Features
Massage may help dog’s spinal injury
EDMOND — Q: Our dachshund suffered a slipped disc in her spinal column about two months ago, resulting in complete paralysis of her hind legs. She underwent surgery two days later and the veterinary surgeon said the surgery was successful and that she should recover fully in time. After nearly two months she still can’t walk or fully support her weight but now has feeling in her back legs and uses a doggy cart to support herself. The vet suggested we do lots of home massage, but I don’t have a clue just how to do this; how often; or for how long per session. Any suggestions? Does massage really help a condition like this? — Leon R.
A: Unless your hands are terribly arthritic, or you have some other limiting physical problem, there’s no reason that you can’t give your dachshund a beneficial “rub down” right at home as prescribed by your veterinarian. First, check with him to determine what areas he wants you to work on, how frequent and how long.
DR. WILLIAM K. FAUKS is a retired Oklahoma City veterinarian. If you have any questions regarding the health of your pet, please write to “Ask a Vet,” at 3142 Venice Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73112, or e-mail bfauks1@aol.com.
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Young dog saves toddler’s life in bitter cold
PIERCE CITY, Mo. — The first night that Kalina and Jeremy Fortin decided to wean their 2-year-old son of a habit of sleeping with them, the toddler proved way too footloose.
Sometime shortly thereafter on Sunday morning, Jan. 10, Brody apparently got up on his own and wandered out of the rural Pierce City home. The temperature outdoors was just below zero, and Brody wasn’t wearing much more than the long-sleeved pajama top, sweatpants and socks he had gone to sleep in.
If not for the family’s young German shepherd, Lobo, the consequences may well have been fatal. -
Time, effort will alleviate dog’s separation anxiety
Q: We have a 5-year-old Australian Shepherd named Kati that we have had since she was 12 weeks old. She gets along with all our cats and likes to go outside and run like the wind. When she was a puppy we got her in the late fall and because of the weather, trained her to puppy pads, especially if we were going to be gone more than five or six hours. She has never really stopped urinating on the floor when we leave the house. She will urinate on the floor beside a puppy pad, which I regularly place on the floor when I have to leave. I had our veterinarian check her over and do all the appropriate testing and she does not have a urinary tract infection or anything else wrong that we can find. Is she just doing this to spite me when I leave her alone at home?
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Whispering Pines stands atop state scene
The story of Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast Inn and Restaurant is like an onion. On the surface, it looks simple — large, Victorian-style house, three suites in the house plus four cottages, located on State Highway 9 southeast of Norman.
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Writing, baking dual challenges
The Challenged Pens are my writing group. They’re coming to my house this afternoon, and there’s not so much as a cookie in the place.
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Soil test: A first step to a beautiful yard
It’s a good idea for homeowners who are interested in fertilizing their lawns to begin the entire process with a soil test.
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Girl with diabetes to receive some canine help
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Type 1 diabetes, the kind children get, is a frightening diagnosis for any parent, with the threat that an undetected drop in blood sugar could cause a seizure or even a coma during the night when everyone’s sleeping.
It’s a double threat for the family of third-grader Nicole Rieser of Sand Lake, Alaska, because she is also autistic, and can’t sense the changes as they happen even when she’s awake. -
Some ‘healthy’ table scraps OK for dogs
Every companion animal veterinarian is daily bombarded with questions from caring pet owners — most of the queries are thoughtful and insightful. Upon reflection, one that stands out vividly, because it is so frequently asked, goes something like this: “Doctor, is it OK if I feed table scraps to my dog?” This understandably prompts an abundance of variable opinions and comments from animal clinicians. Today, I’ll offer mine.
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Reaching, grasping a matter of perspective
A flailing swimmer reaches the lifesaving buoy. Unable to grasp it, he drowns. A trapeze artist zooms through space to her waiting partner and turns loose of the bar. Unable to grasp his wrists, she falls to her death. Robert Browning says our reach should exceed our grasp. The trapeze artist and the swimmer would doubtless have settled for a tie.
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Bickering sisters cause mother concern
Stop the presses! A little over a month ago, I reported that The Onion, an online and print publication, had run a story on research purporting to find that 98 percent of kids under age 10 are “unrepentant sociopaths who...will do anything to get their own way.” Even though I ultimately revealed that the research was “ersatz,” or fake (The Onion is nothing but satire), and invited readers to “find more laughs” on my Web site, a number of folks didn’t get the joke.
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Dalai Lama, in Florida university visit, urges love for enemies
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Sitting cross-legged in his maroon robe on a big brown chair, the Dalai Lama urged 3,000 listeners at Florida Atlantic University on Wednesday to love their enemies, remove their jealousies and find inner peace to spur world harmony.
The Dalai Lama’s sense of humor, enthusiasm for the little joys of daily life and gentle, hard-to-hear voice made an impression on many listeners, who said they were inspired to follow his advice. - More Features Headlines
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