May 2015

Renaissance PoodlesThe Newsletter of Poodle Rescue of New England

In this issue: Welcome Note ........................................ page 1 In Memory of Amelia...............................page 7Lulu......................................................... page 1 New Information about Jerky Treats........page 8PRNE/PETCO Connection..................... page 3 Mailbox.....................................................page 10Paws in the Park...................................... page 4 Spring Gallery...........................................page 12Sweet Avril............................................. page 6 Upcoming Events......................................page 13

Welcome Note... by Mahala Beams

Continued on page 2

Now that spring has finally arrived in winter-battered New England, how lovely it is to be able to get out in our yards once again. And how reassuring to see signs of life all around, magnolias in flower, various shoots poking up from the ground, and birds busily collecting materials for their nests.

As I work in my garden, I have a willing helper, Figaro, my miniature poodle. Every time I pull a weed, he tugs it enthusiastically from my hand. Frisking and bounding through the yard, he shreds the weed, leaving a trail of debris for me to clean up. When I dig a hole in hopes of putting in a new plant, he digs enthusiastically also, shooting dirt and mud in all directions. If I am lucky enough to place my flower successfully in the hole, but carelessly turn my back, he is likely to pull it up again and, yes, to rip it to pieces. As I collect all the sticks that litter the yard, Figaro is ready for a vigorous game of tug-of-war, each stick an exciting possibility. Leaf clean-up presents an even greater opportunity for adventure as he lunges at the monstrous rake to subdue it.

Lulu... by Anne Aronson

To look at Lulu, you’d never know there’s anything really wrong with her. She runs and plays with her brothers, eats with gusto, and greets everyone with a jump and a kiss.

When she arrived in rescue at the age of 11 weeks, she barely weighed two pounds and was having seizures. Initially it was thought the seizures were due to hypoglycemia. I, as her foster mom, was advised to feed her four times daily, give her several holistic supplements and keep a diary documenting her seizures. When the seizures kept coming and became more frequent, I

Although I am able to accomplish very little in my garden when Figaro is out with me, I am grateful for his company and his mutual enjoyment of our gardening projects. And how delightful it is to be out together in the sun and breeze as springtime takes over once again.

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Figaro with an unfortunate flower

Lulu

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brought her to see a neurologist. After a very thorough evaluation and a MRI, Lulu was diagnosed with severe, bilateral hydrocephalus. Lowell Ackerman explains this condition in the following excerpt from his book:

Hydrocephalus, commonly referred to as “water on the brain” is an uncommon condition in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulates inside the skull outside the brain. Dogs typically acquire the defect that leads to this condition while in utero but are not subject to the fluid accumulation until after birth. Consequently, hydrocephalic animals are born normal but eventually, when the increased fluid pressure builds, it exerts damaging pressure on the brain. The congenital form of hydrocephalus is called primary hydrocephalus. Once the puppy’s skull has reached its limit, the fluid continues to build and a build-up of pressure inside the skull leads to neurological symptoms, usually beginning at around eight to 12 weeks. Seizures, head-pressing, a characteristic position of the eyes (down and sometimes outwards), blindness, or sometimes (as happens most commonly in milder cases) difficulty in training––especially in house training. Over 75% of these dogs have been reported to have housebreaking difficulty. Milder cases will have symptoms that tend to reach a plateau at about age 1 or 2 and may lead near-normal lives but severe cases will become unmanageably affected well before then. Of the toy breeds, the Chihuahua, Maltese, Pomeranian, Toy Poodle and Yorkshire Terrier are especially affected. Most canine patients are never definitively treated due to the expense and specialized nature of hydrocephalus treatment. Unfortunately, euthanasia is the most common outcome for those who suffer anything but the m i l d e s t s y m p t o m s o f h y d r o c e p h a l u s . Symptomatic treatment, however, can include drug therapy to reduce seizure activity and/or corticosteroids to relieve inflammation of the brain. Omeprazole may also be employed. This is an antacid drug that somehow also woks to reduce CSF fluid pressure on the brain.”

(Ackerman, L. 1999. The Genetic Condition: A Guide to Health Problems in Purebred Dogs. pp 135-136. AAHA Press. Lakewood, Colorado.)

