As an informed pet owner, you've probably "pet-proofed" your home so that your little fur ball can't access dangerous chemical products inside and outside of your home. And if you're a regular reader here, you've read my list of houseplants, outdoor plants, and human foods that are poisonous to pets.
But you may not have thought about medications you take. Care should be taken so that your pets don't come in contact with the medications, or have access to the containers which could look like a fun thing to play with. Be very careful when taking the medication; if you drop a pill make sure you find it and dispose of it.
The ASPCA has a list of medications that are harmful to pets:
NSAIDs
NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen or naproxen are the most common cause of pet poisoning in small animals, and can cause serious problems even in minimal doses. Pets are extremely sensitive to their effects, and may experience stomach and intestinal ulcers and in the case of cats, kidney damage.
Antidepressants
Antidepressants can cause vomiting and lethargy and certain types can lead to serotonin syndrome—a condition marked by agitation, elevated body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure, disorientation, vocalization, tremors and seizures.
Acetaminophen
Cats are especially sensitive to acetaminophen, which can damage red blood cells and interfere with their ability to transport oxygen. In dogs, it can cause liver damage and, at higher doses, red blood cell damage.
Methylphenidate (for ADHD)
Medications used to treat ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in people act as stimulants in pets and can dangerously elevate heart rates, blood pressure and body temperature, as well as cause seizures.
Fluorouracil
Fluorouracil—an anti-cancer drug—is used topically to treat minor skin cancers and solar keratitis in humans. It has proven to be rapidly fatal to dogs, causing severe vomiting, seizures and cardiac arrest even in those who’ve chewed on discarded cotton swabs used to apply the medication.
Isoniazid
Often the first line of defense against tuberculosis, isoniazid is particularly toxic for dogs because they don’t metabolize it as well as other species. It can cause a rapid onset of severe seizures that may ultimately result in death.
Pseudoephedrine
Pseudoephedrine is a popular decongestant in many cold and sinus products, and acts like a stimulant if accidentally ingested by pets. In cats and dogs, it causes elevated heart rates, blood pressure and body temperature as well as seizures.
Anti-diabetics
Many oral diabetes treatments—including glipizide and glyburide—can cause a major drop in blood sugar levels of affected pets. Clinical signs of ingestion include disorientation, lack of coordination and seizures.
Vitamin D derivatives
Even small exposures to Vitamin D analogues like calcipotriene and calcitriol can cause life-threatening spikes in blood calcium levels in pets. Clinical signs of exposure—including vomiting, loss of appetite, increased urination and thirst due to kidney failure—often don't occur for more than 24 hours after ingestion.
Baclofen
Baclofen is a muscle relaxant that can impair the central nervous systems of cats and dogs. Some symptoms of ingestion include significant depression, disorientation, vocalization, seizures and coma, which can lead to death.
We've adopted two of our four dogs. Quinn was adopted in 2002. We found her on Pet Finder where she was posted through the Husky rescue program. Apparently she was an escape artist and had found herself at Spokane's shelter (which is a kill shelter) four different times. The first three times her owners picked her up and took her back home but the 4th time must have been their final straw. The shelter kept her twice as long as they normally do because she was such a sweet girl and they couldn't bear to put her down. Finally after two weeks at the kill shelter she got a spot at the Husky Rescue.Hubby was working nights and he got home around 2 a.m. He got to sleep for two hours before I woke him up, shoved him in the car, and started driving the five+ hours to Spokane to pick her up. We had our Siberian Husky Kodiak in the car with us and wanted them to meet first. She growled and snapped at him when she first saw him but once we took their leashes off in an enclosed yard they chased each other around happy as clams.
The Husky rescue tested her escape abilities and did confirm that she was an expert...she was able to squeeze through a less than 12 inch gap in a fence (a special test fence). Within two months of being home with us she managed to chew through and dig under part of our wood fence. She was gone for 12 hours before someone called us with her. She's never escaped since.
