COEXISTING
Gary Woods of Selden captured this scene at Setauket’s Frank Melville Memorial Park in August. He writes, ‘I often walk through the park there and see these turtles sunning on the log. This was the first time I saw them share the log with a Canadian goose.’
This week’s shelter pet is Bailey, a 10-year-old male tuxedo cat currently waiting at the Smithtown Animal Shelter for his furever home.
This affectionate senior was left behind when his mom had to move. He is a total sweetheart who is very affectionate and who loves to be petted and given attention. He’ll curl up and snuggle with you any day, any time!
Bailey does have a skin condition, but otherwise is happy and healthy. He would do well in a home with other pets, but would prefer to have a quiet home without any children.
He is neutered, microchipped and up to date on all his vaccines.
If you are interested in meeting Bailey, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with him in the shelter’s Meet and Greet Room. The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. For more information, please call 631-360-7575 or visit www.smithtownanimalshelter.com.
MEET CALI, ROCKY AND SUZIE!
This week’s shelter pets, from left, Cali, Rocky and Suzie, are three buddies at the Smithtown Animal Shelter hoping to be adopted together.
All three pups, each twelve years old, came to the shelter after their owner sadly passed away. The Animal Shelter is looking for someone with a giant heart to Furrever Foster these wonderful dogs together. Cali is a Female Cattle Dog Mix, Rocky, a Male Shepherd Mix, and Suzie is a Female Border Collie Mix. The three siblings each have arthritis, and Suzie has some skin problems, but they do not let these issues stand in their way of playing and having fun with each other. These adorable loves are all very affectionate, and would do well in homes with other pets.
If you are interested in meeting Cali, Rocky, and Suzie, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with them in the shelter’s Meet and Greet Room. The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. For more information, call 631-360-7575.
Photos from Smithtown Animal Shelter
By Reyva Jamdar
Next to me on the couch, my dog lies. His foot twitches and whiskers tremble as he silently sleeps. A small “humph” escapes his mouth and he wakes up, suspiciously glancing around for the source of the noise. “You woke yourself up, dummy,” I mutter. I spend most of my days observing my dog. His fur, his small tongue, and of course, his previously mentioned puppy noises.
During this time, this is all I’ve been able to accomplish. Observing each and every toe and paw have helped me get through such a transition. As I sit here, writing this piece, I chuckle at the thought of how I even got this dog. I think I owe it all to my sister.
My dear sister of eighteen years, a proud member of the graduating class of 2020, is now heading off to college. Soon she’ll become a unique member of society, writing her own story filled with her own journeys. But before she even decided to spread her wings, she wanted a dog. A dog to play with, to cry with, and most importantly, to love.
Even as a toddler, I understood the importance of such a relationship. I grew up thinking that having a dog was a given, so it was a stab in the gut when I realized that this wasn’t true … at all. My mother. My mother was the face of this terrible feeling. She was, in her own words, “brutally attacked by a large dog” at the age of 12. This untimely event affected my family for years. This alone caused many “doggy disputes” in our household. It got to the point where my sister and I lost hope. It was already 2020. It was already the start of a fresh, lucky year, right? Or so we thought.
The coronavirus slowly took over New York. And my life. Getting a dog wasn’t even up for discussion once school closed. Days turned into months. Months felt like years. Endless, pointless days were all I could recall as I finally considered myself a sophomore. It was a sticky June day when I was startled by a shriek and a faint thump. My sister’s familiar clunks down the stairs halted as she approached me. It was an immediate surprise when she revealed that we were, in fact, getting a puppy during a global pandemic.
There was absolutely no way that my mother would accept yet another baby into her house during such a time. But I was wrong. She actually agreed. Maybe it was the fact that my sister was leaving for college (the new dog was an even better replacement) or because of how unexpectedly horrible 2020 was. To be quite honest, I still don’t know why she suddenly changed her mind. But I’m glad she did.
The first night with my mini golden-doodle puppy, Max, was dream-like. If a fluffy ball of fur was cuddled up next to you, wouldn’t you be ecstatic too? But the next morning was anything but this. Pee was everywhere. Chewed up pieces of furniture (and the couch) were destroyed. Our sleep schedules were completely skewed.
But it was worth it.
All those nights spent worrying about what other curveball 2020 would throw at us next wasn’t a problem anymore. All those nights spent worrying about what tomorrow would bring wasn’t a problem anymore. All those long, suspenseful nights spent worrying about something that I couldn’t control wasn’t a problem anymore. Having a dog, whether he peed on the couch or not, was completely worth it. Getting a dog in my house was always frowned upon, so that really just proves that everything and anything is possible even during a global pandemic.
