For Fido, Fetch Can Be Fatal

Fido vomiting up phosphine gas

(NEWSER) - Some best friend. A few veterinarians and their workers are discovering dogs have made them very sick. Experts at the Centers for Disease Controls are warning of a bizarre poisoning that's occurring when dogs vomit in vet offices after ingesting pest-fighting chemicals aimed at rats, moles, and gophers. The dogs eat zinc phosphide, which is used as a rodent killer. But when it mixes with a dog's stomach acid, it produces potentially lethal phosphine gas. More»

(NEWSER) - Though Oprah Winfrey lost one of her new puppies to disease, a second is “holding steady for now,” a rep tells the Chicago Tribune. Ivan, one of the cocker spaniels Winfrey adopted earlier this month and showcased on her TV program, died of the highly contagious parvovirus. Littermate Sadie is undergoing treatment and in stable condition. More»

'Canine Walter Reed' will treat pooches wounded in combat

(NEWSER) - If GI Rover gets injured in Iraq, chances are he'll end up at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where the "Walter Reed of the veterinary world" has just opened. The base has long been training pups for service in all branches of the military, but its old animal hospital couldn't keep up with demand, the AP reports. More»

The '7-year' rule is too simplistic, veterinarians say

(NEWSER) - A human year is 7 dog years, right? That ubiquitous formula has been driving veterinarians and dog enthusiasts nuts for decades. If it were accurate, some pooches would live to the equivalent of age 150 or so, Carl Bialik writes in the Wall Street Journal. For those who must convert, he suggests scrapping the one-size-fits-all approach in favor of a more nuanced formula. More»

Dog ownership turned out a lot pricier than writer bargained for

(NEWSER) - At first, $150 for a beagle puppy and $20 a week for food sounded like a good deal, but it didn't take long to realize dogs are "deceptively expensive," Neal Templin writes in the Wall Street Journal. Vet bills soon added up to thousands after a mystery illness and a car bump—enough to feed the pooch for several lifetimes. More»