ALL ABOUT ANIMALS COLUMN: Supporting the NoToDogMeat charity

The business started in autumn 2019, so as you can imagine actual real-life meetings have been a tad few and far between...

But this week for the first time ever outside of Zoom we had an actual in-person meeting with clients iPET Network and Bone Idol.

iPET Network is an amazing organisation, which aims to level-up animal industries around the country with Ofqual regulated qualifications.

The qualifications range from pet first aid to the UK's first dedicated cat grooming courses.

Bone Idol, as well as being a doggy lifestyle brand, runs a state-of-the-art iPET training academy, so there was plenty to talk about!

Do get in touch if you have an animal story you think I should be writing about in this column?

My email address is [email protected].

To find out more about my business The Animal News Agency you can visit www.animalnewsagency.com. I’m on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook too @youranimalnews

DANGER IN THE GRASS

Grass seeds may seem like a harmless topic to many, but most people don't know that they can pierce your dog’s skin causing pain, discomfort, inflammation, infection and even lead to serious surgery and complications!

We live by a wildflower meadow, and at the moment little Lemmy is coming home covered in seeds, and often those little sticky pods, which attach to his fur.

It is a real worry, though we wouldn’t dream of curtailing his walk.

But help is at hand, because www.boneidol.co.uk put together some handy advice so that dog owners like me know what to look out for:

> Always check your around your dog’s nose and eyes as its easy for them to pick one up when sniffing the ground, even on the side of a path, or when running in long grass. Check both nostrils, the fur on the face and examine any folds of skin your dog may have.

> Lift the flap of your dog’s ear and look down into the ear checking the seed has not started to travel down the ear canal. Also check each ear front and back.

> Start at the top and work down checking inside the armpits and joints as more mobile areas cause grass seeds to migrate faster.

> Lifting dog’s foot back, look in between the pads, gently pulling the pad apart and checking the seed is not in between or lodged in any ‘pockets’ of hair.

> Gently part each toe on the top of your dog’s foot. This is a very common entry point for a seed to enter the dog’s body as they are harder to spot.

For the full guide go to https://boneidol.co.uk/blogs/news/guide-grass-seeds.

YULIN HORROR

This week The Animal News Agency supported the NoToDogMeat charity in their work at the barbaric Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

NoToDogMeat campaigners attended the festival and were able to save ten dogs, some of which had already sustained horrific injuries.

CEO Julia de Cadenet worked through the night all week to coordinate the operation, which also saw the brave campaigners uncover an illegal dog slaughterhouse outside of Yulin which operates all year round.

The footage and photographs the charity obtained has been published in media around the world. And active work is being done to close the slaughterhouse down.

Many people ask why eating dog is any different from pork, beef or chicken? Well NoToDogMeat is a vegetarian organisation; but the main reason is the cruelty involved.

Many of the dogs are people's pets who have been seized or stolen, and the unsanitary conditions in which they are stored and killed can lead to serious health problems, such as viruses like Covid-19.

To find out more about the work of NoToDogMeat go to www.notodogmeat.com.