Remember, when life gives you lemons, always make lemonade. 2020 was horrible. But we decided to make something out of it and as a result received puppy love!
A resident of E. Setauket, author Reyva Jamdar recently graduated from P.J. Gelinas Middle School and will be attending Ward Melville High School as a sophomore in the fall.
Four roosters, two adults and two young, were found abandoned in the Heritage Park playground Aug. 21. Town workers, police and animal rescue groups responded to take the animals away and give them sanctuary outside the town.
Visitors to Heritage Park reported on social media finding the roosters Friday morning. Suffolk County Police were notified, and upon calling the North Shore-based Strong Island Rescue League around 10 a.m. a town worker was able to corral the animals into a corner of the playground while Frankie Floridia, the president of Strong Island, picked them up to put them in cages and transport them away.
Floridia said the animals will either go to an animal sanctuary, or to families who wish to take care of them in townships where it is legal to own roosters.
The animal rescuer said there is a major issue in the Town of Brookhaven with people illegally abandoning animals such as domestic ducks in local ponds, but especially roosters. Mail order chickens have become an increasingly popular business, though some do not specify whether the chickens are male or female. The animal rescuer said they have come to calls for several abandoned roosters in Brookhaven over the past few years.
“What the people do, rather than get a fine is they go ahead and dump them,” Florida said. “The problem is dumping them, they can’t survive on their own in the wild. They are easy prey for predators, they get hit by cars, they have no food source. It’s a slow torturous death for them.”
Some online questioned whether the animals were runaways from the small farm just around the corner from The Wedge, aka Heritage Park. The roosters indeed did not come from Niegocki Farms, off of Mount Sinai Coram Road, but that small little taste of agriculture life on the North Shore has had major issues with people dumping chickens onto their property.
Tricia Niegocki, of Niegocki Farms, said that they have had six occasions in the past few years where they found roosters dumped on their property. This includes an incident where an unknown individual dumped 26 hens over their fence “in the dead heat of summer” of about 95 degrees.
“Anyone who knows us knows if it’s in our capabilities to be able to take hens off someone’s hands or help where we can,” Niegocki said. “By dumping them it was a three day ordeal in trying to catch them and pen them up in a pen we had to rush to get ready for them.”
Though the farm is often asked personally to look after chickens, especially roosters, another major issue with dumping roosters is the risk of disease spreading amongst a flock. This is especially concerning for a farm, which depends on those chickens as part of their livelihood, though leaving them to fend for themselves would only invite
The farmer said the town code is partly to blame for the number of people who abandon these animals.
“A person’s dog can bark all day and night but a rooster is unacceptable? She said. “I think the laws need to change to be more accommodating. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, having the ability to feed your family is very important and chickens provide not only eggs but also a source of meat.”
Strong Island Animal Rescue can be contacted at [email protected] or through their Facebook page.
To donate to Strong Island visit: https://www.strongislandanimalrescueleague.org/pages/donate-today
For more on the Mount Sinai farm, visit http://www.niegockifarms.com/
*This post was updated Aug. 24 to add information from the local Niegocki Farms about their own experiences with abandoned roosters.
By Matthew Kearns, DVM
During this hot weather I am always concerned with heat stroke and predisposing factors: heat, humidity, and underlying disease.
One condition that is a risk factor for heatstroke is laryngeal paralysis. The larynx, or voicebox, is not only essential for communication but also plays a protective role in preventing aspiration. When food or water gets caught in the back of the throat the larynx snaps shut and the body stimulates a cough to clear the food/liquid to prevent aspiration.
The larynx also helps control body temperature. When a dog starts to overheat, they pant to release heat and reduce body temperature. The larynx aids in this function by dilating to allow more air to pass. If the entrance to the larynx is no longer able to dilate, the dog cannot control body temperature and is at risk for heat stroke.
The most common cause of laryngeal paralysis is considered idiopathic degeneration of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. “Idiopathic” is a medical term for “we don’t know.” We know there is a cause but just do not have the diagnostic test to identify it. The recurrent largyngeal nerve atrophies and signals to the muscles of the larynx no longer transmit. Trauma to the neck and neoplasia (tumors/cancer) are also causes. Hypothyroidism has been linked to laryngeal paralysis.
