MEET CHARLIE AND FARLEY! This week’s shelter pets of the month are Charlie and Farley, two brothers from the streets of Puerto Rico. These Chihuahua mixes are 5 years old and are very sweet and gentle. They only have one simple request — they would like to be adopted out together because they are so attached and you know what they say — two dogs are better than one! Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. For more information on Charlie and Farley and other adoptable pets at Kent, please call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
Aging isn’t for sissies. We’ve all heard that line before and it also applies to our pets, our cats and dogs, our horses and so forth. Teddy is our only pet, a golden retriever with a square head, a pug nose, expressive brown eyes and an affable disposition. He has lived with us since he was 8 weeks, and in June he will turn 12.
It’s hard for us to see him getting old. He is totally deaf now and only knows we are there when we touch him. Then he will be startled as he whips his head around to see us and slowly wags his tail as if to say, “Oh, I know you, I’m safe with you.” He has serious cataracts that interfere with his vision, and he is beginning to bump into the corners of furniture. He’s gone white around his muzzle, although the changeover from light blond isn’t so dramatic. And while he still can find his way back to the front door after he’s gone out, he occasionally wanders aimlessly inside the house. Sometimes he just sits and stares at a wall. Yet most of the time, he is his usual self, putting his head in each of our laps in turn as we sit in the living room and nuzzling us with love.
Worst of all, for no reason we can discern, he will begin a chorus of howling. It’s a curious chain of sounds, starting at a high pitch and dropping down until it is wolverine, coming from deep in his throat. He throws his head back when he howls, much like the wolves I saw in the Oregon Zoo in Portland. Maybe it’s the equivalent of a primordial scream, or maybe he is communing with his ancestors, telling them he is on his way. It brings us to tears.
My sons tell me we should have cataract surgery for him on one eye to enable him at least to see better.
“You’d be howling, too, if you couldn’t see or hear,” they argue. Of course they have a point. But I am afraid, afraid of what Teddy’s reaction to the anesthetic might be, afraid to send him to a place of unfamiliarity, afraid to subject him to invasive procedure.
To further complicate the picture, he has had a seizure. We saw the whole thing. It happened only 10 minutes after the last of our dinner company had left a few weeks ago. He was laying down on his side in his familiar station near the front door when suddenly his legs started flailing at the air, he began panting and saliva started to bubble from his mouth. All we could do was look on in horror for the short time that it lasted. When it was over he became uncharacteristically aggressive for a couple of minutes. Then his breathing slowly returned to normal, and he started walking from room to room. After perhaps 15 more minutes, while we watched with concern, he sauntered over to his food bowl as if nothing had happened and began eating all his dinner, finishing up with a noisy slug of water. Finally he spun around, plopped down and looked at us as if to say, “Why are you following me?”
We called the vet, who seemed much more sanguine than we were and assured us that this sometimes happens to pets, although it had not happened to any of our preceding three dogs. She put him on meds to prevent another seizure.
What followed was a trial-and-error course of medication that alternately left Teddy so wobbly that he could barely step off the porch and caused him to sleep constantly, or wound him up so that he howled intermittently through the night, needing reassurance each time that we were there. It was like having a newborn baby in the house demanding multiple feedings.
We’ve finally gotten the right medicines to the right level and life is almost back to normal, but the questions remain: What to do next, and when to do it?
Some of the dogs rescued from a slaughterhouse in South Korea and brought to Elwood. Photo from Little Shelter
By Victoria Espinoza
Ten dogs from South Korea were rescued from certain death this past month after the Little Shelter in Elwood stepped up and gave them a new home.
The dogs arrived at the shelter Monday, Feb. 27, after a long, 14-hour journey by airplane. The dogs were scheduled to be slaughtered for their meat, a common practice in South Korea. However, with the help of a local Korean rescue group, Free Korean Dogs, a transport was arranged for them to come to New York.
Shelter workers carry the dogs into their new home. Photo from Little Shelter
Free Korean Dogs estimates more than 2 million dogs are raised and slaughtered for the Korean meat trade annually. The group often seeks to partner with larger rescue groups like Little Shelter to help get these dogs to safety and give them a chance to be adopted. Little Shelter Executive Director David Ceely said the group has wanted to get involved with this cause for years.
“We knew we wanted to help out with this problem,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s such a growing issue. In the last three to five years it’s really come to light, and as the oldest shelter on Long Island our mission is to help animals locally, however also use our capabilities to help beyond the local level.”
The Little Shelter created a plan called the Passage to Freedom Program, which aims to help dogs throughout the world find a home.
Rowan Daray, marketing coordinator and spokesperson for the Little Shelter said the rescue took a lot of work.
