been verified.)

The world's strongest dog is reputed to be Lobo, an Alaskan malamute. The 165-pound dog pulled a 10,000-pound truck/trailer 20 feet in the early 1970s.

The most prolific mother award goes to Lena, an American foxhound who gave birth to 23 puppies in June 1944, in Ambler, Pa. The little miracles, black and white spotted puppies, all lived and reached maturity.

The bloodhound is the only animal whose evidence is admissible in a U.S. court of law.

Two dogs survived the Titanic disaster – a Pomeranian and a Pekingese.

The first commercially available dog food was available in 1870 in Great Britain. The product was called Spratt's Patent Meal Fibrine Dog Cakes.

Each year, Americans spend more on dog food than baby food.

Mutt is short for the word "muttonhead," which was slang for dimwit. Somehow the word was applied to dogs in the 20th century, and then to dogs of mixed breeds.

The phrase "dog days of summer" was originally a reference to the constellations. It refers to the period between July and September, when the "dog star" Sirius rises early with the sun.

Teacher Resources

The Golden Retriever Club of America has assembled teacher resources for all age groups. Lesson plans, educational kits, posters, brochures and booklets are available for free at http://www.grca.org/PEC/subm_Resr-ForTeachers.html

Kate Koogler Canine Cancer Ride

The 6TH Annual Kate Koogler Canine Cancer Ride is being held October 4, 2008. Get friends, family and coworkers to sponsor you and the proceeds go to fight bone cancer in dogs.

Riders will meet at COZY RESTAURANT in Thurmont on October 4 at 10 AM, Motorcycles will leave at 11 AM and travel over the beautiful back roads of Frederick and Washington County to a delicious catered meal AND LIVE BAND at PEN MAR PARK near CASCADE at the completion of the ride. Non riders can bring a carload and meet us at the park at 1:00. Participants pay a registration fee of $35.00 per person, kids 12 and under $15.00. Each person will receive a T-shirt, dinner at the park and a raffle ticket for a chance to win a weekend getaway. RAIN OR SHINE - If the weather is bad we will still have the picnic under the pavilion at the park. Motorcycle not required - Non riders can go directly to the park at 1:00.

Participants are asked to obtain pledges and turn in donations at the park. Prizes will be awarded to three people with the most money raised in donations. Other great raffle prizes will also be available.

For a registration packet visit: http://www.katefund.org/ride.html

Dangerous Toy

On Sunday, June 22, 2008 a 10-year old lab mix, named Chai, sustained a severe injury from a product produced by Four Paws Inc. The referenced toy is the pimple ball with bell. (Item #20227-001, UPC Code 0 4566320227 9)

While chewing on the toy, a vacuum was created and it effectively sucked Chai's tongue into the hole in the ball. Chai's vet stated, this likely occurred because there is not a second hole in the ball preventing the vacuum effect from happening. The owner became aware of this issue when Chai approached a friend at her home whimpering with the ball in his mouth. She tried unsuccessfully to remove the ball but the tongue had swollen and could not be released.

Chai was taken to the Animal Medical Center (an emergency care facility in New York City) and was treated to have the ball removed. Because the size of the opening on the ball was so small, all circulation to his tongue was cut off. The doctors had to sedate him in order to remove it. Once the ball was removed, his tongue swelled to the point that he could no longer put it in his mouth. Chai was sent home with care instructions and to be observed overnight for any changes.

By the following morning Chai’s tongue had swollen even more.

He was taken to his regular vet for treatment. He was admitted and kept sedated for a period of three days during which time they were treating his wounds and waiting to determine how much of his tongue could be saved. On June 26, 2008 Chai had his tongue amputated.

This toy HAS NOT been recalled by Four Paws, Inc. If you have this toy, throw it away to prevent injury to your beloved pet.