Pet dog quarantined in Hong Kong with low levels of coronavirus

HONG KONG, China — A pet dog was quarantined at an animal center in Hong Kong after it tested positive to low levels of the new coronavirus, officials said Friday, in the first such case in the city.

The canine, which belongs to a 60-year-old woman infected with the virus, has no "relevant symptoms," the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said.

But "nasal and oral cavity samples were tested weak positive to COVID-19 virus," a spokesman said, without explaining why they tested the animal in the first place.

The dog was collected from the owner's home on Wednesday, after the woman was diagnosed with the contagion and placed in a hospital isolation ward.

It would be closely monitored and undergo further tests to confirm if it really has the virus or if "this is a result of environmental contamination of the dog's mouth and nose," the department said.


The canine would be held until it returned a negative result.

While there is no evidence domestic animals such as dogs and cats can catch the virus or transmit it to humans, the department said pets of infected people should be quarantined for 14 days.

The financial hub has confirmed 93 cases of the new coronavirus, with two deaths earlier this month.

The epidemic, which emerged in central China in December, has infected more than 83,000 people globally.

Agence France-Presse

Brave cat saves California boy from dog attack

A California child pulled from his bike by an attacking dog was saved by his family's cat on Tuesday, which quickly rushed in and chased away the canine, a video posted on YouTube showed on Wednesday.

The video, which quickly spread on the Internet, shows a young boy playing on a driveway in Bakersfield, when a dog lunges at his leg, grabs hold of it with his jaws and drags the boy off of the bike.

A dark cat swiftly hurls itself onto the dog and chases it down the driveway and away from the child before a woman runs to help the boy.

Local media reported the video was from multiple security cameras and shows graphic pictures of the bite wounds sustained by the boy.

“Thankfully, it wasn’t worse," his father, Roger Triantafilo, wrote in posting the video. "My son is fine."

Bakersfield police said the attacking dog, identified as an 8-month-old Labrador-Chow mix, had been surrendered by its owner’s family after the Tuesday afternoon attack and was in quarantine and would ultimately be euthanized.

Police spokesman Sergeant Joseph Grubbs said the dog's owners, who live in the same neighborhood as the boy, said the dog did not like children or bicycles. He did not identify the owner by name.

The Triantafilo family could not be reached for immediate comment. 

source: interaksyon.com

Dog eats money, US Treasury pays owner

A Montana man who pieced together the remnants of five $100 bills eaten by his one-eyed dog last year is sporting a $500 check he says he received this week from the US Department of the Treasury to replace the digested funds.

Wayne Klinkel said his dog Sundance, a golden retriever, sniffed the wad of bills out of a car cubby space while waiting for Klinkel and his wife to return from lunch, and the canine made the currency his lunch.

Klinkel, a graphic designer from Helena, Montana, who works for the local newspaper, the Independent Record, said he found Sundance had left nothing uneaten but one intact dollar bill and a small piece of a single $100 note.

"He's been notorious for eating paper products," Klinkel said about Sundance. "I knew right away what had happened."

Klinkel rescued Sundance as a puppy from a shelter 12 years ago and the dog later lost his left eye to surgery.

For days after the December incident, Klinkel followed Sundance around in the snow, collecting his droppings in a plastic bag, he said.

Klinkel kept the bag of doggy mess frozen in the cold outside his house, and after weeks of hesitation, he went forward with his plan for retrieving the soiled cash by thawing the droppings in a bucket of soapy water.

Using an old metal mining screen and a hose, he separated the $100 bill pieces from the rest of the matter, then washed and began to assemble the tiny paper fragments.

"It was sort of like putting the puzzle pieces back together," Klinkel said.

He then took the taped bills to a local bank and the Federal Reserve in Helena but was turned away, he said. Klinkel was eventually directed to the US Department of Treasury's Mutilated Currency Division, where he mailed the digested bills with a notarized letter on April 15.

"There was no guarantee I was going to get anything back," Klinkel said.

The Treasury Department offers reimbursement for some proven cases of damaged currency, and a standard claim can take up to two years to be processed, according to the department's website.

"When mutilated currency is submitted, a letter should be included stating the estimated value of the currency and an explanation of how the currency became mutilated," the website says.

Klinkel said he didn't hear a word from the department until Monday, when he received a crisp $500 check in the mail from the Mutilated Currency Division to replace Sundance's midday snack six months prior.

The Independent Record, the paper that employs Klinkel, has posted a picture on its website of Sundance with the check dangling from its mouth.

An operator with the US Department of Treasury on Thursday said department representatives were furloughed and unavailable for comment on Klinkel's reimbursement.

source: interaksyon.com

Boracay, Guimaras raise number of rabies-free islands to 14

MANILA, Philippines -- World famous Boracay in Aklan and Guimaras province were declared “rabies-free” by the Departments of Health and of Agriculture, raising the number of islands that have registered zero incidence of the fatal disease for at least three consecutive years to 14.

