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Show Page 10 The Ogden Valley news Volume XVII Issue XXIII May 15, 2010 Pause for Paws “Sit, sit, sit, sit, I said sit Spot, sit! press down on his rear end. Once he does this Remember the old Gary Larsen Far Side cartoons where the pet owner says, “How many times have I told you not to get on the couch, if I’ve told you once . . . .” The pet hears, “blah, blah, blah, blah.” If you repeat commands to your dog, over and over, they soon only hear “blah, blah, blah.” When training your dog, try to be consistent with your commands. Lure your pet into the behavior, a “sit” for example, with a treat, holding the treat just above his nose and gently behavior a few times, add a name to the command, ”Spot, sit.” Wait a few moments, lure again if necessary, and praise as soon as Spot sits. Avoid repeating the command. Once you have asked Spot to sit, count to ten if you must, and Spot will likely offer a sit, just to get his treat. Note: Information from Patsy Dickens of Kelley Creek Farm. For more information, visit <www.kelleycreekfarm.com> Ogden City Animal Shelter Sponsors LowCost Rabies Clinic—Mega cat fix also slated On Saturday, May 22, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Ogden Animal Services will sponsor a low-cost rabies clinic, providing an opportunity for pet owners to have their animal vaccinated at a very reasonable price. This clinic will be held at the Ogden Animal Shelter located at 1490 Park Boulevard next to Dinosaur Park. Make sure you bring your dogs on a leash and your cats in a carrier! Prices for the various vaccinations are as follows: Rabies $13 8 Way Dog Combo $15 5 Way Cat Combo $15 Feline Leukemia $15 “If you love your pet, keep it healthy and happy,” says Ogden’s Mayor Godfrey. While at the shelter, Ogden residents can pick up licenses for their cats and dogs; licenses help track down a pet’s family when they stray. Mega Cat Fix at Ogden Animal Shelter Ogden City Animal Services and No More Homeless Pets of Utah will once again be sponsoring a Mega Cat Fix on May17, 2010 at the Ogden Animal Shelter. This is an opportunity for you have your cat spayed or neutered at a very reasonable cost. It is only $24.99 for female cats and $14.99 for males. You need to come to Ogden City Animal Services to pick up your reservation for that day; it must be prepaid. Call in advance at 801-629-8244 to make sure we still have an opening. Appointment time slots are limited. Mayor Godfrey states, “With spring comes many new unwanted kittens. Please ensure that you have your cats spayed and neutered to minimize these kittens!” If your family is looking for a new friend— either a cat or a dog—please call 801-629-8244 and ask about opportunities to adopt a new family friend.” GARAGE SALE cont. from page 1 Zach and Angie Burton, and granddaughter of Rob and Colleen Burton, passed away a few with over $6,600 donated last year alone. hours after her birth. Her family received the For the past few years, the Charity Garage same compassionate treatment from the hospital, Sale has been able to fully sponsor a Make-A- and McKenna was added to the memory list. Wish child. It currently costs $5,000 to grant When Janine, Matthew, and Esther Howard a wish for a child. We hope once again to be of Huntsville died in a car accident three years able to fulfill a wish for a local child with a ago, donations were made to Primary Children’s life-threatening illness, plus make the annual Medical Center and the Howard Family Fund. contributions to the hospitals, The Charity Garage Sale and other charitable causes. is now organized each year by The garage sale was a group of dedicated Ogden started in 1999. That year, Valley volunteers who want six-year-old Elisabeth to keep the original tradition Hillstrom was diagnosed alive, and plans are for it to with brain cancer. Makecontinue indefinitely. A-Wish Foundation of Utah This year’s garage sale gave her a horse that she will be held Friday, June named Carrots, a corral, and 18, and Saturday, June 19 horse feed for a year. Sadly, in Huntsville, at the home of Elisabeth was only able to Mike and Cindy Hillstrom. enjoy her horse for a short It will run from 8:00 a.m. to time, and she passed away in about 8:00 p.m. on Friday, June of that year. and until 3:00 p.m. on Thirteen-year-old neighSaturday. bor Elizabeth Stitt wanted The garage sale is made to do something that sum- Left to right are Carly Ammon, possible by donated items, mer in memory of Elisabeth. Elizabeth Stitt, Sarah Allen (on lad- and they are now being She decided to have a garage der), Katie Stitt, Brooke Broderick accepted and collected. We sale and give the proceeds to from garage sale in 2001. have received tremendous Make-A-Wish. The first year valley-wide support throughthe garage sale was just for kids, and it made out the years. Please feel free to donate fur$226 for Make-A-Wish. However, the garage niture, working appliances, sports equipment, sale continued to grow each year. clothing in great condition, shoes and boots, A few years later, other neighbors lost craft items, dishes, seasonal decorations, toys, an infant son to the birth defect trisomy-18. games, and books in good/great condition. New McKay Dee Hospital’s Labor and Delivery items are also greatly appreciated. Unit provided them with special memorabilia Please support these wonderful causes with of their baby to help them deal with the loss. your own donation. Contact Dave Richardson In his memory, the Labor and Delivery depart- at 458-2737, Laurel Kirkham at 710-2324, ments of McKay-Dee and Ogden Regional were Colleen Burton at 644-1002, or Leslie Stitt at added as two more beneficiaries of the garage 564-5137. sale. That money is earmarked by the hospitals And don’t forget to come by and buy someto help provide memory boxes, rings, stuffed thing too! animals, disposable cameras, gowns, etc. to Mark June 18 and 19 on your calendar, and families who have an infant die. follow the signs to a great sale for several great Then McKenna Burton, infant daughter of causes! 