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The Senior Dogs Project "Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog." |
| News.... July/August 2004 |
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Issues & Announcements
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IAMS "Feeding Trials" Are Inhumane |
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 All dog food companies must legally comply with federal regulations prescribing nutritional content of their foods. In order to meet these criteria, the food must be tested. There are many choices of how the tests are conducted, including those in which the test animals live with families or in other humane conditions. It is left up to the dog food companies to decide how they will determine the nutritional content of the foods they manufacture. Apparently, the laboratory that IAMS has chosen to do its tests keep their test animals in appalling conditions, with little regard for whether the dogs survive the tests. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has reported that their investigation at an IAMS contract laboratory where the tests were conducted ". . . revealed deplorable conditions for animals and showed that the company was lying about its testing policies." For more information, you can visit http://www.iamscruelty.com/
A consumer-based campaign to boycott IAMS products is being supported by celebrities including Sopranos star Edie Falco. The boycott is also subscribed to by many shelters and rescue agencies nationwide. To join the boycott, don't buy IAMS products and encourage others (including your local shelter) to become informed about IAMS cruelty and to support the boycott. |
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Pfizer's Part in Animal Cruelty |
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| PETA also recently issued a bulletin about an incident at Pfizer Pharmaceutical in Kalamazoo, MI, in which a Beagle was scalded to death due to negligence at the plant. Pfizer uses Beagles at the plant to conduct tests of chemicals and toxins. A worker noted and reported to PETA serious carelessness in the off-loading of Beagles arriving at the plant to be used in the tests. In a terrible incident, the worker said that one of the dogs was not off-loaded and, before being discovered, was sent through their cage-washing system and subjected to sanitizing liquid heated to 180 degrees. PETA notes, "The dog's suffering as he was burning to death -- unable to escape -- can only be imagined." | |
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Why We Support the Work of PETA
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| We realize that many people are alienated by some of the "confrontational" tactics used by PETA. Our staunchest supporters in the field of animal rescue include those who feel that PETA simply "goes too far." While we, ourselves, are generally polite and non-confrontational, cruelty toward animals is an issue that can't always be treated politely. | |
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Would puppy mill owners respond to a gentle request to stop breeding? Would the trappers who use leg-hold traps to catch fur-bearing animals stop their practices if very nicely asked to do so? Have IAMS or Pfizer responded to courteous requests? (The answer is a resounding "No.") |
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| Actress Charlize Theron, in the photo above, makes an impassioned plea on behalf of PETA, urging consumers not to buy a puppy at a mall, but to adopt from a shelter. Click on the photo to view the video that was produced by PETA. | |
| In addition to working to stop the cruelty of puppy mills, PETA has undertaken a campaign to end the cruelty of the factory farm and its associated environmental and human-health impacts. At factory farms, animals are mutilated, forced to live in hideous conditions, and slaughtered by horrendous methods. Such animals produce 130 times as much waste as the entire human population of the US -- waste which is not subject to treatment and that pollutes the environment. E. coli, salmonella, mad cow disease, campylobacter, SARS, and avian flu are bred in the awful conditions under which animals live at factory farms, and are now being transmitted to humans.
