#access to veterinary care

[petspeopletogether]

There’s a bipartisan bill in Congress that would include veterinary care and pet insurance as eligible expenses under HSAs and FSAs, as well as improve access to veterinary care for people with disabilities and veterans who have service animals.

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

i think the most annoying part of dog food discourse is how many people will act as though proplan/hill’s/Royal canin diets aren’t extremely and prohibitively expensive and that THAT is the reason so many people look into healthy alternatives.

People complain about corn being in the first five ingredients on most of those feeds because, regardless of other factors here, that is not an expensive ingredient. But it makes up a large chunk of the dry food. So the dry food should be fairly affordable, right?

Oh… with tax you’re spending about $100 for one 45lb bag of food where the third ingredient is wheat and the fourth and fifth ingredients are corn.

Oh… well! It’s slightly cheaper! But the second ingredient is rice, third is wheat, fourth is corn, and then fifth is poultry byproduct. None of those are very expensive so this just must be the low end cost of dog food unfortunately. The vets recommend it so surely that means prices aren’t inflated, right?

Oh? This one has similar ingredients with the only real difference being no corn? And it’s half the price?? Well surely that’s just a fluke.

Oh. Oh no.

This one even has CORN in it and it’s $20 cheaper?? Wow!

Like listen at some point I don’t care if your dog food has the ichor of the gods in it, I’m not spending $100 every five days if there are cheaper options with just as many “good” ingredients in it. If you think I’m a dog abuser because I can’t afford this overpriced garbage, that’s too bad. I don’t care. My dogs are perfectly healthy with the food I give them. Great weight and great coat. People giving dog food recommendations that aren’t those top three hyper-expensive dog foods aren’t trying to epic own those dastardly vets half the time, but I really don’t blame the ones who do lose trust in vets when the only heartworm protection they recommend lately are expensive triple-action brands like Simparica Trio that costs $120+ as opposed to the other heartworm protections that are only about $40-$60 on average, which is still cheaper even if you add on a $20-$40 flea and tick protection separately, and only recommend dog food that costs $85+ a bag even if your dog doesn’t have specialized dietary needs.

Those top three foods are GREAT at making competent prescription diets, I don’t deny that. I do still have to criticize the pricing of those prescription diets though because I have spoken to DOZENS of people who had to pull their pets off of a prescription diet and struggle to find something comparable because they couldn’t afford the food, and that’s terrible! These are not poor companies! Purina, Royal Canin, and Hill’s can ABSOLUTELY afford to lower their prices to make their food accessible to people who need it for their animals but they don’t. They probably never will. Because at the core they are run by greedy corporations. It doesn’t matter how many good nutritionists are on board if the company is run by people who put profits over customers and make the food impossible for people to afford.

[assistancedogmischa]

mischa went back to the vet today for a follow up. the anti inflammatories didn't seem to do anything, and we've agreed desexing is the way to go.

assistance animals who are going to do mobility work need to have their joints checked via x-ray, before they can start training. mischa had his hips & lower spine x-rayed last visit when they were looking at his bladder, but he'll also need his elbows and other joints x-rayed. we planned to do this at the same admission as his desexing , since he needs to be sedated, but it's . very very expensive . so I'm thinking either we just do the only most necessary xrays (elbows & shoulders) or we don't do them at all and do them some other time. i don't want to keep having to go back to the vet since each consult is ~$100 and it's very quickly eating into my savings (a.k.a my top surgery fund), but... i dunno. mobility is more of a "this would be helpful" instead of a "i need this to be functional", so it can wait, if it has to.

edit: I've decided we'll do the xrays at a later date. it was over half of the estimated $1700 fee which brings the cost of desexing (plus checking his bladder walls, and looking at a little lump on his head) down significantly. i would rather get it all done in one go but i cant afford that, so this way it is.

anyway, after the vets i had a job interview (yikes) and mischa came with me and he was perfect! his first time in a situation like that and he just lay down and didn't make a sound. he did have trazodone before his vet appointment but the dosing was about 5 hours before the interview so it had probably worn off by then. a very good boy!

