Researchers Believe That They Have Found a Link Between a Lower Risk of Asthma and Children’s Early Exposure to Pets

Researchers believe that they have found a link between a lower risk of asthma and children’s early exposure to pets. The hypothesis is that kids in animal environments breathe air that contains more bacterial fragments…and that can be a good thing, as it may actually lower their risk of asthma. Parents in busy animal-and-baby households understand that it’s nearly impossible to keep everything clean all of the time and the study suggests that this may be beneficial for the baby’s future health.

We already know that dog ownership comes with some important health benefits. Dogs help reduce stress and stave off depression. They even lower the risk of heart disease in their owners since generally dog owners lead a more active and social lifestyle.

More than 230 million people worldwide have asthma, a chronic inflammatory disease whose causes are unclear. Both genetics and external allergens are suspected to play a role. In the United States, 8.5% of children have asthma.

For this new research, Swedish scientists studied more than one million

children, combing through individual records and comparing people’s histories of family dog ownership against diagnosis of childhood asthma. Access to this data was possible because Sweden tracks medical records of all of its citizens through unique ID numbers, and the country also requires everyone to register dog ownership. Data analyzed for the study covered a time period from January 2007 through September 2012. The results of the research were published in the journal JAMA on November 2.

Among the children in the study, those who had been exposed to dogs during the first year of their life were 13% less likely to have asthma by age 6, compared to kids who had no exposure. The research also showed that school-aged kids who were exposed to farm animals in their first year of life were 52% less likely to have developed asthma by age 6 than those with no exposure. Among the preschool set of younger children, kids exposed to farm animals in their first year had 31% lower incidents of asthma between 1-5 years old compared to non-exposed toddlers.

Study author Tove Fall is an associate professor at Uppsala University in Sweden. Dr. Fall told Live Science that the lower asthma rate among children exposed to both dogs and farm animals might be due to a single factor, but is more likely a combination of factors related to a dog owners’ lifestyle and attitudes such as the kids “early exposure to household dirt and pet dust, time spent outdoors or being physically active.”

One positive takeaway message from the study is that parents fearful of childhood asthma don’t need to worry about keeping their dog or getting a puppy when they’re expecting a baby. This conclusion falls right in line with other previous hygiene studies that say being exposed to bacteria early in life can be critical for shaping a healthy and strong immune system.

Beginning Today, the FBI Will Initiate a New Program Targeting Animal Abusers

Beginning today, the FBI will initiate a new program targeting animal abusers.  Cruelty cases will be categorized and tracked, with the aim of cracking down on abusers.

Back in 2014, we told you about the FBI’s plan to make it harder for animal abusers to continue committing such crimes with minimal punishment.  Animal abuse has previously been considered a lesser crime, but now it will be a Group A felony with its own category, the same way homicide and arson are listed.

“It will help get better sentences, sway juries and make for better plea bargains,” said Madeline Bernstein, president and CEO of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles and a former New York prosecutor.

The FBI will now be better able to keep statistics on where cruelty is occurring, how frequently, and if incidents are on the rise.  Youthful offenders will be identified to help them curb their behavior.

The FBI says law enforcement agencies will have to make reports of incidents under four categories:  simple or gross neglect; intentional abuse and torture; organized abuse, including dogfighting and cockfighting; and animal sexual abuse.“

The immediate benefit is it will be in front of law enforcement every month when they have to do their crime reports,” said John Thompson, interim executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association who helped establish the new animal cruelty category. “That’s something we have never seen.

”Crimes will be tracked nationwide, and will hopefully ensure tougher sentences for abusers.“

Regardless of whether [or not] people care about how animals are treated, people — like legislators and judges — care about humans, and they can’t deny the data,” said Natasha Dolezal, director of the animal law program in the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Police agencies must now report all incidents and arrests.  The FBI will levy federal charges according to the offense – anything from fines to lengthy stays in prison.

If You Thought ‘Snakes on a Plane’ Was Bad: Thief Caught on Surveillance Video in Pet Store Putting Python Snake in His Pants

Portland, Oregon - Police in Portland are investigating an unusual theft after surveillance video shows a man at a pet shop stick a 2-foot python down his pants.

In the video, a man can be seen walking into 'A to Z' Pets on Friday and over to the python's tank.

  The man reaches into the tank and takes out the snake then quickly drops it into his pants.

The man then waddles out of the store.

"He's lucky it wasn't feeding day, feeding days are on Mondays. And they're very hungry," said owner Christin Bjugan. "Anytime anything like this happens, it's very frustrating. We work very hard to make a living and run the business."

Family with a 2-Year-Old Girl, Scarlette, Who is an Amputee, Adopts a 3-Legged Kitten

A three-legged kitten was adopted by a family with a 2-year-old girl, Scarlette, who is also an amputee herself. When they first met, they connected as if they understood each other.

Scarlette is a very brave little girl who has beat a rare form of cancer though her left arm was left amputated. She absolutely adores cats.

“We wanted a little kitten to have her grow up with, so she has something that’s just like her,” Simone Tipton told Love Meow.

They spent half a year looking for a three-legged kitty to join their family and just before Christmas they found her!

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That night, the family saw a story about a little three month old kitten that just had an amputation on the local news, KTLA, and started calling to find out how they could adopt the kitten. When they weren’t getting the info they needed over the phone, they made a trip to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus.

“Scarlette was really excited, she absolutely loves cats. She did notice that Doc had staples on her side and said ‘owies’. I let her know that she had owies just like her, and she placed her hand on her side and just nodded,” Tipton told Love Meow.

