Monday, April 30, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Play with me!
Friday, April 27, 2012
April showers go away!
FDA- Voluntary Recall Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul
Diamond Pet Foods has issued a voluntary recall:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm302137.htm?source=govdelivery
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/information
"Information
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Issues Voluntary RecallRecall is limited to one formula of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul distributed to 10 statesDiamond Pet Foods is recalling one production run of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food. One bag of the product has tested positive for Salmonella, and the recall of the four production codes is being conducted as a precautionary measure.We encourage consumers who have purchased Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food with the specific production codes and best before dates to discard the product. Diamond Pet Foods apologizes for any potential issues this may have caused our customers and their dogs. No dog illnesses have been reported.Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula – dry dog food:35 lb - CLF0102B31XCW, Best by Date 27/JAN/201335 lb - CLF0102B31XCW, Best by Date 28/JAN/201335 lb - CLF0102B32XWR, Best by Date 28/JAN/20136 lb - CLF0102B3XALW, Best by Date 28/JAN/2013Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food is manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods and was distributed in Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia, who may have further distributed the product to other states, through pet food channels. The company is working directly with distributors and retailers who carry these products to remove them from the supply chain.Pets with Salmonella infections may have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.Individuals handling dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. Healthy people infected with salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. According to the Centers for Disease Control, people who are more likely to be affected by Salmonella include infants, children younger than 5 years old, organ transplant patients, people with HIV/AIDS and people receiving treatment for cancer.Pet owners, who are unsure if the product they purchased is included in the recall, or who would like replacement product or a refund, may contact us at 800-442-0402."
Thursday, April 26, 2012
From the FDA
Animal & Veterinary
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Potassium Bromide: Is It Safe for Dogs?
By Melanie McLean, DVM, Center for Veterinary Medicine, FDA“Daisy,” an 8-year-old, female spayed Dalmatian with a history of idiopathic epilepsy, and her owner are in Exam Room 1. The owner says that Daisy’s having frequent seizures, even on daily phenobarbital therapy. What’s the next step to control the dog’s seizures? Likely, it’s adding potassium bromide.
For over a century, potassium bromide, or KBr, has been used in human and veterinary medicine as an anti-seizure medication. Phenobarbital, or PB, has also been used for years to treat seizures. Despite both drugs’ long history of common use, neither is approved by FDA to treat seizures in people or animals.
The lack of FDA approval means that no drug company has presented information to the agency to prove that KBr or PB is safe and effective to treat seizures. It also means that no drug company has proven to FDA that either drug can be consistently manufactured according to quality standards. Without FDA approval, veterinarians and pet owners may be unaware of the risks of these drugs.
As part of FDA’s unapproved animal drugs initiative, several agency employees reviewed published literature on the safety of potassium bromide in dogs. They recently published the results of their review in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.1
By evaluating 111 references that provided data on the safety of potassium bromide, the authors “identified a considerable body of pharmacological, primary, and supportive evidence regarding the in vivo safety of KBr” in dogs. The authors summarized their findings by body system affected and clinical signs observed.
Body Systems and Clinical Signs
Based on data in published literature, the authors found that the body system in dogs most commonly affected by potassium bromide is neurologic. Adverse neurologic signs include sedation, ataxia, and behavioral changes. These signs are reversible and usually resolve within several days by lowering the phenobarbital dose (if the dog is on both KBr and PB) or within hours by giving intravenous saline.The authors also discuss the effects of potassium bromide on other body systems in dogs, including:
- Gastrointestinal – Vomiting, transient diarrhea, and bloody feces. These adverse gastrointestinal (GI) signs usually resolve without needing to stop KBr therapy. Giving the drug with food may lessen GI irritation.
- Gastrointestinal – Polyphagia and anorexia. Both signs are commonly reported with KBr and PB. The authors recommend monitoring eating patterns and weight in dogs on potassium bromide, especially “because polyphagia can lead to garbage ingestion and other complications.”
- Pancreatitis – The authors found insufficient evidence to link KBr to a higher risk of pancreatitis. Pancreatitis may be a result of polyphagia and garbage ingestion rather than the drug itself.
- Reproductive – A variety of reproductive effects have been reported in other species. The authors did not find any studies in the published literature that evaluated the effects of KBr in reproductively active dogs.