(in the waiting room & a sneaky under the table photo while the interviewer left to get something lol)

[juniperpublishers-jdvs]

Detection and serotyping of African Horse Sickness virus circulating in Kenyan horses

Abstract

African horse sickness (AHS) is an infectious and non-contagious disease of equidae transmitted mainly by Culicoides species. The disease is caused by AHS virus (AHSV), a linear dsRNA virus, within the genus Orbivirus of the Reoviridae family, having 9 different serotypes. Kenya has experience death of horses due to AHS, despite vaccination. The vaccine used has two parts, administered 2-3 weeks apart. Part 1 is trivalent, while part 2 is tetravalent, however, it lacks serotypes 5 and 9. The objective of this study was to determine AHSV serotypes circulating in Kenya to inform the best vaccine and control strategies for AHS. Samples were collected from 37 horses (24 dead, 13 live) in different regions in Kenya including Nanyuki (n=14), Nairobi (n=6), Nakuru/Naivasha (n=14) and Kisumu (n=3). Majority of horses showed different clinical signs characteristic of the acute pulmonary form, however, some showed the cardiac form. Whole blood samples were taken from the live animals, while heparinized blood, spleen, lung and lymph node samples were taken from dead animals (preserved in 10% buffered glycerin) and shipped in dry ice to the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) in Dubai for serotyping. All serotypes were detected from our samples except AHSV-6. Serotypes 2 and 4 were detected in all the regions with AHSV-4 having higher frequency (32.4%) than AHSV-2 (24.3%). All serotypes except AHSV-1 was detected in Nakuru/Naivasha region, with higher frequency of AHSV-7 (13.5%) followed by AHSV-4 (8.1%). AHSV-4 was the most frequent in Nanyuki while AHSV-2 was the most frequent in Nairobi. From these results we recommended that the horses in Kenya should be vaccinated with a vaccine containing all the 9 serotypes since all serotypes are circulating in Kenya.

Keywords: African Horse Sickness; Horses; Serotypes; Kenya

Introduction

African horse sickness (AHS) is an infectious and non-contagious disease of Equidae transmitted mainly by Culicoides species (biting midges) especially C. imicola and C. bolitinos, although other arthropod vectors have been implicated in the transmission of this disease [1]. AHS disease is caused by nine distinct serotypes of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) [2], a linear double stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus belonging to the Orbivirus genus in family Reoviridae should be [3]. AHSV genome consists of 10 segments of linear dsRNA, encoding seven structural (VP1 – VP7) and five non-structural (NS1-3, NS3a and NS4) proteins [3,4]. The NS proteins are involved in virus replication, assembly and transport from infected cells. The VP2 and VP5 are involved in virus attachment and cell entry, hence these proteins contain the antigenic determinants which elicit serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies and therefore, they are the most variable proteins and are used to determine the virus serotypes [5-7].

Upon the bite by the infected vector, the AHSV at first replicates in nearby lymph node before spreading throughout the entire body via the circulatory system, causing primary viraemia leading to lungs and lymphoid tissues infection. The virus predilection site is vascular endothelial cells where it causes extensive damage leading to pervasive hemorrhages [8]. In horses, the viraemia usually lasts between 4–8 days, whereas in donkeys, it may last for up to 4 weeks. In zebra, the viremia may be extended to approximately 40 days post-infection [7,9]. AHSV infection manifest in four forms: cardiac form, pulmonary form, mixed form, and horse sickness fever [8,10]. The cardiac form is characterized by a fever, edema of the head, neck, chest, petechial hemorrhages in the eyes, ecchymotic hemorrhages on the tongue, and colic. This form of disease may cause mortality of upto 50%. The pulmonary form (the most serious with >95% mortality) is associated with a rapid onset of symptoms including fever, depression, severe respiratory distress, severe dyspnea, coughing, and sweating.

Mixed form is a combination of the cardiac and the pulmonary form and is the most common leading to more than 70% mortality within 3-6 days. Horse sickness fever form is the mildest (with no reported mortality) where the animal just develops a moderate fever and some edema of the supraorbital fossae [8].

