PAWS Act Becomes Law Not a Moment Too Soon

Just a few days before the war in Afghanistan finally came to an end this week, President Biden signed into law the PAWS Act, aka the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act.  The timing couldn’t be better.

The PAWS Act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to launch a $10 million, five-year-long dog training therapy program to provide service dogs to veterans suffering from PTSD. Amazingly, this will be the first time in U.S. history that the VA has paid for providing these important service animals to veterans.

“We commend the White House for supporting this bill as a critical step in combatting veteran suicide, and we’re confident in the path ahead for service dogs ultimately becoming a covered VA benefit to veterans with PTSD,” Rory Diamond, CEO of K9s For Warriors, said in a press release. K9s for Warriors is the country’s largest provider of trained service dogs to military veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma.

It’s a tragic statistic that about 20 veterans die by suicide every single day. Nearly 90,000 veterans died by suicide between 2005 and 2018.

Could service dogs help prevent this? Veterans with PTSD who had been paired with service dogs had less suicidal ideation and greater symptom improvement than veterans paired with emotional support dogs, according to a 2021 VA study.

The dog training therapy program will begin on Jan. 1, 2022. Per the PAWS Act, the VA must provide the following:

  • Eligible veterans will be able to receive dog training instruction from nongovernmental accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit service dog training organizations, such as K9s For Warriors.
  • Those veterans will be taught positive reinforcement dog training for skills that help their PTSD symptoms.
  • Best of all, when the training is completed, the veterans will have the opportunity to adopt the dogs they trained.

“In communicating with veterans and their healthcare providers, it’s more imperative than ever to embrace the lifesaving impact of a service dog and to raise awareness for this treatment option as a proven method for mitigating debilitating symptoms of PTSD and suicidal ideations,” Diamond said.

Here’s hoping the pilot PAWS Act training program will be a huge success. From now on, the VA should provide service dogs free of charge to any veterans who need them.

Photo: K9s for Warriors

Let’s Celebrate Our 4-Legged Friends on National Dog Day!

For some (most?) of us pooch-lovin’ people, every day is Dog Day. For the 18th year, our four-legged friends are once again getting a special day that makes it official. National Dog Day is on August 26.

This day is intended to encourage people to recognize the number of dogs needing to be rescued, as well as to honor pups who save lives, keep us safe and bring us comfort.

National Dog Day was created in 2004 by pet lifestyle expert and author Colleen Paige. She chose Aug. 26 because it’s the anniversary of the day her dad adopted her family’s first dog, a Sheltie, when Paige was 10 years old.

She founded the holiday “to honor dogs, to give them a ‘day’ to show our deep appreciation for the historical connection of companionship with one another,” Paige says on the official website. “For their endearing patience, unquestioning loyalty, for their work protecting our streets, homes and families as police K-9s, military working dogs, guide dogs and therapy dogs.”

She was inspired by her rescue dog, Sailor, who “was tortured and starved when I found her in the shelter at 7 months old, and she taught me what unconditional love and trust really meant.”

The National Dog Day website has plenty of suggestions for ways to celebrate with your pooch, such as buying them a new toy, throwing a party and/or teaching them a new trick. Special events are planned across the country.

Looking for a new four-legged friend? Check out National Dog Day on Twitter, which will be tweeting info about adoptable dogs all day long.

If you don’t have a dog, you are asked to donate $5 to your favorite rescue or shelter. And whether or not you have a pooch, you can also celebrate by spending some quality time on Aug. 26 (or better yet, any day) visiting the lonely dogs at your local shelter.

I wish you and your pooch(es) a very Happy National Dog Day!

Photo: That’s my Ella, the poster girl for i Still Love Dogs!

Disturbing Recall Update: Sportmix Pet Food May Have Killed or Sickened Hundreds of Dogs

Back in January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made the shocking announcement that at least 70 pets died and more than 80 became ill after eating some Sportmix dry dog food products.

Seven months later, the statistics are even more disturbing. On Aug. 9 the FDA warned the manufacturer, Midwestern Pet Food, Inc., that 130 dogs may have died and 220 were sickened after eating the food.

The FDA started investigating Midwestern Pet Food in late December after the company had voluntarily recalled some of its dry pet food products that may have caused the deaths of 28 dogs. The recalled products contained aflatoxin, a toxic mold that can grow on corn and other grains used in pet food. At high levels, it causes illness and death in pets who eat the food.

