On October 3, 2009, Diamond Pet Foods announced that they had voluntarily withdrawn from distribution two brands of cat food Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat. The recalled bags are those with the following date codes. RAF0501A22X 18lb    RAF0501A2X 6 lb.,   RAH0501A22X 18 lb.    RAH0501A2X 6lb.    SO far, based on calls from pet owners and veterinarians, the problem appears to be centered in the Rochester, NY, area. The company has contacted all retailers and outlets to which these lots were shipped and asked them to pull the product from the store shelves. The retailers

Day 4 of my trip to Indonesia (Sept 2009) Dolphin Encounter Today we went dolphin watching at Lovina beach in Bali; I give the trip mixed reviews. First, we had to ride out further than expected to get to deeper waters in hopes of seeing dolphins. This was actually okay because we enjoyed the ride and the scenery. But instead of seeing the horizon or having a postcard view of the coast we saw a brown haze. It was smog! From the cars, maybe from Java, and definitely from the boats, which are traditionally outriggers with ancient motors. Throughout the

Day 4 of my Indonesia Trip (Sept 2009) One fact that’s wonderful about dogs is that whether they’re a pampered pet from America, a trained competition dog in Germany, or a street dog in Bali, the language is the same. So no matter where I go, I know I’ll be able to communicate with them. On the morning of our first full day in Bali, while my friend Asri and her family and I are waiting at Lovina beach for our dolphin-watching boat to get fixed, a little village dog follows a visitor to the beach looking for food. The

Sophia’s Indonesia Trip — Day 3 (Sept 2009) Today we’ve arrived on Bali, an island described as Paradise and one also known for having many stray dogs. Virtually all developing countries have many stray dogs and the dog population is a good reminder of how dogs co-evolved alongside man. That is, while a common idea is that humans purposefully domesticated dogs by stealing wolf pups from dens and then selectively breeding the ones they liked, this process would be labor intensive, especially considering the fact that, even now, to get a tame wolf you must hand rear them starting before 14

Sophia’s Indonesia Trip, Day 3 (Sept 2009) Impressive Hornbills On day 3 of my Indonesian vacation and our first day on Bali, we stop and visit Bird Park. The park has the standard variety of parrots, most of which are also present at other zoos. But they have a large collection of hornbills, which most other zoos do not. These large birds form monogamous pairs and live in tree holes and crevices. When the female is ready to lay eggs she builds a wall of mud and droppings to seal the opening and seals herself in. The opening is only large enough

Puffy’s biggest behavioral issue as a puppy is that she loves to jump on people and nip on their feet. In Indonesia, since most people go shoeless in the house, this can become a big issue early on. Luckily, both behaviors are simple to fix with one solution.