Studies have shown that mules and donkeys are less susceptible to AHS than horses, however, zebra has been shown to be resistant to the disease [11]. Besides Equidae, AHS has also been reported in ruminants such as camels, goats, and buffalo [12]. The first AHS case was recorded in Yemen following an epidemic that occurred in 1352 [13]. Although AHS is believed to have originated in Africa, the 1st case was only recorded in 1569 by Father Monclaro [14]. The most severe outbreak caused by AHSV serotype 9 (AHSV- 9) occurred in Asia between 1959–1961 causing over a quarter million equid deaths. This was followed by epizootic of AHSV-9 in 1965 which spread throughout Northern Africa and Spain [14]. After these outbreaks, AHS was confined to sub-Saharan Africa for about 20 years until 1987, when AHSV-4 was reported again in Spain [15]. Senegal reported AHS outbreak in 2007 which was found to be caused by AHSV-2 [16]. Recently, The AHS has been reported in Chad (2019) and Thailand (2020) [17,18]. AHSV is listed as a notifiable equine disease by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) [19]. Vaccination is the main control strategy for AHS in both endemic and epidemic scenarios [20,21]. Live attenuated vaccine is the most common, however, a wide range of other vaccine candidates have been tested, including some that may provide cross-serotype protection against AHSV, but none have been used in the field to date, due to a lack of commercial viability [22]. The currently used live attenuated vaccine (LAV) comes in two vials containing 3 (AHSV-1, -3 and -4) and 4 (AHSV- 2, -6, -7 and -8) AHSV serotypes each, hence, it lacks AHSV-5 and AHSV-9 [23]. AHSV-5 was withdrawn in 1990 from the vaccine after documentation of residual virulence [24]. However, AHSV- 9 has never been included due to its low incidence especially in southern Africa where vaccine is produced. Additionally, cross protection between serotypes 1 & 2, 3 & 7, 5 & 8 and 6 & 9 has been documented [20,23], therefore, protection against AHSV-9 is expected to be provided by AHSV-6. AHS outbreak caused by both AHSV-5 and -9 was reported in South Africa in 2006, leading to questions of competency of the LAV for sufficient protection against the two serotypes. Mellor and Hamblin reported that gene segment re-assortment between wildtype and vaccine strains may result in new genetic variants or reversion to virulence of attenuated vaccine strains [14]. For example, recently whole genome sequences comparison of AHSV isolates which caused 2004 and 2014 outbreaks in Western Cape, South Africa, with AHSV vaccine and reference strains showed convincing evidence of re-assortment between and reversion to virulence of viruses within the vaccine itself [25]. In Kenya, AHS is an endemic disease affecting many horses and donkeys [26]. Recently, in Kenya, horse owners have been losing horses to AHS, despite vaccinating with commercially available AHS vaccine, mostly with LAV from Onderstepoorst Biological Products. We hypothesize that there could be reversion to virulence of some vaccine strains or there could be gene segment reassortment between wildtype and vaccine strains as has been reported elsewhere. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine AHS serotypes circulating in Kenyan horses during the study period. This information is imperative for developing effective control strategies for AHS in the country including safe efficacious vaccines.

In this study we collected from 37 horses (24 dead, 13 live), in different geographical areas mainly in Kenya including Kisumu (n=3), Nanyuki (n=14), Nairobi (n=6) and Naivasha/ Nakuru (n=14). The horses in the study areas are mainly kept in paddock grazing system and at night they are kept in stables or in open fields near owner’s homestead, except in Nairobi where they are kept and fed entirely in stables. Horse owners use insect repellants and acaricide for insects and tick control, respectively. The affected horses showed different clinical signs of AHS mainly characteristics of per-acute or acute pulmonary form including high fever, severe pulmonary oedema, dyspnea and a frothy nasal discharge. However, some horses showed the cardiac form of AHS characterized by fever, edema of head, petechiae on the ventral surface of the tongue, tachypnoea and tachycardia. Paired whole blood samples taken from 13 live horses for processing serum. While samples from 24 horses that succumb to disease including heparinized blood, spleen, lung and lymph node were taken during postmortem (tissues were preserved in 10% buffered glycerine). The samples were store at -20oC before shipped on dry ice to the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL), Dubai United Arabs Emirates for serotyping using the Virus neutralization test and real time RT-PCR, after screening them for AHSV antibody using competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). The results were presented as descriptive statistics using GraphPad Prism 5 (GraphPad Software, Inc., CA, USA).

Overall, all nine serotypes of AHSV were detected in the samples collected except serotype 6 (AHSV-6). Our results showed that AHSV-2 and AHSV-4 occurred most frequently in the Kenyan horses with AHSV-4 (32.4%) occurring in higher frequency than AHSV-2 (24.3%) (Figure 1a). AHSV-7 (13.5%) was third most frequent followed closely by AHSV-9 (10.8%) and AHSV-5 (8.1%), respectively. Serotypes 1, 3 and 8 were less frequent. The dominance of AHSV-4 and AHSV-2 in the study area, raises the question of the efficacy of the multivalent vaccine (LAV) currently being used in Kenya and possibility of reversion to virulence of these serotypes. In terms of regional distribution (Figure 1b), AHSV-2 and AHSV-4 was detected in samples from all the regions, with high frequencies of the two serotypes (18.9% and 10.8%, respectively) recorded in Nanyuki region. AHSV-1 was detected in the Kisumu and Nanyuki regions, while AHSV-3 and AHSV-8 was detected only in Nairobi and Nanyuki regions, respectively. AHSV- 5 was detected in Nanyuki and Nakuru/Naivasha regions, while AHSV-9 was detected in Nairobi and Nanyuki with higher frequency recorded in Nanyuki (Figure 1b). AHSV-7 was exclusively detected in Nakuru/Naivasha region and in high frequency than any other serotype in that region.