- Endocrine – Although the thyroid gland is a target organ at higher doses of potassium bromide in rats and people, the drug does not seem to affect thyroid function in dogs. However, because of the small number of dog studies that looked at the effect of potassium bromide on thyroid function, the authors recommend monitoring thyroid hormone levels in dogs on KBr therapy.
- Dermatologic – Skin reactions are rare in dogs on potassium bromide. While uncommon, the skin lesions described were nonsuppurative white macules with scales and pustular dermatitis. Pruritus with no skin changes was also reported in an owner survey.
- Respiratory - Respiratory disease in dogs from potassium bromide use is unlikely to occur.
Traditional Safety Studies
As part of the animal drug approval process, a drug company traditionally would conduct laboratory-based studies to collect safety information on the drug. These studies would evaluate the clinical and pathological changes in four groups of healthy laboratory dogs. Each group would receive 0, 1, 3, or 5 times the therapeutic dose of the drug. The results would provide detailed individual data, but might miss subtle adverse signs or those signs that occur after long-term use of the drug.New and Innovative Methods
While 0-1-3-5X safety studies remain the gold standard for evaluating the safety of an animal drug before approval, they may not be the only way for a drug company to prove a drug’s safety.A review of published literature, such as the one done by FDA for potassium bromide, is an example of a new and innovative method to potentially show the safety of a particular use of a drug. Literature reviews may be especially helpful for an unapproved animal drug that has a long history of use and many literature references, like KBr.
The authors reviewed more than 50 years of published literature on the use of potassium bromide in dogs. The vast amount of literature gave FDA “a volume and variety of evidence that far exceeded the data traditionally available to determine the safety of new animal drugs.”
Client-owned pets provided much of the safety data in the literature. These pets had idiopathic epilepsy and were treated with KBr, PB, or both “under conditions of clinical use,” meaning in real-world settings. While the data collected on each animal were less detailed than in a traditional safety study, the reports by the pet owners often included information that may be missed in a laboratory setting. Also, the pet owner reports offered a look at the long-term effects of potassium bromide in a large number of animals, which a short-term clinical trial involving only a small, select group of dogs may not detect.
What’s next for Potassium Bromide?
The best next step is for a drug company to seek FDA approval of potassium bromide for use as an anti-seizure medication in dogs. With an FDA-approved KBr product, veterinarians would be assured that the drug they prescribe is safe and effective to treat seizures in dogs, and that it is manufactured according to accepted quality standards.1 Baird-Heinz HE, Van Schoick AL, Pelsor FR, et al. A systematic review of the safety of potassium bromide in dogs . J Am Vet Med Assoc 2012; 240:705-715.
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Page Last Updated: 04/25/2012
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One, two, cha cha cha!!!!!
Dancing!!!!! Penny, Penny, Penny.... [ha I crack me up], little sweet Penny has a forever home and... her new family includes our friend and White Dog Cottage Alum, Winter!!!!!! Yes, love connections happen at the Bash. I should know. I did the same thing . Uhmmm blah years ago, [I am not that old. I am not discussing my age.don't ask...] And Penny and Winter even look alike. Some sort of Bichon with straight hair they call Maltese. In any case, congrats to all on the match, I love adoptions!
somebody twirl me!!!!
'vie
Oh... to auntie Crissy.... "You done real good..."
somebody twirl me!!!!
'vie
Oh... to auntie Crissy.... "You done real good..."
Why does she always ask?
My momma has some strange fixation. She often looks at me and asks:
"What is going on in that pretty little head of yours? What are you thinking?"
Hm. First of all, momma, why are you asking?
Thoughts come and go. At any given moment I might be thinking of a good chewie
A belly rub
Why my left paw itches
How to hide Peggy Piggy from JD
Where I last saw my antler
Why daddy is not here
How to get more treats
Why is ice is wet?
Where does rain come from
What "flush Rush" means, since you say it a lot
Why we can't have a bash every week
Why the dishwasher gets all hot and bothered after it washes the dishes,
Why when we go for a walk you think we should not sniff every possible thing,
Why the little guinea pigs in the glass box never come out and play at the pet store and why they never recognize me even though I have visited them soooo many times,
Why you wear shoes that have mini stilts, or why wear shoes at all,
What's the point of nail polish?
What's the point of make up? I mean you put in on and you spend as much time taking it off as you do putting it on???
Are the ducks coming this year?
Why does my nose itch when I sniff some flowers?
