Nearly all pet owners consider their animals an integral part of the family, and treat them as such. Most pets do not make a fuss when you leave the house, although they are always happy to see you return. Others have a disorder that is called ‘separation anxiety’, where the pet’s owner must be in sight at all times, otherwise the animal will go crazy.

Many of these dogs that have separation anxiety have a hyper-attachment to the owner; are excessively attentive to the owner, and follows him or her everywhere. They always want to be held, touched, or clinging to the owner and sometimes even become anorexic when the owner is not present.

“Occasionally this behavior problem is seen in puppies and adult dogs from rescue groups or shelters, or adult dogs that have to suddenly deal with schedule changes in which they are spending numerous hours alone, when in the past the owner was always with them” said Dr. M.A. Crist, Clinical Assistant Professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. “Separation anxiety is usually about two things, separation and anxiety or fear.”

Symptoms of separation anxiety in dogs can include destructive behavior directed towards personal items like clothing, remote controls, bedding, doorways and windows, in an effort to escape from crates or confined rooms. Persistent barking, howling, and eliminations with urine and fecal accidents in multiple areas may all be signs of anxiety from being left alone. If you notice hypersalivation with possible puddles of thick saliva in the crate or near a doorway or window, it may be caused from your pet scratching in order to attempt escape. These symptoms occur when the dog is alone or believes it is alone.

Treatment of separation anxiety will usually involve people interaction, the dog’s environment, and sometimes anti-anxiety medication. Some common management steps are can also include increasing your dog’s level of independence, interactions with people, and sometimes the involvement of anti-anxiety medications.

“It is recommended to not reward anxiety attention seeking from dogs as a level of comfort. Providing attention during these situations will enable your dog and reinforce the unwanted behavior. Positive attention that is initiated by the owner and scheduled training can be helpful” said Crist. “Keep your arrivals and departures to a minimum and non-eventful. It is recommended to perform all departure activities 30 minutes prior to leaving such as feeding, walking, and eliminating. Do not leave in a hurry because the dog will pick up on this and can be nervous when the owner leaves the home. Evaluate some of the departure activities the owner performs such as getting the car keys, picking up a wallet or purse, or getting the cell phone. Any of these can be predictors that the owner is going to depart and make the dog anxious. One can try to desensitize the dog to some of the departure of the activities by performing them at times when the owner is not leaving. Teach the pet to be left alone by providing dog bed areas in different rooms for the dog to lie down. Practice with the pet having them lie in these areas for longer periods of time each time and then begin leaving the home and increasing the length of time periods.”

Certain methods of distraction can also work well to keep your pet occupied while you leave the premises. These methods include the owner leaving a treat that will take the dog a long time to consume, or leaving the television or music on in the house. Dogs may be kept in a crate which sometimes can increase or decrease the anxiety level, and may also protect the home from damage made by the unwanted behavior of the pet. You may also use a synthetic dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) throughout the household where the pet is located. The pheromone may provide some degree of calming in dogs that experience separation anxiety.

“Sometimes dogs suffer from separation anxiety to a point where they need to be prescribed medication from a veterinarian or a veterinary behavior specialist” said Crist. “It is recommended that the medication and a behavior modification program go hand in hand and that the medication does not replace the modification plan. The two veterinary approved medications for separation anxiety in dogs are Clomicalm (generic name clomipramine) and Reconcile (generic name fluoxetine).”

“It’s important to have a supply of different blood components available at all times because we are both a primary emergency facility and a large referral facility,” explains Mary Radcliffe, Blood Bank Coordinator at Texas A&M’s  Small Animal Clinic ICU. “We see high risk, critical cases which often require immediate treatment.  These types of patients may not even survive a 24-48 hour delay in receiving a particular component.”

Volunteer blood donors are crucial to the supply the clinic has on hand.  Privately owned dogs and cats serve as blood donors, and a friendly personality is a must.

“My dogs do search and rescue operations and are also blood donors.  It does require a time commitment because you have to bring them in to the clinic if you are available when there is a need for your dog’s donation, but it is definitely worth it,” notes Jaime Greenway, a veterinary technician at Texas A&M University Small Animal Clinic. “It makes me feel good that my dogs are not only helping to find people, but are also helping other people’s pets as well.”

Both dogs and cats must be between one and six years of age, spayed or neutered and in good health. Cats must weigh at least 12 lbs and dogs must weigh at least 55 lbs.

