Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those people and pets touched by the wildfires in CO. We just flew through the area a few days ago and the situation seems to be getting worse. If there are pet rescue groups that need help, please send an email to us at info@tppc.tv. We [...]
Armadillos have never been among the cuddly creatures routinely included in petting zoos, but on Wednesday federal researchers offered a compelling reason to avoid contact with the armored animals altogether: They are a source of leprosy infections in humans.
Using genetic sequencing machines, researchers were able to confirm that about a third of the leprosy cases that arise each year in the United States almost certainly result from contact with infected armadillos. The cases are concentrated in Louisiana and Texas, where some people hunt, skin and eat armadillos.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is an ancient scourge that has largely disappeared, but each year about 150 to 250 people in the United States and 250,000 in the world contract the illness. As long as the disease is identified relatively quickly, treatment with antibiotics – a one- to two-year regimen with three different drugs – offers an effective cure. But every year dozens of people in the United States do not recognize their skin lesions for what they are early enough and suffer lifelong nerve damage as a result.
As you may be aware, Philomena our min pin is recovering from anal gland issues. Over the course of the past few weeks, we have spent lots of time at the vet and getting to know the “nice ladies” at the front desk.
The radio was on in the waiting room and it was on the oldies station. You know, the hits from the 1980’s and 1990’s. What? The music we grew up with is classic rock and considered oldies? CRUD! We didn’t get the memo…wait…email about that. Somehow, we got to talking about music when one of the receptionists, Rosie, who was around our age, said, “My niece is 15 and she doesn’t know what good music is!” The conversation about good music ensued.
Well, if you are wondering why you may have seen a tweet that things were crazy here earlier, it was because Joe AKA Poppie Peep is the Fire Chief in town. I wasn’t feel well this morning…perhaps an ominous premonition, after tossing and turning all night. We had threat of 6-12 inches of snow on [...]
So it’s about 10:30 AM and the street looks exactly the same as it did hours ago when these pictures were taken at dawn. Let’s face it, we are going to be lucky if we get “dug out” by tomorrow. The drifting snow is just blowing and blowing. The screens are rattling. Vehicles are stuck [...]
In lieu of PET BLOGGER SUPPORT SATURDAY, we share a very special story with you, our social media family about the power of giving and random acts of kindness during the holidays. Our pet loving buddy (OK, I don’t know what to call Jenny…how about a “Writer we love!”), Jenny Lawson staged an impromptu mobilization [...]
Good luck to all of the NJ Zombies participating in the Guinness Book of World Records attempt in Asbury Park, NJ this weekend. The number to beat is 4200 Zombies. Check out the cute dogs in costumes, Zombies and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance from our visit there last year because it is Zombilicious fun dahlings!
You may remember a story we did last week on frogs and their bacteria fighting skills potentially helping scientists find a cure to bacterial infections. Well, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give cockroaches their due as well. AOL published this article last week. By the way, we have totally filled our quota of [...]
Every once in a while we get an email that may not be directly related to pets…but it’s just too good not to share…so hope you get a chuckle out of this. Are you tired of those sissy ‘friendship’ poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality? Well, here is a series of [...]