Lulu... continued from page 1

Reading and learning about hydrocephalus was very upsetting. The prognosis seemed so grim. She was placed on a medication (Zonisamide) to control her seizures and Omeprazole to control the buildup of cerebral fluids. Lulu has done quite well on both these meds.

Fast forward to today, 15 months later. Lulu has blossomed into a gorgeous silver, toy poodle. When she first arrived, she was jet black with a silver face. She now weighs four pounds. I am very proud of her accomplishments: she sits on command, responds to her name and walks beautifully on a leash. She has learned to do her business outside. I keep her on a strict schedule and she rarely has accidents in the house. She is very loving and her tail couldn’t wag any faster when she sees both my husband and me. She has some behavioral issues seen in hydrocephalic dogs, but we tend to overlook them, because we just love her to pieces. She is very busy, constantly in motion, almost like a child with ADHD. She loves to run laps around the kitchen island. She is easily distracted and if she is doing something that she likes, i.e. playing with a stuffed animal, chewing on a bully stick, she behaves as if she doesn’t hear you speaking to her. She can become overly excited when she sees unfamiliar

Continued on page 3

Lulu and her foster siblings: Dallas (black), Charlee (white) and Ace (silver)

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dogs, can bark incessantly at the smallest noise, and can become reactive on a leash. She loves to chew toes, used tissues and pant hems.

I want to thank PRNE for allowing me to foster/adopt Lulu. We had recently lost another, very rambunctious tiny toy to old age. Although Lulu will never replace Lilee, she sure is a wonderful addition to our home.

Lulu just started obedience school, with mixed results. Her first class, she was so excited by her classmates that she could barely contain herself. Stay tuned to see how she progresses….

.........

Lulu... continued from page 2

PRNE and PETCOThe Connection Continues!

PRNE received a very generous check from PETCO’s Tree of Hope Campaign in the four locations where PRNE volunteers have been sitting.

Thank you to everyone who has been able to represent PRNE at PETCO. Special commendations go to Arlowane, Susan and Marcella who consistently promote PRNE’s message at PETCO in Needham, Topsfield and Hudson respectively!

If you'd like to sign up to sit at PETCO, please contact Anne to get on the schedule at:

volunteer@poodlerescuene.org

Lulu enjoys a recent outing

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Paws in the Park 2015

On May 3, a beautiful spring Sunday, PRNE volunteers represented PRNE at Paws in the Park, Save a Dog’s 15th Annual Dog Walk, at Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA.

All participants had a fine time working for the worthy cause of raising money to save dogs in need.

Anne with Charlee (a PRNE adoptee), Merrilea, and Bonnie with Oscar (a PRNE adoptee)

Pooches model stylish visors purchased from

PRNE

Al and Dom with visitor Frosty

Neal and Marjorie with Slice and Maddox (both adopted from PRNE)

Two cute visitors to PRNE’s booth

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Sweet Avril... by Mahala Beams

You followed me everywhere I went in the house, upstairs and downstairs, and upstairs and downstairs again. I was your food source, and like a hummingbird guarding a feeder, you wanted me in your sight at all times. When we packed to go to Vermont, you hovered around me anxiously. Don’t forget me; don’t forget me!

I loved your sweet little face, your shiny black button nose, your soft gently curling gray and white hair, your big brown eyes and your sweet friendly personality. I loved the way you lay on your tummy, feet stretched out behind you, hips at 180 degrees, paws turned up in the back. I loved the joyful way you tore out of the house when the possibility of catching a squirrel sent you racing down the back stairs. Once you even ran up one of the elephantine roots of our gigantic copper beech, perching in the crotch of the tree, but alas, not high up enough to catch that squirrel.

You were stubborn. You refused to inhabit your special bed on the floor when we retired. Finally, we gave in and you took your place at my feet every night. Before lights out though, you liked to nestle by my husband’s pillow, but when he was ready to climb in, you obediently moved to your place at the foot. Our wakeup call in the morning was your rising and shaking your little head vigorously, then cautiously stepping up to my husband’s pillow to settle next to his head until we rose.

