The Food and Drug Administration approved today the first U.S. drug developed specifically for the treatment of canine cancer.

Palladia, chemically known as toceranib phosphate, is manufactured by Pfizer Animal Health and will be available for use in early 2010.

“This cancer drug approval for dogs is an important step forward for veterinary medicine,” Bernadette Dunham, D.V.M., Ph. D., director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary medicine, said in a released statement.

“Prior to this approval, veterinarians had to rely on human oncology drugs, without knowledge of how safe or effective they would be for dogs. Today’s approval offers dog owners, in consultation with their veterinarian, an option for treatment of their dog’s cancer.”

Cancer drugs currently used by veterinarians are not approved for use in animals, as they were originally designed for humans. However, according to the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994, vets are allowed to administer human cancer medicine in an “extra-label” manner.

The Palladia tablet, taken orally, is indicated to treat Patnaik grade II or III recurrent cutaneous mast cell tumors with or without regional lymph node involvement. Common side effects include diarrhea, anorexia, lethargy, vomiting, lameness, weight loss, and blood in stool.

Palladia, a tyrosine kinase inhibtor, works in two ways: by killing tumor cells and by cutting off the blood supply to the tumor. In a clinical trial, approximately 60 percent of dogs had their tumors disappear, shrink, or stop growing.

Pfizer estimates 1.2 million new canine cancer cases are reported in the U.S. every year. And because, according to Phizer research, canine mast cell tumors are the second most common tumor type seen in dogs, Palladia is described by many as a new and exciting treatment option for vets.

Now, What is Fair Trade?

Once again, I am turning to Wikipedia to help us best define what Fair Trade is all about. I know it is not directly related to your dog’s health and well-being, but you know, it IS important in the overall scheme of the HOLISTIC energy of this site. If we can ensure that as many items as possible purchased with our dollars will result in a fair wage for the people who produced them…then we are all helping a little bit at a time. So, I make 100% sure that the shea butter I use in The Blissful Dog Nose Butters are all Fair Trade produced and harvested. Thank you for YOUR support!

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers.

Fair trade’s strategic intent is to work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move towards economic self-sufficiency and stability. It also aims to allow them to become greater stakeholders in their own organizations as well as play a wider role in international trade. Fair trade proponents include a number of international development aid, social, religious and environmental organizations such as Christian Aid, SERRV International, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Catholic Relief Services, and Caritas International.

In 2008, Fair trade certified sales amounted to approximately €2.9 billion (US $4.08 billion) worldwide, a 22% year-to-year increase.[1] While this represents a tiny fraction of world trade in physical merchandise,[2] fair trade products generally account for 1-20% of all sales in their product categories in Europe and North America.[1] In June 2008, it was estimated that over 7.5 million producers and their families were benefiting from fair trade funded infrastructure, technical assistance and community development projects.[3]

SHEA BUTTER…all the scoop

I talk about Shea Butter this and that and I just realized that not everyone may be familiar with this amazingly wonderful nut. So, I did what everyone does and clicked right on over to Wikipdia and got all the scoop for my beloved Blissful Dog-gers! Here Goes…

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shea butter or Shea nut butter is a slightly yellowish or ivory-colored natural fat extracted from fruit of the shea tree by crushing and boiling. Shea butter is widely used in cosmetics as a moisturizer and an emollient. Shea butter is also edible. It is used as a cooking oil in West Africa, as well as sometimes being used in the chocolate industry as a substitute for cocoa butter.

The shea or karite tree, formerly Butyrospermum paradoxum, is now called Vitellaria paradoxa. It produces its first fruit (which resemble large plums) when it is about 20 years old and reaches its full production when the tree is about 45 years old. It produces nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity.

Many vernacular names are used for Vitellaria, which is a reflection of its extensive range of occurrence—nearly 5,000km from Senegal (west) to Uganda (east) across the African continent. The nomenclature history and synonymy of the shea tree followed a very tortuous evolution since the oldest recorded specimen collected by a European—Scottish explorer Mungo Park—dated May 26, 1797. It eventually arrived at the name vitellaria with subspecies paradoxa and nilotica. It usually grows to an average height of about 15m with profuse branches and a thick waxy and deeply fissured bark that makes it fire resistant.

The shea tree grows naturally in the wild in the dry savannah belt of West Africa from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, and onto the foothills of the Ethiopian highlands. It occurs in 19 countries across the African continent, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea.
Distribution of shea trees

In Ghana (FAO, 1988a), it occurs extensively in the Guinea savannah and less abundantly in the Sudan Savannah. The shea tree occurs over almost the entire area of Northern Ghana, over about 77,670 square kilometers in Western Dagomba, Southern Mamprusi, Western Gonja, Lawra, Tumu, Wa and Nanumba with Eastern Gonja having the densest stands. There is sparse shea tree cover found in Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti, and the Eastern and Volta regions in the south of the country.

