North Clwyd Animal Salvage to microchip pets in Flint

NORTH Clwyd Animal Rescue (NCAR) needs owners to get their Pets microchipped at an event in Flint. The Trelogan-based charity will be outside Jollyes Pet Superstore on Flintshire Retail Park on Saturday (January 29) and will charge £10 for pets to be microchipped.

The organisation will also be appealing for volunteers to help the contributions in a number of ways over the coming year. Animal lovers are needed to walk the dogs, groom the Pets animals and care for cats, kittens and rabbits. Other opportunities include helping at NCAR fundraising events, holding your own event or lottery and helping in the charity’s shops.

Letting pets sleep in your bed makes you sick

Scientists in California claimed that letting pets into the bed increases the chances of constricting the more than 100 diseases which are known to be transmitted from domestic pets to humans. Serious diseases which can be caught from animals include chagas disease, which can cause life-threatening heart and digestive system disorders, and cat-scratch disease, which can also come from being licked by infected felines, and can cause lethal damage to the liver, kidney or spleen. Recently a nine-year-old boy in Arizona caught the plague because he slept with his flea-infested cat, according to the report published in the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention journal "Emerging communicable Diseases."

Bruno Chomel, a professor at the University of California School of veterinary medicine, and who co-authored the study, said: "In many countries, pets have become substitutes for childbearing and child care, sometimes leading to extreme pet care."There are private places in the household, and I think our pets should not go beyond next to the bed. Having an overfed animal in your bed is fine, not a real one." "We wanted to raise the attention of people, as sleeping with a pet is becoming quite common, and there are risks associated with it, even if it is not very frequent," he added. In a recent study up to 62 per cent of  Dog owners said their pets slept either on or in their beds.

Animal salvage centre warns over micro pigs

Micro pigs were in exact after they became "the celebrity pet", but experts have warned it is difficult to predict how big they will actually grow. Brinsley Animal Rescue Centre has been giving new homes to some of the pigs. John Beresford said: "its rescue centres that pick up the pieces of people buying pets animals on a fad and then giving them up on an impulse."

The centre's website states that there is "no such thing as a micro pig" and explains that all pigs are large, powerful and possibly critical. Micro pigs are usually a cross between pot-bellied or Kune pigs and were made popular after different Hollywood stars and the Beckhams bought one. One of the pigs Brinsley Animal Rescue Centre has re-homed came from Bolsover.

Animals suffer upset

Having survived the floods many will face the challenge of trade with their traumatised pets, according to experts from the Australian Veterinary Association. Veterinarians are expecting to deal with large numbers of traumatised pets over the coming weeks and months.

“The human disaster has been huge, but many survivors of the floods who are relying on their pets for emotional support may not realise that the animals have also been emotionally scarred by events,” said pets animal behavior specialist, Dr Kersti Seksel. “Dogs and cats that survive disasters can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder in the same way as humans. “Pets that temporarily lost their owners and/or homes during the flooding may be suffering from division anxiety-related problems.”

Roadshow was no sphere for small pets

I was at Parkway procession on Saturday and chanced upon a Pet Lovers Centre (PLC) road show. Apart from selling pet products, a hamster race was going on, where kids placed their hamsters in plastic balls and "raced" them. Surrounded by screaming kids who were shaking the plastic balls, loud blasting music and crowds, the hamsters were clearly stressed and panicky. Chinchillas and rabbits were placed at the road show as well, amid the loud music and crowds. I understand that PLC is a business and is riding on the Rabbit year to increase profits, but small pet animals should not be subjected to this amount of pressure. PLC should have known better.

Pets pass away in Cambridge house fire

Three pets animals died in a smoke-filled house on Second Avenue after a fire broke out Monday afternoon. A neighbour saw smoke coming from the two-storey detached home at 57 Second Ave. just after 1:30 p.m., and called for help. Firefighters arrived to find the home filled with smoke from a fire burning in the basement.

No one was home at the time. Firefighters rescued a dog, a cat and a hamster from the house and tried to resuscitate them, but were unsuccessful. It’s believed the animals died from smoke inhalation. Five fire trucks and 15 firefighters responded to the call in the Galt area of the city. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. The fire caused about $250,000 in damage. The occupants did have insurance.

Spanish pets head to cathedral

Dogs, cats, hamsters and even pigs trooped into churches across Spain on Monday in search of blessing on Saint Anthony's Day, for the benefactor saint of animals. "Lord, bless this animal that Saint Antonio may protect it from all ailments," said Juan Villa, priest at the Church of San Anton in Madrid as he sprinkled holy water on pets presented by their owners. After their blessing, the animals did the "walk of the Saint," a pageant through several streets in the Madrid district of Chueca.

Nearby the queue of faithful waiting to present their pets and animals, there was another queue at a church window for bread rolls, baked according to a secret formula that keeps them soft. Each parishioner received three buns, one of which is traditionally kept for a year alongside a coin to ensure work and health and to guarantee the blessing of the saint. The festival has been celebrated in Madrid since the 19th century with only a few breaks. It is also detained in other parts of Spain such as in the Balearic Islands and Burgos.