Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, September 5, 2024. Link. Most read posts from the September 5th AHD Bulletin – A priest, a drunk and a business leader meet and . . . Link. Wildlife decision tree helps clinic staff deal with wildlife properly. Link. New guidance for AMR gram-negative infections. Link. Swine producers, veterinarians … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – February 8, 2024
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, February 1, 2024. Link. Most read post(s) from the February 1st AHD Bulletin – A plan is not a strategy. Link. Studies: Early social housing helps dairy calves thrive. Link. Using standing equine CT in veterinary diagnostics. Link. Do it NOW! Link. ============================================ … [Read more...]
In 1975, a cat co-authored a physics paper
August 8th was International Cat Day. Cat owners around the globe celebrated the often puzzling furry felines. Jack H. Hetherington, PhD, had a cat in 1975 that became a coauthor to a renowned physics paper. Editing the final draft it was discovered he had used “we” instead of “I”. Unwilling to go back and replace the plural voice in the document, he did the next best thing. He … [Read more...]
Horse diving was a thing once upon a time
As bizarre, even cruel, as it might seem today, horse diving was a prime traveling attraction that found a steady home in Atlantic City from 1928 through 1977. Diana Hubbell shares the story of diving horses and their riders. Source: Atlas Obscura, May 9, 2023. Link. … [Read more...]
Changing our 10,000-year relationship with cattle
Author and livestock enthusiast Roger Morgan-Grenville is working to rewrite the narrative on cows. After spending 14 months helping out on a farm and diving deep into bovine research, Roger Morgan-Grenville found “an industry at once scared for its future yet alive with ideas and experiments, not to mention good practices.” Morgan-Grenville’s research and experiences were … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – October 6, 2022
Last week’s most read posts - The meaning behind different dog sounds. Link. Last AHD Bulletin - Animal Health Digest Bulletin, Thursday, September 29, 2022. Link. Can veterinary social workers help alleviate workplace stress? Source: Paulick Report, September 30, 2022. Link. Veterinary social work offers compassion, empathy, understanding, validation, … [Read more...]
Please stop flushing live goldfish down the toilet
Here’s an example where consumer education is needed. Goldfish finding their way into bodies of freshwater, accidentally or on purpose, is no new phenomenon. These fish are not native to North America but come from eastern Asia and have no natural predators here to curb their growth. Goldfish and lots of other things should never be flushed into the sewer systems. Source: … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – September 22, 2022
Last week’s most read posts – September is National Pet Health Insurance Month. Link. Chewy’s autoship sales hit all-time high in Q2. Link. Last AHD Bulletin - Animal Health Digest Bulletin, Thursday, September 15, 2022. Link ====================================== Bird flu now in 40 states Source: Successful Farming, September 19, 2022. Link. Threat … [Read more...]
Landrace Bankhar dogs being redeveloped to strengthen Mongolian nomad lifestyle
Varieties or types of plants or animals that have developed over time to suit the conditions of a local area are called landrace. For 15,000 years, Bankhar dogs protected livestock and livelihoods on the Mongolian steppe. Nearly lost, the revered dogs are making a slow and intentional comeback. Source: Atlas Obscura, February 23, 2021. Link. Also see: Bankhar Dog … [Read more...]
Cowcohol – a “wheyle” of a good idea
Leave it to entrepreneurial, small-herd dairy producers and an assistant professor of distilled spirits, AKA a guy with the most fabulous job on the planet, to create a novel way to use whey, the byproduct of cheesemaking. Todd Koch, owner of TMK Creamery in Oregon, now ferments his whey and makes a vodka-like liquor they call “Cowcohol.” The dairy is overwhelmed by … [Read more...]
When ticks quest, researchers count
How do scientists actually track tick numbers? They use linen squares and lint rollers to capture ticks during three quests in their life cycle. Ticks only leave the underbrush on special occasions. “When they’re ready to look for a host, they go on top, and actively look,” David Allen said. This behavior is known as questing. Source: Atlas Obscura, August 28, 2019. Link. . … [Read more...]
Pygmy rabbits, back from extinction
Who knew? North America’s smallest rabbits, the state and federally endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits in Washington now number in the hundreds, but they remain far from a resilient and healthy population. Their story will interest many animal health pros who value biodiversity. Source: Atlas Obscura, June 7, 2019. Link. Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits are far better off … [Read more...]
CDC begs people to stop cuddling chickens
More people are now getting salmonella for reasons we’ve noted on AHD multiple times: showing too much love for their backyard chickens. Last year, 23 percent of the people who reported contracting salmonella from homegrown fowl had recently kissed their chickens (seven percent) or snuggled them (16 percent), shares Dr. Megin Nichols. Nichols investigates salmonella and E. coli … [Read more...]
Riding Japan’s Cat Café train
The Japanese have made stationery cat cafes popular and successful. Now a collaboration has the put the concept on the move via a train. The main difference is the train was full of rescue kittens rather than sedentary cats in the cafes. Read about Bill Adler’s experience and consider the possibilities. Source: Atlas Obscura, September 11, 2017. The cat train was a … [Read more...]
18th century racehorse champion born during solar eclipse
The world is buzzing about the coming solar eclipse. So, we share this story of a temperamental, spirited, fast steed that changed horse racing forever. The greatest racehorse of the 18th century was allegedly born during the 1764 solar eclipse, which tracked from Iberia to Scandinavia, at noon on April Fool’s Day. He was named, appropriately, Eclipse. Seventeen months later he … [Read more...]
New wolf pups captured on trail camera
Just for fun! Northern California has three new wolf pups. They were caught playing in front of a trail camera. Source: Atlas Obscura, July 7, 2017. Wolves are listed as endangered at the federal level and in California, but have been delisted in Oregon. About 110 wolves live in the state, while California’s population remains small—but growing. … [Read more...]
1894 Edison video, feline boxing
Thomas Edison was a connoisseur of strange short films, in addition to inventing the light bulb. The footage—one of Edison’s firsts—is considered the first cat video ever recorded. Source: Atlas Obscura, June 19, 2017. After inventing the kinetoscope, an early version of the film camera, Edison began to test the technology by recording a series of bizarre … [Read more...]
Seed-spitting goats
Just for fun! The Argania trees of Morocco have a unique seed dispersal method: climbing, spitting goats. Some of the local goats have developed a distinctive approach to grazing during dry periods: They climb up in the thorny branches to get at the tree’s leaves and fruit, sometimes with help from herders. Source: Atlas Obscura, May 25, 2017. If the behavior is as common … [Read more...]
Squirrels were once one of America’s most popular pets
Just for fun, we include this history of the pet squirrel. In the 18th and 19th centuries, squirrels were fixtures in American homes, especially for children. Ben Franklin and President Warren Harding were especially fond of their pet squirrels. Source: Atlas Obscura, April 28, 2017. From the 1920s through the 1970s many states slowly adopted wildlife conservation and … [Read more...]