“Before accepting a dog or cat into the program they are blood typed and then if they are suitable, they come in to the clinic for a complete physical examination and blood draw to rule out any medical problems,” states Radcliffe. “They remain in the program for approximately two years and may donate once every three months.”

Right now there are 12 dogs and one cat that participate in the program.  All typing, testing and annual physical exams and vaccinations for the donors are done at no charge to the owner.

“Between the commercial blood bank supplies which we purchase and our volunteer donors we generally mange to cover our blood needs, but holidays are always a particular concern.  This is due to the increased caseload as so many other facilities are closed,” remarks Radcliffe.

While the majority of the blood bank program’s needs are currently being met, many of the donor’s owners are students who graduate and move away with their pets.   Also, as pets get older, they may have to “retire” from the program based on age or they may develop medical problems unrelated to being a donor that may force them into “early retirement.”

“I am always accepting new applications for the program,” states Radcliffe. “Interested people in the Bryan/College Station area can contact me at mradcliffe@cvm.tamu.edu.”

There are a variety of veterinary blood bank programs around the country from universities to private clinics and commercial businesses. If you are interested in volunteering your pet forone of these programs, contact your veterinarian for more information about what is available in your area.

These 3 baby Kestrels were rescued after falling out of their nests in a palm tree.

By Colleen Grzan, werc@werc-ca.org
Before you begin tree trimming, construction work, yard maintenance or roofing, please note:
Every year W.E.R.C. and other wildlife rehabilitation facilities across the nation receive orphaned and/or injured baby birds and tree squirrels because they have lost their nests or been injured due to yard and home maintenance.

Even trimming trees around the nests can be damaging, because the noise and human activity can scare away the parents and because the nest’s covering may be lost, exposing the babies to predators and hot sun, wind, and rain.
Nesting season is typically March-August. IT IS AGAINST STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS to remove, destroy, or disturb most nesting wild birds, their nests, or their eggs. IT IS NOT LEGAL to destroy the nests of tree squirrels. These laws apply to homeowners, contractors, and businesses alike and violators may be prosecuted and be assessed stiff fines. Special government permits are required to remove occupied nests and are only justified for a strongly compelling reason, for example, when the location creates a health hazard to humans.
If a nest does accidentally fall down, try to carefully place it in another part of the tree and watch to see if the parent returns to care for the young. If the parent doesn’t come back within 4 hours, call W.E.R.C. or your nearest licensed wildlife rehabilitator for advice.
And remember to check the grass or fields before you begin mowing, roto-tilling, or weed-whacking—animals such as rabbits and some birds nest and hide their young in the tall grasses.

I knew Ed for most of my 31 years here in South County. And like everyone else that worked with him, I knew that he was a no-nonsense man. If he was sure of something, he’d let you know. And if you argued with him, you had better have your facts straight.

But most of all, Ed passionately cared for 4-H and what it meant to young people. There are so many people who will remember him at the County Fair every summer, making sure exhibitors had their projects ready, making sure ribbons were ready for the winners, and answering everyone’s questions day and night. As several have said, Ed Vargas was local icon. How lucky we all were to know and work with him.

Guest blog written by our Senior Dog Volunteer Cynthia Hiatt.

Twenty years ago, most dogs spent their days outside, and if they were lucky, their evenings and nights inside with their humans. Unless the owners were interested in the show ring or raising a working dog (hunting, herding, search and rescue, see and eye, etc.), training pretty much meant house training. Getting the leash out was as likely to mean a trip to the vet as a walk in the neighborhood. Family vacations did not include dogs with the exception of camping. Taking your dog to a restaurant was pretty much unheard of. Some people took their dogs with them for car/truck rides, but the dogs stayed in the vehicle. Interactions with other dogs were usually confined to the dogs in the same household.

