“Americans are living longer, healthier lives and we owe much of that success to biomedical research.” Dr Robert Palazzo, President of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) In my research on the use of animals in biomedical testing, I found that there were primarily three compelling reasons for its support. These include 1) the notion that animals and humans are physiologically and genetically similar to humans; 2) there is a need to understand how a drug impacts the entire system and not just one organ or bodily system; and 3) that it stops human suffering and/or […] Read more »
You know the drill. You walk into an elevator and make brief eye contact with the other passengers in the box, before staking out your personal space and facing forward for the journey upwards. The rules of the elevator are simple. Rule 1: No talking. Rule 2: The person closest to the buttons has the responsibility of minimizing the amount of time from door open to door close by rapidly pressing the buttons on behalf of the other passengers in the tube. Since you were a kid you likely learned the rules of the elevator and they’ve stuck with you […] Read more »
You may have heard about it already in the local news media, or seen it on your favorite social media feed but just in case you haven’t, we want to remind you that today is One Voice Day. ‘One Voice Day’ is a global initiative to unite all countries of the world in the reading of the Universal Peace Covenant at exactly 6 p.m. UT on July 26 each year. The Universal Peace Covenant is a 577-word pledge and plea to bring families, countries and the world together in a peaceful co-existence. During this time individuals and groups in all […] Read more »
If you’ve been in or around animal rescue for any period of time you’ve heard of rescue relay transport. Heck our good friends at Doobert.com built a whole custom software platform around helping to make this process efficient. But if you ask many local animal shelter workers, you’ll still hear that rescue relay transport is not an effective or safe means to get animals to where they need to go. They claim that there are not enough volunteers and that moving 1-2 dogs at a time does not help solve the issue. Let’s evaluate this premise and see if it […] Read more »
Of all of the specially named days within the year, this one truly has to take the cake. Imagine someone taking the time to formally file the paperwork for gorgeous grandma day. Whoever you are, we salute you because obviously you love your grandma like we do. Gorgeous Grandma day is all about celebrating grandmas around the world. Every single one of them is gorgeous in their own special way. And the best part about this day is that it’s not reserved only for the human species of grandmas. Grandmas of all types should be celebrated on this warm July […] Read more »
Like us you’ve probably heard the saying “Adopt. Don’t shop.” and “Rescue is my favorite breed.” When you were ready to adopt your most recent pet you might even have been encouraged by friends and family to look for a local animal rescue instead of going to the pet store. Obviously we support the notion that your first choice should be animal rescues and animal shelters but we also want to dispel one of those pesky myths that has been out there for a while that Animal Rescues are breed specific. It’s not hard to imagine the origin of this […] Read more »
What do you think of when you hear the words “animal testing”? When I asked this question to members of the general public in my research, often the responses included things like “bunnies having horrible things put in their eyes” or “the skin of rats or rabbits being used for chemical burn tests.” Not once did a study participant mention dogs being forced to run on a treadmill until they suffered a heart attack or monkeys with boxes implanted into their skulls strapped into chairs while they viewed tv screens and researchers monitored their neural pathways. My research shows that […] Read more »
It’s time to appreciate the little pigs of the guinea variety! Today is national guinea pig appreciation day or (NGPA if you’re one of those people that likes acronyms). Guinea pigs are known to have been domesticated as far back as 5000BC, when they were usually kept as livestock. And it might surprise you to know that guinea pigs come in many different breeds and varieties. Some have long lush coats and other piggies have no hair at all! Vegetarians by nature, they are generally very healthy animals that do not require a lot of frequent trips to the doctor. […] Read more »
In a fire, what happens to your pets? Welcome to the heat of July. We’re past the fireworks, focused on keeping cool in our swimming pools and enjoying the dog days of summer. Fire safety is likely the furthest thing from our minds. But today is Pet Fire Safety Day, a day when we need to pause and think about what fire hazards exist in our homes that could harm our furry four-legged friends. Fire unfortunately still remains a major thread in the world and something as simple as a friendly game of chase can end up with a broken […] Read more »
It is surprising to think that in 2018 many people still believe that the only place to find a purebred dog is by locating a breeder and buying the animal from them. Surprisingly the statistics show that upwards of 25% of dogs in animal shelters across the country are purebreds so saying that you have to go to a breeder to find a purebred animal is definitely a myth. Unfortunately, people surrender their animals for many different reasons both real and made-up. There are often lines on the weekends in some cities where people are waiting for an animal shelter […] Read more »