In the Media This Week
DNA tests are making it possible to find out the ancestry of mixed breed dogs.
This week, the Mirror Online have run a story entitled: ‘Special drug containing dog hair helps boy overcome pet allergy’. According to this article, a young boy who had a severe allergy to dogs has now built up resistance to his allergy through a revolutionary new drug. The article states: “Danny was just three when he was first diagnosed. He was taken to hospital unconscious after stroking a puppy his parents were thinking of buying. But for the last two years he has been taking an experimental drug containing tiny particles of dog hair - designed to build up his resistance.”
Sadly, there has also been a story in the Daily Mail entitled: ‘Girl, 4, attacked by police dog as she plays in park’. The article states that: “Erika Carter de Freitas Galiano was dragged to the floor and bitten on the arm by the off-duty German Shepherd who was being walked by his handler. Police have launched an investigation into the attack, at Kismet Park in Canvey Island, Essex. The dog, which has not been named, has been suspended from its duties while the probe is carried out.”
Following the news last week that sustainable cat food will be on sale soon, a blogger for the Times Online has written an article entitled: ‘Reduce your cat’s carbon pawprint’. Talking about Archie the cat, Penny Wark, discusses the idea of an eco-pet. She writes:
The average cat’s carbon pawprint is equivalent to driving a Volkswagen Golf for 6,000 miles a year, an unwholesome nugget that comes from Robert and Brenda Vale’s recent book, Time to Eat the Dog? The pet pooch’s carbon pawprint is even worse — it matches a couple of gas-guzzling 4x4s.
All of which is very convenient for Mars Petcare. Last week the manufacturers of the Whiskas and Sheba brands announced that from the end of the year Britain’s eight million moggie owners will be able to clean up their pets’ pawprints by feeding them fish certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. Courtesy of Mars Petcare, of course, who will become the first to sell pet food containing sustainable fish.
It’s not a bad way to tap into the eco-guilt of the pet-owning classes. Here we are cheerfully composting the scraps that don’t get put aside for tomorrow’s dinner, letting our cars look sad and neglected as we hop on the bus for a day out of town, and even drinking loads of wine so that we can recycle the bottles, and we like to think we’re doing our bit. Then someone hits us where it hurts by suggesting that our much-loved furry companions are tearing up the environment."
One of Peter Wedderburn (The Telegraph’s online blogging vet) blogs this week is entitled: ‘Psst– want a pet dragon?’ This article focuses on the smuggling trial that has been in the media recently and the sad case of ‘reptile farms’. According to the article “Michael Plank (40) was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in November 2009 after allegedly being found with 15 live lizards strapped to his chest inside two money belts. Plank was returning from Australia when Customs and Enforcement agents reportedly found two geckos, two monitor lizards and 11 skinks strapped to his body.”
Of course, also in the vet press this week is BSAVA congress.
Peter Wedderburn also blogged about this event. To describe the event to the general public, he wrote: "The Congress always hosts the announcement of new products in the pet world: with such a large gathering of the country’s vets, it’s the ideal launching pad. From new ways of getting rid of fleas and worms, to new antibiotics and the latest tools to investigate disease, there’s always something interesting going on. There are over 200 commercial stands, representing the full spectrum of suppliers of products and services to vets."
His blog: 'Want to know your doggy ancestors' talked about the launch of the newly launched cheek swab DNA test. Click here to see our story about this.
RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.