What exactly does it mean when you say you would like to kick someone so hard that they would cough up shoe laces?
Would Spock look good with pierced ears?
And while on weird human "things" what's with that whole body graffiti thing? It looks strange.
And how does anyone who eats anchovies have the nerve to judge what I eat?
I would like to go visit the stock market and actually see what they sell.
Why can't we copy money on the machine so we can have more?
How come I have never seen the bird they talk about when they say "flipped the bird"?
What makes Dowi's hair so curly?
Where is nonna, anyway?
.......I have a zillion thoughts, momma, so stop asking.
Unless... you want to answer all my questions.
'vie
"What is going on in that pretty little head of yours? What are you thinking?"
Hm. First of all, momma, why are you asking?
Thoughts come and go. At any given moment I might be thinking of a good chewie
A belly rub
Why my left paw itches
How to hide Peggy Piggy from JD
Where I last saw my antler
Why daddy is not here
How to get more treats
Why is ice is wet?
Where does rain come from
What "flush Rush" means, since you say it a lot
Why we can't have a bash every week
Why the dishwasher gets all hot and bothered after it washes the dishes,
Why when we go for a walk you think we should not sniff every possible thing,
Why the little guinea pigs in the glass box never come out and play at the pet store and why they never recognize me even though I have visited them soooo many times,
Why you wear shoes that have mini stilts, or why wear shoes at all,
What's the point of nail polish?
What's the point of make up? I mean you put in on and you spend as much time taking it off as you do putting it on???
Are the ducks coming this year?
Why does my nose itch when I sniff some flowers?
What exactly does it mean when you say you would like to kick someone so hard that they would cough up shoe laces?
Would Spock look good with pierced ears?
And while on weird human "things" what's with that whole body graffiti thing? It looks strange.
And how does anyone who eats anchovies have the nerve to judge what I eat?
I would like to go visit the stock market and actually see what they sell.
Why can't we copy money on the machine so we can have more?
How come I have never seen the bird they talk about when they say "flipped the bird"?
What makes Dowi's hair so curly?
Where is nonna, anyway?
.......I have a zillion thoughts, momma, so stop asking.
Unless... you want to answer all my questions.
'vie
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
FIERCE!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
CAUGHT!
Behind the big glasses and under the big as a country white hat, is MY momma. Notice anything funny about this picture? Notice that the Bichon on her lap is NOT me, and it is not The Wendy... and it is NOT the JD.
Yes, we caught Ms. "Get off my lap because my legs are tired" scratching the back of some other Bichon. And, don't you dare condone that behavior. She is MY momma and I am entitled to be posessive and not put up with caca like this. And to think I have given her unconditional love and loyalty. I mean, I have allowed room for The Wendy and JD, but, what is wrong with two leggeds??? Is it ever enough?
And the "tell" gives it away, she knows she is doing something wrong. Look, she is biting her lip. That is the tell for GUILTY! J'accuse momma!!!!
Shortly after that picture was taken I reclaimed her and made sure that at no time her lap was empty. A girl has to do what a girl has to do. That's all I am going to say.
If you think sharing is so great, you go share your momma. Leave mine alone.
'vie
Monday, April 23, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
THE BASH is coming!
WE ARE!
Momma is bringing these two things for you to bid on:
The Buster Bar cheesecake is filled with a pound of couverture chocolate ganache [araguani grand cru de terroir 72%..] on a bed of roasted peanuts] topped with vanilla scented cheesecake and more chocolate.
The other cheesecake is the classic vanilla, lemon scented NY style cheesecake topped with White chocolate Bichons...
Personally, I think you should bid on the classic cheesecake that I will be happy to share with you, so your hips don't take the full hit ... what? I am only trying to help!
BID, already! You know TBFR can use the money! Like there is a better cause!
'vie
Momma is bringing these two things for you to bid on:
The Buster Bar cheesecake is filled with a pound of couverture chocolate ganache [araguani grand cru de terroir 72%..] on a bed of roasted peanuts] topped with vanilla scented cheesecake and more chocolate.
The other cheesecake is the classic vanilla, lemon scented NY style cheesecake topped with White chocolate Bichons...
Personally, I think you should bid on the classic cheesecake that I will be happy to share with you, so your hips don't take the full hit ... what? I am only trying to help!
BID, already! You know TBFR can use the money! Like there is a better cause!
'vie
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