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All About Dogs

Pet groomer adds color to dogs' lives

Paws & Reflect.

Dog forgives neutering, chooses veterinary office as home.

It’s not every day that a dog runs away from home to return to the veterinarian who neutered him. But Joplin vet Steve Walstad said that’s what he found when he drove past his office on Nov. 11. A black, mixed-breed dog named Radar was lying in front of the Animal Clinic at 710 S. New Hampshire Ave.

Walstad boarded Radar for several weeks and neutered him while the dog’s owner was out of town. When the owner, who did not want to be identified, came to pick him up on Nov. 8, Radar seemed hesitant to leave. Three days later, he jumped the fence at his home and was back at Walstad’s office.“I opened the door of the clinic and he ran right inside, into the back and settled right into his cage like he belonged there,” Walstad said. “I gave him some food and water and a hug, and he looked as happy as he could be.”

Walstad said most dogs have a sense of home that sometimes leads them over great distances back to their owners, but he said that in 28 years of practicing animal medicine in Joplin, he’s never heard of a dog returning to the vet’s office. Walstad said Radar’s owner had been looking for a new home for the dog and offered to let the vet keep him.

New cologne is the dog's whiskers.

A new designer perfume has been launched - but not for humans - for the discerning designer dog. Pampered pooches everywhere, including celebrity canines, will be able to smell as good as their owners thanks to London pet shop Mungo and Maud. The perfume - called "Petite Amande" Dog Fragrance - is described as a "gentle scent inspired by nature with notes of French blackcurrant, mimosa and violet leaf on a base of sweet vanilla bourbon with a little almond". The shop's creative director Nicola Sacher said: "For some time we had wanted to create an original fragrance for dogs made with refined ingredients that wouldn't overpower the senses. "The scent is designed to refresh the dog and appeal to the human nose too."

The family that needs 3 heart transplants

Three members of the same family who are all waiting for heart transplants have urged more people to register as organ donors. Twins Lauren and Katie Williams, two, and their mother Louise Snape, 29, from Middleton, Greater Manchester, suffer from the same rare heart condition. The condition, dilated cardiomyopathy, causes the heart to enlarge and become less effective.

Doctors have said Ms Snape, who was diagnosed with the condition when she was pregnant with the twins, has between 12 and 15 years to live but this could be extended with a heart transplant. Katie was diagnosed shortly after she was born, but Lauren was only diagnosed a few weeks ago. The twins' hearts are now a lot weaker than those of healthy toddlers, and they are both struggling. Matching organs must come from a recently deceased child with the same tissue match and weight as theirs.

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Praying Mantis

Q: Why do worms go onto the sidewalk when it rains?

A: Most people assume that earthworms come to the surface during heavy rains to avoid drowning in their tunnels. In fact, worms can live totally submerged in water, so drowning isn’t the problem. But the rainwater that filters down through the ground contains very little oxygen, so the real reason earthworms come to the surface is to breathe.
Once above ground, earthworms are very sensitive to light, and even a brief exposure to the sun’s rays can paralyze them. Unable to crawl back into their burrows, they eventually dry out and die on the sidewalk.

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Having kittens: Rabbit adopts new feline family

When veterinary nurse Melanie Humble took home a litter of kittens, she expected her cat Ellie to show some interest.
Instead it was her rabbit Summer who quickly developed a bond with the baby felines. Although only five-months-old, Summer has shown remarkable patience with the frisky five-week-old kittens, and lets them snuggle close to her.


Summer the rabbit is mobbed by her new brood of kittens
"I brought Summer inside on bonfire night because I was worried about her being scared by fireworks," Melanie said.
"I did wonder how she would get on with the kittens tearing around the house, but she has been really great.
"I think they think she's their mum. She's a big, fat rabbit and she just sits there quite happily and lets them climb all over her. It is lovely to see them all together."
The kittens had been abandoned by their mother and were brought into the veterinary branch in Aberdeen where Melanie works. Melanie agreed to foster them until they reached eight-weeks-old. They were too small to feed themselves so Melanie has been giving them a special formula through a syringe every two to three hours.
"It's a bit of a full-time job," said Melanie.
"Wherever I go, the kittens have to go, too, but they're lots of fun."