Was it the one-quarter beagle in you that gave you your prodigious appetite? Did you think that if you didn’t inhale your food, it would disappear? Or were you just rushing to down your meal as fast as possible so that you could clean up after Triton and Figaro or, better yet, steal their food if given the opportunity? And it wasn’t just food that you ate. When you were a puppy, you consumed a box of staples and had to visit the vet. When you were grown and should have known better, you climbed onto the dining room table and broke into the Halloween candy ready for trick-or-treaters. You devoured the candy - wrappers, foil and all. When Kathy visited with a cooler full of granola bars, you ate cloth and plastic off to get the treats inside. You raided the purses of guests to find possible hidden treats. Birdseed spilled on the ground from the feeder in the yard drew you like a magnet. And when the copper beech dropped its beechnuts in their prickly pods, you scavenged for them vigilantly, consuming prickly pods and all. In Vermont, bits off the

Avril in the copper beechContinued on page 6

Avril

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logs in the wood nook were tempting fare as were sticks and wood chips in our yard at home. Did your tendency towards pica damage your GI track? Two years ago, when you developed hemorrhagic gastroenteritis the first time, it took you five days in the hospital to recover, when most dogs recover in one to three days. The second time was worse.

In the hospital you greeted me with sweet wags every time I came, even as you got sicker and sicker. I never missed the two daily visiting sessions, but I hope you knew you were not abandoned. The caregivers were kind and conscientious and your vet in charge was doing her best. Would you have recovered if I had done something differently? Did I make the right decisions? I keep asking these questions, but you, my beloved dog, are gone and I held you when you left.

The house is so empty now, even though your companions Triton and Figaro are still here. Who will Figaro walk with now? Trotting together ahead of me, eagerly pulling me along, you in your little-girly flowered pink jacket and he in his stylish red coat, the two of you were like a little matched pair, just the same height although you were almost twice his weight.

Sweet Avril... continued from page 5

Where are you now? Are you walking down the dirt road in Vermont as we did so many times together? Are you under Andrew’s bed where you retreated if it thundered or if the vacuum cleaner roared? Are you under my feet as I work on the computer at my desk? Are you under the dining room table or by the kitchen counter waiting hopefully for some tidbit to drop? No, but you are in my heart always.

.........

Avril in her pink flowered coat

Avril, Figaro and Triton walking the dirt road in Vermont

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In Memory of Amelia

Those we love don’t go away,

They walk beside us every day,

Unseen, unheard, but always near,

Still loved, still missed and very dear.

~ Author unknown

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Dr. Kay, author of Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life and of Your Dog’s Best Health: A Dozen Reasonable Things to Expect of Your Vet has graciously granted permission for PRNE to reprint one of her informative articles in each issue of Renaissance Poodles. Dr. Kay’s extensive credentials follow:

Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine; Recipient, Leo K. Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award; Recipient, American Animal Hospital Association Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award; Recipient, Dog Writers Association of America Award for Best Blog; Recipient, Eukanuba Canine Health Award; Recipient, AKC Club Publication Excellence Award. For more information, visit her website: http://www.speakingforspot.com.

New Information about Jerky Treats for Pets by Nancy Kay, DVM © (April 13, 2015)

Dr. Kay

Since 2007, we’ve known that chicken jerky treats manufactured in China can cause gastrointestinal and/or kidney issues in some dogs. Until recently, virtually all commercially sold jerky treats in the United States were manufactured in China. Despite extensive investigations by numerous experts, the actual cause(s) of jerky-induced illnesses has not been identified.

When jerky-associated problems were first documented, savvy proprietors of many independently owned pet stores quit stocking Chinese-manufactured jerky treats. More recently, many of the big box stores have followed suit. These pet store changes have seemingly produced positive results. According to a February 2015 Seattle Times article, “For the first time in seven years, complaints that jerky pet treats made in China are sickening and killing America’s animals, mostly dogs, have fallen sharply.” Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman, Siobhan DeLancey reasoned, “We’re not sure if this is because the products are off the market, because people are more aware of the problem, or because some of the products have been reformulated.”

New jerky-related problems

Ms. DeLancey was recently back in the news responding to reports of illnesses caused by jerky treats manufactured within the United States. In response to these new claims filed by veterinarians Ms. DeLancey stated, “We have found some of these products may contain ingredients from outside of the U.S. The FDA continues its investigation into these, as well as other, jerky treats potentially linked to illnesses.” The implication is that jerky treats manufactured within the United States don’t necessarily contain domestic ingredients. Whether or not the source of ingredients explains recently reported illnesses remains anyone’s guess.

