Food Truck Wednesday

Are you looking for something to do for lunch today?  The food trucks are out again at 7+Fig, L.A. Mart and 1010 Wilshire.

The upper level of the Ernst & Young Plaza at 7+Fig will hosts Canter's, featuring pastrami and corned beef sandwiches and matzoh ball soup, Mandoline Grill, which serves up Vietnamese sandwiches, and Ahn-Joo, a Korean food option, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Greasy Wiener, serving hot dogs and curly fries, will be at L.A. Mart (1933 S. Broadway Ave.) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
 

Hungry Nomad, for flatbread sandwiches, will be at the lot across the street from 1010 Wilshire from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

For more information on the food trucks, bark on the link:  Bark!

Listening To Your Dog

Over the weekend I learned some unfortunate news.  A dog that I have known and loved for quite some time has been diagnosed with cancer.  I am not going to disclose the name of the dog or family, I am sure they would rather face this in private.  You may then ask why I am blogging about it at all?  The reason is because the other dog in the household told the owner long before there was even a sign to check out at the vet.

Apparently two months ago the second dog in the household started to avoid our sweet guy.  The owners couldn't figure out why.  As time when on he started to become ill and they went to the vet and he was diagnosed at that time.  Of course in hind sight it is easy to piece together everything, but how could you in the moment?  The lesson I think for everyone is to listen to what your dogs are telling you.  They talk to us everyday in multiple ways, we just have to listen.  I realize this is easier said than done in our busy lives, but try to stop and observe what they might be saying, you never know what they could know that you don't.

I know that all the positive energy in the world cannot heal this dear dog, but we can all will him to be comfortable and happy for his remaining days.  So I ask everyone that reads this blog send some good energy towards this dog.  He really is a sweet and amazing guy with such personality and love.

I wish you well my dear friend.

Pet Breast Cancer

I know Breast Cancer Awareness Month is October, but I wanted share this information with you now.  This is a story that was publish this past October for Breast Cancer Awareness, however, it is information we all can use all year round.  I think we all understand the risk of breast cancer in humans, but do you know there is a risk for your pets?  There is a big risk for your dogs and cats, especially if they were spayed later in life. 

Below is a story from Petside Newsletter about one cat's story dealing with breast cancer and a few tips to help you try to prevent or detect it in your own pet.

Lovely Suzy in 2005.

Suzy the cat was about nine years old when her owner, Michelle, noticed that one of her nipples was red and swollen. Unaware of what this symptom could mean, Michelle didn't think much of it. "I was clueless," she admits. "I didn't even think to compare it to the size and color of her other mammary glands."

When it didn't get better, she decided to take Suzy to the vet. At the doctor's recommendation, surgery was scheduled a few days later and two mammary glands were removed and biopsied.

Since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, countless stories of breast cancer, braveness and being a survivor have been told in order to encourage prevention and detection. Just as women have been reminded to perform a monthly self-exam to feel for lumps, you should do a regular check for lumps, bumps and swelling on the belly and chest of your dog or cat as part of her health routine, too.

Unfortunately, statistics were not on Suzy's side. "Eighty-five percent of mammary masses in cats are malignant," says Avenelle Turner, DVM, veterinary oncologist at Veterinary Cancer Group in Los Angeles, CA, who treated Suzy. Dogs fare a bit better: there's a fifty percent chance of malignancy in canine mammary tumors.

Suzy's tests determined that her tumors were, indeed, cancerous and Michelle immediately began learning all she could about the disease in the hopes that she could help her cat recover.

She soon found out that the one true preventative measure she could have taken--early spaying--was out of her control. Suzy was adopted at around 2 years of age and had been spayed only a month prior to joining Michelle's family.

Prevention

But if you have a younger pet, take note: "Spaying a dog before her first heat cycle reduces her lifetime risk of mammary cancer to 0.5 percent," says Dr. Turner. That risk increases to 8 percent if she's spayed between her first and second heat cycles, and rises to 26 percent if she's spayed later than that.

The benefits aren't quite as dramatic for cats, but spaying early does help decrease their risk as well. If your pet was adopted late in the game or spayed after her second heat cycle like Suzy was, don't panic, warns Dr. Turner. "Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer," she points out. "The risks factors just increase."

