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A Plea from a Client, regarding Kingdom Chicken Jerky Treats from China (from Costco)

Martha,

As you know, I've been home cooking most of Callie's food & supplementing with Wellness dry. Callie recently had surgery to remove a benign tumor from her eyelid, which is important because they did labs right before her surgery: her kidneys & everything else were in perfect shape.

The only non-human grade food she eats are the Kingdom Chicken Jerky treats from Costco. She loves them & has eaten one before bedtime for years. At her age, I didn't want to take her only vice away from her, & that brand hadn't been on the danger list, though Costo pulled them last year - & then decided they were safe & put them back. Apparently that's changed & there's a new outbreak.

It looks like Callie's symptoms were caused by the jerky chicken treats at Costco. A few days ago she began drinking huge quantities of water. Then she had two accidents - unheard of for her. I thought it was an after effect of the surgery or perhaps a UTI & prepared to take her in. Then she began vomiting. I finally made the connection with the jerky, stopped them immediately, & within 12 hours she was fully recovered.
I stopped the jerky treats & she recovered almost instantly.

I am reporting it to the FDA, Costco, & the vet. Disturbingly, my boss just told me they had a similar incident with their dog a month ago, but he just threw out the whole bag & didn't report it. But meanwhile, those things are still on the shelf. I can't believe Costco put them back on the shelf - or that I trusted their safety assessment. I am so disgusted. I want to make sure other dog folks know about this. 90% of the treats might be fine - but if 10% are contaminated, the risk is too great.

Alicia Kelly

Fun Photos with Fido - a new Service, available year round, from Canines Unlimited. Photo set ups ready to go, just bring your dog and camera. You take pictures or have us do it. Affordable photo sitting, by appointment. Call 907-790-3647. (PDF of Fun Photos with Fido)

We recently attended the 2011 APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) in San Diego, and had the opportunity to meet and listen to many of the top trainers and product manufacturers in the dog training area.

We had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Spector, Victoria Stilwell and Joshua Leeds. They have just released a new set of CD's for helping remedy dog phobias related to certain sounds. The "Canine Noise Phobia Series" is an addition to the "Through a Dog's Ear" series (for calming and relaxation) that we use with our Boarding and Day Care guests.

CBJ is proposing changes to the Municipal Ordinances, that may affect you and your dog, especially regarding "voice control" (off leash). These changes will be before the Assembly at their Sept. 21, 2009 meeting. If you wish to comment, you should do so ASAP, certainly before the meeting.

Under the new proposals, if your dog barked (for any reason), or approached anyone, or jumped on anyone (even if invited), they would be required to be on leash. If you object to the new language, you should recommend the Assembly leave the current definition and not amend it. There may be other portions you wish to respond to as well.

For an explanation and summary of the changes, please go to http://www.gratefuldogsofjuneau.org/Dogs_Unleashed.htm. They have links to all the pertinent information, and contact information for the assembly people.

Please let the Assembly members know, email or call them, how you feel about the proposed changes.

Current Vaccine Protocols adopted by ALL 27 North American veterinary schools. Please feel free to print, copy and disperse this information. It is important!
Click here to download New Vaccination Protocol PDF (1.9MB). (clearer copy of below) (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 3.0 or higher to view this file.)

Rabies Challenge Fund

From 05/15/09 email posting

PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

There have been many developments in state rabies laws across the country in which The Rabies Challenge Fund has had a leading role -- the most recent being Alabama passing a 3 year law this week with medical exemption clause and Rhode Island's Rabies Control Board passing a 3 year protocol with medical exemption. It is official, now all states have adopted the 3 year national standard!

Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
THE RABIES CHALLENGE FUND
www.RabiesChallengeFund.org

From 12/5/07 email posting:

Greetings!

The Rabies Challenge Fund is pleased to announce that the canine rabies challenge studies have begun!!! Permission is granted to post and cross-post the text of our press release below.

Regards, Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
The Rabies Challenge Fund
http://www.RabiesChallengeFund.org

CANINE RABIES CHALLENGE STUDIES BEGIN !

One of the most important vaccine research studies in veterinary medicine is underway at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in Madison. Dr. Ronald Schultz, a leading authority on veterinary vaccines and Chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, has begun concurrent 5 and 7 year challenge studies to determine the long-term duration of immunity of the canine rabies vaccine, with the goal of extending the state-mandated interval for boosters. These will be the first long-term challenge studies on the canine rabies vaccine to be published in the United States.

