Creature feature

Here’s a look at recent news in the world of pet care.

You may have heard of crowd-funding or soliciting donations online for a creative project on websites such as Kickstarter.com or IndieGogo.com. At Massachusetts-based PetChance.org, however, pet owners anywhere in the United States can raise money to pay for expensive veterinary procedures. The site allows you to crowd-fund surgeries and medical treatments for animals by asking for donations from friends, family and strangers.

The way it works: You register your pet’s treatment plan with the website, which then confirms the plan with your veterinarian or animal hospital. When confirmed, your request or money-raising campaign is posted on the PetChance site along with a photo of your pet and his story. Anyone can make a minimum $10 donation, with all money raised paid directly to your veterinarian by PetChance.

Unlike other crowd-funding sites where it’s all-or nothing in terms of whether a request is funded, PetChance uses any money raised to help pay your pet’s vet bill. If you ask for $1,000 and raise only $500, that still goes toward your pet’s vet bill. If you ask for $1,000 and receive $1,500, then the extra $500 can be held by PetChance for one year for future medical bills. After a year, the money is transferred to your pet’s clinic, where it can be used to help other pets.

Using PetChance is free for pet owners, but 6.5 percent of the amount you raise will be deducted to cover credit card charges and other operational costs.

Since the site went live in September 2012, more than $33,000 has been raised for pet owners in 39 states, according to the January issue of Dog Fancy. When 2013 ended, more than 140 pet owners (none from Arkansas to date) had “chances” listed on PetChance. Among the procedures pet owners sought help funding were hip replacements, surgery to remove tumors, treatment for Parvo and heartworms, chemotherapy, blood transfusions, ultrasounds, skin grafts and amputations.

Ever find yourself reaching for a sugar cookie or an extra helping of mashed potatoes when you’re feeling anxious or stressed? Most of us are familiar with what’s called “emotional eating” although it’s not something we expect in our pets. But a study by veterinarian Franklin McMillan, a former professor at the Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine in California, suggests that pets also reach out for a little caloric comfort when they are bored, anxious or depressed.

McMillan’s findings, which appeared in the September 2013 Journal of Veterinary Medicine, indicate that comfort eating can put pet animals at risk for obesity. Pet owners, he says, should try to figure out why their pets are overeating before “yanking away their food.”

The American Veterinary Hospital Association counters that human behavior rather than pet behavior is a more likely cause for a cat or dog becoming overweight. The association’s recommendation is that owners of fat pets talk to their veterinarian about restricting the amount of food or changing the type of food a pet eats. The group also advises that we keep our sugar cookies to ourselves.

Veterinarians recommend regular professional teeth cleanings as well as at-home strategies for keeping a dog’s pearly whites in healthy condition, if not always pearly or white. Check out vohc. org for a list of anti-plaque, anti-tartar products approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council, a panel of veterinary dentists and dental scientists. Among the products listed are prescription oral-care foods as well as things like Greenies and VeggieDent chewies, and Essential anti-plaque gel.

What you won’t find on the list is the one “treat” the American Veterinary Dental College says should never, ever be given to dogs - deer antlers. Jan Bellows, the group’s president, explains: “Dogs fracture their teeth right and left on them.”

Do you have a question about pets? We’ll get you an answer from an authority. Send your question to Rhonda Owen, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203 or e-mail [email protected]

Family, Pages 34 on 01/08/2014

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