http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/ Blogging about pet issues, food safety, shelter reform, veterinary medicine, the no-kill movement -- and, strangely, "Glee."-Christie Keith en-US Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:46:00 -0400 http://www.typepad.com/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification DoggedBloghttp://feedburner.google.com http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/04/today-would-have-been-my-mothers-birthday-you-know-when-ill-stop-missing-her-never.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/04/today-would-have-been-my-mothers-birthday-you-know-when-ill-stop-missing-her-never.html Today would have been my mother's birthday. You know when I'll stop missing her? Never. Mama Christie Keith Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:46:00 -0400 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/04/know-the-opposition-will-no-one-think-of-the-strays.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/04/know-the-opposition-will-no-one-think-of-the-strays.html There's a new "talking point" popping up with orchestrated frequency wherever people gather to discuss the No-Kill Movement online. I call it "WILL NO ONE THINK OF THE STRAYS?!?!??" (All-caps and multiple exclamation points and questions marks are required to really express the hysteria that underlies this particular talking point.) Communicating Animal Welfare Know the Opposition No Kill Christie Keith Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:36:00 -0400 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/04/know-the-opposition-anatomy-of-a-distraction.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/04/know-the-opposition-anatomy-of-a-distraction.html This is the second in a series of posts on the common tactics used in public discussions of animal sheltering reform by opponents of No-Kill. This one today is a perennial favorite of theirs: The distraction. Communicating Animal Welfare Know the Opposition No Kill Christie Keith Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:42:36 -0400 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/03/three-rationalizations-for-gas-chambers-in-shelters-and-why-theyre-all-false.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/03/three-rationalizations-for-gas-chambers-in-shelters-and-why-theyre-all-false.html Gas chamber defenders have a predictable set of defenses they trot out whenever their right to gas pets is challenged. Let's take a look at them. No Kill Christie Keith Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:59:46 -0400 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/03/frankencookies-as-surrogate-marker-for-a-world-without-real-food.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/03/frankencookies-as-surrogate-marker-for-a-world-without-real-food.html I'm not suggesting homemade Toll House cookies are good for you -- flour and sugar are pretty much my kryptonite. But I do think the comparison between the original Toll House cookie recipe I grew up making and the ingredients of Nestle's Toll House frozen cookie dough are a damn good surrogate marker for everything that's wrong with how we eat today. Toll House cookie recipe: 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips Ingredient list of Nestle's Toll House frozen cookie dough: Bleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Hot Fudge Filling (High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil,Corn Syrup,... The Body Politic Christie Keith Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:37:54 -0400 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/just-how-many-hoops-should-you-have-to-jump-through-to-join-an-email-list-anyway.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/just-how-many-hoops-should-you-have-to-jump-through-to-join-an-email-list-anyway.html I understand wanting background checks for buying weapons, but to join a dog diet email list? My Val has PLN, a progressive kidney disease common in Greyhounds. I was thinking of making some diet and supplement changes, and went to join a list I used to belong to, the K9KidneyDiet Yahoo Group. I filled out the brief form Yahoo provides, and got this in reply: Hello, and thank you for requesting membership to the K9KDiet Group. Please take a moment to provide us with the following information: (NOTE: The short comment that was filled out at the YahooGroups site when requesting an application for membership does NOT supercede or take the place of the following Membership Application). The initial inquiry you sent to Yahoo is held for 5 days. If the Membership Application (below) is not completed and returned we... Creatures Christie Keith Sat, 23 Feb 2013 17:14:41 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/i-didnt-call-the-vet-because.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/i-didnt-call-the-vet-because.html There are many reasons why people don't take their pets to the veterinarian. "Because the vet will make me do something I don't want to do" shouldn't be one of them. I've been a pet writer since 1991. In that time, I've probably received enough snail mail and email asking questions about pet health, diet, and behavior to fill my house. So I think I'm qualified to identify a trend that has persisted over time. Someone writes me with several paragraphs -- or pages -- about their pet's medical issues. They list the symptoms they've observed, the remedies they've tried, and lots and lots of minute details about the time of day the pet exhibits certain symptoms, the color and consistency of discharges, and the entire history of every bite of food said pet has ever consumed. In a huge... Creatures Christie Keith Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:39:15 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/the-raw-diet-debate-is-the-avma-misleading-pet-owners-with-science.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/the-raw-diet-debate-is-the-avma-misleading-pet-owners-with-science.html If veterinarians want pet owners to trust what they say about feeding their dogs and cats, they should stop trying to mislead us with twisted science. The American Veterinary Medical Assocation (AVMA) publishes a great email newsletter called SmartBrief, which shares interesting animal health-related stories five days a week. I've subscribed to it since it launched, and I find it extremely useful. I've noticed that they write blurbs and headlines for the stories they link to, both to make them more "clickable" and, sometimes, to focus on a piece of the story that's more relevant to their veterinary audience than the story as a whole. That's fine. That's editorial judgment. As an editor myself, as well as a reader, I like that. Today, however, they plopped a headline on a story from Phys.Org about a recent study on the nutrient... Creatures Christie Keith Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:28:44 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/know-the-opposition-why-are-you-blaming-the-shelters.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/know-the-opposition-why-are-you-blaming-the-shelters.html We pressure shelters to reform because that's where pets are being killed. Communicating Animal Welfare Know the Opposition No Kill Christie Keith Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:48:01 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/recalled-natures-variety-instinct-raw-organic-chicken-formula-for-cats-and-dogs.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/recalled-natures-variety-instinct-raw-organic-chicken-formula-for-cats-and-dogs.html In a classic Friday night dump and run, Nature's Variety has issued what they called a "Quality Announcement," apparently the term d'jour for pet food manufacturers issuing recalls. They're recalling their Instinct raw organic chicken formula for dogs and cats not, as you might be expecting, for salmonella, but because there may be pieces of plastic in the food. From their "quality announcement": Nature’s Variety has announced a voluntary recall of one batch of Instinct® Raw Organic Chicken Formula with a "Best if Used By" date of 10/04/13. This action is being taken because pieces of clear plastic may be found in some bags and could cause a potential choking risk to pets. The source of plastic has been identified and the issue has been resolved. The affected product is strictly limited to a single batch of Organic Chicken Formula... Recalls Christie Keith Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:12:43 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/animal-organizations-ask-for-investigation-of-animal-control-shooting-of-dogs-in-california.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/animal-organizations-ask-for-investigation-of-animal-control-shooting-of-dogs-in-california.html Eleven representatives of national animal organizations and state shelters have joined in asking for an investigation of the shooting of five caged dogs by a police officer in a municipal shelter in Selma, California. From the letter, addressed to Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth A. Egan: We have learned of the shooting that happened at the Selma Animal Shelter last week, during which an unnamed officer allegedly shot five dogs still inside their closed kennels. In at least one television news interview, Selma’s police chief Myron Dyck not only admitted that the incident occurred, but stated that such action was justified because the dogs were allegedly aggressive and already slated for euthanasia. In another news story, Selma’s City Manager D-B Heusser is quoted as saying about these dogs and the shooting: “They were very aggressive… It had to be done."... Creatures Christie Keith Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:04:00 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/new-blog-commenting-policy.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2013/02/new-blog-commenting-policy.html Normally, the only comments I delete from my blog are commercial spam comments. If someone disagrees with me, I let it stand, because I'm just awesome like that. But as of today, I have a new policy. In addition to deleting spam, I'll be deleting any form of hate, including any comments saying poor people shouldn't have pets because they won't be able to take care of them. Not. Welcome. Here. Creatures Christie Keith Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:00:38 -0500