That was the moment when they knew this kitten was the one. “She recognizes that the cat has similar struggles as she does.”

The perfect home!

“Doc has adjusted to living here so well, she jumps on everything, despite her limitation. She is extremely snuggly and loves to plop in your lap,” Tipton told Love Meow.

A Cat Was Found with its Paws and Legs Bound in Electrical Tape: Rescued by Santa Clarita Deputies During Their Search of a “Suspicious” Car

Two deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Santa Clarita Station have been credited with rescuing a cat that was found with its paws and legs bound in electrical tape, authorities said Sunday.

The alert deputies discovered the male cat during their search of a “suspicious” car that was parked behind a closed business on Saturday night, according to a post on the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station’s Facebook page.

“The occupants of the vehicle were in possession of narcotics,” the post stated.

When they located the cat in the vehicle, he was “buried upside-down” in his carrier, the post stated.

They were further stunned to discover that the feline’s paws and legs were bound together with electrical tape, sheriff’s officials said.

“The helpless cat could not move and was ‘meowing loudly in discomfort’ as the deputies worked quickly to free him,” the post read.

Animal Control officers responded and removed the cat from the unidentified owner, who faced “additional animal cruelty charges,” authorities said.

The cat’s condition was not immediately known.

A Mountain Lion Has Been Discovered in Southeast Idaho with a Second Set of Teeth Growing Out of its Head

A mountain lion has been discovered in southeast Idaho with a second set of teeth growing out of its head.

The big cat was killed by an unidentified hunter last week in Weston, who then reported the animal's bizarre deformity to the authorities, Idaho State Journal reports.

Idaho conservation officers, who were sent a photograph of the kill, were shocked to find the year-old lion had a separate set of teeth growing out the left side of its forehead.

Experts have not been able to agree on the cause of the unusual mutation.

One theory is that the mountain lion's extra set of teeth may be remnants from a conjoined twin which died in the womb.

Another is that it is a type of tumor called a teratoma which can sometimes grow other body parts such as hair, teeth, bones - even eyes.

Regional wildlife biologist Zach Lockyer told Idaho State Journal the unusual deformity had left experts stumped.

'It's a bizarre situation and a bizarre photo,' he added. 'We may never know why those teeth are there.'

The hunter which killed the mountain lion had been planning to take the rare kill to a taxidermist.

But Idaho Fish and Game's Southeast Regional Office, in Pocatello, are hoping to bring the carcass in for examination.

They are hoping X-rays and analysis may reveal the mystery to why the big cat developed such a fearsome second set of teeth.

  

A mountain lion with a second set of teeth growing out of its head has been discovered in Southeast Idaho

Experts believe that the big cat may have developed the second set of teeth as part of a rare tumor (stock picture of a typical mountain lion)

How to Uncover Your Pet's Secret Pain

Six months ago I injured my back while attempting to train for a half marathon. I pushed through for a couple of months as I fell further and further behind my training buddies, until finally it occurred to me that needing to stop every couple of minutes to punch my fist into my left hip was probably not a normal thing.

As far as everyone in my everyday life knew, I was fine. I was still working and lifting things as usual, perhaps stepping a bit more carefully on uneven footing and pausing to brace myself before coughing. When I didn’t get better after a month of rest I wound up in a physical therapist’s office, where she figured out that my entire left pelvic wing was rotated out of whack. After a lot of therapy, ice, and Advil, I’m back on track.

I think about this a lot when I’m working with senior pets. One of the most common things people say to us when they bring in older pets is, “Oh, he’s just old and slowing down.” When we suggest that perhaps there is a painful condition, such as osteoarthritis, the client often replies, “Oh, he’s fine—he’s not crying.”

I would like to state for the record that for all the times I winced as shooting pain went up and down my spine, each gritting of the teeth and slow roll out of bed in the morning while I worked out the kinks in my pelvis, I never once cried out. The times I have cried out in pain? When I shut my finger in the car door and when I dropped the vacuum on my foot. That is the difference between chronic and acute pain.

To read more on this story, click here: How to Uncover Your Pet's Secret Pain

Some of the Dogs Seized from a Rockville, Maryland, Home on January 1, Are Available for Adoption

More than 60 dogs seized from a Rockville, Maryland, home on Jan. 1 are in legal custody of the Montgomery County Animal Services Division.

Authorities came to the house in the 13000 block of Glen Mill Road for the first time on Dec. 31, following up on a dog bite case. While there, they began to suspect the presence of many animals, but police said the homeowner didn't cooperate with their requests.

They returned to the home on New Year’s Day at about 6:30 p.m. with a warrant and searched the home. Officials removed 66 dogs and took them to the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center in Derwood, Maryland.

Several of the dogs required immediate medical attention. Three of the 66 dogs had to be humanely euthanized because they suffered from severe medical conditions that were likely a source of extreme pain.

The rest of the dogs were evaluated, bathed and groomed. The shelter said some of the dogs are ready for adoption while others, about half of the group, will go to rescue partners or other regional shelters that can support the special needs of the dogs.

Because the case is still under investigation, the shelter has not released information about the homeowner or the environment in which the animals were kept. Investigators have not filed charges to date.

For information about how to adopt the dogs, please visit the Montgomery County Animal Services & Adoption Center. 

Related: Animal Control Officers Seized a Total of 66 Dogsfrom a Home in Rockville, Maryland

                   Kenya is an 8-year-old female Pit Bull available for adoption.