Shea butter is known especially for its cosmetic properties as a moisturizer and emollient. Some claim that it is also an anti-inflammatory agent.[citation needed]Shea butter is marketed as being effective at treating the following conditions: fading scars, eczema, burns, rashes, acne, severely dry skin, blemishes, dark spots, skin discolorations, chapped lips, stretchmarks, wrinkles, and in lessening the irritation of psoriasis.[citation needed] Shea butter provides natural ultraviolet sun protection, although the level of protection is extremely variable, ranging from nothing to approximately SPF 6. Shea butter absorbs rapidly into the skin without leaving a greasy feeling. In Nigeria, it is known to be very effective in the management of sinusitis and relief of nasal congestion.[1] This is due to its emollient properties which helps in relaxing the tension in the face skin thus easing respiration. All one needs do, if one has sinus problems or congestion, is rub a considerable amount of the butter in and around the nostrils. Scarcity of supply results in an erratic market price.

Shea butter can be found in many high-end moisturizing skin products. Shea butter is known for its skin softening effect. It is also used in hair conditioners to add and maintain moisture in dry brittle hair, in addition to retaining softness and preventing breakage.

Shea butter is used in some indigenous ceremonies. Followers of the Holy Spirit Movement rebel group of Uganda smeared their bodies with shea butter in the belief that it would stop bullets.

Handcrafted shea butter is used in Togo, West Africa for ceremonies among the Fulani ethnic group.

Many carvers of djembe shells and other African drum shells use shea butter to condition the wood. Shea butter is also used to condition the goat or cow skin heads of these drums.

A Bit Of A Diversion

You know, most of us have GREAT intentions about recycling, but somehow never get around to incorporating it all into our daily lives. Here is a great way to get going at work and before you know it…it is part of your life! I thank Tara Troge for sharing this article.

How to Start a Recycling Program at Work

When I worked for corporate America, I was deemed (happily!) by my co-workers as the legal department ‘tree hugger’ because I picked aluminum cans out of my colleagues’ garbage cans, stash them in a box under my desk and take them home for recycling. I even gave each of my colleagues an extra waste basket to throw their paper in and would pick it up on a on a weekly basis for recycling.

As we know, most people will go along with positive change as long as they aren’t the ones who have to do all the leg work! If you’re workplace hasn’t yet caught on to the recycling revolution, make them start now! Take control and banish the bad habits of your workplace by following these simple steps to a more earth friendly work environment:

1. Ask for volunteers to serve as the recycling coordinator. This person must be dedicated and organized! You may actually want to volunteer yourself, since you already have the drive to initiate a recycling program.
2. Decide what you want to recycle. Walk around your office and take note of what items are most often used: paper, aluminum cans, batteries, light bulbs, paper, glass bottles, plastic bottles, etc. If you decide not to recycle everything, then choose what is used the most and focus on those items.
3. Set up recycling bins and guidelines in the break room, inside the front door, or any other place where your co-workers gather to eat and drink. Recycling Guidelines can include such things as a request to smash cans, rinse out containers, etc.
4. Keep your co-workers involved. Send out a weekly/bi-monthly email to let them in on the success, progress and problems with your recycling program.

On a fun note, if you can turn your aluminum cans in for cash, start an office fund that will go towards an office lunch party or happy hour.

By Tara Troge of EcoSisters

Dogs and Kids

As you probably know, we also have a wonderful little resort nestled in the big woods of NW Minnesota, Dancing Bear Resort. We are blessed to have many, many guests that return year and year…and their first questions are always, “How is Mudd? How is Deuce? Where is Zoe?”

They ask about our pets before they ask about fishing, US or the weather. First and foremost is to ask how are our animals. That always makes my heart just explode with warmth! The knowledge that people truly have an innate love for the companion animals we share our lives with is powerful, isn’t it?

Zoe, our Great Pyrenees, was supposed to be an alpaca guard dog…but she had other ideas. She came into our lives when she was eighteen months or so old, so she had her own ideas already…nothing we said or did was going to make any difference to HER! Zoe greets our guests and virtually every week she chooses a family to adopt. Usually it is a family with younger kids, as if by sleeping under their cabin she will protect them from any real or imagined scary “stuff.” I will look out of my window and see her with three or four little kids hanging all over her…she looks very stoic, she does know that eventually they feed her – hahahah!

Zoe also literally turns her bowl of dog food over, as her meals are cooked with love for her pretty much all summer. I have been told she prefers her eggs sunny side up and her bacon just the teeniest bit crispy.