The declaration was made Friday, "World Rabies Day."

The other islands previously declared rabies-free are Siquijor, Batanes, Biliran, Camiguin, Marinduque, Limasawa, Camotes, Olimpia in Bais City and Apo, both in Negro Oriental, and Palawan’s Coron, Culion and Busuanga.

All these places effectively eliminated human and animal rabies, primarily by vaccinating 70 percent of the dog population and impounding strays.

"Rabies is considered as a neglected disease. That is because even if it is 100 percent fatal, it is also 100 percent preventable," Health Secretary Enrique Ona noted.

The disease " continues to be a significant public health problem that is responsible for 200 to 250 deaths annually,” he added. “In 2012, a total of 213 rabies cases and 414,553 animal bites were reported to the DOH."

For decades, said Ona, "effective and safe vaccines to prevent the disease in humans and animals have been available."

"Therefore, none of these deaths need have occurred if we had only made use of the tools necessary to prevent rabies from infecting and killing both humans and animals," he stressed.

He acknowledged that poverty and ignorance are the main obstacles to rabies prevention and elimination.

The Philippines hopes to eliminate rabies by 2020.

Rabies naturally affects only mammals and is transmitted to humans and between animals through the saliva of an infected animal, usually through a bite. In the Philippines, dog bites are responsible for 87 percent of human transmission.

Its initial symptoms include fever, pain or unusual or unexplained tingling and burning sensations or pricking at the site of the wound. When the virus spreads to the central nervous system, it could lead to the fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cords.

Region 4-A reported the most number of human rabies cases (37); followed by Region 1 (22); Region 3 (20); Region 2 (19) and Region 12 and Region 9 (18 cases each).

"The key to successful rabies elimination rests on combined efforts of effective dog vaccination program as part of responsible pet ownership and human vaccination after rabies exposure from rabid dog bites," Ona said.

Dog vaccination is mandatory under Republic Act 9482 or the Anti-Rabies  Act of 2007.

Ona said immunizing a dog ever year costs only P20 compared to P1,500 for vaccinating a person bitten by a dog.

source: interaksyon.com

Life with the friendliest dog in the world

Vodka, my Bichon Frise, started to own me the day I saw her. I could not leave the home where I found her until I had her with me.  That was two years ago. Vodka celebrates her second birthday on Aug. 16.

I guess it is because she is my baby. This is not to say that I don’t love all my pet companions. I live with five cats, which I have picked up on my regular runs in the village where I live. I also have four other doggie companions. Each of them I love in unique ways.

We feast on cake, vanilla ice cream and loads of barks and lots of licks. You see, as far as I am concerned, living with pets is just like living with people — just more fun, love-filled and relaxing. Where in the world would I get to come home to five doggies who are so excited to see me enter the door?

But, Vodka, like any baby, always has a ready smile for me when I get home, and she loves to cuddle, just because. In truth, my doggy companions don’t know they are not human.

Aside from Vodka, my pet companions are named Tasha, Nik, Yuri, and Gorby.  My five cats are Pepsi, Spotty, Bunny, Garfield and Snowy. And I might add my newest additions Kuting and Frances, who I picked up off the streets a few weeks ago.

I have read often enough that pet companions make the life of humans better. This I have learned for real.  Why do humans with pets like me do the strangest things for our pet companions? Let me share with you a few reasons:



1. Pets reduce stress and depression. When you reach middle age and menopause starts to set in, there is nothing like owning a dog or dogs that are devoted to you. My dogs always make me laugh because they do the funniest things and that keeps stress and depression at bay.

2. I have read that pets are good for the elderly. No, I am not yet among the elderly, but in midlife I truly welcome the undivided love and attention my doggies give me.

3. Pets give us bigger hearts. Pets open our hearts to offering kindness to all we meet — after all, my pets are always kind to me. And I believe that if we are given kindness, we need to give kindness back.

4. Pets are the best company. If you are single, like I am, chances are you spend lots of time alone. Owning a pet keeps the loneliness at bay.

5. I have met so many people because of my pets. Whenever I take Vodka with me, I am sure to meet a few new people because they want to meet Vodka. In the neighborhood where I live, I get to meet lots of people, too, more so if they are walking their dogs in the morning. I stop for people with dogs.

I’ve met a lot of people whom I may not have liked, but I have never met a dog that I did not like. I guess that’s because dogs put on no masks, no pretensions. They never try to impress me — they always just are and that makes them all the more lovable.

If only people were the same way.

source: philstar.com

Lowfat is home at last, Derek Ramsay elated

Derek Ramsay was hoping to wake up Wednesday morning with his beloved Pomeranian, Lowfat, by his side. When that didn’t happen, the actor remained undaunted and still hoped for his return.

Lowfat and another of Derek’s dogs, the English bulldog Beyonce, went missing over the weekend, and the TV5 hunk had issued desperate tweets for help to find them since Sunday night.