We also analyzed the serotype distribution between the samples from the sick horses that were a live and those that succumb to the disease (Figure 1c). In the live horses, serotypes 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 were detected with AHSV-2 occurring in higher frequency (16.2%) than the rest. On the other hand, all the serotypes, except AHSV-8, were detected from the samples of the dead horses, with higher frequency of AHSV-4 (27%) followed by AHSV-7 at 10.8% and AHSV-2 (8.1%). Although many horse owners did not avail to us the information about vaccination status of the affected horses, we examine the distribution of the serotypes based on known vaccination status of the horses. Our results showed that all serotypes were detected in vaccinated horses except AHSV-7 and 8, with AHSV-2 and AHSV-4 occurring in slightly higher frequency (Figure 1d). Serotype 8 was only detected in the unvaccinated dead horse in Nanyuki region. On the other hand, AHSV-3 was detected in one vaccinated horse which was alive in Nairobi area.

The detection of AHSV-5 and AHSV-9 that is not present in the vaccine (LAV) that is mostly used in Kenya indicates that the vaccine may not be protective against these serotypes. Besides, AHSV-5 and AHSV-9 is reported to be antigenically closely related to AHSV-8 and AHSV-6, respectively [24,27], and since AHSV- 6 was not detected at all in our samples one would assume that the vaccine is offering total protection against AHSV-6 and by extension should offer protection against AHSV-9, which was not the case.

African Horse sickness virus was previously reported in Kenya, where Davies and colleagues showed that all the 9 serotypes of AHSV were circulating in the country [28]. Most recently, Gichure and colleagues reported AHS in donkeys in Kenyan highlands with prevalence of between 27 – 35% depending on the seasons [26]. One of our study sites was in the same area where Gichure et al conducted their studies, hence we hypothesize the possibility of AHSV circulating between horses and donkeys. Furthermore, all our study sites also have a sizeable number of zebras and donkeys, thus we also hypothesize the possibility of zebras, as reservoir host, since zebra are resistant to AHS disease [11]. AHS has been detected in Equidae in other countries in Africa including Namibia [29,30], Ethiopia [31,32], Sudan [33], Zimbabwe [34], Senegal [16], South Africa [25] among others. Currently, information about the prevalence of AHSV or its potential risk factors among equids in Kenya is limited. Since horses play an important role in horse races and companion, and donkeys play a role transport in remote areas, the control of AHSV and other emerging diseases in these equids is urgently needed in the country.

Conclusion

AHS outbreak in in Kenya has significant consequences for horse owners especially effect on sporting activities, indicating the pressing need to develop new, safe, efficacious and cost-effective vaccines for AHS. From our pilot results we concluded that the horses in Kenya should get vaccine with all the 9 serotypes since all serotypes are circulating in Kenya. The development of crossprotective AHS vaccines with long shelf life, rapid protection and could be differentiated from natural infections should be a foremost priority for research. From this pilot study, we recommend further investigation to evaluate the immune responses of horse population and other equids, in endemic areas such as Kenya, which have long-term exposure to AHSV and resistance/tolerance to AHS. Furthermore, the ecology of endemic maintenance of the AHSV in other equids such as zebra and donkey populations is unexplored, therefore, genetic and environmental drivers of AHSV vector competence need urgent research attention in Kenya. Finally, it is worth noting that, using our results, CVRL in United Arab Emirates has developed an inactivated vaccine containing all 9 serotypes which produces high ELISA and neutralizing antibodies, which need further evaluation in the field to establish its efficacy [18,35].

To Know More About  Journal of Dairy & Veterinary sciences

Please click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/jdvs/index.php

For more Open Access Journals in Juniper Publishers

please click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/index.php

[bedrock-to-buildheight]

Battleworkers United - a massive labor union of gym trainers, battle facility staff, elite fours, ect. If your job involves pokemon battling, your ass can join up

MythicalMap - online community of rare and mythical pokemon spotters, complete with a scoreboard and local groups drama. They have opinions about this kid named Ash

Smogon's Inferno - a chain of restaurants with built in league-grade battling arenas for live entertainment

Sommei Electricity and Public Transport Association (SEPTA) - labor union that runs the Sommei region's bus, metro, and public electricity system (don't ask why those three in particular). Runs an Electric-type Gym as promo for its bus service

Showdown - impressively realistic FPS battling game with a playerbase of 95% people who can't raise the actual pokemon they want and 5% career battle analysts with poor work-life balance

Joy Hae-Sook Foundation - charitable foundation focused on accessible pokemon veterinary care. They're why you have Pokecenters damn near everywhere. Wildly successful

The Indigo League - you know what this is

[sivavakkiyar]

Under India’s current policies, pastoralists, many of whom are from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, cannot legally register livestock. Unlike their counterparts on settled land, they cannot access insurance, vaccines, veterinary care and compensation when animals are injured or killed.

