The Bark decided to do some digging into the ubiquitous rawhide product our dogs all know and love and found some unnerving realities about the processes/effects of production/consumption. The following a handy bulletpointed distillation of the article

- “If rawhide manufacturers were held to the same standards as drug makers, they’d be forced to add an equally long list of warnings to their labels: May cause stomach torsion, choking, vomiting, diarrhea, salmonella poisoning and exposure to various chemical residues.”

- “Producing rawhide begins with the splitting of an animal hide, usually from cattle. The top grain is generally tanned and made into leather products, while the inner portion, in its “raw” state, goes to the dogs. Removing the hair from hides often involves a highly toxic recipe: sodium sulphide liming. A standard practice is to procure rawhide in the “split lime state” as by-products from tanneries. In the post-tannery stage, hides are washed and whitened using a solution of hydrogen peroxide. And that’s just one step…Other poisonous residues that may show up in rawhide include arsenic and formaldehyde”

- “Even dog skin is a possibility. An ongoing investigation of the fur trade by Humane Society International, an arm of the HSUS, resulted in this information, as listed on their website: “In a particularly grisly twist, the skins of brutally slaughtered dogs in Thailand are mixed with other bits of skin to produce rawhide chew toys for pet dogs.”

- “Rawhide is a by-product of the CAFO—or concentrated animal feeding operation, the bucolic term for today’s industrial farm.” There is a “major problem with various drugs… antibiotics, arsenicals and hormones [which are] used to boost production” in hogs/beef in that their residue inevitably end up in domesticated dogs.

- don’t buy “rawhide. Instead, [buy] free-range chews, bully sticks, and organic raw bones”

Oregon couple JB, Jenna and their dog Scooby will bike over a thousand miles down the pacific coast to raise money for the San Francisco SPCA. You can follow them on their journey here and feel free to ride along for 1 mile or even a hundred. Apparently there is also a party:

Pedal for paws has joined forces with the SPCA and will host an event at the San Francisco SPCA on December 23rd 2009. Bike enthusiasts and pet lovers can come meet JB and Jennifer and ride with them to the local SPCA, or proceed directly to the event. JB and Jennifer will stop in, take some time getting licked on the face by the dogs and cats, They are asking people to, bring some pet food, and supplies and hopefully inspire people donate or adopt a new lifelong friend.

Check out the site here and here

Here is a link to the original forum containing summaries for the above shots.

Along with H3N8, it seems that Dogs are also susceptible to H1N1. Apparently, two cases have been reported in China and acording to WCBSTV:

In the vast majority of cases the symptoms are mild and the dogs get over it in a week or two, but in some cases they develop pneumonia and that can be fatal.
The vaccine involves two shots taken three weeks apart. It helps dogs recover faster but is not a cure and Dr. Bessler said it is not necessary for most dogs.
The vaccine could reduce the already low 5 percent mortality rate. Dogs boarded in large groups, or those spending long hours every day in doggie daycare, could benefit from it.

Sad story about a five year old German Shepord Seeing guide dog who was injured on an escalator, requiring the amputation of two pads on the right hind foot.