Dexter’s appetite is back to normal―no thanks to
synthetic chemicals.

As a person who has never had any trouble whatsoever questioning authority, it often shocks me to hear friends and acquaintances tell me that they just went along with whatever treatment their vet recommended for their dog without even questioning it. Often they’ll give their dog a medication without even knowing what it is or they won’t even know the name of the condition or illness that their dog has. They just leave the dog’s health and treatment in the hands of the almighty veterinarian. I think this blind obedience stems from the fact that a veterinarian is considered an authority figure, with lots of educational qualifications and experience. But many people fail to realize that vets are just people too. They can have their biases (veterinary surgeons like to do surgery, for example!), and they didn’t all graduate at the top of their class, either.

The importance of questioning authority cannot be overstated. Blind obedience to authority can lead to horrifying consequences, as was clearly demonstrated in the Milgram experiments of the 1960s, in which between 61 and 66 percent of people were willing to administer fatal shocks (450 volts) to another human being just because the authority figure told them that they must do it.

This is frightening on many levels, but for my purposes, I would like to focus on the implications of this mentality for our dogs’ health and well-being. Recently, my rambunctious, fun-loving, 5-year-old dog Dexter’s appetite started to go wonky. I would call him to come for his dinner, and he wouldn’t come! This continued and became worrisome, so I had blood work done, and the results showed a low thyroid reading. The vet recommended an “add-on” thyroid test, which also showed a low thyroid reading. She then strongly recommended that I go ahead and just put Dexter on synthetic thyroid hormone (thyroxine) for the rest of his life, based on the results of those two tests. So I consulted two other vets, including one whom I considered holistic because she does acupuncture and chiropractic, and all three of them agreed.

Because they all sounded so sure of themselves, I did it, but I was very uncomfortable doing it. Dexter didn’t have any other symptoms of a dog with low thyroid levels, and the thought of keeping him on synthetic thyroxine his whole life seemed rather drastic. Actually, it bothered me so much that I decided to seek out a fourth opinion from a holistic vet whom I knew I could really trust―Dr. Monique Maniet at Veterinary Holistic Care in Bethesda, Maryland. She used to be my vet when I lived in Maryland prior to 1996, and I know her to be a perfectionist with a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of all kinds of holistic treatments.

Well, that was the turning point. Dr. Maniet examined Dexter’s record and said, “He doesn’t have hypothyroidism.” She pointed out several reasons why it didn’t make sense and explained that a low thyroid reading could point to many different problems unrelated to hypothyroidism. And as a matter of fact, Dexter was experiencing some other health problems that could have contributed to this low thyroid reading, notably a chronic limp (which is another whole story for later). Dr. Maniet said to take him off the thyroxine, and she gave me a thyroid-stimulating herbal supplement to use for a little while instead. Now, three weeks later, Dexter is back to normal, eating like a champ―no hesitation whatsoever!

I just wonder what percentage of people would have simply acquiesced under pressure, as I initially did, and just put their dog on a lifetime of medication, which would have effectively shut down his thyroid, rendering him totally dependent on synthetic hormones. I’m guessing around 61 to 65 percent.

The moral of the story is this: Take everything your vet says with a grain of salt. You alone are responsible for your dog’s well-being, so if something in a treatment plan seems off, speak up! Ask for alternatives. Get a second opinion and a third and a fourth, if you have to, and by all means, check out the holistic alternatives and approaches. Go online and do some research on your own. You’ll be amazed at how much you can learn that way. Take charge of your dog’s health yourself. You, and not your vet, are your dog’s best advocate.

And in case any vets are reading this―I have nothing against vets per se. In fact, I appreciate vets very much. But I just think we need to view them in the proper perspective―as people, not gods.

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month is just about to come to a close, but it’s not too late to ask the Susan G. Komen Foundation to cut out animal research! Every 12 minutes, a woman in America succumbs to breast cancer, but the Susan G. Komen Foundation continues to waste funds on cruel, outdated, and unreliable animal tests as the clock ticks on cancer patients’ lives.

Please support humane breast cancer charities, such as the Avon Foundation, which channels its funds into prevention, community-based organizations, and cutting-edge clinical research.

Searching for a cure shouldn’t cost animals their lives. Please take a moment to urge Susan G. Komen Foundation officials to immediately end all support for animal tests!

Click here to send them a letter.

Sugar has decided to go
as a ladybug this year. Nice costume!

The following post was originally published by Karen on KP’s Dog Blog, October 29, 2007.

I’m not really that into Halloween. Although I enjoyed it as a child, these days trying to facilitate the interface between my six resident dogs and a steady stream of unknown, excited, costumed children is just plain difficult. I could make all my dogs stay behind closed doors in a bedroom, but that just doesn’t seem fair to them, so I usually end up placing a big basket of Peanut Chews on my porch with a sign that says, “Help yourself!” and making myself scarce during trick-or-treat hours.

