Disabled Animals' Club

Holly’s story, a warning about Deramaxx

Suzanne — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 23:18:59 +0000

This link will take you to a blog post that describes the dreadful and untimely death of Amy’s collie cross, Holly. In the end, Holly’s condition was undiagnosed but Amy is convinced that the drug was to blame and links to other stories along the same lines. Reading Amy’s account, I have concerns too about the somewhat haphazard approach of the veterinary service but, of course, we don’t know what they would say about this awful outcome. Whatever the cause, communication seems to have been inadequate and Amy’s concerns about Deramaxx seem to have been dismissed too easily without there being a more obvious explanation. Amy is articulate and able to put her case while many of us are not. Professionals are sometimes too easily spooked by people who have knowledge and so they take a defensive stance for fear of seeming inadequate. Give me a professional every time who is able to tell me they don’t know in a way that contains my anxieties over one who pretends to know because they are too afraid to seem lacking.

Take a look at Amy’s blog.

Filed under: animals, bereavement, vets Tagged: bereavement, death, deramaxx, Dog

UK TV programme seeking interviewee

Suzanne — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 22:28:48 +0000

This message came to us by email and is reproduced here. If you are interested in taking part in the programme, please make your own enquiries and satisfy yourself that it is what you want to do. The company is not associated with Disabled Animals’ Club in any way and this is not a recommendation. Ask, check, make up your own mind.

My name is Nabeela and I am currently working as a researcher on a Channel 4 religion and ethics series: 4 thought.

4Thought.tv transmits every day after the Channel 4 news. Each piece is approximately two minutes long and features a person(s) speaking directly to camera. Each week is themed around a news event, anniversary or a issue linked to faith, ethics or religion and includes contributions from well known faces, religious figures, politicians and members of the public.

You can see all the films we’ve made so far at http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4thoughttv

In the week commencing the 6th December we will be transmitting a week of programmes around the theme of ‘Animal Rights’. I came across your organisation when researching animals who use special equipment to get about. Really keen to talk to a pet owner who uses such products

Just in terms of logistics, filming will be taking place in a studio in Kentish Town in North London between the 10th – 12th November. We would require around an hour to film and would, of course, arrange all transport to and from the filming location.

If you have any further questions of queries please do not hesitate to get in touch. The best way to contact me by email is at nabeela@waddellmedia.com telephone 07507 535 303

Nabeela

Nabeela Zahir

Researcher ’4Thought.tv’

www.waddellmedia.com

Filed under: animal rights, animals, disability, TV programme Tagged: animal rights, disabled animals, interviewees, TV programme

Disabled Animals’ Club Forum

Suzanne — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:49:16 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve posted on the Forum Joanne’s message asking for help with her deaf cat. You can read it there but if you want to reply, you need to sign up to the Forum itself. That’s free, you can make posts there yourselves and start topics and the only rule is to play nicely. Anything offensive will be removed (or not allowed up as the site is moderated) but it is for adults so don’t assume that every message will be ok for children to see.

Here’s the link. The Forum is powered by Maxforum which is new to me. There have been some availability problems the last couple of days so, if it doesn’t settle down, it can consider itself on warning and we’ll go somewhere else!

Filed under: animals, cat, deaf, forum Tagged: cats, Deafness, forum

Deaf cat

Suzanne — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:57:33 +0000

Can anyone help Joanne? We’ve had some ideas but your thoughts would be welcome. Here’s her story:
We have a 10 year old deaf cat, she has been deaf in both ears fully for approximately 2 – 3 years. She no longer goes out at night as we live on a busy road and i worry because she can no longer hear the traffic or any other outside noises. During the day she is fine she sleeps and i am here with her some days as i work from home a few hours everyday. Its once early evening is here and then bedtime, she meows constantly and it is such a highpitched very very loud meow. Most nights i get up with her every 2 hours just to reassure her i am there and then she is fine. I do try to ignore her but i worry about the neighbours complaining, that is how loud she is so thats why i get up. She is getting worse and the last month has been unbearable and dont quite know how to stop the meowing and i would love to be able to sleep all night. We love her dearly and would be lost without her she is our baby but it is just becoming hard work now with her. I dont really want to take her to the vets as she seems well in herself, and she eats fine. I have found a few medical conditions on the internet that could possibly explain the meowing but she gets so stressed going in her box and to the vets because she cant hear what is happening so I will take her if thats what you advise. Its bad enough taking her for her boosters she shakes and everything.
I really hope you can help me with this as dont really know how or what to do. I have had a good read up on deaf cats and i do know they have no volume control over their meow and it is part of being deaf,but there must be some other strategy we can use.