Our second rescue was just this last September. My coworker came in one day and told me that her neighbor was abusing his dog. She and her husband witnessed this man beating his dog with a rake and shooting it with a BB gun. They had been woken up to horrible screaming...which was the dog. She called the police but they didn't do anything except tell them to call the Humane Society.Apparently it's a lot harder to get someone out to investigate an abuse case than I thought. It took more than two weeks to get anyone out to their house where the animal people were able to witness the dog interacting with the man. It was obvious to them that the dog was abused and they went to his house and gave him a choice...give up the dog or go to court. He gave up the dog...telling them that it was untrainable, stupid, part wolf, and worthless.
Uh huh. Right. So the very next morning I called the pound and got his number. 30 minutes later I was there and he had already been adopted!!! I was heartbroken (because I'd already fallen in love with him even without seeing him) and asked the person at the counter if the people knew his history. Apparently when the animal folks dropped him off they neglected to mention the ABUSE! Jeez. So once I explained that situation she admitted that she wasn't comfortable with the couple who adopted him...the woman was very small and this dog had no idea how to walk on a leash. He was VERY powerful. Nor did they have any other dogs and they had no fenced yard. All in all, not a perfect home for this dog.
She called and explained the situation and the couple agreed to pick another dog. And "Rambo" was ours! I had to leave him there for another two days while he got neutered but that Friday I took him home to meet his new siblings.
It's been an interesting learning experience for him and for us. We learned that forcing him into a crate wouldn't work. Nor did he need it. At first he slept right at my side of the bed, but now he sleeps on the bed with us, right where we want him. He threw himself to the ground the first time I tried walking him with a leash. Now he still pulls but he knows that a leash is a FUN thing.
He has some possessive issues but we're working on them. He gets along wonderfully with the other dogs, although our Malamute had some jealousy issues the first couple of months that caused some angst. And he's started to calm down a lot ... I think he knows that he is home.
And his name is not Rambo, what a stupid name! We renamed him Timber Wolf. He knows how to sit and even shake. He has learned how to play ball (though we're still working on him bringing the ball back and dropping it) and to come when called. He's a wonderful, sweet, smart boy who we can't imagine not having in our lives."
Such beautiful dogs! I had to chuckle at Timber's expression in his photo, as if to say "there's no food in my bowl!" I've seen that look many times from my Rosie who was also formerly abused and deprived of food - in their minds they can never have enough. I also encourage you to check out Megan's wonderful pet blog called Home ZooKeeper, covering the challenges and triumphs of being a pet owner, from pet allergies to adoption. Thanks for sending us your adoption stories Megan; there are so many animals suffering in the world and we love to hear about the ones that have happy endings. It's obvious that Quinn and Timber are dearly loved.
There are different forms of neglect and cruelty, and of course when animals are beaten or used in animal fighting it's easy to spot. But the lack of adequate food, water and shelter are also neglect and need to be reported. First I've listed the signs of neglect, and following that I have included information on how to go about reporting a cruelty case.
Signs of neglect and cruelty:
* flea or tick infestation
* wounds on the body
* patches of hair missing
* the animal is extremely thin or starving
* limping
* the owner strikes or physically abuses the animal
* dog repeatedly left alone without food and water, often chained in a yard
* dog or cat that has been hit by a car or shows signs listed above and hasn't been seen by a veterinarian
* dog or cat kept outside without shelter in extreme weather conditions.
* animals who cower in fear or act aggressively when owner approaches
How to report neglect and cruelty:
* Keep track of dates and approximate times you witnessed the neglect or cruelty.
* Take pictures if possible, and date the pictures
* Get signed statements from any witnesses
* Compile a concise written statement of your observations.
* Find out who is responsible in your town, county or state for enforcing anti-cruelty codes; they typically work for your local humane organization, animal control agency, taxpayer-funded animal shelter or police precinct.
* Keep a copy of your statement and any documentation you give this individual, and write down their name, the date and outcome of your discussion. Make it clear you are very interested in pursuing the case and willing to assist in any way you can.
* Follow up if there's no response in a reasonable amount of time by presenting your information to that person's supervisor, or if necessary to local government officials such as your county commissioner.
* If you witness the cruelty yourself, you can go to the local police and ask to swear out a warrant to summon the accused person to court. An expert witness statement here is very helpful, such as from a veterinarian. The veterinarian can sign a statement such as "In my expert opinion, a dog suffers when hit with a chain, deprived of food, etc." Such a statement can make all the difference in a case.