The only thing that scares Zoe are LOUD NOISES, fireworks, gunshots, car backfires…one loud noise and Zoe flies down into the basement and hides behind the old furnace. I immediately apply some of my The Blissful Dog Vibrational Essence HUG to her and just sit with her a bit and calm her down. Just sitting with her and using the HUG makes all the difference in the world, I promise. The Blissful Dog Shop“>Click here for more on HUG.

Everyday I am thankful that Zoe decided her work here at Dancing Bear Resort involved much more than guarding alpacas!

Blatant Sales Plug…Visit The Blissful Dog Shop and grab a bottle of our Vibrational Essence – HUG or RELAX – perfect for helping your dog through the stress and fear of the upcoming 4th of July and summer thunderstorms!

Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue, Inc. Info

Note from Kathy: In these economically challenged times, many people are struggling not just to keep their homes, but to keep their pets. Please dig deeply into your pockets and help the rescue of your choice!

We at Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue, Inc. are a group of diverse individuals who have united for the purpose of rescuing Pugs. We come from many walks of life, and have agreed to donate our many and varied talents so that pugs everywhere can live out their lives with comfort, love and care.

We are all volunteers, with no paid employees. Each person serves in the way best suited to their lifestyle and individual skills.

We are proud of the way we have built this organization. We have determined that our common welfare and the welfare of the pug breed must come first. Our leaders are but trusted servants, in that they do not govern. There is no power structure, just a service structure.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to help homeless pugs and promote education about the breed and the need for domestic animal population control.

We allow, and strongly encourage participation in other groups, rescues, and shelters, as it is the best way to strengthen the rescue effort and make sure that our motto is upheld: “Let no pug go unloved.”

Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue, Inc is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to providing for the short and long term needs of abandoned or surrendered pugs. We give rescued pugs veterinary care, a nurturing foster environment, and permanent placement into a loving home. In addition, we offer education to the public on the special responsibilities of pug ownership and the need for domestic animal population control.

BLATANT SALES PLUG: Visit The Blissful Dog Shop and purchase Pug Butter to donate to the MAPR! I will even ship it at no charge to the Rescue Pug of your choice.

More Dogs In Rescue

I got a note from my friend, Mary Dike, with the Mideastern Atlantic Pug Rescue and she told me they have over 70 Pugs in their rescue right now…70! That news truly saddened me, yet I am grateful for amazing volunteers like Mary. So, I “googled” around a bit and found this article I wanted to share….

In Animal Shelters, Reminders of the Economy
By GERRI HIRSHEY
Published: May 11, 2008

ON Valentine’s Day, a loved one named Riley found himself being led back into the same noisy institutional building where he was also known as No. 08-447. The floppy-eared 2 ½-year-old Rottweiler-Doberman pinscher mix had been adopted as a puppy a year earlier from the Stamford Animal Care and Control municipal shelter.

Riley’s return wasn’t a behavioral issue; according to Linda Hollywood, Stamford’s animal control officer, he is a sweet, easygoing dog who gets along well with other animals and children.

“He was clearly well cared for and loved by this family,” Ms. Hollywood said. “But their home had just gone into foreclosure, and they were unable to find an apartment that would permit pets. In general, only the more expensive rentals allow them.”

Riley could be a poster pup for a growing problem at animal shelters nationwide and in Connecticut: pets given up for adoption or abandoned when their owners lose homes owing to foreclosure or tough economic times.

The extent of the problem is impossible to quantify, because some people merely abandon pets on the street or decline to give reasons for surrendering them to shelters. But pets left homeless are putting such a strain on shelters that the Humane Society of the United States has begun a nationwide Foreclosure Pets Grant Program to help animal control agencies, shelters and pet owners cope.

“We find kittens in the mailbox, dogs tied to our dumpster,” Ms. Hollywood said. “Some people find it too upsetting to come in. But for care and adoption purposes, we’d at least like to know the animal’s age and vaccination history — whether it gets along with other dogs or cats.”

The more a shelter knows about an animal, Ms. Hollywood said, the easier it is to find a home for it.

Adrienne Stafford, shelter director at PAWS, a privately run shelter in Norwalk, said it has noticed a slight increase in people giving loss of home as a reason for giving up a pet. “We’re also getting more calls from folks worried that they can’t afford to keep their pets.”

Ms. Stafford and the volunteers at PAWS collect donations of food and supplies to help, along with information on financial options, such as no-interest medical care credit cards that can help owners pay veterinary bills over time.

Municipal shelters must accept surrendered pets, whenever they arrive.

“It’s just horrible now — every day,” said Jimmy Gonzalez, animal control officer for Bridgeport. “But honestly, it’s always bad here.” He said that his shelter is the busiest in the state, averaging 5 to 10 “owner releases” a day, and that those numbers have stayed fairly steady over the last few years.

