ohmidog!

This ad for Trifexis depicts a dog living in a bubble — albeit it one that’s outside and has plenty of tubes to run around in.

It serves to protect him from heartworms, hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, flea infestations and all those other frightening hazards that exist in that place where dogs, for centuries, managed to survive:

Outside.

What we find most interesting about it, though, are the disclaimers, which seem to have risen with doggie prescription drugs to the same level they have with human ones, where three-fourths of the advertisement are devoted to a listing of potential scary side effects, quickly recited in monotone, in hopes you — or your dog — won’t really hear them.

With Trifexis, it goes like this: “Treatment with fewer than three monthly doses after the last exposure to mosoquitoes may not provide complete heartworm prevention. The most common adverse reactions were vomiting, itching and lethargy. Serious adverse reactions have been reported following concomitant extra-label use of ivermectin with spinosad alone, one of the components of Trifexis.”

On top of the warnings recited, more appear in small print during the ad:

“To ensure parasite protection, observe your dog for one hour after administration.”

“If vomiting occurs within an hour of administration, give another full dose.”

“Puppies less than 14 weeks of age may experience a higher rate of vomiting.”

In their print ads, the makers of Trifexis additionally advise the drug be used with caution in breeding females, and in dogs with epilepsy. Its use in breeding males has not been evaluated. Print ads also list lethargy, depression, decreased appetite and diarrhea as possible side effects.

The chewable, beef-flavored tablets — administered once a month – are a combination of spinosad and milbemycin oxime, and they serve to prevent heartworm disease, kill fleas and prevent infestations and treat hookworm, roundworm and whipworm infections.

The tagline for the ad is “You don’t have to go to extremes to protect your dog from parasites.”

Apparently you do, though, if you’re selling prescription drugs — for canines or humans — to protect your ass from lawsuits.

To see all our “Woof in Advertising” posts, click here.

The Nevada Supreme Court — no stranger to such matters — will decide whether Onion, the Mastiff mix who killed his owner’s grandson on his first birthday, should live or die.

The court will hear arguments — 30 minutes worth, it has specified — on July 3 before deciding whether the city of Henderson should be allowed to kill the dog.

Another option has been offered by the Lexus Project, a New York-based organization that provides legal representation to dogs.

The Lexus Project intervened in the case and wants to gain custody of Onion, then send him to live at a secure sanctuary in Colorado.

The 120-pound mastiff-Rhodesian ridgeback mix killed Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan by biting him on the head the day of his first birthday party. Later that day, the owner turned Onion over to Henderson animal control officers, who planned to kill the dog in accordance with the city’s vicious-dog ordinance.

The city turned down the Lexus Project’s offer to take responsibility for the dog, and has fought its request to be awarded custody. Onion’s former owner now wants Lexus to have the dog, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

The court battle has been going on for a year now.

Last year, Clark County District Court Joanna Kishner ruled the city of Henderson could proceed with the dog’s execution.

The state Supreme Court issued a stay — it’s second in the case — until arguments could be heard.

Those will take place July 3 at 11:30 a.m.

Sierra, a West Highland terrier in Colorado, had 26 cents in her stomach.

But it was the single penny that killed her.

Owner Maryann Goldstein said Sierra was always attracted to change. As a puppy, the Westie swallowed 32 cents and had to have it surgically removed. In March, Sierra got sick again, and X-rays at the vet’s office showed a quarter and penny in her stomach.

The smaller coin was the bigger concern.

Pennies minted after 1982 contain zinc, and that’s toxic to dogs and cats, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Rebecca Jackson, a staff veterinarian at Petplan pet insurance, told CBSNews.com that newer pennies are toxic because gastric acid from the pet’s stomach reaches the zinc center, causing it to be absorbed in the body rapidly.

She said zinc interferes with red blood cell production, and the longer the exposure, the greater likelihood red blood cells will be destroyed. Symptoms of zinc toxicity include vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, lethargy, red-colored urine or looking jaundiced.

“Be sure to bank your spare change before curious pets can get their paws on it,” warned Jackson. “and if they do, get them to the emergency vet immediately.”

Goldstein, who now wears Sierra’s ashes in a heart-shaped container on a necklace, shared her dog’s story with CBS in Denver as a warning to others.

Natura Pet Products is recalling its dry foods for dogs and cats because of concerns they may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

The recall includes all dry pet food products with expiration dates prior to and including March 24, 2013. The brands include California Natural, EVO, Healthwise, Innova, and Karma.

Based in Fremont, Neb., Natura Pet is a maker of “natural” and “holistic” pet foods, according to a company statement.

The recall is an expansion of one that had been announced by the company last month, according to a Food and Drug Administration press release.

The affected products were sold through veterinary clinics and select pet specialty retailers throughout the United States and in Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Costa Rica. The products were also sold online.

No canned wet foods or biscuits are included in the recall.

