Saturday, February 8, 2014

Look out Dawn Fraser! Australia has a new swimming champ...

Coco is a senior lady, but swimming provides gentle exercise and relief from the heat. Its also a very good excuse to go somewhere beautiful (i.e. the beach) and have an amazing picnic.


Summer is beginning to end, at least for our Aussie readers. If you haven't yet made the most of the heat your dog will never forgive you if you don't hop to it and plan some canine-centric activities.

On the weekend we had the pleasure of going swimming with Coco, a 1.9kg mini poodle whose skills in the water belie her size. 

Timing is important the tide can make all the difference.
They might be tiny waves, but for tiny dogs they're huge (thank you Merryn for this awesome action pic).
And its not like the dogs have all the fun. Its just nice to get outside, sit under a tree, eat a peanut butter, mushroom and lettuce sandwich (humans, not dogs) and enjoy a cuppa with some good friends.

Coco enjoys drying off after her huge effort in the water.
If you asked your dog, they'd probably tell you that weekends should be every day of the week.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Q&A with veterinary imaging specialist

Dr Milne cuddles a patient.
Dr Marjorie Milne is a lecturer in Diagnostic Imaging at the University of Melbourne Veterinary Hospital. She's heading to Sydney later this month to talk at the CVE's Emergency Conference, and was happy to answer a few questions about imaging in emergencies, and keeping current in her field.

How do imaging and emergency medicine go together?

Imaging in emergency situations can be challenging for vets, with time pressures, sometimes insufficient to no additional staff to help, and animals that are often unstable and pose problems with respect to positioning and sedation for imaging.  I really enjoy teaching about the practical adaptation of imaging principles to meet these challenges, and training vets in new imaging techniques.

Imaging can be extremely challenging in these situations. 
How do you keep up to date with all of the develpments in imaging?

Working at the university, training residents and collaborating with other specialists at work and around the world keeps me on my toes!  We have regular rounds, journal club, we attend and present at conferences.  We undertake research and collaborate on research projects with others. Providing education is a great motivator to stay ahead of the game when it comes to knowledge in your field.

Can you share a tip about imaging in emergency situations?

Don't forget about horizontal beam radiography to help x-ray sick patients that can't lie on their side!



What do you do to relax?


Gardening and walking my Ridgeback (Attika) in the park.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Speaking up for greyhounds


A happy greyhound goes for a walk on the beach.
Greyhounds get a pretty raw deal. Today, greyhound and animal welfare groups are getting together in the Sydney CBD to rally in support of these dogs at the Gone Are the Dogs Rally. Below is an excerpt from Dr Rosemary Elliot's speech explaining why Sentient, the Veterinary Institute for Animal Ethics, is opposed to greyhound racing.
 
Sentient opposes the greyhound racing industry on both ethical and welfare grounds. This industry is about gaming; it is a non-essential use of animals for entertainment that exploits the natural behaviour of dogs, whose worth is based entirely on their speed, and hence, their ability to generate profit. An inevitable outcome is the accepted industry view of these dogs as disposable, rather than as sentient beings with inherent worth, deserving of lifelong guardianship. From this arise the multiple and widespread welfare problems endemic to greyhound racing.
 
Firstly, this industry is a major contributor to the problem of dog overpopulation, through its reckless overbreeding and callous disposal of countless unwanted greyhounds. Shamefully, these dogs are referred to within the industry as ‘wastage’. This is usually dealt with by killing young, healthy dogs. Such is the fate of approximately 17,000 greyhounds annually, and not all are disposed of humanely.  Very few are rehomed.

Increasingly, a new method of greyhound disposal is live export for racing purposes, currently to China, Vietnam and South Korea. This is despite the welfare risks of long distance transport, and the lack of established animal welfare legislation, industry regulation, or adoption programs in the importing countries. These new industries are renowned for harsh conditions and high killing rates of dogs. With no tracing system in place, a further risk is that unwanted greyhounds could enter the dog meat trade.  

During their time in the industry, many greyhounds are exposed to the treatment faced by factory-farmed animals. Most pups are bred in intensive, puppy mill conditions. Racing greyhounds spend up to 20 hours a day confined in small crates or enclosures. They are typically denied environmental enrichment or significant human interaction. Being raised under such regimented conditions, dogs are not introduced to new situations during the crucial puppy socialisation period. Along with a lack of basic training, this predisposes them to a range of behaviour problems, reducing their suitability for rehoming.