Visit the ASPCA website's Report Animal Cruelty for more detailed information on the subject of animal cruelty and neglect.
This is the adoption story of Moe, sent to us by Karen and Gerard Zemek. Moe had a shaky start, but landed on his feet with his new adoptive parents. Here is the story of Moe.
"I first met Moe at the Parma Animal Shelter. He was an older cat, estimated his age to be eight. He was a big 12-pound, furry, white cat with black spots that reminded me of a cow. He was the only cat with those markings that I ever saw who had a black spot going up his nose. I felt sorry for him being in that tiny cage and he looked sad. I would go visit him on a weekly basis, just to see if he was adopted yet, but week after week, he was still there. He had been neutered and his front paws were declawed. He seemed like the perfect cat for us, but never having had one, I was hesitant.
I would also go visit the cats at PetSmart. They were always so cute. At that time, I didn't have any pets and neither of us ever owned a cat. The day I saw Moe at PetSmart with the Parma Animal Shelter people, I went home and asked my husband if we could get him. My wonderful husband said sure, if you want. So I hurried back and bought $70 worth of cat things and brought Moe home with me in June of 2000.
I wasn't crazy about his name, but did not want to confuse him so we just kept his name the same. We loved him so much. The first thing we did was set him up in our den upstairs because it was one of our smaller rooms so he could adjust gradually. He was pretty curious and after walking around the room a bit, he checked out the long walk-in closet. I was so excited about getting him that I called my friend, Debbie, to come over to meet him and she did.
We took a lot of pictures of Moe right away. Just like parents do when they have their first baby! That's how we felt, like proud parents. The strange thing though was, I noticed he would drink but he didn’t eat. We got the same kind of food he had at the shelter, but he didn't seem to be hungry. I didn't think too much of it at first, just that he was going through a period of adjustment and it would take a little time. After several days of not eating anything, I decided to try some different kinds of food and set up a whole buffet for him with about eight different kinds to try. He would look at them, sniff a little and turn away. At this point I was concerned. Even I knew that going weeks without food was not good.
I called the shelter and the woman said I had to get him to eat or he would die. Near the end of July, we took him to the vet at the corner of our street and they gave us some squirt stuff that we were told to squirt into his mouth 3 times a day. We tried but Moe was very strong, quick and determined not to let us do it. Both my husband and I would gang up on him and Moe would always win. The most we ever got in was very minimal. I prayed that we'd be able to do this but Moe always won out. I prayed for Moe constantly, that God would make him better. I went back to the vet at the corner of our street to see if they could do it for us. My husband and I both work but I was willing to bring him up there every day for them to do it but they wouldn't. They gave up on him and just said he's not going to make it. I called the shelter again, begging for their help telling them that if it was up to us to give him this stuff, he would die because we just couldn't do it. She said to bring him back and they would try to help him.
Dr. Hart, the vet in North Royalton worked with the Parma Animal Shelter pets and she took Moe home with her and force fed him for a week. He had developed fatty liver disease by then. Moe was constantly in my prayers all that week and we finally got a call from Dr. Hart saying that Moe was eating on his own again, that he probably had started developing this problem while still at the shelter and it wasn't our fault, and did we still want him. Of course we did! My husband and I joyously picked up our Moe Cat from Dr. Hart as soon as we could and brought him back home. Sure enough, he became a big eater. After that shaky start we always liked seeing him eat!
We enjoyed many more years with him! He was the boss and ruled the house. We let him have whatever chair he wanted and waited on him hand and foot. We brought his food over to him where ever he chose to settle in at. We gave him Science Diet for senior cats which was Dr. Hart's suggestion and one can of Fancy Feast for breakfast every day.
Moe has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. For more of his story, you can go to Our miracle cat Moe or We still miss you Moe"
Here is a shot of Moe in Karen's pajamas during their short but happy time together. You can tell by Karen's words that he wormed his way into their hearts, and left a big hole behind with his passing. Rest in peace sweet Moe.
"The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue."
(photo and quote origin unknown)
