Animal Camp

Dr. Davis spent some time volunteering to educate our animal advocates of the future at the Frederick County Animal Welfare's Animal Camp. In addition to learning about what a veterinarian does on a daily basis, attendees were taught about animal health & safety. These wonderful children are spending time at the shelter learning how to care for animals and have been spending time playing & socializing the animals in the shelter. On this day, they were also busy decorating bandanas for the dogs & making cat toys for the kitties!

Dog Days of Summer

On Saturday, August 7th, the FCHS will participate in Dog Days of Summer, presented by the Downtown Frederick Partnership and Two Paws Up, from 5 to 9pm. Downtown Frederick goes to the dogs with costume contests, dog friendly merchants, live music, restaurants, animal art and more. The event takes place in the Frederick Main Street area -Patrick and Market Streets, Everedy Square and Shab Row. Registration opens at 5pm at Two Paws Up, Carrol Street. The FCHS will have a judjing booth and fun activity on East Patrick Street. The event wraps up with a Yappy Hour along Carol Creek atarting at 8pm at the ampitheater. A portion of the event's proceeds will be donated to the FCHS programs helping companion animals. For more information, visit www.downtownfrederick.org, www.twopawsup.biz or www.fchs.org.

Buyer Beware

10 Reasons Not to Buy a Puppy from a Pet Store

1. Bad Health: Because so many pet store pups come from puppy mills, they are not the result of careful breeding and they are usually not well cared for before coming to the store. Some common illnesses and conditions are neurological problems, eye problems, hip dysplasia, blood disorders and Canine Parvovirus.

2. Behavioral Problems: Because breeding is indiscriminate, behavioral problems are not weeded out generationally. You'll also find that a pet store's staff is not likely to have any training in dealing with behavior issues so the puppies continue to do the wrong things, which become habit.

3. No Socialization: Pet stores pups are often pulled away from their litter at far too young an age, often at only four or five weeks. The earliest a puppy should be separated from his pack is eight weeks and most reputable breeders will say at least 10 weeks. This lack of time socializing with his siblings means that puppy will not develop important canine skills. Likewise, a puppy who has not been handled by people from about three weeks will not naturally socialize well with them.

4. The Downfall of the Standard: In a broad sense, purchasing a puppy from a pet store and then breeding her means you are ruining the standard of that breed because the previous breeders were not concerned with it.

5. Lack of Information: A member of a pet store staff is not an expert on a breed and often not on dogs in general. Purchasing a puppy from a store means you will not get the lowdown on that breed or likely help with any behavioral or other questions.

6. Return at Your Puppy's Peril: Most pet stores do offer a warranty of sorts where you can bring the puppy back if he has problems. They don't tend to tell customers that the puppy's fate, once returned, is usually euthanization.

7. Housebreaking is a Chore: Pet store puppies have spent all their short lives in cages. They do not have the opportunity to develop the natural canine instinct of eliminating away from their food and bed. This causes problems when you try to housebreak them.

8. What You See Isn't Necessarily What You Get: If you see what looks like a Maltese in the window, you may find, as she grows, that there's a little Maltese in there somewhere but mostly she looks like a Terrier. There is no guarantee you will get a purebred dog if that's what you're after.

9. Poor Value: A puppy from a pet store generally costs between $400 and $2,000. This is often more than you'd pay at a reputable breeder who can ensure you get a healthy puppy and provide support afterward.

10. Questionable Pedigree: You're paying for a pedigree, or AKC papers, when you buy a puppy from a pet store but it's very likely that it's not genuine. If the papers are genuine, it still doesn't mean the puppy is a good example of its breed - you need a reputable breeder to prove that.

What are our options other than pet store puppies? Reputable breeders are always a good choice. They are very knowledgeable about the breed they represent and can help with behavioral and physical issues that might come up later. These breeders socialize their puppies early on, breed in good traits and breed out bad ones and they can show you your puppies' parents and give you their history.

Another great option is adopting a puppy. Humane Societies, local animal shelters and breed rescues are all good places to look. True, you don't have the benefit of meeting you pup's parents but rescued puppies are thoroughly examined for any illness or condition, are socialized by staff and trained early on. Also, if you adopt a mixed puppy you will likely find he is very healthy as mutts are often healthier than purebreds.

7/14/10 From Dogster.com

Take your pet to school.

Check this out! Several colleges have extended an invitation for students to bring their pets with them to school. The complete story is available at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/education/06pets.html?pagewanted=1&sq=pets&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=6&adxnnlx=1278605306-SSkEOP0qZZ bA3VvONKidg

HEAT ADVISORY REMINDER FOR PETS!!

On 7/8/10 we recieved this message from the humane society of Frederick County

Frederick,MD: On Tuesday, July 6th, when Frederick Co. reached record-breaking temperatures, a Labrador Retriever died in a parked car left unattended while its owner was shopping.

Don't let this happen to your pet. Never, ever leave your pet unattended in a vehicle. Bring your pet in from the heat and when pets are outside, even for brief periods, keep them off hot pavement and provide shade and plenty ofwater. If you see an animal locked inside a parked car, quickly try to locate the owner but don't delay in contacting local authroities to get the animal free. A vehicle's interior can reach 130 degrees within minutes on a hot day.

This public service reminder is provided by The Frederick County Humane Society, the county's oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to the humane care of companion animals.

Please have a safe and happy summer- your friends at Kingsbrook Animal Hospital.

Lotus

This is sweet Lotus. If you look real closely you will see she has a kitty cowlick!

More Cat Facts

It is estimated that cats can make over 60 different sounds.

Jaguars are the only big cats that don't roar.

Julius Caesar, Henri II, Charles XI, and Napoleon had aelurophobia, the fear of cats.

Kittens can clock an amazing 31 mile per hour at full speed, and can cover about three times their body length per leap.

Kittens remain with their mother till the age of 9 weeks.

Like birds, cats have a homing ability that uses its biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the Earth's magnetic field. A cat taken far from its home can return to it. But if a cat's owners move far from its home, the cat can't find them.

Lucy Webb Hayes, wife of Rutherford Hayes, is the first person recorded to own a Siamese in the U.S.

Many cats are unable to properly digest cow's milk. Milk and milk products give them diarrhea.

Many of a cat's bones are found in its tail.

Many people fear catching a protozoan disease, Toxoplasmosis, from cats. This disease can cause illness in the human, but more seriously, can cause birth defects in the unborn. Toxoplasmosis is a common disease, sometimes spread through the feces of cats. It is caused most often from eating raw or rare beef. Pregnant women and people with a depressed immune system should not touch the cat litter box. Other than that, there is no reason that these people have to avoid cats.

More than 30 percent of American households have a cat as part of the family

Morris, the 9-Lives cat, was discovered at an animal shelter in New England.

Most cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back paw.

Most cats have no eyelashes.

Mother cats teach their kittens to use the litter box.

Neutering a cat extends its life span by two or three years.

Never pick a kitten up by the neck. Only a mother cat may do this safely.

Newborn kittens have closed ear canals that don't begin to open for nine days.

Normal body temperature for a cat is 102 degrees F.

Nostradamus, the French Astrologer, 1503-1566, had a cat named Grimalkin.