Heat stress is an ongoing risk during both transport to race tracks, and being raced in high ambient temperatures. Training methods are not standardised and have been described in a government-funded report as ‘flawed or unacceptable’. The unacceptably high injury and death rates for greyhounds during racing and training are not consistently reported. Furthermore, the administration of banned or illegal substances to racing greyhounds continues to be widespread. These include anabolic steroids, cocaine and amphetamines. The use of any of these substances can cause suffering and potential death of dogs.

All these welfare issues are maintained by the autonomy and self-regulation currently granted to the greyhound racing industry. While the industry continues, it must be subjected to independent scrutiny and government regulation.

Sentient also proposes the implementation and enforcement of mandatory industry standards. These must include the following: compulsory registration and microchipping of all greyhounds, with this information stored on a national database to enable lifetime tracking; breeding programmes to reduce the number of pups born; more frequent spot tests of banned substances; transparent reporting of injuries, deaths, euthanasia and rehoming; and industry-supported rehoming of all healthy greyhounds of sound temperament.

We must acknowledge, however, that this industry’s agenda makes it unlikely that regulations will ever be sufficient to guarantee acceptable welfare standards. 

As a veterinary-driven organisation, Sentient advocates for an end to the greyhound racing industry. We call for an immediate moratorium on the live export of greyhounds for racing or breeding, to be supported by a legislative ban.  And whilst we welcome any significant improvements to the welfare of racing greyhounds, Sentient will continue to lobby for this industry to ultimately be banned in all states and territories of Australia.

The Gone Are the Dogs Rally in Sydney coincides with the public hearing set down for the current NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Greyhound Racing. Visit the website, or head down to Martin Place amphitheatre (between Pitt & Castlereagh streets) from 8-10am.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Euthanasia and waste

Photographer Shannon Johnstone with one of her subjects.
Here at SAT science dominates, but artists provide a very different viewpoint and may see things in a new light. Photographer Shannon Johnstone took on a remarkable project photographing death-row dogs at a landfill site to draw attention to the surplus of unwanted dogs that society doesn't see, and their ultimate fate. No dogs were harmed in the process, and in fact most enjoyed the entire experience (some took exception to the car ride). You can read Johnstone's thoughtful artistic statement here.

The images are beautiful but I must admit at first I found the terms of the project confronting at first. It is too easy to look away or deny the plight of these animals, and this project has offered hope. You can view the photos here.

Your project brings attention to two topics many people prefer not to think about - environmental degradation and the euthanasia of "surplus" animals. It’s a unique angle. How did you come up with this?


About four years ago, the former Director of Environmental Services contacted me about the landfill site being turned into a public park and suggested that it would be an excellent backdrop to photograph the animals. We went there together and he showed me around, and it was perfect! However, our meeting left me wondering why Environmental Services encompassed both the animal shelter and waste services.

After learning that animals are considered property under the law, and the government provides somewhere for us to bring our unwanted property, it occurred to me that this government structure reflected a societal value that not many people were aware of. I wanted to shed light on that.

In addition, I learned that in my particular county, the animal carcasses are disposed of in the landfill. This left me with questions about what happens to the euthanasia drug as the bodies breakdown? Is there a limit to how many lethally injected animals can be in one area? (The is one statute that says bodies have to be buried 3-feet, but I have not found any others). In NC, we euthanize approximately 250,000 animals every year. How many of those bodies are in our landfills? 

In addition, we spend $30 million dollars annually on housing, euthanizing, and disposing of these unwanted animals (not including the costs of animal control). Isn’t there a more economical solution such as spaying and neutering? How long can our current practices continue? I don’t have the answers to any of these questions yet, but I am still working on it.

Our current practices when it comes to dealing with animal overpopulation (i.e. no to regulations on breeding, spaying or neutering, but yes to euthanizing when the animal is no longer wanted) is not sustainable. As I dig further into these issues, I hope to find a more economical, ethical, and environmentally friendly solution to animal overpopulation, such as mandatory spaying and neutering.

How have people responded to the work so far?


The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive, and people have really rallied around this work. I was not expecting that. So many people from all over the country have wanted to get involved and adopt these dogs. People have been writing to me to asking how I can ship them a particular dog. I am thrilled that people are paying attention, staying positive, and wanting to get involved.

But I also want to tell them “Hey, here is a secret. There is nothing special about these dogs. If you want your very own Landfill Dogs, all you have to do is walk into your county shelter and ask for the dog who has been there the longest. They will be just as spectacular.”  

Shelter animals everywhere are absolutely wonderful. We have four dogs and two cats, and I can honestly say that the only difference between my pets and the ones in the shelter is that no one has claimed the ones in the shelter.