“No government or institution is ready to believe that you own these cattle, and this is your livelihood,” Hamza said.

But a historic step may mark a major change in the rights and recognitions afforded to nomadic and migratory herders.

India announced earlier this month that its 2024 livestock census will, for the first time, also enumerate pastoral livestock. Officials say this addition to the count is crucial for recognising pastoralism as a widespread practice and could pave the way toward introducing new resources and programmes for the community. Its advocates hope this shift will help create a policy framework that will eventually allow livestock to be legally registered

[12percentspider]

Do you or someone you know need insulin?

Is there someone in your inbox asking for money because clearly they don't know there's help out there? *winkwinknudgenudge say no more say no more* Well, if it's you or anyone else, here's some links to resources for almost anything you could need that relates in some way to being diabetic.

^Long, is a huge list for pretty much ANY complication you could have with diabetes in general. It does explain different kind of insurance plans, would be good for long-term needs. Seems very US based, but there may be equivalent resources in specific other countries that you could probably find with a quick search using these options as search terms. [I did link a couple of worldwide (give or take) sites below]

^US-based list of resources that cover so many different complications that can arise from being diabetic as well as some veterinary resources if your animals need care (if someone in your inbox needs it, point them in that direction?).

^ US-based, exactly what it says on the tin plus more.

Outside of US:

^ Global (mostly). Lists countries that have restrictions, but gives you an application to fill out. They check to see if you're eligible, but it could very well be worth a shot.

^Lists specific countries that have financial resources.

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

would azumarill be a good pet?

Azumarills would indeed make good pets! Just like their pre-evolution, these pokémon need access to water to play in but have exceptional ease-of-care otherwise, plus they’re super friendly!

They may be on the larger size for a house-pet, but certainly not to an unreasonable level. As I already mentioned, azumarills are big fans of water. Wild azumarills are happy wherever they can find freshwater, like rivers, ponds and lakes (Gold, Diamond). They spend most of their time in the water (Emerald), doing everything from hunting for food (Gold, Ruby), hiding from predators (Crystal), or even sunbathing (Sword). Thankfully, they don’t seem to be too picky and don’t necessarily need water to survive, so finding a way to get them some daily or almost-daily water time shouldn’t be beyond the means of too many owners. If you have a pool, private or public, or live near a natural body of fresh water, you should be covered. Now, if you live somewhere that gets really cold during part of the year, it might get a little trickier. Here’s the good news, though: many azumarills have the ability Thick Fat, which makes them resistant to cold temperatures: so long as the water doesn’t freeze solid they should be happy. I’d recommend reaching out to water-type owner communities in your area, they probably know the best places to get your azumarill some water time.

These pokémon get along well with humans and pokémon, giving them just the right temperance to be a good pet. Wild azumarills are known to pay specific attention to the safety of those around them: azumarills have been reported using their ability to make balloons out of air to rescue drowning pokémon (Sapphire) and often attach these balloons to playing marills around them just in case (Shield). If you’re a lifeguard, you might find just the right partner in an azumarill! These pokémon are highly energetic, so they would fit best in a high-energy home. Despite their goofy look, these pokémon are avid hunters, using their keen sense of hearing to track down prey in fast-moving rivers (Gold, Ruby). This means you will need to offer your azumarill with plenty of toys and high-energy activities to engage in to supplement this behavior in a home environment.

While not violent towards humans by nature, azumarills are no pushovers. Moves like Hydro Pump, Double-Edge, and Superpower pack quite a punch, and Bounce is always a move we look out for. As far as their score goes, though, the detriment of these moves are counterbalanced somewhat by moves like Aqua Ring, a self-healing move that may let you cut down on veterinary bills. While you should never underestimate how dangerous an angry azumarill could be, solid training and awareness of their move should negate much of the risk associated with adopting one. Just be careful that they don’t get too rough when you’re playing!

Overall, while there are a couple of drawbacks regarding this pokémon if you don’t have access to water for them to play in, these pokémon make a pretty good pet. I would recommend starting with a marill if possible, however, as their smaller size and weaker moves make them a better fit for most beginner water-type owners.

[afeelgoodblog]

1. New Jersey Governor Declares State a 'Safe Haven' for Gender-Affirming Care

New Jersey’s Democratic governor has a message for the LGBTQ+ community. He issued an executive order on Tuesday indicating that, unlike in some Republican-controlled states, New Jersey is open and welcoming to everybody regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, he says New Jersey is a “safe haven” for those seeking gender-affirming care.

2. Watch Ocean Cleanup remove the 200,000th kilogram of plastic from the Pacific Ocean

3. Finland becomes 31st member of NATO, doubling the alliance's border with Russia

Finland has become the 31st member of the Nato security alliance, doubling the length of member states' borders with Russia.The Finnish foreign minister handed the accession document to the US secretary of state who declared Finland a member.