Beyonce was found the next day, but Lowfat — who used to belong to Derek’s ex-girlfriend Angelica Panganiban —  remained at large.

“Lowfat is a brown pom. His right back leg is limp. He knows his name well and is over friendly so if you call his name he will approach you,” he tweeted on Wednesday, hoping and praying that at least one kind soul among his 775,000 plus followers would have already encountered his missing dog.

At around 3PM, the prayers of Derek and his fans were answered. “God is good! Thanks for all your prayers. Lowfat is back! We are complete again,” he happily tweeted.

The good Samaritan was Twitter user Chesca Arrieta, who presumably lives in the same village in Muntinlupa where Derek resides.  She posted, “Hi, @IAmDerekRamsay my mom returned Lowfat. My mom said, please take good care of your pets because the maids are pabaya. Thanks!”

Describing Lowfat as “so malambing”, Arrieta also posted a photo of the dog which she said was taken “for the last time” using her phone.

But it seems like Derek’s dog woes were not over yet as Arrieta again tweeted, “Your maid said that Jamba is missing too. Hope you’ll find Jamba when you get home.”

Derek, who was out of the house when Lowfat was returned, posted again past 5PM, “Heading home to see lowfat. Thanks again for your help. Thanks to my neighbours who helped out. too”.

As for his haters who have been posting nasty tweets against him since ex-flame Angelica decided to spill the beans on their controversial breakup, Derek implored his own followers not to retaliate anymore.

“Pls don’t fight them na”, he asked one fan. Other than that, it was pretty much back to normal again for the Kapatid actor. By 6PM, Derek was once again in an inviting mood.


 “Guys catch tonight’s episode of TARP later…I’m happy my dogs are back”, he tweeted to his followers.

source: interaksyon.com

Joey Lawrence Gets His Daughters a Puppy

He's not a contestant on this fall's all-star edition of Dancing With the Stars, and that's a good thing for Joey Lawrence. The DWTS alum and his family are in the midst of house training their new puppy Leo.


"He's [pooping] everywhere," Lawrence told PEOPLE at the Total Recall premiere Wednesday in Hollywood."But I did teach him to come, sit, and stay within the first week. It was unbelievable, and he's really smart."

The Melissa & Joey star says his daughters – Charli, 6, and Liberty, 2, – started asking for a pup after watching one too many flicks with dogs in them.

"It was those Air Bud pictures that did us in," he says with a laugh.

Choosing the breed of dog was easy, Lawrence says, "I grew up with goldens. We always had goldens or Labs."

source: people.com

Prince William Kisses Lupo at Polo Match with Kate

Little Lupo went to a royal polo game in the Gloucestershire countryside Sunday – and got a cuddle and more from Prince William.

It was Kate who'd brought the couple's black cocker spaniel to the outing, just hours after she'd spent time with inner-city kids on a camping trip in Kent.

"In true spaniel fashion he was very playful," an observer tells PEOPLE.

And while he got some exercise by dashing around the sidelines with Kate, Lupo also got to rest his legs when he was embraced in the arms of William, – who planted a princely kiss on the pooch, to boot.

William and brother Prince Harry played on opposing sides at the Beaufort Polo Club, about 100 miles west of London, all to raise money for some of their charities.





Lupo wasn't the only one getting attention. Kate used the occasion to catch up with royal cousins-in-law and play with the Queen's great granddaughter, Savannah Phillips, the 18-month-old daughter of Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn.

"Kate was really getting into playing with Savannah," said the observer. "She seemed to be trying to get Savannah to stroke Lupo."

William and Harry's first cousin, Zara Phillips, and her husband, Mike Tindall, were also among the throng of royals who enjoyed a weekend of festivities to mark the Queen's official birthday celebration.

At the end of the match, William carried Lupo off the field and into a tent.

source: people.com

Dog hunted, caught on suspicion of being an aswang in Pangasinan

MANILA, Philippines -- A white dog was hunted down and caught after it was suspected of being an aswang, or a mythical ghoul that changes shape and has vampire-like characteristics.

But it was later set free by residents of Barangay Villegas, Pozzorubio in Pangasinan province, TV5's France Noguera reported on location at Aksyon Prime on Wednesday.

The white dog was suspected of being one of two "aswangs"--one colored white, the other black--that preyed on members of the the village, which is four to six hours away from the Philippine capital.

Villagers became suspicious about the dog's real persona when they saw that it was colored white and was found near a ricefield where the aswang supposedly fled after being hunted down by a dozen or so spear-wielding residents.

The ricefield was later burned to ward off the aswang and discourage the supernatural being from ever coming back, residents interviewed by TV5 said.

One middle-aged female resident even tried in vain to film the aswang with a camera to "prove that it exists," she told Noguera.

For his part, Pozzorubio mayor Artemio Chan said the "aswang" was just a reason being used by criminal elements to rob homeowners in the area.

source: interaksyon.com