12 thoughts on “Open Thread

  1. There appears to have been a breakthrough in the treatment of White-nose Syndrome, the devastating fungal disease that has killed millions of bats in the U.S. in recent years.

    Interestingly, the successful treatment was with native soil bacteria, included in some sort of compound that was applied to the bats (news accounts don’t say whether the treatments were applied topically, injected, or ingested). The bacteria somehow gave the treated bats the ability to resist the White-nose fungus, which has been killing 80 to 100 percent of hibernating colonies it affects.

    If the treatment can be scaled up, this will be huge.

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150520114214.htm

  2. Mickey, the dog who has been serving a ‘life sentence’ inside Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s MASH jail (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Animal Safe House), is being moved at the recommendation of a veterinary oncologist. The new location is not being disclosed,

    http://www.fox10phoenix.com/story/29129903/2015/05/21/mickey-to-pit-bull-being-moved-to-new-location

    From Mickey’s facebook page:
    “With regards to Mickey’s actual move, we just want to let everyone know security will be very, very tight for Mickey. A plan has already been worked out so that no one will be able to know when Mickey is leaving, or where Mickey is going to. This has to be done in order to protect Mickey, and the public at large. In the past there has been to many threats to Mickey and to the humans around him, as such MCSO is taking these threats very seriously, and is going to act accordingly.”

    “The CAM will be back up soon after Mickey’s move from MASH. It is our understanding that a number of puppies will be moved into Mickey’s former room, so that a Puppy Cam can be set up. However, Mickey will be also be getting a new Cam at his new location. We actually hope to have a better picture with this equipment than we had before. We will keep you posted.”

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Watch-Mickey-Beat-Cancer/627613240621251?sk=timeline

  3. This story only exists on Facebook right now: https://www.facebook.com/NoKillNewYorkInc/photos/a.149069611953271.1073741828.142850002575232/368212396705657/?type=1

    I’ll try to keep the summery short.

    An indoor cat accidentally gets out in SI NYC. She is trapped by a neighbor who then takes her into SIACC. They proceed to label her ferrel and release her to a rescue without doing a proper hold. Now the rescue is claiming they never pulled the cat. This group is part of the Mayor’s Alliance, and others from it have started attacking the efforts of those only trying to get the cat back.

    In all of the denials, not one possibility of what happened to this cat has been offered. And as mismanaged and horrible as the ACs are here, they have no history of mislabeling an animal as pulled when they were not, nor putting the wrong rescue on the paperwork.

    1. If absolutely nothing else, this case highlights why zero hold time for ferrels/unidentified cats is a VERY bad idea. She had two scars on her stomach, spay and exploratory surgery (she suffers from Pica, yet another reason she needs to be found right away) and no tip on her ear. That apparently did not register with the workers who spayed her yet again before sending her out.

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