Large to giant breed dogs are more at-risk including Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, St. Bernards, Bouvier des Flandres, Bull Terriers, Rottweilers, Huskies, Malamute and many others.
Symptoms of laryngeal paralysis early on are subtle and include a change in the pitch of the dog’s bark and intermittent coughing when eating or drinking. Later symptoms include stridor and difficulty breathing. Stridor is also described as “roaring” where rather than just panting, one hears a harsher, coarser sound.
Diagnosis of laryngeal paralysis is made by direct examination of the larynx while breathing. This involves a very light plane of anesthesia. Other diagnostics like bloodwork and imaging (x-rays, etc) of the neck are also indicated to rule out secondary disease processes.
Surgery is the treatment of choice for laryngeal paralysis. The procedure is called a crico-arytenoid laryngoplasty where one side of the larynx is permanently sutured open. Most dogs do very well after surgery. However, the surgery does increase the risk of aspiration. A change in lifestyle (how and what your dog is fed) is indicated. The use of a medication called doxepin (Sinaquen®) has shown improvement of laryngeal function in some cases but no controlled study has been performed to confirm its efficacy.
Laryngeal paralysis is not a death sentence but diagnosis of this condition and intervention early on is key. Stay cool everyone.
Dr. Kearns practices veterinary medicine from his Port Jefferson office and is pictured with his son Matthew and his dog Jasmine. Have a question for the vet? Email it to [email protected] and see his answer in an upcoming column.
MEET PINTO!
This week’s featured shelter pet is Pinto, a 1-year-old Australian Shepherd/Mountain Feist mix who was rescued from a high kill shelter in Georgia and is now safe at Kent Animal Shelter.
Pinto is good with other dogs. He’s very sweet but is extremely shy. He walks okay on a leash and shows no signs of aggression. This sweetheart would do best in a home with a medium level of household activity. He comes neutered, microchipped and is up to date on all his vaccinations.
If you are interested in meeting Pinto, please call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com. Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. Office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, closed Sundays.
This week’s featured shelter pets of the week are … kittens, kittens and more kittens!
Kitten season is in full swing and the Smithtown Animal Shelter has several adorable little ones to add to any family. Most kittens are between 10 to 16 weeks old and are spayed/neutered, tested and microchipped! Come fall in love!
If you are interested in meeting the many kittens waiting at the shelter, please fill out an adoption application online at www.townofsmithtownanimalshelter.com. The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. For more information, call 631-360-7575.
MEET MORTY!
This week’s featured shelter of the week is Morty, a shy and sweet 10 1/2 year-old Havanese currently being cared for at the Smithtown Animal Shelter.
Little Morty was found as an unhealthy stray with severe skin infections. He has a long road to get back to normal, but his spirit remains bright and he loves meeting new people. This sweet boy has been neglected but he didn’t let it break him. He needs a home where he can be treated like the prince he is!
Morty will do fine with calm dogs, cats and older children.
If you are interested in meeting Morty, please fill out an adoption application online at www.townofsmithtownanimalshelter.com. The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. For more information, call 631-360-7575
The Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau is currently hosting an Animal Food Drive to benefit the wildlife residing at Sweetbriar Nature Center. The preserve is in need of donations of fresh fruits and vegetables for the animals rehabilitating in their care. Residents can drop off groceries on the porch of the Sweetbriar Nature Center, located at 62 Eckernkamp Drive, in Smithtown. An Amazon Wish List is also available for anyone who prefers to order supplies online. The items most in need are berries, grapes, apples, carrots, celery, lettuce or similar produce.
“For over 50 years Sweetbriar has provided a safe haven for injured wildlife, educational programming and has watched over 54 acres of gardens, woodland, and wetland habitats along the Nissequogue River. Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic has had a severe impact on Sweetbriar Nature Center’s fundraising efforts which directly affects the wildlife in their care,” said Supervisor Ed Wehrheim. “I am grateful for the Youth Bureau’s noble efforts and am confident that we as a community will join together in support of the innocent animals living on the preserve.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sweetbriar has been forced to cancel many of the fundraising initiatives hosted throughout the year which typically fund the needs of the animals. In addition, the main house and indoor areas of the preserve remain closed to the public for the foreseeable future. Residents wishing to assist Sweetbriar can choose to donate online via GoFundMe, Register with Amazon Smile by typing in “Environmental Centers of Setauket Smithtown” or visit www.wweetbriarnc.org for a list of items which are of great need.
For further information, please call 631-979-6344.
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