• On Saturday July 29, from 11-3 Bark in the Park will be held at the Community Center Park located at Carmen &Burnley in Camarillo. It will benefit Daisy Lu Ranch Ventura County’s only senior dog sanctuary. (www.daisyluranch.org).
Vendors, food and fun. Suggested donation $25.00.
Aiden Youngerman, a compassionate and driven 7th grader from Cape Charter School, is on a mission to make a heartwarming difference in the lives of senior dogs with his upcoming fundraiser.
Daisy Lu Ranch stands as a sanctuary for elderly canines who often face challenges finding new homes due to their age. The ranch offers a safe and loving environment where these senior dogs can be fostered or adopted without any financial burden on prospective pet parents. However, with the rising costs of veterinary care and maintaining the ranch, resources have become scarce, making it increasingly difficult to provide the senior dogs with the medical attention and care they deserve.
The funds raised during the event will be allocated to cover the medical expenses of the senior dogs at Daisy Lu Ranch, ensuring they receive the necessary treatments and medications. Moreover, a portion of the funds will be dedicated to upgrading the ranch’s facilities, including new fencing and other amenities to enhance the dogs’ living conditions.
•The dog days of summer
By the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine
There are a number of seasonal hazards our pets need to navigate during the dog days of summer, from thunderstorms and extreme heat to pesky parasites. Assistant Professor Kristi Flynn with the College of Veterinary Medicine discusses what pet owners should be on the lookout for the rest of the summer to keep their pets happy and healthy.
Dr. Flynn: Pet owners can prevent harm to their pets by keeping a few basics in mind. While it is fun to have our dogs with us, stop to consider if the experience will be appreciated by your pet before heading out to spend time with family and friends this summer. If your pet is not comfortable around loud noises or lots of new animals or people, then bringing them to a street fair or brewery is not likely a good fit for them — and that’s okay! If you do bring your pet, be sure to plan ahead and have plenty of water for them.
Early mornings or dusk are usually better times to take dogs out when midday is hot. Dogs do not cool as efficiently via evaporation as people do, so hot and humid conditions can become dangerous quickly. Be especially careful with brachycephalic breeds like Bulldogs, Pugs and Boston Terriers. Surfaces can become hot enough to burn paw pads. One tip is to place your own palm on the pavement to determine if it is too hot for paws.
Before taking your dog for a jog, determine if it is safe to do so. That is up to the human. If your dog’s tongue is beginning to widen out at the end when panting, they are getting too warm and you should seek a comfortable area to allow them to cool off.
Remember, fear is an emotion, not a behavior. Providing your dog with support and comfort when they’re experiencing fear will not make them more afraid in the future, but acting cold and ignoring them certainly can. Find a quiet place in the house, play music and reach out to your veterinarian to see if medication could help your pet feel more comfortable during storms.
Always monitor your pet to make sure they’re not drinking too much lake water or swimming past when they are getting tired. If you want to get your dog comfortable with water, don’t push them and let your pet determine what they are comfortable with. Blue green algae is also something to be aware of, as this toxin is quickly lethal for pets who ingest it — if the water looks suspicious at all, avoid it.
When the air quality is concerning, try to limit time outdoors for your dogs as you would for yourself. Also, as dogs are out more in warmer months, there is also an increased risk of a dog getting away and being lost or injured. Remember, leash = love.
• Dog owners in the French town of Béziers will be required to carry their pet’s “genetic passport” in a trial scheme to reduce dog excrement on the streets.
Local mayor Robert Ménard, a former journalist and co-founder of Reporters Sans Frontières, says inhabitants and visitors are fed up with faeces on the town’s pavements. He plans to introduce a two-year experiment to trace and fine those who fail to clear up after their pets.
Under the planned scheme, dog owners will be required to take their pets to a vet or ask one of the town’s veterinary specialists for a free saliva sample, which will be genetically tested and a document issued. Those subsequently stopped without their dog’s genetic passport will be fined.
Ménard first proposed collecting DNA from the estimated 1,500 dogs in Béziers in 2016 but his request was rejected by the local administrative court as an attack on personal freedom.
He said the new genetic passport measure was submitted to the local prefecture earlier this year and no objections to its implementation were raised this time.
Ménard told French radio: “I can’t take any more of this [dog] mess. The state has said nothing against this scheme this time and thinks the same thing. This has to be done and not just in Béziers … We need to penalise people so that they behave properly.
Ménard added: “There will be a certain lenience for those who are not from Béziers. If they pick up their dog dirt we won’t bother them. We’re not xenophobes. Foreigners aren’t the problem, it’s the locals who are not cleaning up.”
In 2015 it was reported in the UK that Flintshire County council in north Wales was considering using a DNA database to clamp down on dog mess, while the Isle of Wight and Hyndburn in Lancashire have also discussed using genetic testing.
