This week we chose a very special little kitty for top honors. Maggie May is a 5-month-old girl who has already been through quite a bit in her life. She was diagnosed with luxating patellas, a condition in which the kneecap moves out of its normal location, and needed to have several surgeries.

Despite her hardship, Maggie’s mom describes her as a free-spirited kitty with a very loving personality. She loves playing with her older siblings (of which she has quite a few!) and snuggling with her stuffed pink pig toy, Stuie. Maggie May has also been known to curl up in front of the stove while her mom cooks, hoping for a stray piece of food to drop!

Maggie May came into her new family’s life when her dad found her under the hood of a car. He originally took her home to foster her until a forever home could be found, but her new family fell in love with her quickly and decided to adopt her themselves.

If you want to read more about Maggie, check out her blog, where her mom is documenting her progress with her condition. Maggie May certainly deserves some special attention, and we’re happy to name her this week’s pet of the week!

Think your pet should be next week’s winner? Just head over to the Halo Pets MySpace Page and send us a picture of your favorite furry friend!

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You may remember Kilala, the Siamese/Calico beauty who recently took top honors as a Halo Pet of the Week. She just received her goodie bag, and her mom was nice enough to send us some photos of Kilala with her prize. We thought they were just too adorable not to share with everyone!

Who doesn’t like a nice nap after a good meal? We hear Kilala especially enjoys the chicken recipe!

Sorry to disappoint any future Pet of the Week winners – your goodie bag will not come with a Kilala inside!

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Q: I’m at a total loss with my long-haired dachshund. I follow the Spot’s Stew recipe. She doesn’t get any processed/store-bought food of any sort.

However, she licks her front paws constantly. We had an allergy test done on her and were told she was basically allergic to almost every type of grass/pollen there is. Besides using vetwrap on her front paws, is there anything I can do?

A: The most common dog allergy symptom is itching. Dogs with allergies will lick their bodies or feet, rub their faces on the floor or furniture, scratch their ears, bite around their tail or scratch under their arms. Their hair may turn reddish in areas and they lose large amounts of hair. The first step, which you’ve already done, is to talk to your veterinarian, who can provide a diagnosis and treatment plan that will give your best friend relief.

For some additional things you can do at home to minimize your dog’s allergy symptoms, as well as information on different types of allergies, please click here to read more.

Dr. Donna Spector, DVM, DACVIM

Do you need vet advice? Post a comment with your veterinary questions and we will send them to Dr. Donna Spector to be answered in a future column.

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You feel the need to help as you watch the devastation unfolding on the television. Innocent animals becoming innocent victims. They are homeless and need rescuing, shelter, food and water.

Before you can help the animals of a disaster, you must be able to help yourself first. Be sure to have a disaster plan in place for you, your family and your pets before you decide to get involved on a local or state level. Even if you have never worked with animals, you can help. Animal response teams need people who can gather owner information, take pictures of pets, organize supplies and put information into computer databases.

You can become involved on a local (town) level, state level or with a well-established independent organization that has relationships on local and state levels. If you are interested in helping animals during disasters, you should join a team. You may not be allowed to help unless you were a member prior to the disaster occurring.

Becoming involved with an animal disaster team isn’t for everyone. It can be mentally and physically exhausting to respond to a disaster. Most disaster responders will experience some post traumatic disorder symptoms and, because you may work in a dangerous environment, you may become injured. However, the feeling of helping to rescue or care for an animal is very rewarding, and that is why many people choose to volunteer and accept some level of risk. (more…)

An extra 3 pounds on a 10 pound cat are equivalent to an extra 38 pounds on a 125 pound woman!

An extra 5 pounds on a 30 pound dog are equivalent to an extra 21 pounds on a 125 pound woman!

Sounds more alarming, doesn’t it?

Many pet owners don’t realize their pets are overweight or they are not terribly concerned by “a few extra pounds” on their pet. It is for these reasons that nearly 35% of pets in the United States are overweight.

Extra weight and pet obesity present real health risks to pets—increased incidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, and even shortened life expectancy. These things are preventable by maintaining a healthy weight in your pet. It is important to feed your pet a high quality natural pet food, increase your pet’s physical activity and work with your veterinarian to help your pet reach their ideal body weight. Your pet will thank you for it!

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