LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University students are working on an “exoskeleton” for dogs – a type of brace they hope can help older canines struggling with hip problems.

The students came up with a device that fits over part of a dog’s back and helps it put more weight on its back legs while using less pain medicine.

“If we can make a joint on the outside of the body to do the same thing, it can reduce pain. We want to make it marketable for all dogs,” said Jim Bergren, a Purdue senior in mechanical engineering working on the device.

Some dogs suffer from hip dysplasia, a condition in which the hips deteriorate, making it difficult for dogs to walk without pain.

Although total hip replacement is a common procedure for some afflicted dogs, surgery for older dogs can be risky. Pain medicines are sometimes the only option, but they can damage a dog’s liver and kidneys.

To try to help these canines, students in a Purdue mechanical engineering senior design class created the device last year. But this year a new class is trying to perfect the brace by making it lighter, stronger and more comfortable for dogs to wear.

Students and researchers from the university’s School of Veterinary Medicine tested the brace Tuesday on Stella, an older dog with hip dysplasia that struggles to walk across a room without pain medication.

Stella wore several reflective balls at her joints and walked in front of a camera – a test meant to measure her gait. A computer will process the reflections to show how well her joints functioned with and without the brace.

Friday, researchers will do the same tests with Stella without pain medication to see how the brace affects her walking ability then.

Gert Breur, lead researcher and professor of small animal orthopedics and neurology at Purdue, said the device could improve the quality of life for older dogs struggling with hip dysplasia.

“If it’s severe, they can get lame,” Breur said. “It can cause debilitating problems.”

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Here’s some great advice to humans, from Heloise, who like to look out for the welfare of their beloved canines, like me.

I wonder if my parents bother to read this blog. I hope so, if only for my own well being.

Dear Readers: How about a quick health exam you can give a dog? It’s simple to do while grooming, petting or bathing your dog.

Run your hands over its head and body. Any new lumps or bumps? Observe the eyes, and check inside the ears and under the tail. Give the pet a good belly rub as you check the abdomen for hardness, swelling, lumps or bumps.

Other things to check:

• Shiny coat?

• Fur coming out other than normal shedding?

• Visible discharges from eyes, nose, ears or glands?

• Lift up the side of the mouth to check whether teeth are clean and gums are pink. Bad breath and discoloration of gums are not healthy.

• The nose should be wet without a discharge.

• Ear flaps should be pink.

A few minutes every month is all it takes. You probably will notice when something is not right. Be sure to tell the vet anything out of the ordinary to help avoid serious health problems.

Check out this great article Marina Johannsen from the Examiner.com

We all know that swimming is a great form of exercise and therapy for people, but what about for our dogs?

Many people do not realize the wonderful benefits of using swimming pools and therapy pool sessions to both socialize and rehabilitate dogs for a multitude of reasons.

I am sure we have all heard that swimming is one of the beast exercises because it works the major muscle groups of the body all at the same time, and can do all this maintaining a no impact technique. All of this is just as true for dogs. In fact, hydrotherapy for dogs is used for all of the following reasons and then some; Post-op and injury rehabilitation, obesity and weight gain management, geriatric support, sports and conditioning, and skeletal balancing. Sounds a lot like us right?

Go to their site to read the whole thing.  Bottom line, take your fuzzy one into the water and have a rollicking good time!

Anyway, read CBS 3′s account of our heroes in action.

A South Hadley family is safe after a fire damages some of their home, and it’s all thanks to some unexpected help. The Spring Meadow Road family is fortunate to be safe thanks to help from a neighbor’s dogs.

It may be a pile of ashes, but the charred remains were once Steven Doyle’s garage. The South Hadley man upset, but knows it could have been worse if it wasn’t for two heroes, Tallie and Gibson. The two dogs were the first to notice the flames shooting from Doyle’s garage across the street around 3 Sunday morning. Call it canine intervention. The dogs instinctually woke up their owner Larry Katz. So he got up to see what was going on. “I looked out the window and saw flames shooting out of what I thought was my neighbors house. Thankfully, it was his garage and not his house,” said Katz.