Then in bright sunshine in front of Nato's gleaming new headquarters, Finland's white-and-blue flag joined a circle of 30 other flags.Finland's accession is a setback for Russia's Vladimir Putin. He had repeatedly complained of Nato's expansion before his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

4. Captive orca Lolita set for release into 'home waters' after 50 years at Miami Seaquarium

The killer whale known as Lolita appears one step closer to returning to its natural habitat of the Pacific Northwest, after performing at a Miami tourist attraction for decades. It was taken from the ocean in 1970. But after a long-running dispute over where Lolita belongs, officials from various parties announced Thursday a "binding agreement" to take Lolita -- also known as Tokitae or Toki -- to its "home waters."

"Lolita will receive the highest quality care as the team works to make relocation possible in the next 18 to 24 months," Miami Seaquarium said in a statement Thursday.

5. Nature prescriptions shown to reduce blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and loneliness

A new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health suggests that nature prescriptions, which recommend spending time in nature, can provide both physical and mental health benefits. Patients who followed these prescriptions had reduced blood pressure, lower depression and anxiety scores, and a higher daily step count.

Research shows that contact with nature reduces harms, including those from poor air quality, heatwaves, and chronic stress, while encouraging healthy behaviours such as socialising and physical activity. This can help to prevent issues including loneliness, depression and cardiovascular disease.

6. Library Receives Flood Of Donations For Beloved Cat

The Ashville Free Library recently began a fundraiser to help pay for the aging cat’s veterinary care. After a story on Libby was published, donations to the library poured in. Director Kristina Benson called the community response overwhelming. As of Thursday, more than $2,900 had been raised.

Benson reported that Libby, the cat — who has recently been suffering from a cold — is now doing much better now that she has her medicine. Benson expects to keep the GoFundMe up until sometime next week.

7. Mother and baby reunited in Turkey nearly two months after earthquake

A mother has been reunited with her baby in southern Turkey after a DNA test confirmed it was her daughter, almost two months after the devastating earthquake, the country's family ministry said.

The three-and-a-half-month old "miracle baby", called Vetin, was pulled out of the rubble of a building in the province of Hatay more than five days after the Feb. 6 quake with no health problems.

----

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog

[crippled-peeper]

Re: chiropractor hate. Have you seen those "chiropractors for pets" bs? Someone's gonna get their cat killed that way

Yes I have and it enrages me to no end

They already have killed pets. It’s not even uncommon. A cursory google search revealed just how controversial and dangerous it is

Plus, people forgoing real veterinary care to take their dog to a chiropractor (animal chiropractors dont exist. they only train for humans) means ignoring symptoms that could be serious and life threatening, like a neoplasm or neurological problem

[pokemonshelterstories]

How do competitive battlers afford to care for and handle these big, dangerous Pokemon?

I saw a tournament recently in Alola where one of the competitors was using a Dondozo, and I can't fathom how hard it would be just to keep a Pokemon fed every day let alone everything else that goes with Pokemon ownership!

i'm actually taking a course on this topic next semester, so i've gotten a headstart on my readings haha.

so this is an issue that is actually a pretty common complaint about high-level battling. while it's true that a very skilled trainer could theoretically compete at top levels regardless of which pokemon they use, the truth of the matter is that almost all champion-level trainers who have been entered into a hall of fame come from upper-middle to upper class families.

there's a lot that goes into training pokemon from an economic perspective. part of this goes into the sheer amount of money it takes to provide for the average pokemon. while many regions are fortunate enough to have free pokemon center access and subsidized preventative/emergency care, there is still a cost associated with veterinary care for pokemon. there's also the matter of feeding, providing proper enrichment, maintaining a suitable environment, grooming...in paldea, it costs about ₽150000 a year on average to keep a maschiff in good condition just as a pet. this cost only rises as pokemon evolve and get bigger, have more intensive care needs, and eat more. if you have, say, a garchomp? you're looking at closer two million poké a year WITHOUT accounting for the extra expenses associated with raising a battling pokemon. most people can't afford to maintain that.

of course, that's just for providing for the pokemon's physical needs. it doesnt take into account things like having the time and money to travel to competitions, or learning how to train a pokemon not just for obedience but for battle. being able to spend hours a day training or to go to a trainer's school or a battle academy just isn't feasible for most people. in galar, where all gym challengers have to register ahead of the season and it's therefore possible to keep track of how many reach the end, data shows that roughly 78% of challengers fail to earn their 3rd badge, and 93% fail to earn their 6th. battling is hard- i'm an expert in pokemon training, and i'm still not very good at it- and there's absolutely a socioeconomic hurdle to competitive training. which stinks, because there's a lot of prestige tied to things like entering the hall of fame, and there's definitely an aspect of judgment in some pokemon training circles if you don't battle.

sorry for going on so long about that, haha...i have a LOT of feelings about competitive battling (especially looking at official pokemon leagues). while im thankfully in a good place financially now, there was a time in my life that i was couch surfing, and i could barely afford to keep myself fed, let alone a pokemon...i can't imagine how it would feel like to be a kid who wants to battle but can't because they don't have the means.

