Comments Off on Pets & Second hand smoke
03 Nov 10

Pets & Second hand smoke ...

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Did you know that cats that are exposed to 2nd hand smoke have a higher incidence of getting lymphoma, skin cancer and mouth cancer?  According to a Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine study which found a strong connection between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and oral and skin cancer in cats. Cats living with smokers had higher incidence of these types of cancer and cats living with more than one smoker and exposed to ETS for a period longer than five years have an even higher incidence of these cancers.

Mouth cancer may seem strange for a cat to get due to 2nd hand smoke, but because cats groom themselves daily, a cat living in a smoking housed hold can lick up carcinogens that have landed on their fur.  If a cat is exposed to 2nd hand smoke over a long period of time they can be exposed to carcinogens in dangerous amounts.

With dogs, 2nd hand smoke is associated more with nasal sinus cancer, especially in breeds that have longer noses such as Dobermans, Greyhounds or Collies. According to a study done by Colorado State University found that the risk of nasal cancer was significantly higher for long-nosed dogs exposed to household ETS than for unexposed animals, although there was no evidence of an increase in risk for short-nosed breeds. 

While primary lung cancer is not common in cats and dogs, according to Dr.
Keith Niesenbaum of www.CrawfordDogandCatHospital.com in Garden City Park said, “I have definitely seen pets with chronic airway disease that I believe is caused or exacerbated by poor environmental air quality. This includes stuffy, moldy, stale air and second hand smoke.  We have seen clinical improvements in patients as a result of cleaning up the environment [in which the pet lives in].”

While it can be extremely difficult for humans to quit smoking, but pets don’t have a choice if they are living in a smoking household.  Thursday, November 18, 2010 is the 35th Annual National Smoke Out encouraging smoker’s trying to quit, to not smoke the entire day.  Hopefully pet owners that happen to smoke and want to quit will make a healthier choice for themselves and their pets on the 18th.   

Comments Off on Pet Health Ins. Month
01 Sep 10

Pet Health Ins. Month ...

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

National Pet Health Insurance Month

Did you know that September is National Pet Health Insurance Month?
It seems we have a month, day or week for nearly everything these days, but pet health insurance is more important now than ever. Founded in 2007, the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) was formed and works collaboratively with its members to establish and maintain universal and professional standards for terminology, best practices, quality, and ethics in the pet health industry.

One company, Trupanion who is a member of NAPHIA recently announced a “No Dollar Limit” provision for their policy, which is really breaking the mold when it comes to pet health insurance companies.  Trupanion announced that they will no longer have a dollar limit on policies, per year incidents, year or lifetime.  Thomas Russo, Territory Partner of Long Island and Queens said, “This is an industry first.  I am thrilled to be part of a company that focuses more on the actual pet’s health care, than restrictions and stringent polices.”  This change will make other pet insurance companies wake up and take notice.

Limits are one way that pet insurance companies protect themselves from large benefit payouts and the potential of an expanding cost of claims. Many times, caps in benefit payments are not thoroughly understood and can place a company in an adversarial position with the policyholder. By removing the cap, Trupanion streamlines their policy and can focus more on resources on service.

Trupanion is also an industry leader in more ways than their no limit policy, they also cover 90% of claims, and pet owners can select any deductible from 0 to 1,000 dollars and find the premium that best suits them.  The company also offers a 30-day free trial certificate for new pet owners of pets under a year old.  So if you are looking for a company for your new pet, or old pet’s health insurance, do your research and check out Trupanion (www.trupanion.com).

Contact Thomas Russo: thomas.russo@trupanion.com
NAPHIA: www.naphia.org

Comments Off on Introducing AnimalRoulette.com
16 Jul 10

Introducing AnimalRoulette.com ...

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

What happens when you combine the talent of a local Long Island Pet Professional and an award winning no-kill animal shelter?  The world gets a revolutionary new way to meet pets that are up for adoption, live right on your computer! Introducing AnimalRoulette.com. AnimalRoulette.com is an incredible new technology that is going to put a new spin on pet adoptions – and transform the way potential adopters can search for pets.  Being launched to go live at Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton, NY this Saturday, July 17th from 1 to 4pm – this new site, the first of its kind in the pet world was designed by Michael Ayalon, CEO of PetWebDesigner.com.

The buzz about this amazing new website has already attracted the media attention from ABC NY News, News 12, Newsday, PetSide.com, Farmingdale Observer, Levittown Tribune, Babylon Beacon and many more.  Ayalon was thinking of a way to use this type of technology to help more animals get adopted, virtually if you will.  After six months of development, Ayalon was ready to a launch the website and happened to meet Pam Green the Director of Kent Animal Shelter at a recent Long Island Pet Professionals networking meeting.  Green was on board and said, “We are always looking for new ways to expand the number of pets adopted, so it makes sense to offer people looking to adopt a pet more than just a photo. They should be able to see the pet’s disposition live in order to determine if the pet would make a good addition to their family. AnimalRoulette.com gives us that ability.”

With technology taking us places we have never before been, why not let it take us to your local animal shelter, or one across state?  This technology enables potential adopters to view animals waiting for that furever home in a live meet and greet video chat online.  Viewers on AnimalRoulette.com just need a webcam and audio hooked up to their computer so they can interact with shelter staff and talk to them about the pet that particular shelter is showing.  If the potential adopter is not really interested in that pet, then they can simply hit “next” and it will bring them to another randomly selected pet in a different live video chat room, hence the “roulette” in the name.  This Saturday, all the pets that will be debuted on AnimalRoulette.com will be pets currently available for adoption at Kent Animal Shelter.  So if you live in NYC and cannot physically get to Kent on Saturday and you want to see how a pet is, presents itself, interacts with shelter staff, other animals, you can do so from the comfort of home on your computer.  All adoptions will go through normal adoption procedures through Kent if you do decide you really want to adopt one of their pets you meet while on AnimalRoulette.com, you can simply fill their an online adoption form on Kent’s website, www.kentanimalshelter.com.  

Another fantastic part of this is that if you have small kids and you can’t make it to a shelter, this will eliminate finding a babysitter as the entire family can “meet” the pet live online.  Also the noise in a shelter on initial visits result in people passing by that dog in the corner of the run or the one that is jumping and barking.  So often overlooked pets will really benefit from this as well.  People will see how great that pet is, once out of its kennel run, and in a quieter room for the live intro online.

Ayalon said, “I know how much shelters in this country struggle to find homes for their animals, and I felt that today’s opportunity of real time on the Internet provided the perfect place for pet lovers all over the country to see what’s available.  We hope to make this video and audio technology improve the adoption rates for shelters all over the United States. Kent Animal Shelter was the perfect partner for the project because of their outstanding work as a no-kill shelter since 1968.”

Due to this great new idea, the ASPCA also recently named Ayalon their first ever “Animal Hero of the Week.” 

So if you have been thinking about adopting a pet and were apprehensive as to what you might find in a local animal shelter, this is the perfect outlet to see the remarkable pets looking for love and a home.  Log onto www.AnimalRoulette.com this Saturday, July 17 from 1 to 4pm and meet your new best friend.