Prince George's County, MD - Today isn't just any ordinary Saturday - it's Cassie's Day!! What does that mean, you ask? Well, it's pretty simple and very exciting! Today we are celebrating Cassie, A418105, a 3 year old female American bulldog. If Cassie receives an approved application today (4/4/15), an anonymous donor has offered to pay $25 towards the cost of her spay surgery! From Cassie: Shelter Staff named me Cassie, and I am an unaltered female, white American Bulldog mix. The shelter staff think I am about 3-years-old, and I weigh approximately 44 pounds. I have been at the shelter since Jan 17, 2015. Shelter Staff made the following comments about this animal: Cassie is a beautiful 3year-old white American Bulldog. Cassie craves affection. This loving and lovable dog would be a wonderful addition to any family. This stray is a staff favorite and deserves a new forever home, and human best friend.
For more information about Cassie, call: Prince George's County Animal Management Division at (301) 780-7200 Ask for information about animal ID number A418105
Please help us spread the word TODAY and let's give Cassie the best reason to celebrate - a new home of her own!
There are many different species of plants called “lily”: Easter lily, day lily, Asiatic lily, tiger lily, peace lily, calla lily, and lily of the valley, among others. And though they may be beautiful to look at, a cat could die of kidney failure if he should eat any part of these toxic species and not receive treatment immediately. In fact, as little as two leaves can make your cat sick, and if left untreated, can become fatal in as little as three days.
Things to watch out for:
Drooling Vomiting (pieces of plant in the vomitus) Loss of appetite Increased urination, followed by lack of urination after 1 to 2 days Dehydration
When determining if a lily plant you want or have is toxic, always look at the scientific name of the plant. The scientific name is a two-part name: the “first name,” which is capitalized, is the genus; the “second name” is the species, and it is not capitalized. You may see additional names following the first and second; these are subdivisions of the species and are not important for determining toxicity. The second name is sometimes abbreviated sp. or spp. This means that the actual species has not been identified. Sometimes the first name is abbreviated, usually with just the first letter of the name. This is usually done when there is a list of several species from the same genus.
The lily plants of greatest concern are any from the genus Lilium (Lilium sp.), which includes Easter lilies, tiger lilies, and Asiatic lilies, and any from the genus Hemerocallis (Hemerocallis sp.), which includes day lilies.
If your cat has recently eaten a lily and has not vomited, call your veterinarian to see if you should induce vomiting before bringing her to an animal hospital. Call the nearest animal hospital or the Pet Poison Helpline at 1-855-213-6680. The sooner she gets treatment, the better her chances are for survival. And if you can, bring a piece of the lily plant to the hospital.
Finding a chewed-on lily plant or pieces of plant in the vomit allows for a definitive diagnosis. Because the toxic principle in lilies attacks the kidneys, blood and urine tests will be taken to evaluate kidney function. If your cat has only recently ingested the plant material and has still not vomited, your veterinarian will try to induce vomiting. Activated charcoal will be given orally to absorb any toxin that might remain in the gut. The key to survival is high volumes of fluids given intravenously (IV) to try and prevent dehydration and the kidneys shutting down. The fluids will be given for 1 to 2 days, while monitoring your cat's kidneys as well as urine output. Lack of urine production is a sign that the treatment was unsuccessful.
Calla or arum lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) and peace lilies (Spathiphyllum sp.) contain crystals that are extremely irritating to the mouth and digestive tract, causing drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea; however, they do not affect the kidneys.
Lily of the valley (Convalaria majalis) affects the heart, causing irregular heartbeat and low blood pressure, and can progress to seizures or coma.
If treatment is successful, there are no reported long-term consequences. Monitor your cat for changes in his urination habits, especially frequency of urination.
If at all possible, do not have lilies in your house, not even as cut flowers. If you do have lilies in the house, make sure your cat cannot reach them and inform everyone in your household of the dangers lilies pose to the cat.
Cats are less likely to chew on lilies in your yard, especially if there are more appealing things to chew on, like grass and catnip; however, it is best not to have any lilies in your yard.
