On your bark, get set, GO!

On August 31, the fourth annual PETCO Unleashed National Chihuahua Race finals took place and Tiger, a Chihuahua from Bakersfield, California took first place over 14 other tiny regional champions.

Tiger, a four year old Chihuahua, reclaimed his champion title as he also took first place in the 2006 National Chihuahua Race. Tiger is now the proud winner of the prestigious Unleased Race trophy, a one-year supply of Royal Canin Chihuahua dog food and a $300 PETCO gift card.

The 15 finalists hailed from Orlando, Chicago, Phoenix, Dallas, Boston, Seattle, Houston, Denver, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Sacramento, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco and Anaheim, California. Over 2,900 Chihuahuas competed to race in last weeks finals.

The PETCO Unleashed National Chihuahua Race took place in San Diego at PETCO Park, in between innings at a Padres baseball game. Petco’s annual event creates awareness for the Chihuahua Rescue & Transport, creating plenty of adoption opportunities and hoping to help these tiny pooches find forever homes.

Bookmark It

Breakthrough Drug Vetmedin Gives Canines Afflicted with Heart Disease 2X Longer Lifespan

One of my biggest fears since acquiring my beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is the prevelance of heart disease within the breed, with most Cavaliers suffering from Mitral Valve Disease by age 4. Statistics have shown that heart disease affects 25% of all dogs over age 7. In the UK, where the new drug Vetmedin has been going through trials, nearly two million dogs are affected by heart disease.

The QUEST study on Vetmedin has been published in the September/October 2008 Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. This has been the largest study of its kind in veterinary cardiology, tracking 260 dogs in 11 countries, on three continents, for a period of three years.

Compared with conventional heart disease treatments, Vetmedin has been proven to extend the lifespan of afflicted dogs by double the time currently possible, changing the way veterinary cardiologists will treat canine heart disease.

Vetmedin is indicated for the most common form of heart failure that most regularly afflicts small breeds such as Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Poodles, Chihuahuas and Dachshunds. Pet owners should feel encouraged by this development, as veterinarians are learning more about canine cardiology and how to treat it.

According to Vetmedin’s website, the only reported side effect is occasional vomiting. Here is hoping this breakthrough drug will help many dogs live longer and more fulfilling lives!

Bookmark It

Four Paws manufacturing company of Hauppauge, New York has halted shipment on its line of Rough & Rugged® Pimple Balls with Bells after a number of dogs suffered severe injuries and even death from using the toy.

Attention was called to the situation by a blog that chronciled the near death injuries suffered by a Lab mix named Chai, that led to the amputation of the dog’s tongue.

According to his owner Daniel R. of New York City, “While chewing on the toy, a vacuum was created and it effectively sucked his tongue into the hole in the ball. From speaking with my vet, this likely occurred because there is not a second hole in the ball preventing the vacuum effect from happening.”

After three days of emergency veterinary care, Chai’s swollen tongue was unable to be saved from the injuries and needed to be amputated. Post operation, Chai was on a feeding tube for a number of days and was in horrible pain. Chai needed to relearn how to eat, drink and learn to live life without his tongue.

Chai needs to be hand fed, though he has relearned to drink again on his own. You can follow Chai’s story in depth here. Chai’s owner attempted to contact Four Paws regarding the incident to save other dogs from suffering like Chai.

Initially, there was no response from the company. While posting on his blog and fighting Four Paws, Chai’s owner became aware of a similar incident regarding the same toy that resulted in the death of another dog. He continued to fight for the products to be recalled and is now aware of 13 dogs that suffered injury and worse as a result of this poorly designed toy.

Chai’s owner wants to be clear, “I want them to change the design. This is a design flaw…it’s not a manufacturing defect. What I really want is to make this doesn’t happen to another dog again.”

Note that Four Paws is not formally recalling this product, merely stopping shipment on currently manufactured toys, altering the design for future production. Four Paws is changing the packaging of its Pimple Balls with Bells to make it easier to inspect them for potential defects and they plan to individually inspect each one of the toys in inventory in order to identify any defects.

If you have purchased any products from the Four Paws line, please click here to ensure that the toy was not on the list defective toys.

Remember to always supervise your dog while he is playing with his toys! No toys are completely safe and dogs must be under careful observation to ensure their safety.

Bookmark It