In January, Midwestern expanded the voluntary recall to include all of its pet food products containing corn that were manufactured in the company’s Oklahoma plant.

In March, Midwestern recalled several brands of pet food manufactured at its Illinois plant — not for aflatoxin, but because samples tested positive for Salmonella. The FDA concluded that Midwestern’s food safety program seemed to be unable to significantly minimize or prevent Salmonella in its pet food.

According to the FDA warning letter, inspections of Midwestern’s various manufacturing plants revealed evidence of violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as well as the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals regulation. These violations were associated with the deaths and illnesses of all those dogs.

Samples of the dog food that the FDA tested contained extremely high amounts of aflatoxin — as much as 558 parts per billion (ppb). How scary is this? The FDA considers pet food to be adulterated if it contains more than 20 ppb of aflatoxin.

“It is imperative that manufacturers and distributors of pet foods understand their responsibility to comply with all requirements of federal law and FDA regulations and, when applicable, to implement a robust hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls program,” Steven M. Solomon, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in a statement. “We’ll continue to hold companies accountable and protect animal health as a core element of the FDA’s public health mission.”

If Midwestern doesn’t respond in writing to the FDA with the specific steps they have taken to correct any violations, it could result in legal action, including product seizure or injunction, according to the FDA.

Midwestern hasn’t yet commented on the FDA warning. “As a fourth-generation family-owned company, Midwestern Pet Foods has been committed to ensuring that our products are safe and nutritious for nearly 100 years,” the company said in a statement back in January. “Until recently, throughout our long history, we’ve never had a product recall.”

A 23-page (!) list of all the company’s recalled products and their lot numbers is available on the Midwestern Pet Foods website.

Symptoms of Aflatoxin Poisoning

The symptoms of aflatoxin poisoning may include sluggishness, loss of appetite, vomiting, jaundice (a yellowish tint to your dog’s eyes or gums), and diarrhea. If you’ve been using the recalled products and your dog is experiencing any of these symptoms, you should take them to your veterinarian right away. Some dogs show no symptoms yet still experience liver damage, so you should still have your pet checked out by your veterinarian.

You can report your dog’s Sportmix-related illness to the FDA online through its Safety Reporting Portal or by contacting your state’s FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators. The FDA suggests working with your veterinarian to submit your dog’s medical records with your report.

If you have any of the recalled products, dispose of them in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access them. Wash and sanitize pet food bowls, cups and storage containers. The FDA says there is no evidence that people who handle the food are at risk of aflatoxin poisoning.

For more information about the recalls, contact Midwestern Pet Foods Consumer Affairs at 800-474-4163, ext. 455 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday, or by emailing info@midwesternpetfoods.com.

Insurance Companies Need to Stop Being ‘Breedist’

If you don’t have a Pit Bull, Doberman, Rottweiler or another allegedly “dangerous” dog breed, you may not be aware that most major U.S. insurance companies refuse to provide home or rental insurance for the owners of these dogs.

Banning certain types of dogs based solely on their breed or appearance is often referred to as “breedism.” It’s not surprising that every major animal welfare organization, including the ASPCA, HSUS, American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and others, opposes it because it unfairly punishes well-behaved dogs and responsible owners. Fortunately, breed-specific legislation (BSL), laws that ban certain dogs, has been repealed in most places where it was enacted, most notably in Denver last year.

Too bad most insurance companies aren’t part of that trend. According to an April 2021 Forbes article that surveyed 42 homeowners insurance companies, Pit Bulls, Dobermans, and Rottweilers are banned by 100% of these companies.

Why are insurance companies so breedist? “We are in the business of evaluating risk, and based on what we know, the dogs on our ‘uninsurable list’ pose a higher risk,” an unidentified Allstate Insurance representative told Psychology Today in 2014.

“Higher risk?” According to the AVMA’s “Dog Bite Risk and Prevention: The Role of Breed” report, the breeds that bite the most frequently include Jack Russell Terriers, Spaniels, Collies and Labrador Retrievers.

Yet not one of these breeds is banned by the 42 insurance companies surveyed by Forbes.

Could this be because insurance companies are racist as well as breedist? “The use of breed lists has a detrimental impact on three groups—uninformed consumers, people of color, and consumers of low or moderate means,” a coalition of animal welfare groups wrote in a November 2020 letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) urging an end to banned breed lists.

The group, which includes the Animal Defense League, American Kennel Club, Best Friends Animal Society and others, pointed out a strong correlation between Pit Bulls and the Black community.