Mr. Gonzalez said that half of his shelter’s population was abandoned cruelly and indifferently, on the streets or in vacated dwellings. But lately, during his intake interviews with people bringing in their pets, he has seen more signs of owners feeling guilty about releases attributed to economic problems.

“People are coming out and saying that they’re losing their homes and can’t keep the pet,” he said. “It’s such a big problem now, they seem to feel able to tell you the exact reason, beyond a simple ‘I’m moving.’ ”

Even the owners showing the steeliest resolve as they fill out the paperwork have difficulty with the questions Mr. Gonzalez gently asks to make sure they want to leave the pet behind. “Usually, they break down,” he said. “Or I find them outside in the back afterward, crying. Really, they’ve just given up a child. I hate to see that pain. I hate to lead the pet away. You can’t imagine the stress in this job.”

Mr. Gonzalez and his staff of three must manage adoptions, intake and care for a capacity of 40 dogs and 25 cats (soon to be increased to 80 dogs and 52 cats in a new facility, without any growth in the staff). He said that nearly every day, his team arrives at work to find dogs tied to the fence outside. They field constant calls from panicked landlords and real estate agents. “They’ll send someone in to clean a just-vacated apartment or home and find five cats or three pit bulls inside.”

Hope does spring eternal, yipping and purring, within the cages. “Adoptions are high here,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “Yesterday, 62 people came in to look, and we had 13 adoptions.” Still, as the animals continue to arrive, he feels as if he’s trying to plug an ever-weakening dike. “It’s an awful thing to see. I’ve had tough gang bangers come in to look around and go, ‘Man, is it that bad out there?’ ”

The Internet has been a boon to shelters and rescue groups trying to place animals. And it was a mouse click that changed Riley’s luck. In Wethersfield, Michael Morreale, the owner of a floor covering company, found Riley’s photo and description on Petfinder.com. He drove to Stamford with Max, the family Doberman, to see how the two might get along.

“I paid $1,000 for Max,” Mr. Morreale said. “He’s a great dog. But I’ve always felt that guys like Riley should have a chance, too.”

Max and Riley hit it off, and off they went to a comfortable home with a big fenced yard; two eager children, Alexa, 9, and Nicholas, 15; and Mr. Morreale and his wife, Annamarie.

“Riley has been a total gentleman from day one,” Mr. Morreale said. “He’s great with the kids, and we often find him in my daughter’s room. He seems to find a lot of comfort there. It makes me think there was another little girl who loved him.”

The name and cellphone number of Riley’s former family cannot be disclosed by the shelter. The family did not respond to an interview request, relayed to them by Ms. Hollywood.

“I think they’re still in Stamford,” she said. “We know Riley’s had a very happy landing. I wish we could be as certain about that family.”

E-mail: conn@nytimes.com

Info on AntiFreeze from Dogster – SAD

7 Things You Need to Know About Antifreeze

Working at Dogster is like being one of the people who runs the dog park – the hilarious times are many and the lessons learned are valuable. But sadly enough, it’s not always just fun and games. Those days do roll around when you show up and one of the dog park regulars is not there.

Last week, there wasn’t just one dog who didn’t show up to play. There were three. Dogster dogs Jake, Joey, and Nari had to be put to sleep last week, after having ingested antifreeze.

It is said that antifreeze is responsible for the poisoning of over 10,000 dogs and cats every year. The toxic ingredient to blame is ethylene glycol, a substance that is found not only in antifreeze, but in radiator coolant, brake fluid, hydraulic fluid, and other automotive liquids. Its sweet-smelling and tasting properties make it attractive to pets, and it doesn’t take much to cause damage. One to two teaspoons can poison a cat, three tablespoons can kill a medium-sized dog.

Because it’s a substance that is readily available at auto supply stores and is used in nearly every motor vehicle on the road, it’s important that pet owners know a few things about antifreeze and its effect on small animals. Here are seven things that you should be aware of:

* Symptoms vary, depending on how long it has been since the dog drank the antifreeze. They will also depend on how much of the poison they drank.

* Initial symptoms mirror those of intoxication.

* The ethylene glycol can cause an irritating effect on a dog’s stomach, which may cause vomiting.

* Dogs will urinate and drink excessively. They may be depressed and exhibit signs of poor balance.

* Dogs drink more because the thirst centers of the brain are stimulated in response to the poison ingestion.

* While some dogs may appear to look and feel better 12 hours later, it is only because the liver and kidneys are working to metabolize the ethylene glycol. It is common, however, that symptoms return in 24 hours, and are much worse. Things to look for are dehydration, weakness, depression, diarrhea, rapid breathing, mouth ulcers and seizures.

* If you are certain that your dog has consumed antifreeze, you should attempt to induce vomiting and get him or her to a medical professional immediately.