Many Thanks

Mrs Joanne Maidment

Filed under: deaf Tagged: Cat, Deafness, Hearing, Hearing impairment

New forum!

Suzanne — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 16:48:29 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

As of today, there’s a forum for the kinds of discussions that currently take place in the comments threads here. It’s powered by Makeforum, it’s free, and as yet I have no idea how it’s going to work so please bear with me! I have set up some basic discussion categories but I can add more as new topics arise. People can post if they are members (which appears to be so that anyone behaving badly can be banned) and I can zap anything offensive so BE NICE! (I know you will).

All being well, the Disabledanimals Forum should provide a place for people to help each other as they have been doing with some difficulty here. So, get on over there and start making threads!

Filed under: animals, disability, disabledanimalsclub, forum Tagged: Chats and Forums, disability, disabled animals, Internet forum, links, resources

New site – Dog Games

Suzanne — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:10:55 +0000

Dog Games says its aim is to ‘plant the seeds of ideas’ in owners’ minds so they can get the best out of life with their dogs by understanding how dogs work. Well we all second that, don’t we! One of our visitors found a really good harness for her front leg amputee pup that is liberating all of them. The pic is on the comments page #11 , it’s ‘Aaaaaaw-some!’

Filed under: animals, disability Tagged: Disabled, Dog, dog-games, Health

TwitterRoll

Suzanne — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 18:09:29 +0000

Added a new list of Twitter links. If you pitch up on my Tweetdeck lists and you’re likely to be of interest to DAC folk, you’ll be listed. If you’re not there, could be I’ve missed you so please just say. Could also be you’re really interesting but not very disability focused or hugely relevant to our site – one of my followers sells handbags – so you might not find yourself on the list. You’re probably on someone elses’ so don’t fret!

Filed under: links Tagged: twitter

Goodnight Sweet Chelsea Girl

Suzanne — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:25:01 +0000

‘I’d like to do Saturday over. I’d like to not fret about a $40 remnant rug ruined by a frantic dog. I’d like to quit bitching for the two hours it took me to mop dried dog poop off the hard-wood floors. Instead, I’d like to sit with her a little longer, kiss her face and say again and again how much I love her, remind her that she is such a sweet girl…’

Such a sad tale and beautifully told. Go to Pajama Days to read the rest.

Meanwhile, why not acquaint yourself with the Oldies Club, a website that caters to the adoption needs of older dogs? These senior citizens are often neglected when it comes to adoption and really need that loving attention in their later days. Chances are they won’t chew your cupboard doors up either!

Filed under: animals, bereavement, older animals Tagged: adoption, bereavement, older dogs

Help wanted for cart-using Border Terrier

Suzanne — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 12:39:29 +0000

image from Agilitynet.co.uk

This is a plea for help from a family in Yorkshire whose little Border slipped a disc and now needs a cart to get about. He’s a happy little chap, by all accounts, even though he needs help with bladder expression and bowel movements. Trouble is, this all very new and his family has a holiday booked in August so they need to find somewhere for him to stay for about 10 days. They’re asking all the right people, vets, the Dogs’ Trust, canine cart makers and so forth, to see if there’s a person or a service with the right skills to meet his needs – ex vet nurses, retired vets, people who have looked after a paralysed dog in the past and can do the toileting tasks, for instance. But if you know of anyone – doesn’t have to be too local they say – please leave a message here and we’ll put you in touch. Any information helpful so please just tell us what you know.

Thank you DACers, bloggers, and Twitterers

Filed under: animals, disability, holiday for dog in cart, kennels for disabled dogs, pet sitter for paralysed dog, vets Tagged: disability, disabled animals, dog using wheelchair, help needed, holiday care for disabled dog, resources

Sloths: Costa Rican rescue service

Suzanne — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:22:52 +0000

Just added a link to Sloth Sanctuary Costa Rica on our Exotics page. If you didn’t think sloths had the Aaaww factor though, take a look at this video:

Filed under: animals Tagged: costa rica, exotic animals, sloth, sloth rescue, special needs sloths