Cephalopods, the class of mollusks which scientists classify octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and nautiluses, can change color faster than a chameleon. They can also change texture and body shape, and, and if those camouflage techniques don't work, they can still "disappear" in a cloud of ink, which they use as a smoke-screen or decoy. Cephalopods are also fascinating because they have three hearts that pump blue blood, they're jet powered, and they're found in all oceans of the world, from the tropics to the poles, the intertidal to the abyss. Cephalopods have inspired legends and stories throughout history and are thought to be the most intelligent of invertebrates. Some can squeeze through the tiniest of cracks. They have eyes and other senses that rival those of humans. Usually, hobbyists interested in keeping a pet cephalopod should stick with Octopus or Cuttlefish - Squid don't survive well in aquaria) should first consider buying one at their local aquarium store. Even if they don't regularly stock cephalopods, most good saltwater shops can special order an octopus (and in rare cases, a cuttlefish) if it is requested. The main advantage one gains by going through a pet store is in cost—and it's a big difference. Because pet stores buy through distributors and in bulk quantities, a cephalopod at the local shop will cost nearly half of what it would to get through the mail: overnight shipping is expensive and saltwater is heavy; not to mention if the shipment has to cross a national border and become mired in red-tape permits and government bureaucrats that think cuttlefish are fish and octopuses are not because the word fish is not part of their name. Although some retailers will require a deposit to cover their risk, another advantage to the consumer lies in the fact that you normally get to examine the animal and ask the shop owners and caretakers questions about it before you make it your pet. Here's The Caveat: Most shop owners lack specific knowledge about cephalopods, their care requirements, and species information. The online shops and mail-order houses are usually no better about it. In fact, most of what the industry knows about cephs is from trial-and-error and long-standing rumors—rumors that don't favor our soft friends. Many will slap the omnipresent O. vulgaris or O. joubini tag on their animal and sell it as such, regardless of where it came from or what it actually is. The animal you receive could be a baby with the potential to grow very large, or it could be a full grown adult of a small species that may have only weeks left in it's natural lifespan. Most octopuses in the aquarium trade are in the small to medium size range as adults—rarely larger than a grapefruit. Both scientists and hobbyists alike find frustration in finding transportation for their cephalopods, and international orders will need to address permits to cross national borders. In addition to costing more than many marine fish and invertebrates, none of the cephalopod family tolerate shipping stresses well, and there's always the chance of inking during shipment. Most other type of cargo has higher priority than live fish and invertebrates, and some of the species listed below are only available in certain seasons. Also, the prices below do not include shipping costs—which can be over $50 for the smallest specimens and thousands for the largest. Things to think about before you buy a cephalopod: 1. Home aquarists and scientists agree- cephalopods can be really hard to keep alive in a tank. They require a very clean, stable seawater system, escape proof lids, and they are picky eaters. Keeping one can be expensive, and feeding one can be expensive. 2. While some countries have strict collecting laws, many tropical animals are collected from the wild using irresponsible and illegal methods such as poaching and/or “cyanide fishing”. Cyanide fishing involves squirting cyanide into the reef and breaking coral to dig out the poisoned, stunned animals. It kills coral, other invertebrates, and fish. Ask your aquarium shop for tank-raised animals. 3. It might be deadly. Blue-ringed octopuses are deadly. There is no anti-venom for their bite. Other octopuses are so poorly known that we don’t even know how dangerous they might be. Relatives of Abdopus aculeatus have a poison in their bodies that’s similar to TTX, the poison in blue-ring venom (Robertson et al. 2004 Toxicon 44: 765). Striking animals like “Wunderpus” and the “Mimic” might be highly venomous. It appears that the skin of the "Flamboyant" cuttlefish is toxic. You don’t want to be the one who finds out. 4. It might be rare, so taking a wild animal might put those cephalopod populations at risk. 5. It might try to crawl out. Octopuses are well-known for their abilities to escape aquaria. Intertidal species are notoriously hard to keep in a tank. If it goes walkabout when you’re not looking, then you will find a dead octopus on the floor the next morning, or behind the couch in two years. 6. It might eat your other pets. Crabs, clams and sometimes snails are not safe from the voracious appetite of a cephalopod. Often fish will either eat your cephalopod or be eaten by your cephalopods. 7. They don’t live very long, most species only about a year. By the time you get your tropical cephalopod, it is an adult near the end of its live span. You’ll be lucky to keep it alive for a few months
Jackson, the Golden Retriever, sits patiently outside a busy Target store waiting for his owner to return. Adopted from an animal shelter less than a month ago, the 3-year old Retriever has been training every day. He visits local high-traffic locations to practice ignoring distractions while his owner hides just out of sight and keeps an eye on him. People walk by and pat him, but he doesn't move…and surely is not going to leave with anyone.
