Carol Vinzant

Pet Photos: Five Cool Ideas

by Carol Vinzant (Subscribe to Carol Vinzant's posts): Oct 28th 2009 @ 9:00AM Filed Under: Pet Clothes

What kind of pet owner are you if you don't have your favorite animal's image emblazoned on as many objects as you can manage? It used to be that you could get by using cute pictures of your dog as a screensaver. Nowadays, you have many more outlets for your pet's adorable mugshots.

Stained Glass

Holly Klay

Prove how much you revere your pets! Artist Holly Klay will turn your photo into a piece of stained-glass art. You approve the drawing ahead of time and then she gets to work. Depending on the size, they're about $300-$500.

Dog Flu; What You Need to Know

by Carol Vinzant (Subscribe to Carol Vinzant's posts): Aug 27th 2009 @ 3:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Pet Health

"Can I get some chicken soup please?" Photo: rogue3w/Flickr

After a kennel closed in Virginia due to a dog flu outbreak, panicked headlines screamed, "Protect Your Dogs from Deadly Canine Flu."

Despite a smattering of recent cases, vets have assured us you can hold off from forcing your dog to clean their paws with hand sanitizer, wear a surgical mask, or even get the much talked about canine flu vaccine.

The dog flu strain, dubbed H3N8, has floated around the horse population for decades but jumped to dogs in 2004. So far there have been relatively few cases around the country. Dr. Jean Dodds, a veterinary vaccine researcher and founder of pet blood bank and diagnostic lab Hemeopet, told Paw Nation that there were big scares a few years ago, but the cases -- mainly in kennels and shelters -- petered out.

The symptoms of dog flu -- cough, runny nose, fever -- are exactly like kennel cough, so if you suspect your dog is sick, you'll need a lab test to determine the culprit. The new H3N8 vaccine, which was approved in late June, is effective in reducing the severity of symptoms, but it's not a magic bullet that can prevent your dog from getting the virus or spreading it.

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