“The rescue was a long process, our team had been working on it for over a month,” he said. “We were communicating with the rescue group and a third party to help us transport the dogs, so responses could be delayed due to time zones, language barriers and just all the steps needed to get the dogs ready for their flight.”
He said once the dogs were on their way everything went smoothly.
The South Korean dogs are between four and 15 pounds, and range in age from 9 months to 3 years. The dogs are mostly small-sized breeds though some are medium. Little Shelter said all of the animals are healthy and friendly dogs that have been socialized prior to receiving their doggie passports.
Ceely said when the dogs first arrived on Long Island they were understandably shaken, but some were more social and resilient than others — for perhaps one specific reason.
“Some people from those countries are not above stealing people’s pets,” Ceely said. “They can easily get a couple of bucks by stealing someone’s dogs … so the dogs that are now licking our hands through the cages, wagging their tails and becoming more outgoing, I suspect they had to be someone’s pet. There’s no way they weren’t.”
Some of the dogs rescued from a slaughterhouse in South Korea and brought to Elwood. Photo from Little Shelter
Before they arrived in New York each dog had a full medical check up and was fixed while in South Korea. As part of the Little Shelter’s protocol the dogs will be kept quarantined for two weeks when they have time to settle down and become familiar with the staff.
So far their adjustment period has been a success, according to Daray.
“The dogs are doing well, many of them are opening up to staff and showing us their personalities,” he said in an email “We have two who love to dance on their hind legs and do ‘happy paws’ for their handlers. Two others are very excited to meet people but will try to walk in between your legs when on leashes, so they can be as close to you as possible.”
Ceely said he expects at least five dogs to be ready to go up for adoption next Monday when the quarantine period is finished.
Little Shelter was asking for donations to help cover the incurred $5,000 of transporting these dogs to safety, and they were able to reach their goal in less than two weeks. If you would like to donate to the cause, go to the Little Shelter, call 631-368-8770 ext. 26 or visit their website at www.littleshelter.com. The Little Shelter is located at 33 Warner Road.
I can’t even recall how many times a feline with a runny nose enters my clinic. A kitten is a little more straightforward as an infection is most likely the cause.But what happens when an adult cat presents? What if this cat is the only cat in the household? What if the cat never goes outside? This is when it gets interesting (and sometimes a touch frustrating).
The most common infection associated with a chronic upper respiratory infection is a combination of a herpes and calicivirus. Feline herpesvirus is similar to the human herpesvirus in that it never leaves the host and becomes active during times of stress and illness. The stress of pregnancy, labor and delivery causes the mother cat to start shedding virus.
The kittens are exposed to the virus either when passing through the birth canal or shortly after birth during grooming by the mother. If infected as a kitten, the cat can be predisposed to infections throughout its lifetime. Not only does the herpesvirus make the cat feel ill, but it also allows opportunistic bacterial infections to set in and then you have a real mess.
In addition, these cats shed the virus, increasing the risk of infecting other cats. Luckily, two of the components of the feline distemper vaccine (FVRCP vaccine) are a feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus. The vaccine contains killed or weakened virus and is designed to stimulate the immune system without causing disease or illness. If your cat goes outside or is in contact with a cat that goes outside, make sure to see your veterinarian every year to update this vaccine.
If infected by the virus as a kitten, a cat can be predisposed to infections throughout its lifetime.
Other causes of the feline upper respiratory syndrome include nasal foreign bodies (grass blades or other plant material), fungal infections (more common in cats adopted from the South or Southwest), tumors (benign polyps or cancer of the nasal passages), allergies or tooth root abscesses.
When a feline patient presents with symptoms of an upper respiratory problem the big question is, “how do we veterinarians determine what is causing the symptoms?” The character of the discharge (if there is one) holds significant clues. If the discharge is serous (clear and watery), it is more likely an allergy or early viral. If it is purulent (thick and green), it is more likely some sort of bacterial infection.
As briefly discussed earlier, a bacterial infection is usually secondary to some other primary disease process, which means that we need to keep searching for the primary cause. Sometimes we veterinarians can look in the mouth and actually see a rotten tooth or a mass/tumor, but many times it’s just not that easy. Blood work and X-rays help but are rarely diagnostic. X-rays are usually of other body cavities initially (such as the chest or abdominal cavities) because the skull and sinuses require anesthesia.
If the patient is anesthetized, we will usually look behind the soft palate with special instruments and mirrors and flush the sinuses with saline. This is also helpful but not always diagnostic.
A study at the University of Missouri Veterinary School reviewed the charts of cats with chronic nasal discharge. Results from this study revealed a diagnosis was only achieved 36 percent of the time. The University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center has not only the very best veterinarians available to them but also advanced diagnostics such as CT, MRI, rhinoscopy (a camera you can stick up the sinuses), biopsies etc. Ughhhh!!!
