You have probably been hearing a lot about canine circovirus. So have I. You may have heard some conflicting things about this virus. So have I. Because I love you all and I want you to know what I know, I've spent the day trying to make sense of the information that's out there. Here's what I know so far and why I'm not recommending mass panic at this time. Part 1: It's the food Here's how the story evolved, as far as I can piece together. 1. In mid-August, P&G pet foods issues a ... Read more »
science
What dreams may come
I love watching my dogs dream. They twitch, sometimes making little running motions with their feet, and Brody in particular makes a noise just like one of the Three Stooges- "whoopwhoopwhoopwhoopwhoop," a sound never heard when he's actually awake. I've always wondered what they dream about. Do their brains use the time to work out subconscious fears like we do? What can they be all that worried about anyway? They have it pretty easy. Are their dreams populated with the surreal workings of ... Read more »
Medicine Man
When I was 7, I was stung by a honeybee while floating in the pool in the backyard. My grandmother, ever resourceful, put a poultice on my back to draw out the venom. She had a home cure for everything, which seemed quaint at the time before I appreciated just how much she knew: honey tea for sore throats, orange juice for a cold. Before we took the knowledge away from people and sequestered it behind white coats and books, everyone knew how to minister to their health. Here in the river ... Read more »
Oh no! Furry fleabag causes plague! etc etc
An upcoming article in Emerging Infectious Diseases is already raising hackles and stimulating a great deal of debate by suggesting sleeping with your pets in the bed can be risky. The authors, one of whom I remember from Davis as a great zoonotics expert with a vast and horrifying litany of case studies, reviewed past medical literature to come up with examples of human infections that most likely originated from the pet. Before we get into anything else, it's worth noting this fundamental ... Read more »