Once you've done all you can to prevent mammary cancer, the most helpful step is early detection.

Detection and Care

While humans can get blood tests, mammograms and other screenings for early diagnosis, that technology hasn't progressed to veterinary medicine. "The best thing dog and cat owners can do is be vigilant, feel for any bumps or nodules around the mammary glands and watch for any discharge or swelling," advises Dr. Turner.

If you notice unusual symptoms, have them checked out as soon as possible. One thing that can aid in detection is keeping your pet at a healthy weight. While excess fat doesn't put your dog or cat at any greater risk, it does make feeling tumors more difficult.

Suzy eventually had another surgery and three rounds of chemotherapy.

In spite of the excellent care she received, the cancer was aggressive and spread to her lungs. She passed away on May 1, 2010 at about 10 years old. "Even though I lost Suzy, I hope her story will help other cat owners figure out how to prevent, detect and cope with mammary cancer," Michelle says. "If more people are aware, it could save their pets in the future."

For more information on help for pet breast cancer, bark on the link:   Bark!

Sleep Walking Dog

How many of you have watched your dog sleep and dream?  I find this to be rather entertaining if you have a dog that is active during sleep.  My dog has dreams that lead to him sometimes barking or running.  He has never got up on his feet and actually ran around, but a couple of times I thought he might.

I was telling a friend about this and they sent me this video, I thought it was perfect for a Friday.  It is a little bit of fun to get your weekend started.

By the way, the dog was not injured in this video.

Happy Friday!

There Is A Dog In My Fridge And He Won't Get Out!

In Yuma, AZ a little black Terrier surprised a family by rushing into their home as they opened their front door.  The family tried to get the dog out, but he started snapping at them.  They opened the refrigerator door to get something out to lure the dog out of the house and that is when he jumped inside!  

The family did not know what to do since the dog continued to snap.  So, they called 911.  The Firefighters showed up, put on their protective gear and endured the dogs bites long enough to get him out of the refrigerator and into a carrier.  The dog was then reunited with his owner who had reported him missing earlier.  

At least this story has a happy ending, no matter how bizarre it is.

To read the original story, bark on the link:  Bark!

What's Up Downtown - March

Happy March everyone!  DowntownLA.com has released their What's Up Downtown for March and there is a lot going on!  The most important part of this is the survey to help bring us the retailers we want (like Trader Joe's).  I really encourage everyone to log on and take the survey, it takes less than 10 minutes.  It doesn't matter if you work, live or play here, they want to hear from us all!

There is a lot going on this month to get excited about, a food truck festival at Union Station, Jane Fonda's show at the Ahmanson, amazing operas and concerts, and of course Lady Gaga will be in town at the end of the month.  There are some new spots to eat to check out as well, I highly recommend Mas Malo, it didn't disappoint!

Whatever your interests, I am sure you will find the perfect activity downtown this month!  Don't forget to take the survey.

To view What's Up Downtown-March, bark on the link:  Bark!

Kids With Dogs Are More Active

I read in K9 Magazine Online about a small research that was done at the University of Minnesota to focus on the physical effects dogs have on kids.  The research was simple, they had 618 kids ranging between the ages of 12-16 years old wear accelerometers for a week to measure their physical activity. Half the families of the kids had dogs and half did not. 

I'm sure it is not that big of a surprise to know that the kids in families with dogs got more exercise.  The surprise to me was that the numbers were not that far apart.  The kids with dogs averaged 32.1 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a day, whereas the kids without dogs averaged 29.5 minutes.  I would've thought the numbers would've been more wide spread.

The research is likely to be just the beginning of a larger study.  This was a simple research that focused on only one thing, the exercise a child gets by having a dog.  However, there are other researchers at other Universities that would like to take the research further because the research didn't take into account the size or breed of the dog, the safety of the neighborhoods where the families lived or the level of attachment the kids had to the pets. 

Whatever new research comes from this, it will be interesting to see all the additional benefits of having a dog besides the amazing amount of love they give us.

To read more on this article, bark on the link:  Bark!