In conclusion, if your cat does develop signs of an upper respiratory infection, hopefully it resolves quickly with medication. If not, don’t get too frustrated with your veterinarian if an exact diagnosis is difficult to come by.
Dr. Kearns practices veterinary medicine from his Port Jefferson office and is pictured with his son Matthew and his dog Jasmine.
A blue jay enjoys a bird bath in Jay Gammill’s Setauket backyard. Photo by Jay Gammill
By Ernestine Franco
A trio of Snowy Egrets feeding. Photo by Jay Gammill
A hobby often starts merely by chance. A dad gives his young son a camera for his birthday. The son takes a few photos and has a good time. As he gets older, it becomes a passion. Then, after he retires, it becomes part of his soul and guides his vision of the world.
I am describing Jay Gammill of East Setauket who started taking pictures after his father gave him his first camera, a Brownie Starflash, and today uses a digital camera that has letters and numbers in its name as well as lots of lenses.
To call Gammill an amateur photographer does not do his photographs justice. To experience his exquisite vision, check out his first solo exhibit, “The Birds Among Us,” at the Emma S. Clark Library in Setauket throughout the month of March featuring 20 stunning images of birds taken in Canada, Maine, upstate New York and in Gammill’s own backyard over the last three years.
I recently had the opportunity to talk to Gammill about his exhibit and hobby.
How did you get into photography?
My father had the most influence on my picking up a camera. He worked for a photographic company prior to World War II and was a Navy mapping photographer during the war in the North Atlantic. Dad always had either a still or an 8mm movie camera in his hand.
Why do you photograph birds?
Many beautiful birds visit our feeders in East Setauket, and I wanted to capture some nice photographs of our feathered friends.
What else do you like to photograph?
On vacations or when visiting local areas I really enjoy photographing the interior and exterior of mansions, castles, homes and all landscapes.
A Great Egret takes flight at Nissequogue River State Park in Kings Park. Photo by Jay Gammill
What kinds of cameras/lenses do you use to capture these stunning images?
Seventeen years ago I started with a 5-megapixel Sony, then I used a 12-megapixel Lumix bridge camera, and now I have a 26-megapixel Nikon D610 and have plans to upgrade yet again to a more professional Nikon camera. I have several lenses for the Nikon D610. In the field I use a 200-500mm lens primarily for birding and sometimes attach a 1.4 extender, increasing the focal length to 700mm. This gives me a lot of flexibility depending on the subject’s location being near or far. I also have 20mm, 50mm, 300mm and a 28-300mm lenses. The wide-angle 20mm lens (probably my favorite) can be used for landscape photography or indoors without a flash and produces excellent photos. The 50mm lens is very sharp and great for outdoor get-togethers. The 300mm lens with an extender is great for birding and the 28-300mm lens is excellent for all-around exploring.
Your photos show that you have an artist’s eye. How does your vision affect how you frame your photos and the subjects you choose?
A lot depends on the lighting. Having good light provides a variety of angles and shadows that can add interest to a photograph plus excellent detail within the photo. When looking at a subject, I try to envision how it will appear on my monitor and whether it will provide the same interest it provides me to others on social media.
You’ve described your wife Jan as your ‘spotter.’ Can you elaborate on that?
Jan has become an integral part of my bird photography. After she started coming out with me, it was evident she could pick out birds in trees faster than I could by myself. Now we enjoy finding birds together but also the exercise. It is not uncommon for her to say “take that shot” and that has proven to be very beneficial to my work.
This is your first solo exhibit. Have you enjoyed getting ready for it?
The answer is yes! I’m happy I started early on choosing my photographs and getting them printed. Visiting the library to view the exhibit location also helped. I am also working on some presentation work that will identify the subject in each photo.
How did you decide which photos to include in the exhibit?
Detail, pose and subject expression had the most influence on which photos were chosen. Some of the birds’ eyes just speak to you when you see them. You know what they are thinking.
What are your favorite photos in the exhibit?
I guess it would be the Red-tailed Hawk and the Atlantic Puffin. A part of getting the photos ready for the exhibit is framing them.
Can you talk a little about the different materials you used to do this?
There are many ways to display photos these days. I have chosen three different types for the exhibit. Some are mounted in the classic frame style. One is under ¼-inch clear acrylic with polished edges. This is a fairly expensive way to present a photograph, but it gives the photo a very unique appearance. The third method is having the photos printed on aluminum. You can have a very large picture and it will not weigh a lot, making it easy to hang, and it makes the colors really pop.
A Great Egret. Photo by Jay Gammill
Where else have you exhibited?