[petspeopletogether]

"In 2023, a man without housing was finally moving into a home along with his dog after 10 years. The dog had severe dental problems and an infected lump on its leg. The dog owner’s caseworker referred him to Community Veterinary Hospital, where the dog received the needed care at no cost thanks to a REACH grant.”

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

To be honest, the most complicated thing about less/non conventional pets is that it's way harder to have access to good food/veterinary care/acessories. About environment and interaction though, I'm under the impression that most people seriously underestimate the care cats and dogs need; and that makes the care of less conventional pets seeing overwhelming when, actually, it is more like taking animal well being seriously. That's very in short, of course. For instance, aquariums may be very hard to set up and keep up, parrots have high social needs, and so on, but for some lifestyles they are a very good fit, even better than conventional pets. For the other side, many people stay with more conventional pets like cats/dogs when they can't offer a good care, but just because.

Agreed 100%. Too many people just do not treat animals correctly in all directions.

For some people, dogs would be a bad pet (like me), but parrots are perfect. For others, it's the reverse. The list goes on.

Instead of acting like any choice is inherently bad, or starting a moral panic on the internet, we need to apply NUANCE. nuuuuuaaaaance.

[dykesbat]

"My name is Lynda Haleigh and I am raising funds to help this amazing man and his family of 3 beautiful children leave Gaza to the safety of Egypt. I became a very good friend and supporter to Eshraq Sallam, nickname Walid whilst on the platform of ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter. He is well known on his account @LoverHomeless and is well loved and respected with many followers. I was impressed with his selfless and dedicated work that he has been doing over many years for the street animals in Gaza - he has provided food, shelter, veterinary care and much love to the starving and abused animals. At times, it has been very sad - the shelter he built for the animals was recently bombed by the IDF resulting in the loss of many beloved kitties. He is now caring for several cats, two of whom are blind - and he is still feeding the starving animals who are also tragic victims of this war. There is no access to water, or electricity, and food is sparse! Life in Gaza has become insufferable for all, and as the war continues to rage on, it is also very perilous for those who live there. Thus we need to get this wonderful man and his family to safety. The cost of crossing the border into Egypt is now $7500 per adult and $3000 for each child. Please kindly help me raise the funds required so that he can leave this terrible cruel war behind him! Upon withdrawal, all donations received will be sent by international bank transfer to Eshraq’s account. Thank you all for your participation!"

gfm link and Eshraq's p/yp/l

[mariacallous]

Milton Orr looked across the rolling hills in northeast Tennessee. “I remember when we had over 1,000 dairy farms in this county. Now we have less than 40,” Orr, an agriculture adviser for Greene County, Tennessee, told me with a tinge of sadness.

That was six years ago. Today, only 14 dairy farms remain in Greene County, and there are only 125 dairy farms in all of Tennessee. Across the country, the dairy industry is seeing the same trend: In 1970, more than 648,000 US dairy farms milked cattle. By 2022, only 24,470 dairy farms were in operation.

While the number of dairy farms has fallen, the average herd size—the number of cows per farm—has been rising. Today, more than 60 percent of all milk production occurs on farms with more than 2,500 cows.

This massive consolidation in dairy farming has an impact on rural communities. It also makes it more difficult for consumers to know where their food comes from and how it’s produced.

As a dairy specialist at the University of Tennessee, I’m constantly asked: Why are dairies going out of business? Well, like our friends’ Facebook relationship status, it’s complicated.

The Problem with Pricing

The biggest complication is how dairy farmers are paid for the products they produce.

In 1937, the Federal Milk Marketing Orders, or FMMO, were established under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act. The purpose of these orders was to set a monthly, uniform minimum price for milk based on its end use and to ensure that farmers were paid accurately and in a timely manner.

Farmers were paid based on how the milk they harvested was used, and that’s still how it works today.

Does it become bottled milk? That’s Class 1 price. Yogurt? Class 2 price. Cheddar cheese? Class 3 price. Butter or powdered dry milk? Class 4. Traditionally, Class 1 receives the highest price.

There are 11 FMMOs that divide up the country. The Florida, Southeast, and Appalachian FMMOs focus heavily on Class 1, or bottled, milk. The other FMMOs, such as Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest, have more manufactured products such as cheese and butter.

