Petiquette: Good Manners for Good Pets

I recently adopted two Chihuahuas. Diva is approximately eight and the other, Suzi, is about one-and-a-half. I was told that she probably spent the better part of her life on the streets never knowing a real family. She has decided to bond with me and has no use for anyone but me, she stares at me constantly watching my every move and when I leave the room even for a minute. When I return she jumps around like I’ve been gone for hours!

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An Owner's Guide to Ferret Health Care

A good diet is the best foundation to any pet’s health care. Ferrets are no exception. As carnivores, ferrets require a high meat protein diet and many veterinarians believe that they benefit from taurine in their diet, just like cats. Therefore a high quality dry ferret or kitten food is an excellent choice. Totally Ferret by PFI, IAMS kitten food, and Hill’s Science diet growth formula, are some of the brands we recommend.

Most grocery store cat foods and some ferret foods are made primarily from corn and soybean meals. Since a ferret has a very short digestive transit time (approximately 3-4 hrs.) the ferret’s stomach and intestines do not have adequate time to break down and absorb the vegetable matter in these lower quality foods and most of the food will pass through undigested.matter in these lower quality foods and most of the food will pass through undigested.

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Teen Who Made National News Last Fall When He Started a Petition to Get His Unique Photo Featured in the Yearbook as His Senior Portrait: Commits Suicide

Upstate New York teen, Draven Rodriguez, a senior at Schenectady High School who proposed to have a yearbook photo of him and his cat against a backdrop of lasers, died on Thursday.

The Times Union reports the cause of death was suicide. He was 17.

Rodriguez made national news last fall when he started a petition to get his unique photo featured in the yearbook as his senior portrait. The petition was a precaution, while the school did not decline the photo just yet.

"This is my pre-emptive strike just in case such a thing were to happen," Rodriguez explained in his petition. "I wanted as many backers as possible before the deadline of September 15th."

However, even after reaching more than 7,000 signatures, Rodriguez was not allowed to use the photo in the yearbook. Instead, Principal Diane Wilkinson, and her Chihuahua Vivienne, joined Rodriguez for a new laser cat yearbook photo.

Buzzfeed says the new photo will appear in the yearbook in order to raise awareness for American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and rescue animals.

Rodriguez's father, Jonathan Stewart, tells the Times Union that his son "made friends wherever he went" and "had friends all over the country."

Rodriguez is survived by Stewart; his mother, Melissa Petersen-Stewart; his 11-year-old sister, Lily Stewart; his biological father, Eric Rodriguez, and the Rodriguez family; among many others.

In a Facebook post from Jan. 29, Rodriguez quoted Reza Zand as saying, "We are all people, and we should help each other out," the Times Union says.

"He had an empathy for the world and for other people that I think is rare in kids his age," Stewart adds. "It was wonderful to see."

Camp Springs, Maryland - Coolridge Animal Hospital: Call us today to schedule your Pets FREE Dental Exam, All Dental Cleanings Are $50.00 Off Until 03/31/2015

Call us today to schedule your pets Free Dental exam, all dental cleanings are $50.00 off til 03/31/2015, and our Purina Dental Diet and treats are 40% off. Your pet will also receive with their dental cleaning a gift bag filled with toothpaste, toothbrush, sample diet treats!

Don't delay, schedule today!

Includes comprehensive physical exam, pre-anesthesia bloodwork, intravenous catheter, supportive fluids, Sevoflurane gas anesthesia, ultrasonic scaling and polishing, day of hospitalization, at home dental care kit .

*Discount available for a limited time only until March 31, 2015.
New patients welcome!

Website: Coolridge Animal Hospital



Coolridge Animal Hospital
6801 Old Branch Ave
Camp Springs, Maryland
(301) 449-1610

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Rescued From the Illegal Exotic Pet Trade, Vish the Sloth Gets a Happy Ending

Vish is a three-month-old sloth who was confiscated by Peruvian authorities when he was found being kept (illegally) as a pet in the city of Tarapoto in the Amazon region of San Martin. Sloths are extremely sensitive wild animals that should never be kept as pets, but the illegal wildlife trade is rife in the area.

Illegal markets act as a conduit for both live and dead animals captured from the forests. Monkeys, coatis and birds are common victims of the exotic pet trade in Peru. Tragically, these babies are often tied up next to the carcasses of their dead family members whose bodies will be sold as “bushmeat.” Many are not even weaned and are too young to survive without their mothers.

To read more on this story, click here: Rescued From the Illegal Exotic Pet Trade, Vish the Sloth Gets a Happy Ending

Pets: The Llama Is In

People who keep llamas as pets will readily offer you any number of reasons: llamas are quiet, they’re gentle and affectionate, they don’t take a lot of work to maintain and, for outdoor animals, they don’t smell bad.

But it’s more than that. Look at a llama and it’ll gaze back sympathetically with those huge, beguiling eyes, ears perked up, looking for all the world like it understands you and really cares about your problems.

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Horse Health

Spring might be the best time of the year, but if we have horses that are prone to developing grass founder, this season may be the beginning of serious problems for some of our horses. Horses that are over the age of 10, easy keepers, overweight or cresty-necked seem especially vulnerable to grass founder and should be the focus of founder prevention.

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Native American Horses

Horses forever changed life on the Great Plains. They allowed tribes to hunt more buffalo than ever before. They tipped the balance of power in favor of mounted warriors. And they became prized as wealth. For Native Americans today, horses endure as an emblem of tradition and a source of pride, pageantry, and healing.

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