Katz called 911 and woke up his neighbors. Doyle’s garage and the vehicles inside are a total loss and much of the siding on his house is melted. But he knows the night could have turned deadly if it wasn’t for his four-legged friends. “We are lucky the house didn’t burn and nobody was killed. It was a big loss, but material things can be replaced,” said Doyle. “I know I would have slept through it, they were all sleeping, so you know, the dogs are kind of heroes,” said Katz.

You know who wasn’t a hero in this story? A Kat or any Katz for that matter.

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Although I’m pretty sure I’ll be taken care of when I get on the other side of the pearly gates, there’s always a lingering doubt. Especially after I’ve escaped out of the yard or I’ve scarfed something down from the dining room table or if I let a little wee go in the house when my parents weren’t looking. That’s why any opportunity I get to increase my chances to talk with Pete, the saint, I’ll take.

And that’s where Father Robert Young comes in. No, not this Robert Young.  Check out his story from Tallahasee.com.

Rare are the occasions when animals are blessed without later finding their way onto the dinner table.

Saturday was one of those occasions as dogs, cats, squirrels, caterpillars, rabbits, hawks and other animals were blessed at the fourth annual Blessing of the Animals at Mission San Luis.

The Catholic tradition of animal blessings dates to the 13th century in remembrance of St. Francis of Assisi, a who founded the Franciscan order, and who is the patron saint of animals and the environment. Historically, Oct. 4 is the date of St. Francis’ feast, which remembers his life and works through deeds for animals.

“You learn a lot about people from the way they relate to their pets,” said Father Robert Young, Tallahassee’s only Franciscan priest, who conducted the blessings. “It’s a good study in human nature, as well as animal nature.”

Young has presided over the blessings at Mission San Luis since the beginning. He said other churches have started to bless animals since the mission revived the practice.

In all, about 450 people came not only to have their pets blessed but also to catch musical performances and get information on local organizations that advocate for animals.

“We wanted to honor pets and the people that love them,” said Jennifer Hoesing, spokeswoman for Mission San Luis. “These groups do a wonderful service in our community, so it’s nice to be able to commend those people.”

Channing Combs was among those in attendance, along with her nine-week-old kitten Jasper. Combs found Jasper after he fell off a barn loft in Tennessee six weeks ago. Combs used the afternoon to acclimate her incredible small pet to other animals.

Young said many of the pets he blessed were like Jasper and either had a health issue or were trying to overcome circumstances that were not ideal for a pet. Nevertheless, the priest could not help but smile for most of the day during such a unique event.

Tallahassee resident George Brophy said his dog Jack is like him: both enjoy the company of people. Brophy spent the day introducing his thigh-high Great Dane to other dogs and people, hoping to encourage others to adopt a pet.

“Jack is already blessed – not that we couldn’t use extra blessing – but Jack sleeps on a Ralph Lauren leather sofa, so he lives a good life,” Brophy said.

Bless me father for I have…do I smell a wafer in your pocket?

 OSLO, Norway, Oct. 3 (UPI) — Some hunters in Norway are reported to have a rare albino moose in their sights.

The moose, with a white pelt that gives it a ghostlike or fairy tale quality, was first spotted south of Oslo two years ago, Aftenposten reported. Hunters have generally agreed to let the animal, nicknamed Albin, live in peace but that may no longer hold.

Asmund Fjellbakk, a local wildlife conservation officer, said he has heard some hunters think the white moose would make a splendid trophy.

“I heard about three to four weeks ago that the hunters are not going to protect the moose,” Fjellbakk told the Oslo newspaper VG. “I’ve been told this by private persons.”

The monthlong hunting season in Hedmark starts Sunday. Killing the albino moose is legal as long as it is done by a licensed hunter obeying the relevant laws.

Wildlife experts estimate the Norwegian moose population at 100,000, with 35,000 taken by hunters last year.