For the past several decades, farmers have generally received the minimum price. Improvements in milk quality, milk production, transportation, refrigeration, and processing all led to greater quantities of milk, greater shelf life, and greater access to products across the US. Growing supply reduced competition among processing plants and reduced overall prices.

Along with these improvements in production came increased costs of production, such as cattle feed, farm labor, veterinary care, fuel, and equipment costs.

Researchers at the University of Tennessee in 2022 compared the price received for milk across regions against the primary costs of production: feed and labor. The results show why farms are struggling.

From 2005 to 2020, milk sales income per 100 pounds of milk produced ranged from $11.54 to $29.80, with an average price of $18.57. For that same period, the total costs to produce 100 pounds of milk ranged from $11.27 to $43.88, with an average cost of $25.80.

On average, that meant a single cow that produced 24,000 pounds of milk brought in about $4,457. Yet, it cost $6,192 to produce that milk, meaning a loss for the dairy farmer.

More efficient farms are able to reduce their costs of production by improving cow health, reproductive performance, and feed-to-milk conversion ratios. Larger farms or groups of farmers—cooperatives such as Dairy Farmers of America—may also be able to take advantage of forward contracting on grain and future milk prices. Investments in precision technologies such as robotic milking systems, rotary parlors, and wearable health and reproductive technologies can help reduce labor costs across farms.

Regardless of size, surviving in the dairy industry takes passion, dedication, and careful business management.

Some regions have had greater losses than others, which largely ties back to how farmers are paid, meaning the classes of milk, and the rising costs of production in their area. There are some insurance and hedging programs that can help farmers offset high costs of production or unexpected drops in price. If farmers take advantage of them, data shows they can functions as a safety net, but they don’t fix the underlying problem of costs exceeding income.

Passing the Torch to Future Farmers

Why do some dairy farmers still persist, despite low milk prices and high costs of production?

For many farmers, the answer is because it is a family business and a part of their heritage. Ninety-seven percent of US dairy farms are family owned and operated.

Some have grown large to survive. For many others, transitioning to the next generation is a major hurdle.

The average age of all farmers in the 2022 Census of Agriculture was 58.1. Only 9 percent were considered “young farmers,” age 34 or younger. These trends are also reflected in the dairy world. Yet, only 53 percent of all producers said they were actively engaged in estate or succession planning, meaning they had at least identified a successor.

How to Help Family Dairy Farms Thrive

In theory, buying more dairy would drive up the market value of those products and influence the price producers receive for their milk. Society has actually done that. Dairy consumption has never been higher. But the way people consume dairy has changed.

Americans eat a lot, and I mean a lot, of cheese. We also consume a good amount of ice cream, yogurt, and butter, but not as much milk as we used to.

Does this mean the US should change the way milk is priced? Maybe.

The FMMO is currently undergoing reform, which may help stem the tide of dairy farmers exiting. The reform focuses on being more reflective of modern cows’ ability to produce greater fat and protein amounts; updating the cost support processors receive for cheese, butter, nonfat dry milk, and dried whey; and updating the way Class 1 is valued, among other changes. In theory, these changes would put milk pricing in line with the cost of production across the country.

The US Department of Agriculture is also providing support for four Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives to help dairy farmers find ways to keep their operations going for future generations through grants, research support, and technical assistance.

Another way to boost local dairies is to buy directly from a farmer. Value-added or farmstead dairy operations that make and sell milk and products such as cheese straight to customers have been growing. These operations come with financial risks for the farmer, however. Being responsible for milking, processing, and marketing your milk takes the already big job of milk production and adds two more jobs on top of it. And customers have to be financially able to pay a higher price for the product and be willing to travel to get it.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

What qualification does one need to run a snake rescue? Just thinking, there's nothing like shelters for reptiles in my country at all...

I can only really speak for the US in any detail, I'm afraid, but you don't really need any professional qualifications to run a reptile rescue. What you do need is access to resources.

The first and biggest thing to understand if you're interested in running a reptile rescue is that it is expensive. Reptile rescues can never count on getting enough donations to cover expenses so most things will have to come out of your own pocket.

You will need:

Funds for veterinary care and a good working relationship with a veterinarian qualified and experienced with working with reptiles

Basic supplies: enclosures, heat sources, substrate, food, etc.

Knowledge of how to properly set up reptile enclosures and a good working knowledge of how to care for most pet snake species

Lots of patience. Rescues get lots of sick, mistreated, and malnourished snakes, and you need to be good at problem-solving and have an excellent understanding of snake husbandry.

Most of it comes down to experience and money. If you're really interested in starting a reptile rescue, I'd first recommend at least five years of working with different species of snakes, minimum, and then some realistic budgeting about how you'd be able to handle covering vet care and husbandry expenses.