Pets infected with salmonella can appear tired, and have diarrhea and vomiting. Some pets may not show obvious symptoms, but experience decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Pets can spread the bacteria to other animals, including humans.

Natura Pet said people who have purchased the products should discard them. If their pets have consumed the recalled product and are showing symptoms, they should contact their veterinarian.

A Jack Russell terrier is worth $1.11 less, but feeling much better, after 111 pennies he gulped down were removed from his stomach.

The 13-year-old dog, named Jack, underwent a two-hour operation at BluePearl Veterinary Partners.

The coins were fished out five at a time, said Jack’s owner, Tim Kelleher, who reported that Jack was back to normal after the operation:

“He’s driving me crazy again,” he said.

Kelleher who lives in Manhattan and works on Wall Street, said Jack climbed onto a desk to reach a bag that had a bagel in it, and knocked the change over the floor. He said Jack must have swallowed the pennies while licking the bagel crumbs off the floor.

When Jack became ill and started vomiting last Friday, Kelleher took him to the vet, where an X-ray showed the pennies clustered in his belly.

Surgery was advised because the zinc in the coins posed a lethal threat to the dog’s kidneys and liver.

“If Jack would not have had the pennies removed the consequences would have been fatal,” said Dr. Amy Zalcman, who helped treat the dog.

The New York Daily News reports that the dog’s owner let the vet keep the change.

The X-ray above shows some of the 109 stones a Lab named Barney consumed during a walk on the beach a few months ago. 

His owner, Kim Woollard, who’s used to Barney putting just about everything in his mouth, didn’t realize at the time he was swallowing them, but she noticed the next day that he seemed under the weather.

After taking him to the vet, Mrs. Woollard, who lives in Surrey in the UK, said she was “gobsmacked” by what she saw.

Barney, a chocolate Labrador, had eaten 109 pebbles during his walk on the beach, the Daily Mail reports.

The vets found 79 pebbles in stomach cavity – and Mrs. Woollard, after getting back home, found 30 more in his bed.

Mrs. Woollard, a 52-year-old jeweler, went for the walk with Barney and her husband, Andrew, back in September, on a beach in Kent.

“Barney was always full of energy and he loved going for walks on the beach. It was a pebbly beach and I let him off the lead there as there wasn’t anyone on the beach apart from us. Andrew and I were chatting and watching Barney, but we didn’t see him do anything out of the ordinary. He was racing along enjoying himself.”

Back at home, the Woollards noticed a few stones in Barney’s basket, but didn’t think anything of it. The next day, there were more, and when her husband ran his hand along Barney’s belly “we could actually hear them rattling,” she said.

Barney had an operation to remove the 70 stones remaining inside him and made a full recovery.

(Photos: WorldWideFeatures.com, via Daily Mail)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that Kasel Associates Industries Inc. is recalling all pet treats manufactured at its Denver plant from April 20 through Sept. 19, 2012 due to potential contamination with Salmonella.

Products manufactured by the company are sold under various brand names by retailers that include Target, Petco, Sam’s Club and Costco.

The company had issued three previous recall notices for specific products manufactured during this time period. Now the list of recalled products has expanded to more than 50.

In September, Kasel recalled Boots & Barkley beef bully sticks. Weeks later it recalled Nature’s Deli Chicken Jerky Dog Treat. Two weeks after that it recalled Boots & Barkley Roasted American Pig Ears and Boots & Barkley American Variety Pack Dog Treats

The recalls began after the Colorado Department of Agriculture tested a retail sample of a Kasel pet treat product and found it to be positive for Salmonella. Follow-up inspections by the FDA found that at all of the finished pet treat product samples and 48 out of 87 environmental samples collected tested positive for Salmonella.

More than ten different species of Salmonella were found in the firm’s products and manufacturing facility, indicating multiple sources of contamination, according to an FDA press release.

The FDA says it has received a small number of complaints of illness in dogs who were exposed to the treats.

Because of the multiple positive tests for Salmonella, and the production practices and conditions observed at the facility during the inspection, the FDA believes that there is a reasonable probability that all pet treat products manufactured in the facility from April 20, 2012 through September 19, 2012 are contaminated with Salmonella.

Both people and animals can contract Salmonellosis from handling or eating contaminated products. People handling dry pet treats should thoroughly wash their hands after having contact with the treats as well as any surfaces exposed to these products.

Salmonella is a public health risk and is one of the most common causes of foodborne illness. Its symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.

Pets with Salmonella infections may become lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some pets may experience only a decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected, but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed any of the affected product or is experiencing any of these symptoms, contact your veterinarian immediately.

You can find the full list of recalled Kasel products here.

A Baltimore dog food company is coming to the defense of bully sticks — at least those it produces.