Most but not all animals photographed have been re-homed. One of the big stressors of being a veterinarian, technician or shelter worker is meeting animals destined for death row. In a sense you've had to do this through your project. Can you tell us a bit about this experience?


Before I started Landfill Dogs, I worked on another project “Breeding Ignorance” which looked at the euthanasias of the cats and dogs in our county shelters. I photographed the entire process of lethal injection for these animals, and it was very difficult. I am in awe of the compassion, strength, and dedication of shelter workers who do this on a daily and/or weekly basis. They are charged with cleaning up society’s mess with animal overpopulation and they are committed to letting these animals die with dignity.

With “Breeding Ignorance”, I thought if people could just see the entire process they would want to spay/neuter, and thank our shelter workers. But “Breeding Ignorance” did not have that effect. In fact, several times the photographs were taken out of context and used to accuse shelters of abuse.
I realized I needed a new visual approach. I wanted to work with this same idea, but I realized I needed to come about it from a positive angle. So I decided to photograph the dogs alive, and enjoying life. Not only does this make the dog more appealing, but it also gives the viewer a chance to change the course of this dog’s life before it is too late. Even if the viewer can’t adopt the dog, they can share his/her picture, and help in process of finding them a home.

I really like the interactive aspect of this project. It gets people involved in a positive way, and also hopefully gets them talking and asking questions, like “why photograph them on a landfill site? (i.e. well, animals are property under the law, and when you don’t want your property anymore, the government provides you somewhere to bring it. Many animal shelters are on actual landfill sites because it typically falls under the same division.)”

In developing Landfill Dogs, I chose to focus on the dogs who had been in the shelter the longest, who were the most overlooked, and also the most at risk for euthanasia. I never know what the outcome of the dog will be, and we never know if he/she will be euthanized. However, the thing I comfort myself with, if nothing else, at least they had one good long walk with some treats, love, and a few new sites and sounds.

A dog gets a cuddle in the car.
You mention that each dog involved gets around two hours of attention, treats and walks. How do they generally react?


Almost all the dogs love it. Some hate the car (my car has been puked in several times), and I have had one dog who did not like the path up to the top of the landfill. (We started walking up there, and he just turned around and pulled me back down the hill, so we hung around the parking lot instead.)
But every other dog has seemed to love it. I love watching them roll in the grass, run, and pounce play. My favourite thing is when the dog gets to the top of the hill, and just wants to sit there and look with the wind blowing in his/her fur. I just sit there with them, and it is really peaceful. It is beautiful place, and you can see for miles. Incidentally, Landfill Park is the second highest point in the county. I guess that is kind of sad that our trash is the second highest point in the county.


Photographer Shannon Johnstone takes a close up.
How has this project altered you as a person?


One of the biggest things that has changed for me is the assumptions I had regarding pit bulls. I was not planning on focusing on any particular breeds. Unfortunately, in my county shelter, pits and pit mixes are the dogs that no one seems to want. Before starting this project, I bought into the negative stereotypes about pitbulls. I thought they were unpredictable, untrustworthy, and scary. 

However, what I have found is that pits are some of the most bouncy, snuggly, obedient, and loving dogs around. The next time we have an opening for a dog (we have four dogs and two cats right now), we are going to consider a pit or pit mix. This realization reminded me to stay open and not too fixed in what I think I know.

In addition, one thing I always keep in the back of my mind since I started this work is that time is not infinite—not for these dogs, not for any of us. None of us know how long we have, so it is important to pay attention and enjoy the light that we have.

Thank you so much for your time Shannon. And thank you also to the wonderful Jan Allen, of AMRRIC, for passing on the link in the first place.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The facts about crocodile attacks

A warning you want to take very seriously indeed. This photo was taken in a popular dog walking spot just out of Darwin.
Here at SAT we have a healthy respect for crocodiles. Nope, they're not your typical companion animal, but they're a part of life in Northern Australia.

They are magnificent creatures, but they're also designed to eat flesh and they are formidable predators of animals and - if we're in the way - humans. The attacks are devastating, but like any type of animal attack the risks can be blown out of proportion (they may equally be ignored by some). Risk assessment should be based on data, but so often there isn't any available.

Australian scientists Drs Adam and Erin Britton, partners with croc consultancy Big Gecko, zoologist and photographer Brandon Sideleau, and Professor Andrew Campbell, Director of the Research School for the Environment and Livelihoods at Charles Darwin University, put their heads together to produce CrocBITE, a worldwide database of crocodilian attacks.

