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Vacuum cleaners Kills fleas too!

Vacuum cleaners kill fleas just as well as any poison, surprised U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

They said a standard vacuum cleaner abuses the fleas so much it kills 96 percent of adult fleas and 100 percent of younger fleas.

So no need to worry that a vacuum cleaner bag may turn into a fleabag breeding ground for the pesky, biting creatures, said Glen Needham, associate professor of entomology at Ohio State University.

Needham studied the cat flea, or Ctenocephalides felis, the most common type of flea found in households.
Read more at Reuters

After she lost her 7-year-old golden retriever to cancer last year, Donna Baran did some research and decided to begin feeding her puppy golden retriever Moses holistic dog food.

The holistic dog food costs slightly more, but Baran, of North York, said it is made with vegetables and pure proteins and she trusts its ingredients.

Now, after at least 15 pets died from eating contaminated food and scores of pet food products have been recalled since March 16, Baran said she's glad she has made the switch.

"I wouldn't want to lose a pet to (food poisoning)," Baran said. "You should feel safe with your pet food."

Most of the recalled dog and cat foods have been wet foods manufactured by Canada-based Menu Foods and sold under about 100 different brand names from Wal-Mart Stores to PetSmart.

The easiest way to see what pet foods have been recalled is to call the company or visit its Web site at www.menufoods.com.

Last weekend, Del Monte Pet Products also recalled several products because wheat gluten in them contained melamine, which is not approved for use in food, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

And Purina recalled its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food because of possibly contaminated wheat gluten. Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. also recalled its prescription diet m/d feline dry food because of melamine and melamine byproducts found in wheat gluten, according to the FDA.

With so many brands being recalled, Mike Beatty of Springettsbury Township said he had to check to make sure his two German shepherds, Rock and Jazz, weren't eating the food that caused other dogs to die.

But sales of pet food recipe books have shot up since the nationwide pet-food recall began.

The FDA and the American Veterinary Medical Association are urging pet owners to switch brands if they are worried. The veterinarian group also warned that many common foods are not safe for pets, including salt, garlic, onions, grapes and chocolate.

'Kind of like canning': Making pet food at home is "kind of like canning: You have to think about bacterial contamination. And how do you make sure it's nutritionally appropriate and balanced for the animal?" said FDA spokesman Julie Zawisza. She added: "We wouldn't object. We'd say be knowledgeable about what you need."

But for pet owners like Bruce Vick of West York, who owns several dogs and several cats, switching brands has been a bit of a hassle.

Vick said two of his pets are on special diets, so he hasn't had to worry about their food. But after Purina recalled one of its brands over the weekend, Vick said, he had to be extra careful in buying pet food at

 PetSmart in Manchester Township

Distemper outbreak is a threat to your pet
 

A highly contagious disease has been causing otherwise nocturnal animals -- such as raccoons, skunks and woodchucks -- to stumble and act disoriented in broad daylight throughout North Jersey.
The spread of distemper, which can affect household pets such as dogs and cats, is being blamed on the warm start to winter, which lured both sick and healthy animals out of their winter bunkers.
"Normally, December and January are the slowest months, but in the past three days I've had two sick skunks and a sick raccoon," said Lysa DeLaurentis, an animal-control officer for nine towns in Passaic and Morris counties. "None of them are rabid."

Tips for Pet Owners
Vaccinate your pets for distemper every year.
Feed pets indoors.
Check back yards for wild animals before letting pets out.
Don't feed wild animals.
Keep garbage can lids tight.
Source: North Jersey animal-control officials and veterinarians

Fast facts about distemper

What it is: A highly contagious airborne mammal-to-mammal viral disease that infects raccoons, skunks, woodchucks, foxes, coyotes and unvaccinated domestic pets. It is spread by contact with an infected animal's body fluids or droppings and affects the animals' brains.

Symptoms: Animals wander, walk in circles and are oblivious to their surroundings. They sometimes are mistakenly thought to have rabies. They may have mild eye inflammation and eye and nose discharge.
Source: North Jersey animal-control officials and veterinarians

Amnesty Day For Pets In Florida

Across Florida there is a killer on the loose Non-native species are choking the ecosystem...sometimes literally. This burmese python swallowed an alligator. "They're eating pretty much everything in Everglades National Park," says ranger Dan Kimball. On Gasparilla Island it's non-native iguanas accused of eating Florida gopher tortoise eggs, and in some Florida lakes imported turtles are taking over. What were once exotic pets are now big problems. "They don't belong here and they cause problems for wildlife that do belong here," says exotic wildlife specialist Dr. Jeanine Cianciolo. So Florida recently held an amnesty day...not for deadly weapons, but for deadly pets that can be fatal to the natural habitat if released into the wild. Pet owners faced with more than they can handle were urged to hand over their pets. Dozens did...all shapes and sizes...now headed to new homes where they belong. It is one small step to stop what is now a giant threat to nature's delicate balance.