“Scholars opine that this is especially true as it relates to breed-specific laws, which may be a product of the fear associated with stereotypical images and activities of minority groups,” the group wrote. “This fear may also be associated with an insurance carrier’s choice of which breeds to include on its list.”

It is currently illegal for insurance companies to use dog breed profiling in states including Michigan and Pennsylvania. It’s also illegal in Ohio, but owners of Pit Bulls and some other breeds must buy at least $100,000 of liability insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III).

The good news is that there is pending legislation in several states that would put an end to this blacklisting of breeds by insurance companies. In New York State, Assembly Bill A4075, which prohibits insurers from refusing to cover certain dog breeds, will hopefully be signed into law soon.

Breed-Friendly Insurance Companies

If you happen to have a dog whose breed has been declared “dangerous” by an insurance company, or if you’re disgusted after reading about this and want to change insurance providers, be aware that State Farm, the largest home insurance company in the country, doesn’t ban any breeds.

“State Farm does not ask what breed or type of dog a person owns when writing policies,” spokesperson Heather Paul, who happens to have two Pit Bulls, told Forbes. “Any dog, regardless of breed, can bite, and most bites are the perfect storm of situation and circumstance. People often put themselves and others at risk, and dogs are blamed. That’s why State Farm focuses on dog bite prevention education rather than breed restrictions.”

The following insurance companies also don’t discriminate against any breeds, according to BADRAP, a nonprofit organization dedicated to securing the future of Pit Bulls as cherished family companions. Just be aware that agents from independently run offices may have a different policy.

Photo: Queven

RIP Daniel, Miracle Beagle Who Survived a Gas Chamber in 2011

Along with several other dogs doomed to the same fate, a 5-year-old stray Beagle was placed inside the gas chamber at an Alabama animal shelter 10 years ago.

An animal control officer turned on the gas and then returned 17 minutes later to remove the bodies of dogs who’d just suffered horrible deaths.

When he opened the door, imagine his surprise when the Beagle wobbled out, wagging his tail.

Instead of having to return to the gas chamber, the miracle dog was named Daniel, after the Bible figure who escaped the lion’s den. He was flown by the rescue organization Pilots N Paws to Eleventh Hour Rescue in New Jersey, where he had a better chance of being adopted.

It didn’t take long for the friendly Beagle to find a loving forever home. He was adopted by the Dwyer family, who cared for Daniel for nearly a decade. Last month, Daniel was diagnosed with the cancer hemangiosarcoma, which had spread to his lungs. Sadly, there was no miracle for Daniel this time around. He died on June 29.

But what an amazing 10 years that lucky dog had! I wrote about many amazing animals for i Love Dogs, and Daniel was one of my favorites. Not only did he become a celebrity, appearing on many TV shows and on a float in the 2014 Tournament of Roses Parade, but he also became a “spokesdog” against the cruelty of using gas chambers to euthanize shelter animals.

At the time that Daniel was adopted, these torture chambers were used in 31 states. In 2014, gas chambers were banned in Pennsylvania thanks to “Daniel’s Law,” named in his honor. As of 2020, gas chambers were still actively used in only four states: Missouri, Ohio, Utah and Wyoming.

Fortunately, legislation to outlaw gas chambers is currently being considered in Utah and Wyoming. Two weeks before Daniel died, the last remaining gas chamber in Ohio was dismantled.

Gas chambers, which use carbon monoxide to painfully kill unwanted shelter animals, are considered inhumane by most animal welfare groups and, I would hope, anyone with a conscience.

“Animals are placed into a small, dark box, one that’s sometimes full of the smells of the animals who came before them — many of whom may have urinated or defecated before they died,” notes the Humane Society of the United States. “For several minutes, they may be in the box, terrified, clawing and calling for a way out. They may struggle for air or begin convulsing before finally losing consciousness.”

If you want to honor Daniel’s life, please consider making a donation to Eleventh Hour Rescue, Pilots N Paws, or your local animal shelter or rescue group. If you live in Wyoming or Utah, contact your representatives and urge them to pass laws banning the use gas chambers in animal shelters.

“After getting his second chance, Daniel was a little Beagle with a big mission to help save the lives of other homeless animals,” Eleventh Hour Rescue wrote on its Facebook page June 29. “His life truly was spared for a greater purpose and our rescue was honored to play a part in his story.” Amen.

Photo: PawshPal/YouTube

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