Pet Care

Whether it’s a joyride or a long haul, taking your dogs for a drive can be fun for everyone involved—but it’s important always to buckle up your pet. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 30,000 car accidents are caused annually by unrestrained pets. In a recent survey of dog parents by the American Automobile Association (AAA), 59% of respondents admitted to participating in at least one distracting behavior while driving with a dog. More than half pet their dog while driving, and 21% let their dog to sit in their laps.

Any behavior that takes a driver’s eyes off the road increases the risk of a crash, and stopping short can send an unrestrained dog flying, causing severe injury to pet and passengers. The ASPCA urges motoring pet parents to keep their pets safe and secure in the back seat in a well-ventilated crate, carrier, or harness. If you choose a crate or carrier, make sure it’s large enough for your pet to stand, sit, lie down and turn around in.

Here are some more tips to keep your end-of-summer road trips festive and injury-free:

• Always secure your pet’s crate so it won’t slide or shift in the event of a quick stop.
• Resist the urge to feed your furry friend in a moving vehicle—even if it’s during a long ride.
• Avoid letting your pet ride with his head outside the car window. He could be injured by flying objects!
• Bring along a favorite toy or pillow to give your pet a sense of familiarity and comfort.

For more helpful hints, please visit our Top 10 Tips for Safe Car Travel with Your Pet.

A team of three ASPCA shelter medicine experts and one veterinary representative from Texas A&M are traveling to Austin this week to spend two days at the Town Lake Animal Center (TLAC), assessing the shelter's programs and working with leaders to develop a plan for the future. TLAC is a city-funded, open-intake facility and ASPCA partner shelter. The visiting experts hope to gain insight into the shelter's daily operations and a holistic understanding of its programs.

"An on-site visit provides a chance to explore together with the shelter opportunities that may improve animal health and welfare and ultimately save more lives in Austin," says Dr. Miranda Spindel, ASPCA Director of Veterinary Outreach and one of the attending experts.

This week's assessment is being performed as part of TLAC's participation in the ASPCA Partnership program, a collaboration with communities and shelters nationwide to save more animals' lives. The program emphasizes reuniting lost pets with families, increasing adoptions, promoting spay/neuter solutions and supporting feral cats. As part of the program, all ASPCA partner communities receive assessments at no cost to the participants. The other Austin partners—Animal Trustees of Austin, Austin Humane Society and emanciPET—will receive their assessments later this year.  

For more information about the ASPCA's work in communities across the country, please visit ASPCA Partnerships online.

“Todd, keep an eye on Beau—he’s going to throw up,” said Robyn Salvo of Jackson, NJ, as she sent the Salvos’ eight-year-old German Shepherd to join her husband in the backyard. It was a regular Saturday night three weeks ago; Beau had been fine all day, but was now retching and acting distressed.

Once in the yard, Beau squatted as if to defecate, but nothing happened. He continued to pace, pant and dry heave. As Todd put his arm around the dog to comfort him, he felt that Beau’s stomach was hard as a rock. “At that point, I knew he was in trouble,” Todd recalls. “Twenty years ago, before I got my first German Shepherd, I read a book about the breed. I somehow remembered what I had read about bloat and stomach torsion—and Beau was showing several of the classic signs. I knew that if he didn’t get help right away, he could die.”

Food bloat is a condition—rarely life-threatening—in which the stomach swells because a dog has eaten too much, too fast. However, the word “bloat” is often used to refer to gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), or stomach torsion, a much more serious condition in which the stomach twists around in the body. GDV is fatal if not treated promptly. A dog who overeats and has a full, uncomfortable stomach is not the same as a dog who suffers from GDV, and a veterinarian is the only one who can distinguish between the two and make the proper diagnosis. While the causes of GDV are unknown, deep-chested breeds such as Shepherds, Boxers, Akitas and Great Danes are more prone to being stricken.

After calling ahead to see if there was a surgeon on site, Todd and Robyn put Beau in their car and raced to the nearest 24-hour emergency veterinary clinic. Beau was X-rayed, and within 10 minutes a vet told the Salvos that their dog did indeed have GDV—his stomach had flipped. Less than two hours after he began exhibiting symptoms, he was rushed into emergency surgery, where 20% of his stomach had to be removed due to tissue death. At that point, the Salvos were told that his chance of survival was 50-50.

Happily, Beau is a strong dog and pulled through with flying colors. He is back home with his family, and his stomach is now attached to his abdominal cavity wall so it cannot twist out of place again.

It was extremely lucky that the Salvos were home when Beau’s GDV struck—but when it came to taking correct action, Todd’s knowledge, rather than luck, made all the difference. “The biggest lesson from this that I hope to pass on to others is to research breeds and their potential health problems before you bring home a dog,” says Todd. “Don’t choose a dog based solely on looks. You need to find out what kinds of medical issues you might be in for, especially as they age. After finding out, if you still want that breed—as I did with German Shepherds—you’ll be better prepared to help them if something goes wrong.”

To learn more about bloat and GDV, visit our Dog Care section.

Today is Earth Day! There are plenty of ways to show the planet some love with eco-friendly pet parenting. Just like us, our beloved animal companions love to eat and play—but they haven’t yet mastered the art of recycling or composting. Here are some simple steps you can take to reduce your pet’s carbon paw print. 
  

• Tap is where it’s at! Give your pet filtered tap water instead of bottled to drink. If you must use bottled water, be sure to recycle the bottle.
   
• Scoop the poop with biodegradable bags instead of plastic bags. Kitty parents, go for eco-friendly cat litters, avoiding brands containing mined minerals.
   
• Don’t reach for the bleach to clean your pet’s messes. Use vinegar instead—it’s green, removes odors and kills bacteria.
   
• Get Moving! Walk your dog to the doggie park rather than driving there.
   
• Buy pet supplies in bulk or the largest available size. You’ll make fewer trips to the store and cut down on discarded packaging.

It’s the little things that count and add up to big savings for you, your pet and Mother Earth. For more ways to celebrate Earth Day with your pet, check out our guide to living green with cats and dogs.

Action Tip: Reuse and recycle by contacting your local shelter reps and asking if they need extra towels, bedding, leashes, litter boxes, pet toys or other gently used items that you plan to throw away.