This week’s featured shelter pet is Gia, a nine-month-old female French bulldog mix currently waiting at the Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter for a loving family to adopt her.
This little pumpkin was rescued from a sad start to life. While she is still learning how to trust people, she is beginning to learn that playing with toys and being showered with love is a part of her daily routine. If anyone deserves a home for the holidays, it’s this bundle of happiness packed into a small sized dog.
Gia enjoys playing with the staff and volunteers all day long. She does have some orthopedic issues, requiring special care to meet her needs. However, a little extra work is worth the endless love and appreciation Gia displays when she snuggles up to you.
If you are interested in meeting this sweetheart, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with her in a domestic setting, which includes the shelter’s Meet and Greet Room, the dog runs and Dog Walk trail.
The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Walk-in hours are currently Monday to Friday,8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sundays by appointment only. For more information, call 631-360-7575.
This week’s featured shelter pet is Ginger Noodle, a 1-year-old Chihuahua mix rescued from Texas.
Ginger loves everyone! She would be the perfect companion for either a family or someone living on their own who is looking for a faithful companion. Come on down to the shelter and spend some time with her. You’ll be sure to fall in love!
This sweet girl comes spayed, microchipped and up to date on her vaccines.
Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. The adoption center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on Ginger Noodle and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
No matter which holiday we celebrate this time of year a pet dog or cat makes a great gift. The bond is almost always immediate and lasts a lifetime. Conversely, the thought of losing a pet is terrible. Since the advent of pet microchip identification, many a lost pet has been returned to its owner safe and sound. There are, however, still some lingering doubts about the safety and efficacy of these chips. I hope to clear that up in this article.
A microchip is an identification chip only and does not contain a power source. Once inserted, the chip will not give off any energy that could be harmful to your pet. The chip is passive, or inert. What that means is, when the microchip scanner is waved over it, the chip receives energy similar to a radio antenna. The chip then gives the scanner back the energy in the way of data, or information.
Pet microchips are very small (about the size of a grain of rice) and can be injected under the skin without any anesthetic. I do not wish to imply that the pets that receive this injection do not feel the needle, but it is far from major surgery. At our hospital we offer to implant the chip at the time of spay or neuter (when the patient is already anesthetized) to reduce the anxiety and discomfort of the pet. These chips do not tend to migrate after implantation and rarely cause any discomfort.
Stock photo
The notion that there is a direct link between microchips and cancer is greatly exaggerated in the media and on the internet. It is true that these chips have been documented to cause a type of cancer called “injection site sarcoma” in lab mice and rats. These animals are very prone to this type of cancer when any material is injected under the skin. To this date there is only ONE documented case of cancer in a dog that was directly linked to the implantation of a microchip.
Older microchips and microchip scanners were not as successful and there were accounts of pets that were needlessly euthanized as a result. However, in a study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) in 2008, the newer chips and scanners reported at least a 90 percent (in some scanners and chips up to a 98 percent) success rate in identifying the chip. Another study published in JAVMA in 2009 approximately 75 percent of dogs and approximately 65 percent of cats that were turned over to shelters were able to be reunited with their owners via the microchip (of those owners that were not reunited 35 percent had disconnected phones and another 25 percent never returned phone calls from the shelter).
If you wish to get a pet this holiday season and wish to find them again if lost, then I would suggest you have a discussion with your veterinarian about microchipping.
I wish to extend a joyous holiday season and a Happy New Year to all the faithful readers of my column. I also wish to thank the editor of the Arts and Lifestyles section, Heidi Sutton, and all the staff at Times Beacon Record News Media for another great year.
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] to see his answer in an upcoming column.
This week’s featured shelter pet is Brody, a 2-year-old handsome boy who was rescued from a Texas kill shelter and is now safe at Kent Animal Shelter.
Brody is great on a leash, house trained, very sweet, loves attention and especially loves a few extra treats thrown his way! He is especially fond of turkey treats (hint, hint). Come on down to the shelter and meet him! He comes neutered, microchipped and up to date on his vaccines.
Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. The adoption center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on Brody and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
This week’s featured shelter pet is Penelope, a 4-year-old terrier mix who was adopted from Kent Animal Shelter as a puppy and was recently returned, due to no fault of her own.
Penelope is a happy-go-lucky girl and is great with everything and everybody. She loves kids, is fine with other dogs and is housebroken. Come on down to the shelter and meet her! She comes spayed, microchipped and up to date on her vaccines.
Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. The adoption center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on Penelope and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com
This goose was found with netting on its face in Setauket on Nov. 9. Photo by Raina Angelier
By Patrice Domeischel
What could have been a plastic trash catastrophe for a Canada goose instead resulted in a happy ending, thanks to the efforts of Anita Jo Lago and Rob Trezza.
Rob Trezza caught the goose on Lake Street. Photo by Anita Jo Lago
Birders on a Four Harbors Audubon Society walk at Frank Melville Memorial Park in Setauket on Nov. 9 encountered the goose in distress, actively attempting to free itself of plastic netting that had encircled its head and body. The goose managed to remove some netting but was unable to disentangle itself from the remainder encircling its neck and face.
Lago, a park volunteer at Frank Melville, and Trezza, park security, were called in to assess the situation, and promptly went to work. The goose was captured, relieved of the netting and released.
“We really did get it when necessary,” commented Lago. “Its flight was hindered as it was getting away from a cygnet going after it. It took flight but landed happenstance. It landed on the road, Lake Street, because flight was compromised due to the netting holding its jaw and head. When Rob got closer, he saw the goose desperately trying to free itself by banging its head, many times, on the ground. So we got there in time.”
A disaster averted, the goose was able to fly off, a bit stressed and tired from its efforts, but in good condition.
All too often birds and animals suffer the consequences created by our use of single-use plastic. Wildlife can become entangled in discarded plastic, wire or string resulting in injury or death. Even plastic that is responsibly disposed of finds its way into our waters and litters our beaches. Be proactive, protect wildlife and the environment, and reduce or eliminate altogether your use of single-use plastic.
Patrice Domeischel is a member of the Four Harbors Audubon Society.
‘Mute Swans at West Meadow Creek’ by Patricia Paladines is on view at Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in Setauket through Nov. 30. The photograph is part of the library’s current exhibit titled Long Island Wilderness Through the Lenses of the Four Harbors Audubon Society by FHAS board members.
This week’s shelter pets are Abbey, left,and Sarah, above, two sweeties who have just arrived from Mississippi and are waiting at Kent Animal Shelter for their furever homes.
They are both approximately 2 years old and are ready for the next chapter in their lives. Both have lovely personalities and are great on a leash. As you can see from their photos, a little time spent on Weight Watchers wouldn’t hurt either one of them! With a little TLC they’ll be in tip-top shape.
Come on down to the shelter and meet them! They come spayed, microchipped and up to date on their vaccines and do not have to be adopted together.
Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. The adoption center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on Abbey, Sarah and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
Sweetbriar Nature Center, 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown is in need of old newspapers to line the enclosures for the wild animals they are rehabilitating. They can’t use the ads or the shiny stuff, but the rest of the paper would be greatly appreciated. The New York Times is their favorite sized paper but any newspaper will do. For more information or to schedule a drop off, call 631-979-6344.
This week’s shelter pet is Jack, a 4½-month-old ginger tabby kitten who arrived at Kent Animal Shelter after he was left on someone’s porch in a box.
Now he is affectionately known as Jack in the Box by Kent’s volunteers who tell us that this handsome boy is shy but very friendly and loving once he warms up to you. Why not drop by and meet him? He comes neutered, microchipped and up to date on his vaccines.
Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. The adoption center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information on Jack and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com
A disaster averted, the goose was able to fly off, a bit stressed and tired from its efforts, but in good condition.
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