Let’s be honest, it was only a matter of time before white moose would be targeted. People have been eating chocolate moose for years.

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It’s a positive step towards gaining equality but let’s be real, that ain’t gonna happen until I get my hands on a phased-plasma rifle in the forty watt range.

While politicians this weekend debated on how to solve the economic crisis, the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, was putting his political powers to more dodgy – ooops – we mean doggy issues by putting animals in the driver’s seat of cars.

The actor turned politician is ‘terminating’ a bill that bans motorists from driving with their pets in on their laps.

The star vetoed the $35 (£19) charge which was put in place for motorists who drove with their animals crawling all over them.

The bill was introduced by Republican Assemblyman Bill Maze when he saw a woman driving with three dogs on her lap.But Arnie has rubbished the claim that the act is distracting saying he’s only signing bills that are “the highest priority for California.” And a lapdog ban isn’t one of them.’

So Paris Hilton can sleep easily with the knowledge that her little pooch can lie on her scrawny legs instead of a cushy car seat.

Birchville resident Linda Fowler and her hairy heroes were flown to Christchurch to pick up the award on Friday at the New Zealand Kennel Club’s national dog show.The dogs saved the life of a woman who had spent a night lying semi-conscious on rocks after she slipped and fell below the Bridge Rd reservoir, north of Upper Hutt, in March.

No word on the amount of alcohol she had to drink.  Just kidding folks…read the whole story here at Stuff…or just read on.

“I went past the dam on my usual morning run and kept going but the dogs wouldn’t follow me,” Miss Fowler said. “They just sat next to the lady and started barking.” The injured woman was drenched in spray from the dam, yellow with hypothermia, bleeding from a head wound and babbling incoherently.

Miss Fowler estimates that she has told her dogs’ tale 200 times in the past six months.

“You tell the story so often and every time you tell it people go, ‘Wow.’

“I always get surprised by their reaction.

“It just doesn’t sink in that it is such an honour to save someone’s life – and knowing that your dogs did all the work is amazing.”

Miss Fowler’s prize was a sash, while the dogs got a year’s supply of biscuits.

“I was absolutely rapt. It has saved me loads of money. I won’t have to send them out to work now,” she joked.

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CANEY, Kan. – A dog at a southeast Kansas zoo has adopted three tiger cubs abandoned by their mother. Safari Zoological Park owner Tom Harvey said the tiger cubs were born Sunday, but the mother had problems with them.

A day later, the mother stopped caring for them. Harvey said the cubs were wandering around, trying to find their birth mother, who wouldn’t pay attention to them. That’s when the cubs were put in the care of a golden retriever, Harvey said.

Harvey said it’s unusual for dogs to care for tiger cubs, but it does happen. He said he has seen reports of pigs nursing cubs in China, and he actually got the golden retriever after his wife saw television accounts of dogs caring for tiger cubs.

Puppies take about the same amount of time as tiger cubs to develop, and Harvey said the adoptive mother just recently weaned her own puppies.

“The timing couldn’t have been any better,” he said.

The mother doesn’t know the difference, Harvey said. He said the adopted mother licks, cleans and feeds the cubs.

Oh…she knows the difference.

Over the weekend one of our friends experienced a tragedy with one of their dogs and wanted me to pass a special message along to all of our dog loving friends and family. Please tell every dog owner you know.

Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden. They loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog, Calypso, decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn’t acting lethargic in any way. The next day Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk. Half way through the walk, she had a seizure and died.

Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company’s website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats. Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey’s, and they claim that ‘It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won’t eat it.’

True information about the mulch can be found here – Snopes.com: Cocoa Mulch. This site gives the following information:
Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman’s Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called ‘Theobromine’ . It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution, check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens.

Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker’s chocolate which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

PLEASE GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION! !!
Amy Beichler
Executive Director, Public Animal Welfare Society, (PAWS)
A Nonprofit Humane Society Serving the Animals & People of Greater
Cleveland and Cuyahoga County Since 1976

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