Before condemning PETA, we urge you to visit their website to discover more about their objectives and their efforts to end animal cruelty and to improve life for us all. It's true that PETA makes people feel uncomfortable, and even our friends find some of their tactics objectionable. Nonetheless, the bottom line is that PETA is an effective agent of change, and we do desperately need change if we are ever going to create a truly humane world. |
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A Small Ray of Hope in Iraq
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 At the end of April, we received an urgent E-mail message from a friend of the Senior Dogs Project -- a soldier stationed in Iraq -- asking for help to save the four remaining dogs at his post who had escaped the ongoing round-ups and shootings of stray animals conducted by the military there. Thanks to the help of many individuals who contributed financial aid and to Military Mascots, the dogs were saved. Local Iraqi citizens whom our soldier had befriended, also stepped forward to offer a safe house for the dogs. In the midst of a horrible war, it is heartening to know that people can come together to achieve a positive end. Read more about this story..... |
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The Cost of Life with a Dog
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| How much does it cost to keep a dog? According to Workman Publishing's 365 Dogs Calendar, "An average-size dog, living an average lifespan of 11 years..." will cost a responsible guardian at least $13,000. | |
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Senior Dog Health
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Heartworm Disease and ProHeart 6
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| In our last newsletter, we posted a reminder about the dangers of heartworm disease, which is transmitted by an infected mosquito, and encouraged the use of window and door screens and elimination of standing water that might be breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Equally important, of course, is using heartworm preventative. Among the preventatives currently available is ProHeart 6, an injectable medication that is administered by a veterinarian and that is suppposed to be effective for six months. Recent reports indicate that there are significant negative side effects from this drug, and that a number of dogs have died from adverse reactions. Animals in Print newsletter provides the statistics and more information. In brief, after being on the market for three years, these statistics were reported:
"Since it was approved in May 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received more than 5,000 reports of adverse reactions -- 491 of them deaths." |
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Obesity Shortens a Dog's Lifespan
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| It's estimated that about 25% of dogs in the U.S. are obese. More important to understand is that keeping a dog slim can increase his lifespan by 15%.*
Now that summer is here, there will be plenty of opportunities to get out for walks and exercise with your dog. And, if he is obese -- or even just a little bit overweight -- you should also seize this opportunity to take measures that, in addition to exercise, will help him lose weight. Here are some suggestions:
There is a good article on canine obesity by Dr. Rebecca Remillard. *Source: USA Weekend, March 19-21, 2004. |
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Rescue & Adoption News
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Dog Fancy Magazine's August Issue
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| Teri Goodman, Coordinator of the Senior Dogs Project, has written an article for Dog Fancy Magazine's August 2004 issue entitled, "Welcome Home .....Learn how to make a newly-adopted senior part of your family." The article appears in the "Senior Wellness Guide" section of the magazine. We're delighted that this widely-distributed magazine has afforded the Senior Dogs Project's spokesperson the opportunity to promote the adoption of seniors. | |
 "Thank you for such a wonderful and helpful website. As a UK-based guardian of two senior rescued dogs, I find your advice invaluable, especially as I have adopted my two late in their lives. Preston is now 14; I took him just over a year ago. (Preston is in the photo at the left.)
"In April this year, we adopted Jenny, now aged about 12. Her family decided they could no longer care for her due to her bladder problems. |
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| "These two dogs have enriched my life beyond measure, and I would encourage everyone to consider an older dog. I know I shall face heartbreak at some point in the next few years but it will have been all worthwhile." Contributed by Debbie Mallett, United Kingdom. |  |
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Can You Post a Senior Dogs Project Flyer?
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We continue to ask your help in educating people about the joys and benefits of adopting an adult dog by posting a Senior Dogs Project flyer.......
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Some Thoughts to Consider .....and Some to Laugh About
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| If, at times, you think that the powers-that-be are too great an obstacle and that the efforts you, as an individual, make to effect change cannot possibly add up to anything, think about what Gandhi said: "First they ignore you. Then they laugh. Then they fight you. Then you win."
Thanks to Best Friends magazine's March/April 2004 issue, we were reminded of these characteristics of the various breeds of dogs. How Many Dogs Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?
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Want to read the ....... May/June 2004 Newsletter?
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So many good dogs who are over the age of five are euthanized simply because of their age and the bias most people have toward adopting puppies. Our flyer explains why adopting an older dog is such a good idea. We can e-mail a copy of the flyer to you (request Word or PDF format, and you can print it out from your computer). Just send an e-mail to: flyer @ srdogs.com (remove spaces in the address before sending) with the word "Flyer Word" or "Flyer PDF" in the subject line. We've heard from supporters that they've posted the flyer in supermarkets, shelters, churches, veterinary offices, doggie daycare centers, dog trainers' offices, parks where people walk their dogs, and community bulletin boards. So, if you have time and opportunity, we'd appreciate your printing out a copy and posting it. Thank you!