Some dogs who responded adversely to jerky treats manufactured within the United States experienced vomiting and diarrhea. More seriously affected dogs developed kidney failure, and some developed Fanconi Syndrome, a rare form of kidney disease seen primarily as an inherited disorder in the Basenji breed. Dr. Urs Giger, a veterinary geneticist, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and leading expert on Fanconi Syndrome, reported that his laboratory began seeing many more non-Basenji cases of Fanconi Syndrome in or around 2007, all seemingly related to jerky consumption. Four hundred Fanconi cases were identified between 2009 and 2012, and Giger reports that he continues to see new cases weekly. The most recent cases are seemingly associated with consumption of jerky treats manufactured within the United States.

Continued on page 9

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Jerky treats and your pet

What does this information mean in terms of your dog’s health? Jerky-induced illnesses remain a reality, and a “Manufactured within the United States” product label is not a guarantee of safety. Until the actual cause(s) of jerky-related illness is identified, I strongly encourage you to avoid feeding jerky products to your dogs, regardless of where they are manufactured. If your dog really loves jerky (can’t live without it!), consider making your own. Until further notice, please stay away from the store bought stuff.

Based on this information, will you be altering your dog’s jerky habit?

New Information about Jerky Treats for Pets... continued from page 8

If you would like to respond publicly, please visit: http://www.speakingforspot.com/blog/?p=4747.

Poodle Figurines

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Hi Amy (Louie’s Foster Mother),

Belatedly, thank you very much for your note and the toy you sent for Louie. He loves that toy. I estimate he has killed it at least 100 times, but apparently it keeps coming back to life and needs to be killed again :)

Louie is doing very well. He loves to be chased around the house, to sit in my chair with me, to go for walks every day, and to ride anywhere at all in the car. He's great around other people and other dogs, and does pretty well with most of the basic commands. We're working on "stay" and "fetch."

He is eating well and seems to be back to a normal weight, and his checkup went very well. He's very spry for his age, so we're hoping he stays healthy and well for a long time.

He does have some separation anxiety, and still howls sometimes when we leave him alone, even for short periods. I have been crating him, which does seem to be gradually reducing his anxiety levels.

Thanks again,

Gail

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Mail Box

Louie subduing his toy

Louie

Dear PRNE,

Just a happy update on little Toto. We adopted him just about one year ago and he is a happy and healthy 51/2 pound dog!!! We did change his name to Munchkin-Munchie for short (funny-no teeth). Almost all of his nervous habits are gone and he is now a pretty relaxed guy who loves to lie in the sun with his family.

Thanks for rescuing him - he is really enjoying life, making up for lost time!

Regards,

Donna and George D'Iorio

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Continued on page 11

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Mail Box... continued from page 10

Greetings Amy and Kelly,

I can not express how much love and joy Miss Penelope has brought to our lives. She has turned into quite a little love bug.

This past weekend she spent a wonderful weekend at the York Harbor Inn with me and my mother. She was the cen te r o f a t t en t ion eve rywhere we wen t in Kennebunkport, Portland and York. I carried her around everywhere in her little blanket. She would fall asleep half the time but also enjoyed people watching. Maine is an incredible place for pet lovers because dogs are allowed everywhere! She was even allowed in restaurants with us. Her favorite place to be is the beach. She has such a little smile on her face the minute her paws touch the sand.

It has been so gratifying to see her evolve from a dog that would jump when we touched her to one who loves to be carried around like a baby for hours on end. She also has a little bit of a sweet tooth like her mama!!

Amanda Borges

Amanda and Penelope

Penelope enjoys the beach

Penelope indulges her sweet toothPenelope with Amanda and friends

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SPRING GALLERY

Bella Luna Blooman

Parti Poodle Party! Edward (aka Raj, Jr.), Tequila and Scarlet (aka Emma Lee), all PRNE pups

LorenzoDexter goes to IkeaEddie and Dexter

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WHO WE ARENewsletter: Mahala Beams, editing and layout; and Amanda Lion

Board of Directors: Merrilea Agostino, Anne Aronson, Amanda Lion, Amy Moore, and Gayle Morelli

For more information on Poodle Rescue of New England, please visit our website:

www.poodlerescuenewengland.org

Baxter

Upcoming Events

ANNUAL PRNE BARBECUE!AUGUST 8, 2015

SAVE THE DATE

For more information, check PRNEʼs website:

www.poodlerescuenewengland.org

or visit PRNEʼs Facebook page