Dr. Schultz comments that: "We are all very excited to start this study that will hopefully demonstrate that rabies vaccines can provide a minimum of 7 years of immunity."

This research is being financed by The Rabies Challenge Fund, a charitable trust founded by pet vaccine disclosure advocate Kris L. Christine of Maine, who serves as Co-Trustee with world-renowned veterinary research scientist and practicing clinician, Dr. W. Jean Dodds of Hemopet in California. The Rabies Challenge Fund recently met its goal of $177,000 to fund the studies’ first year budget with contributions from dog owners, canine groups, trainers, veterinarians, and small businesses. Annual budget goals of $150,000 for the studies must be met in the future.

Dr. Jean Dodds, DVM states: "This is the first time in my 43 years of involvement in veterinary issues that what started as a grass-roots effort to change an outmoded regulation affecting animals will be addressed scientifically by an acknowledged expert to benefit all canines in the future."

Scientific data published in 1992 by Michel Aubert and his research team demonstrated that dogs were immune to a rabies challenge 5 years after vaccination, while Dr. Schultz’s serological studies documented antibody titer counts at levels known to confer immunity to rabies 7 years post-vaccination. This data strongly suggests that state laws requiring annual or triennial rabies boosters for dogs are redundant. Because the rabies vaccine is the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and associated with significant adverse reactions, it should not be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity. Adverse reactions such autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are linked to rabies vaccinations.

Study co-trustee Kris Christine adds: “Because the USDA does not require vaccine manufacturers to provide long-term duration of immunity studies documenting maximum effectiveness when licensing their products, concerned dog owners have contributed the money to fund this research themselves. We want to ensure that rabies immunization laws are based upon independent, long-term scientific data.”

More information and regular updates on The Rabies Challenge Fund and the concurrent 5 and 7 year challenge studies it is financing can be found at the fund’s website designed by volunteer Andrea Brin at: www.RabiesChallengeFund.org.

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Greetings!

An article was published by Reuters on September 7, 2007 that is of interest to dog owners:

U.S. Free of Canine Rabies Virus http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0741162020070907
by Maggie Fox (Health & Science Editor) September 7, 2007

"The elimination of canine rabies in the United States represents one of the major public health success stories in the last 50 years," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said in a statement

For more information on the canine rabies vaccine http://www.RabiesChallengeFund.org/page4.html and The Rabies Challenge Fund http://www.RabiesChallengeFund.org/about%20the%20RCF.html

Rabies Challenge Fund Reaches First-Year Goal: http://www.mainelincolncountynews.com/index.cfm?ID=26297
Pets: Rabies vaccine research may save some pain http://www.newsday.com/search/ny-lspets5278482jul02,0,6559208.column
The Vaccine Challenge http://www.animaltalknaturally.com:80/2007/05/01/the-vaccine-challenge-show-91/
How Often Does He REALLY Need a Rabies Shot? http://animalwellnessmagazine.com/m/m86/main.htm;
Get Out Your Wallets, Rabies Challenge Fund a Reality http://www.mainetoday.com/pets/dogslife/007915.html.
Are We Overvaccinating our Pets? http://www.spanieljournal.com/28lbaughan.html
Rabies Challenge Kicks Off Fundraiser: http://www.courierpub.com/articles/2005/10/12/lincolncountyweekly/local_news/4news.txt
Nationwide Campaign Launched to Fund Rabies Vaccine Study http://www.mainelincolncountynews.com/index.cfm?ID=14204;
Challenging the Rabies Vaccine http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-lspets4432971sep19,0,1274963.column;
The Rabies Challenge Fund http://blogs.mainetoday.com/dogslife/002976.html
Rabies Challenge Fund & Master Dog Training at the Womens Podcasting Expo - Show #42 http://www.replay-video.com/guide/index.php?start_page=http://applian.com/guide/view_podcast_details.php?show_id=2156 .

Anyone wishing to have a copy of the 1992 French challenge study data from a research team led by Michel Aubert in which dogs were demonstrated to be immune to a rabies challenge 5 years after vaccination, or Vascellari's study which documented cancerous tumors in dogs at presumed injection sites of rabies vaccine, please e-mail me at ledgespring@lincoln.midcoast.com .

Regards, Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
The Rabies Challenge Fund
http://www.RabiesChallengeFund.org