I was very pleased when the Huntington Arts Council accepted two of my bird photos to be displayed in its gallery for a month last year. Another photo, of the original Fire Island Lighthouse beacon, was accepted in last year’s 100th anniversary Parks Department photo exhibit held within the lighthouse keeper’s home for a month. Two bird and two landscape photos were displayed for a month last year at the 2nd Ave. Bayshore Firehouse exhibit gallery for the Long Island Triumph Association’s art show.
Any advice for others who want to have their photos seen by others?
Post your photos on social media for a lot of exposure and to get a feel for others’ reactions to your work. I have been posting on Facebook for years now, and it has given me a good indication of what people like.
Where can our readers see other examples of your work?
I have set up my own website, www.jayjaysvisions.com, to show others my bird, wildlife and landscape photography.
“The Birds Among Us” will be on view at the Emma S. Clark Library, located at 120 Main Street in Setauket, through the month of March. For more information, please call 631-941-4080.
He’s at Kent Animal Shelter, of course! Waldo is a 1½-year-old basset hound mix who would just love to be a part of your family! He likes other dogs and children, loves to go for walks and weighs approximately 34 pounds.
Waldo is neutered, microchipped, dewormed and is up to date on all his vaccines. Come meet him today! Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. For more information on Waldo and other adoptable pets at Kent, please call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
MEET DULCINA! Rescued from terrible conditions in Puerto Rico, Dulcina recently arrived at the Kent Animal Shelter, 2259 River Road in Calverton with her friend Doncella. A shar-pei mix, she is about 1½ years old, weighs 36 pounds, is spayed, microchipped, and up to date on all her vaccines. She gets along well with children and other dogs, walks well on a leash and loves car rides. The only thing missing now is a forever home! She would love to be adopted with her best friend Doncella. For more information on Dulcina and other adoptable pets at Kent, please call 631-727-5731.
MEET SHONA! Shona, one of several dogs from Thailand rescued by the SOI Dog Foundation, has recently arrived at the Kent Animal Shelter, 2259 River Road in Calverton. Instead of being brutally butchered in the Asian dog meat trade, she is now safe and sound. This sweet Shepherd mix is 6 years young, weighs 41 pounds, is spayed, microchipped and up to date on all her shots. Please come give this pretty girl the loving and caring home she so deserves! For more information on Shona and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731.
Tito was sick and in pain when the group rescued him in New Jersey. Photos from Guardians of Rescue Facebook
A Smithtown-based animal rescue group is continuing to guard the community’s most vulnerable.
Guardians of Rescue, a nonprofit organization, rescued Tito, a seven-year-old Argentine Mastiff who was found in a junkyard in New Jersey Feb. 2. The group works to provide aid to animals in distress, including facilitating foster programs, rehabilitation and assisting other rescue groups. The Guardians said Tito was mistreated, neglected and was near death when they rescued him.
“This dog was in such horrible condition that he could barely walk,” Robert Misseri, founder and president of the nonprofit, said in a statement. “He has been severely neglected and it’s so sad to see. We had to act and do what we can to change things for him.”
Tito is now a healthy and happy dog. Photos from Guardians of Rescue Facebook
According to the group, a good Samaritan in the New Jersey community originally found Tito and told the Guardians about the condition he was living in. The community member said they attempted many times to get Tito’s owner to surrender the dog to no avail, and eventually the Guardians were called in to help. Tito had been living in a mechanic’s shop his whole life and may have been being used for breeding purposes. When rescued he had severe ear infections in both ears, which has lead to hearing loss, was 35 pounds underweight, was living in constant pain and could barely walk. He was also filthy and had teeth that were decaying.
The owner wanted to continue breeding Tito, despite the fact he was emaciated and could barely walk, the group said. After being evaluated by the resident veterinarian, he and members of the Guardians convinced the pet owner to surrender Tito.
“No one knows how much longer he would have survived, but for however long it was painful each day just for him to live,” Dr. Marvin “Moose” Baynes, the Guardians’ resident veterinarian, said in a statement. “Tito is recovering and doing well. He’s lucky to have been rescued and we will do all we can to help him make a recovery.”
The group is ensuring he gets the proper medical care he needs, and will work to find him a proper and loving home where he can live out the rest of his life.
Tito is currently living with Baynes as he continues to have his health evaluated and receive treatment.
Last month, the Guardians rescued a dog named Bear who had been living chained to a doghouse for 15 years. He was adopted in January and now is in a safe and happy home.
Guardians of Rescue has a new show called “The Guardians,” which airs on Animal Planet on Saturdays at 10 p.m. To learn more about the nonprofit or to donate, visit www.guardiansofrescue.org.
I can’t even recall how many times a feline with a runny nose enters my clinic. A kitten is a little more straightforward as an infection is most likely the cause.But what happens when an adult cat presents? What if this cat is the only cat in the household? What if the cat never goes outside? This is when it gets interesting (and sometimes a touch frustrating).
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