The treats, made from bull and steer penises, were maligned in a recent study that reported not everybody who buys them for their dog realizes what they are, that they are high in calories, and that — at least among the 26 bully sticks researchers purchased – about one of every three were contaminated with bacteria.

Boesl Packing, a Baltimore company that makes raw diet dog food and a variety of dog treats — all USDA approved — is recirculating this video, which it produced in 2009, about the making of its K-9 Kraving bully sticks.

Just as the video clearly discloses what bully sticks are, we need to offer some full disclosure of our own here. My former girlfriend (and Ace’s godmother) works at K-9 Kraving, which is how — though I wasn’t aware of it — Ace ended up in the video (around the 30-second mark), gnawing on a bull penis.

Despite all that, I have the ability to remain objective. But what fun would that be?

My opinion is that the study, limited as it was, goes too far in stating the potential safety concerns. The sample size was far too small to issue what  — at least once the media got hold of it — amounted to something close to a blanket indictment.

As for the number of calories bully sticks contain — about 88 per six-inch stick — that doesn’t seem too out of line.

As for bacterial concerns, it’s hard to grasp how serious or widespread they may be, given only 26 sticks were tested, and the makers and vendors are not identified in the study. There was a recall in September of bully sticks made by Kasel Associated Industries, based in Denver, due to salmonella concerns.

But what one manufacturer produces sloppily, another may produce with quality. Look at chicken jerky treats, for example.

K-9 Kraving says its bully sticks are “dried at 165 degrees  for 3-4 days (depending on girth) …In other words, cooked.” They come only from U.S. farms and are cleaned, odor-free and have the seminal tube removed.

Too much information? There’s no such thing when it comes to what we feed our dogs.

K-9 Kraving points out where bully sticks originated — that is, the country of origin of the bulls and steers to which they were once attached — can be a factor, as can cleanliness, production practices and quality controls.

The company says it was the first dog food company to achieve USDA Certification, meaning its production practices are held to a human grade standard — even in the case of bully sticks, which it began marketing in 2009.

The USDA certification means the treats are suitable for human consumption, and some humans do consume them — though usually not to their knowledge. Outside of the dog treat industry, Chinese restaurants are the biggest purchasers of bull pizzles, for use in preparing soups.

The study was performed by researchers at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and the University of Guelph. Their findings were published in last monthy’s Canadian Veterinary Journal.

Tests on 26 bully sticks purchased from various unidentified vendors found that nine were contaminated with bacteria. One was contaminated with Clostridium difficile; one with Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics; and seven were contaminated with Escherichia coli.

The researchers advised pet owners to wash their hands after touching such treats, as they would with any raw meat diets.

After a string of recent deaths, the Coast Guard is warning residents and visitors to Northern California’s coast not to try to rescue their dogs from the ocean.

Five people have drowned since November as they tried to save pets swept into the ocean by rogue waves.

Coast Guard, National Park and SPCA officials held a joint press conference Friday, aimed at spreading public awareness about water safety for pets and their owners.

Allison Lindquist, executive director of the East Bay SPCA, was among those advising pet owners not to go into rough ocean waters to save their dog.

“Dogs are naturally better swimmers because of their horizontal body mass,” Lindquist said. “They are built better for riding out the current.” She said the best thing to do is to follow the dog parallel to the shoreline and call its name.

“Just let the dog do its thing,” Lindquist said. “When the current subsides, the dog will swim back.”

Rogue or “sneaker” waves have claimed five lives in three separate incidents this winter, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

In each case, their dogs survived.

In November, a powerful surf swept a family dog out to sea at Big Lagoon Beach near Arcata in Humboldt County. The teenage son swam out to save the pet. Then the child’s mother and father noticed him struggling and swam out to save him. All three died. The dog made it back to shore.

On New Year’s Day, Charles Quaid, 59, of Richmond, died after attempting to rescue his wife and dog.

Last Sunday, Susan Kay Archer, 32, of Shelter Cove, was walking on Little Black Sand Beach with her boyfriend when she was swept out to sea with her dog and drowned. The dog made it back to shore.

Gabe Pulliam, a 13-year veteran of the Coast Guard and rescue swimmer, said most citizens they lack the equipment and training to rescue a dog from rough and frigid waters.

“People who walk their dogs on the beach and notice strong surf should stay above the line where the water laps up,” Pulliam said. “It’s fun to watch the waves roll in, but respect the ocean and never turn your back on it.”

Pulliam is featured in a handout about pets and ocean safety released by the Coast Guard.

Firefighters rescued a dog Sunday from an icy pond in Florence, Kentucky, after the one-year-old husky fell through the ice.

Brandon Kilby, of the Union fire department, is shown here pulling the dog, named Ali, to safety.

According to the Kentucky Post, six fire departments responded to the call at  a trailer park near Mount Zion Road.

Fire officials said the rescued dog was treated and returned to her owners.

(Photo: Kentucky Post, courtesy of William Fletcher)