Parvovirus Puppies and Protection; Pets in Haiti
PARVOVIRUS PUPPIES AND PROTECTION. I recently received an e-mail from a local rescue that accepted and transported a litter of puppies that had parvovirus. They needed money to help pay the mounting veterinary bills, which included the Watsontown Emergency Center–over $5000. I worry about the little ones that are suffering as well as those working to keep them alive. Could this be avoided? It should be and must be or this tragedy will be repeated and the disease will spread by well-intentioned small shelters that have more love than they have good sense and ample resources. One step might be to broaden the scope of the Puppy Lemon Law, which now has jurisdiction only over commercial kennels and pet stores. The Puppy Lemon Law does not apply to individual small breeders or to non-profit shelters and rescues. In this time of rapidly mutating viruses this must change. The Puppy Lemon Law or the Dog Purchaser Protection Act is enforced by the Attorney General–currently candidate Tom Corbett. We live in a virus danger zone. We cannot tolerate negligence. There is a good vaccine to prevent parvovirus just as there is rabies. This should and could be prevented so that all are protected.
Animal-Vues has always fought for more education and communication between pet professionals and the pet-owning public. Susan Bulanda, an educator, author, and well-known SAR trainer and leader, is offering a free seminar through teams of “Canine Training and Management” at Kutztown University on February 13th. Volunteers and workers from rescue groups, shelters, non-profit animal welfare organizations, individuals fostering dogs should attend. So should veterinarians and animal healthcare professionals. Trainers and behaviorists will be interested in the parts on rehabilitation related to dogs raised in commercial environments.
ARCH AND HAITI. As I write this BLOG, two teams of SAR dogs are on the ground and two more are expected to arrive this week. Five additional teams have been activated awaiting deployment. It will probably be some time before the TDI therapy dog teams trained for disaster work are deployed. Disasters can be large or small, local or global, involve one person or many. Quite different in mission from the search-and-rescue teams that work to help people, the county animal response teams work at home to help other animals in need. However, with the magnitude of the earthquake I doubt whether any teams trained in this task will be sent in for a long time. Veterinarians have a fund and medical veterinary assistance teams (VMAT), which will no doubt be arriving soon to give any animal assistance needed. Donald Kamsler was an early member of this group during 9/11 as well as the Bush inaugural. Also, the American Humane Association was a pioneer in animal disaster care, publishing the first Guidelines. To keep up with the effort and Haiti and to contribute, search for ARCH. ARCH is a group of legitimate animal aid organizations. ARCH members include Humane Society International, American Humane Association, International Fund for Animals and the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
Jan 21, 2010 | | Uncategorized