Centreville Animal Hospital Newsletter
www.centrevilleanimalhosp.com

Vol. 8 Number 1

News and Views

Richmond, Virginia - New human psittacosis case associated with
large vendor of pet birds. Dr. Julia Murphy, Virginia 's State Public Health Veterinarian has asked that we pass along the following information to our members:

Please be aware: a probable human case of psittacosis in a pet store employee in Minnesota has been linked to a large purveyor of pet birds from Florida .  Birds from this provider were shipped to some pet stores in Virginia and that, to our knowledge at this point, no human or avian cases of psittacosis related to this situation have been detected in Virginia .  The vendor is voluntarily withholding shipment of birds while working with veterinarians and public health officials to resolve any problems.  Psittacosis is a reportable zoonotic disease.  For members that do avian work if you could be on the look out, it would be greatly appreciated.

McLean, Virginia - Mars Petcare US announced plans to launch a new single-piece meal for dogs under the brand name WholeMeals for Dogs.  The concept provides a nutritionally complete diet as a
single piece of food with a chewy outside and meaty inside, designed to engage a dog's natural chewing behavior and increase feeding enjoyment.  In addition, feeding WholeMeals is shown to reduce plaque accumulation by 43% and tartar buildup by 83%. The foods will be available at pet specialty retailers. (Veterinary Practice News)

DALLAS (AP) - Woman Takes Couple's Dog as Gift for Daughter . The holidays were sad enough for Kim Velevis and her husband after their lovable pug "Scooter" dug its way out of the backyard and disappeared on Christmas Eve.

But the real blow came with the New Year: A letter from an anonymous woman who had found the friendly dog and gave it to her daughter as a Christmas present. To compensate for Velevis' loss, a $20 bill was enclosed.

"The puppy has a different name now, but he has plenty of food and toys. My daughter adores him. He sleeps with her every night," said the letter, which arrived Wednesday.

Velevis, 28, said she feels for the guilt-ridden woman, who described herself as a nearly penniless alcoholic. But she wants the dog back.

"We knew the first thing our Scooter would have done is find people," Velevis said. "He must have wandered up to this sick lady who, in desperation and in an attempt to fix her own life, ruined ours."

Velevis, who is 51/2 months pregnant with her first child, said she and her husband brought the wrinkly faced pooch home in July 2006 when he was about 8 weeks old.

Scooter could still be nearby. The typewritten letter, which carried a Tulsa, Okla., postmark, said the woman found the dog while visiting her daughter in Dallas. She wrote that her ex-husband has custody of the girl.

The woman, who discovered an address on the pug's collar, described a series of difficulties in her life.

"I lost custody because of problems I had with alcohol, and I have lost everything else," she wrote. "I have been sober for 6 months, and I am trying to turn myself around, but I have lost everything. My little girl wanted a pug dog like your little dog (very much!)"

The woman wrote that she cannot ask for forgiveness, "but I do want you to know that he does have people who love him and are taking care of him."

Velevis said she has no interest in pursuing charges against the woman and would be glad to purchase the woman's daughter another dog. This sad story could happen to anyone of us.

Ed. Note: Two points to remind you miracles happen. First, putting a microchip in your pet to identify it would help us return the pet to the rightful owner and punish the person who did not return the dog to the owner. In Virginia, dogs are legally considered property and theft of a dog is a crime.

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