Oreo the Frenchie

09/01/2024

Turning 8 - I’m officially a senior now! (Yet playing hard)

02/11/2023

Told you I can help 🧽🥣

27/04/2022

Alert 🚨 to all human slaves

THE INVISIBLE SLIMY MONSTER IN THE WATER BOWL

Ever rub your fingers on the inside of your pet's water bowl and you feel a slippery slime of sorts? Well that invisible goo is called Biofilm.

Biofilm is a collection of organic and inorganic, living and dead materials collected on a surface. It is made up of many different types of bacteria bound together in a thick substance that acts as a glue to both hold the bacteria together and adhere it to a surface.

Biofilm can often be good bacteria but there is also the bad!

Biofilms provide a safe haven for organisms like Listeria, E. coli and legionella where they can reproduce to levels where contamination of products passing through that water becomes inevitable.

Bad Biofilms have been found to be involved in a wide variety of microbial infections in the body such as urinary tract infections, middle-ear infections and bladder infections.

Many pet parents are guilty of simply refilling the water bowl over and over without a wash and this becomes a wonderful environment for biofilm to soak around in.

How to reduce Biofilm:

Remember to clean your pet’s water bowl at least once a week if you can and change water daily.

For pet daycares where a host of different bacteria float around in water bowls, wash daily!

For best results, run your water bowls through a hot cycle in the dishwasher with an eco friendly, non-toxic soap to really clean out the biofilm!

Rodney Habib Pet Health Site

"An educated, informed and well-researched community of pet owners can only put more pressure on the pet food industry to be better! When pet owners know better, they will only do better!"

(P.S. - I am going to get lambasted over the "wash once a week at least" concept. However, after a wonderful discussion with a well known pro-active veterinarian/scientist, when she studied the bacteria looming in pets' water bowls she found if you have a healthy beast, biofilm can actually be full of wonderful, healthy bacteria. It's like playing in the mud as kids and having good bacteria all over you! So sometimes cleaning regularly can wash all the good stuff away. ;) )

09/09/2021

⚠️Watch out when having fun outside. ⚠️

🌸Daphne plants are currently flowering in many parts of the country. There are many species of Daphne with varying degrees of toxicity. They all contain toxic compounds (daphnetoxin and mezerein) in their fruit, leaves and bark.

When parts of the Daphne plant are chewed on or ingested they can cause ulceration to the mouth, oesophagus and stomach. Signs of mild to moderate poisoning include drooling, vomiting, lack of appetite and diarrhoea that may contain blood.

In severe poisoning, inflammation of the kidney, irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia), seizures, coma and death can occur but are not common. The plant is generally not palatable to animals and the fruits, which have the highest concentration of toxin, are quite bitter to taste therefore deterring animals from ingesting large quantities.

Since most animals leave this plant alone, we do not think it is necessary to remove Daphne plants from all gardens. However, if you notice your pet or a farm animal is inclined to chew on these shrubs or eat the berries it would be a good idea to remove them from areas animals can access.

If you are concerned your pet has been exposed to a Daphne plant, please phone 1300 869 738 (AU) or 0800 869 738 (NZ) for first aid advice, even if your pet looks well.

Don’t miss the next pet poison alert! Visit animalpoisons.com.au/stay-up-to-date to subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive updates and alerts directly to your inbox.

This post has been gratefully sponsored by a grant from Animal Welfare Victoria.

07/09/2021

Meanwhile at Alert Level 4 lockdown and raining in Auckland, that doesn’t stop me bugging my human who is working from home to bring me out. 🤪

07/03/2021

Day out with humans after COVID Alert Level is lifted.

Alert Level 2 - Stay Safe, Kia kaha

30/01/2021

🚨🚨🚨 watch out ⚠️⚠️⚠️

06/12/2020

A gold coin please!

23/11/2020

Com’on, don’t give me that face. Can I pay with canned food🥫, salmon may be?

05/10/2020

28/08/2020

Miss you always, KID, my dear brother

"If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever."
-Unknown

25/06/2020

For new pup owners , please in mind...