A “good dog” was a dog that didn’t bite unless provoked, gave you a warm greeting when you came home and didn’t destroy your property. Dogs were allowed to bite and children were usually blamed for provoking them. A “house dog” was one of those expensive ankle biters, with breed names no one could spell. Their jumping, barking and lack of social skills was ignored or easily managed because of their size. Neighbors generally tolerated each other’s dogs and most households had what were referred to as “mutts” which had been acquired for free from some friend or kid with a box in front of a grocery store.
In general, the life of animals has improved a lot, especially the lives of dogs and cats. But as the trend has moved toward companion animals rather than “pets”, spending most of their time indoors and accompanying their human in every aspect of their lives, the expectations have grown for both animal and human. For this to work, the animal must blend into the human social system, which is sometimes at odds with their own species norms. The human must learn to teach their companion how to behave in what are foreign situations to the animal. In some cases, the expectations are near equal to those of a service dog which has had a very skilled trainer working with them for up to 2-3 years.
For anyone who watched the reality show “Greatest American Dog”, the bar is quite high for today’s dog. They must be able to collaborate on art projects, play a role in skits, hold a “sit”, unflinching while being charged by an elephant, and sit at the dining table without touching a steak until told. This is, in addition to being able to demonstrate basic obedience and agility skills. I don’t have human friends who can do all that.
If your dog isn’t cutting it, (and it always seems to be the view that it is the dog who isn’t cutting it) there are TV shows that provide 30-60 minute miracle fixes, or “training” devices sold at the pet store, suggesting that these new expectations are perfectly reasonable and easy to achieve if you just take charge of your dog. On one end of the training spectrum you have people promoting the idea that humans should act like dogs and on the other end people suggesting dogs should be a viable stand in when a human friend cancels on a social engagement. They are both absurd. The average owner feels they are failing their dogs or that they somehow acquired a defective dog (frequently the latter).
I can’t help but feel sad that the wonderful simplicity of the symbiotic dog/human relationship has been lost. We love dogs because they accept us for who we are, flaws and all, only asking that we meet their basic needs. In the pursuit of this new idea of a “good dog”, (essentially trying to make them super humans minus the annoying stuff) we put undue pressure on ourselves to become behaviorists and trainers and deny the dog his basic nature. I hope we can continue the progress that has been made with respect to humane treatment of animals, respecting their rights as fellow living creatures without compromising what they have to offer as a unique species and individuals that enrich the world by being different.
Brigid Wasson is the supervisor of the South County Animal Shelter in San Martin. Check out adoptable pets at www.southcountypets.com or contact the shelter directly at (408) 686-3900.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year. While this is an alarming statistic, most of these bites are preventable. “Human behavior is a major factor in dog bites,” explains Dr. Mark Stickney Director of General Surgery Services at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. “Children are commonly bit by dogs because of their fast, uncoordinated and unpredictable movements that can frighten dogs and make them feel threatened.”

Because of this, children under the age of five may unknowingly antagonize a dog into biting them. Boys between the ages of five and nine years old are actually the most likely to be bitten by a dog. “These bites, which typically occur on the face, head and neck, are rarely fatal but they are obviously painful and can lead to infection if not properly cared for, and disfigurement in extreme cases” says Stickney. In addition to fear, other common causes of dog bites include aggressive play, territoriality over food or a special toy or perceived territorial boundary, an aggression behavioral problem and pain. “A wagging tail does NOT equal a friendly dog,” warns Stickney. “Never approach a dog you do not know and always ask an owner’s permission to pet their dog.” When you do approach an unfamiliar dog with the owner’s permission, move slowly and let the dog sniff your hand before touching it. You also want to avoid petting the dog’s face, head and tail. “Never bother an eating or sleeping dog or one that is caring puppies,” states Stickney. “If you wake a dog abruptly you may scare them, and their territoriality over food and babies may also cause them to bite.” While children are most likely to be bit by a neighbor’s or a friend’s dog, adults are most likely to be bitten by their own dog. Although the best way to prevent a bite is to alter your own behavior around dogs, there some precautions you can take with your own dog. “Dogs that have properly socialized and received obedience training are less likely to bite people or other animals,” notes Stickney. “Also, neutered and spayed dogs are less likely to bite.” If a dog does threaten you by growling, remain calm and stand still or slowly back away till it leaves. “If a dog knocks you down to attack you curl into a ball and protect your face with your arms and fists,” advises Stickney. “If the dog bites you get treatment at a hospital and make sure the dog is current on its rabies vaccinations.” While dog bites can be harmful to people, they can actually be just as harmful if not more harmful to other pets. “Carefully monitor interactions between new dogs and cats,” states Stickney. “It is best if animals meet each other on neutral ground, not in the area one considers its territory.” If your pet is bitten by another dog, you will want to take the pet to your veterinarian immediately. “Bite wounds in animals are usually worse under the skin then they appear on the surface and commonly become infected,” warns Stickney. “As when an animal bites a person you will want to ascertain the rabies vaccination status of the biting animal. You will also need to know if the bitten animal is current on their rabies vaccinations as well.” Dogs play an integral role in many people’s families. They are cute and cuddly and for the most part very sweet. However, it is important to remember that dogs are animals and will react with animal instincts when threatened or frightened. Taking these precautions when interacting with a dog or when your animal interacts with a dog will help keep it a positive experience.