801-745-4000 2555 WOLF CREEK DR. EDEN STORE HOURS: MON. - SAT. 7 AM - 10 PM SUNDAY 7 AM - 9 PM May 22, 2010 One Day Meat and Seafood Sale. Great prices! Enter to win $100 of meat. Bananas 39c/lb. with coupon Expires 6/1/10 Any Cake from the Bakery $1.00 OFF with coupon Expires 6/1/10 Any Gallon Bucket Farr’s Ice Cream $1.00 OFFwith coupon Expires 6/1/10 Any Package Birchberry Deli Franks $1.00 OFF with coupon Expires 6/1/10 CONIFER cont. from page 1 brought some impressive gusts. Mount Ogden Peak recorded 95 mph wind gusts, and Ogden, 49 mph winds. And how do you clean up a 70-foot pine tree that falls over on to your home? Allen states that he and a friend began trimming branches from the tree, then took a front-end loader and redirected the tree away from the house and over against a cement wall in the yard. From there, they continued to cut the tree up into manageable-sized logs. “Now we’ll wait for the wood to dry out, and then we’ll end up burning it,” stated Allen. Canine Heartworm Compiled by Dr. Etta Baker, Valley Veterinarian The heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) is a fairly large worm, up to 14 inches long, that in adulthood lives in the heart and pulmonary arteries of an infected dog. Dogs acquire this infection through mosquito bites as mosquitoes readily pick up larval heartworms from infected dogs and carry them to new dogs. In the pulmonary arteries of an infected dog, the worm’s presence generates a strong inflammatory response and a tendency for blood to inappropriately clot. If enough worms are present, the heart must work extra hard to pump blood through the plugged up arteries. Some geographic areas (the southern United States for example) have severe heartworm problems while other areas have virtually none. Here in Utah, we have around 150 to 300 dogs with heartworm reported annually, mostly along the Wasatch front. There are other unreported cases. We have had cases here in the Valley over the last few years. In order for the parasite to establish its presence in an area, the following conditions must be met: • Types of mosquitoes capable of carrying larval heartworms must be present. • The weather must be warm enough to allow heartworm larval development within the mosquito. • There must be infected dogs (or coyotes) in the area. • There must be vulnerable host dogs in the area (not on heartworm preventive medications). When these conditions come together, an area becomes endemic for heartworm disease. With adult male and female worms present, mating begins to occur. Heartworms do not lay eggs like other worm parasites; instead, they give live birth and the baby worms are called microfilariae. Microfilariae are released into the circulatory system and can be taken up by a mosquito taking a blood meal and carried to a new host. Microfilariae may live up to two years within the host dog in whom they were born. If, after this period, a mosquito has not picked them up, they die of old age. Parasitic worms have five larval stages and are termed L1, L2, L3, etc. Heartworm microfilariae are first stage larvae: L1s Infecting a New Dog When a dog is bitten by an infected mosquito, the L3 is not deposited directly into the dog’s bloodstream. Instead, it is deposited in a tiny drop of mosquito salvia adjacent to the mosquito bite. For transmission to occur, there must be adequate humidity to prevent evaporation of this fluid droplet before the L3’s can swim through the mosquito bite and into the new host. Once safely inside the new host, the L3 will spend the next week or two developing into an L4 within the host’s skin. The L4 will live in the skin for three months or so until it develops to the L5 stage and is ready to enter the host’s circulatory system. The L5, which is actually a young adult, migrates to the heart and out into the pulmonary arteries (if there is room) where it will mate, approximately 5 to 7 months after first entering the new host. All commercially available heartworm preventives act by killing the freshly delivered L3’s and the L4’s living in the skin. The ivermectin products are also able to kill the younger L5’s. Also note, because the heartworm tests on the market either look for microfilariae in the blood stream or for adult worm proteins, they will not detect infection with immature worms. This is why it takes 5 to 7 months from the time of exposure to get a valid heartworm test and this is why puppies less than 5 to 7 months of age will have negative tests even if they have been infected. This makes springtime the best time to test dogs who were not on treatment the previous mosquito season or dogs who have not been tested for 2 or 3 years. If the test is negative then the dog can be put on preventive medication. If the test is positive, you discuss with your veterinarian various forms of treatment. It is recommended that all dogs over 6 months be tested for heartworm infection and be treated throughout mosquito season. Older dogs should be tested every 2 to 3 years and treated throughout the mosquito season also. Most heartworm preventative medication contains medications to treat other internal parasites also. Treating dogs with the medication year round helps prevent other parasites throughout the year. Note: For more information, Dr. Baker can be contacted at 801-745-2697. The Ogden Valley News is looking for Ogden Valley and Ogden Canyon historical biographies, stories, and photos to use in its publication. Please mail, email, or call Shanna at 801-745-2688 or Jeannie at 801-745-2879 if you have material you would like to share. |