So far it contains records of 2100 incidents recorded across 16 species, occuring in 50 countries over the last 150 years. The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) leads the charge, with over 500 recorded attacks (although the Nile crocodile is responsibile for a greater number of recorded fatalities).

The most recent heartbreaking incident of course is the fatal attack of a young boy and his friend (non-fatally injured) on Australia day. 

Despite the fact that we have the highest river densities of saltwater crocodiles in the world, we've seen around 100 attacks since 1971 - of which just over one quarter were fatal (when broken down, the average is around 2.3 attacks per year). 

The number of crocodile attacks has increased in the last decade, but the fatality rate decreased from 57% (1974-83) to 29% (2004-13). This may reflect the fact that there are fewer VERY large crocodiles, and more "moderately sized" (3m or under) involved in attacks - because larger crocs are culled.

Humans kill 250-300 wild crocodiles around Darwin each year - yet as Britton and Campbell point out, culling doesn't change the fact that it is dangerous to swim in crocodile habitat.

Crocs aren't always visible like this one.
A friend's property backs onto the Finis River. There is a 3+ metre salty in here. Take my word for it. I wasn't going to encourage it to pose.

The database provides detailed information on the location of the attack (including a rating of the precision of that location), the age and gender of the victim and their activity (fishing, swimming etc), whether the attack was witnessed, the species of croc involved, the reported size and the outcome. The certainty with which this information is known is rated. CrocBITE is based on the principle of citizen science, meaning that anyone can apply to become a contributor (though all data is of course checked). Its great to see a scientific approach to a subject that is often approached with hysteria.


Monday, February 3, 2014

Guinea pig pregnancy


This is a conscious dorso-ventral radiograph of a guinea pig sow, heavily pregnant with two foetuses. To the untrained eye, radiographs or x-rays can be challenging to interpret. So I've labelled the foetal skulls in the image below - you can even spot their little incisors.
A is the most easily visible skull, from which you can trace the spine coursing toward the right of the image. B marks the other foetus - again fully calficied, with the spine coursing to the left of the picture. Guinea pig skeletons are visible on radiographs from about 6 weeks into gestation.
This pregnancy is entirely my fault (well, there were other key players as one might imagine). When my boar Radike Samo passed away I needed a companion for his cohabitant and lifelong friend, Randy, who fretted so much he stopped eating. I made some contacts and found someone with a young boar JUST THE RIGHT AGE. However, I was in a hurry. I had double parked. I took this well meaning person's word for it, raced home, introduced the new boar to Randy and then looked downstairs. The "boar" had female genitalia. Or, in the words of Paul Anka, performed by Tom Jones: "She's a lady...whoa whoa whoa she's a lay-deh!..."

As one well-worn guinea pig website attests, guinea pigs don't change sex spontaneously. They are mis-sexed. Which admittedly is easily done. (The best resource on sexing GPs is here). Palpating for a guinea pig penis is a task best not attempted when one is double parked in peak hour with the thought of a boar at home fretting to death. Nor should it be left to anyone selling you a guinea pig for cashola. At the end of the day, if you ask for a boy, they're gonna give you a boy, right? 

Despite his name, Randy showed little interest. I considered desexing him but as he is quite old the anaesthetic risk was not insigificant. And speying female guinea pigs brings its own risks. So pregnancy was inevitable.

This week, Cornflake - a very flighty, petite lady, has been waddling around looking like she swallowed a discus. Since there is no sort of pee-on-a-stick equivalent for animals, I decided to take a radiograph.

(My tip for taking conscious radiographs of a guinea pig - just pop them in a nice small cardboard box for a moment and they tend to sit still for the few seconds it takes).

Flash, a former guinea pig of mine, demonstrates the box technique for radiographing guinea pigs. This position is very helpful for ruling out nephroliths, uroliths and for counting foetuses in gravid sows.

Cornflake is a very flighty lady and not keen on being handled, so I've kept that down to a minimum. Gestation is supposed to range from 59-72 days depending on the size of the litter (larger litters are usually born earlier in the piece).

There are plenty of complications that can occur including pregnancy toxaemia, foetal resorption, premature birth, uterine haemorrhage, dystocia, stillbirth, uterine or vaginal prolapse, post-partum haemorrhage, mis-mothering, mastitis, agalactia and eclampsia to name but a few. Even well-meaning guinea pig mums can maul their bubs if they try to pull them out when they get stuck.

So its something of a nail-biting time here at SAT headquarters. Thankfully we're all stocked on orchard grass and vegies. Exciting times!