By the way, if you have dogs, please be extra vigilant that they don’t get their paws on any Halloween candy, especially chocolate. Candy in general is full of sugar (horrible for the immune system, joints, teeth, etc.), but chocolate in particular contains a substance called theobromine, which can be fatal to dogs if they ingest enough of it. (This applies to cocoa mulch as well, so gardeners and dog people, beware.) Other food substances poisonous to dogs include raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts, mushrooms, alcohol, coffee, uncooked yeast dough, onions, and onion powder. Garlic and avocado are debatable—there is some evidence that they can be toxic to some dogs, so it might be best to avoid those too. Xylitol, which has become a common additive in foods and toothpaste, is also quite toxic.

If you suspect that your dog has eaten something poisonous, please call the ASPCA’s animal poison hotline at 1-888-426-4435. (Why not post this number next to your phone, just in case?) It’s open 24 hours a day, every day, but you will be charged $60 on your credit card in exchange for advice on how to proceed. Obviously, this service is worth every penny—you’re dealing with the life or death of your beloved canine companion!

Do have a safe and happy Halloween!

OMG! Animal Rights +
Infant Wear = Super-Fun!

I was cruising through PETA’s Merchandise Department the other day and saw these jaw-droppingly cute onesies. My dude is a little small for the 6-month size, but I couldn’t resist, and I’m glad I didn’t! This morning when I dropped him off at the church pre-school where he spends a few hours a day, the ladies went nuts! In addition to the fact that he’s handsome and perfect, the “Give Peas a Chance ―Go Vegetarian” onesie is just too adorable―look closely and you’ll see that one of the little pea-pod babies has a binky!

Anyway, his little onesie helped start a couple of conversations about being vegetarian, and then one of the gals wanted to know where she could get some sweet PETA gear for her nieces … it was a whole lot of pro-animal fun. Next up, it’s the “Animals Are Our Friends” bib to protect the onesie from food disasters.

The following post was originally published by Christine Doré on The PETA Files. Click here to view the original post.

We at PETA have long-loved Zappos.com for its amazing selection of leather-free shoes. In fact, we recently ranked Zappos as the #1 best retailer of vegan shoes. So needless to say, when we found out that Zappos was selling lots of fur products, we were none too pleased.

Back in August, we wrote to the company about this, urging it to adopt a fur-free policy. At the time, Zappos said that it would look into the issue, to gauge people’s thoughts on it. So, to help speed that process up, we launched an on-line marketing campaign, getting members of the public to write to Zappos’ CEO and urge him to send the pelts packing—which more than 11,000 of you did! The campaign also become totally viral and social networking was a huge part—many people posted tweets on Twitter and passed around our petition on Facebook and much more.

I mean seriously, is this the first campaign in history to ever be won by tweeting and the slick use of other online tools? It’s pretty exciting if you ask me. And also pretty novel! We are paving the way of the future, my friends.

Well, it seems Zappos got the message that people hate fur, because yesterday, the company officially adopted a permanent policy of never selling any products containing the fur of an animal!

Thank you SO much to all of you fantastic online activists for helping, and to Zappos, for making the kind decision to forego fur now and into the future. This will help spare countless mink, rabbits, foxes and other animals all the horror of fur-farming and trapping, like being electrocuted, bludgeoned and skinned alive.

Now that we’re all rightfully pumped about this exciting victory, we’ve decided to take on new campaign because, well, we can’t be stopped! Please join us in asking Amazon.com to follow Zappos lead and go fur-free. For those who want to learn more about the issue and find other ways to help, please visit FurIsDead.com and be sure to check out our compassionate clothing guide here.

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Does shopping for cruelty-free deodorant have you up in arms? When looking for a deodorant product, everyone has different needs. Whether you are shopping at your local health food store, drugstore, mega-mart or online, the world of cruelty-free deodorants has something for everyone.

Fortunately, cruelty-free deodorants are popping up all over the place. The following cruelty-free products are all fairly easy to find and one of them is sure to meet your needs, whether you need a strong antiperspirant, deodorant, a natural deodorant stone, or even if you would like to make your own product:

Antiperspirants
Antiperspirants are chemical agents that reduce perspiration or sweating.

Almay
Avon
Certain Dri
Estée Lauder
Mitchum

Deodorants
Deodorants are not antiperspirants—they do not prevent sweating. They work by masking the smell produced by sweat-eating bacteria.

Burt’s Bees Herbal Deodorant
Jason
Nature’s Gate
Tom’s of Maine

Deodorant Stones
This is nature’s deodorant: A combination of mineral salts that control odor-causing bacteria.

Body Crystal
Crystal Body Deodorant
Deodorant Stones of America
L’OCCITANE

Homemade Deodorant
If you are feeling ambitious, you can even make your own deodorant. I like the essential oils from Aura Cacia. Some people are sensitive to essential oils, so always do a small test on your skin and wait 24 hours to see if you have an adverse reaction before applying liberally.

On a small saucer, mix the following oils with your finger. Once combined, massage a thin layer of the oil under your arms until completely rubbed in:

1 drop essential rose oil
6 drops jojoba oil
2 drops essential lavender oil
1 drop essential vanilla oil

Click here to search for more cruelty-free brands and please post about your favorite cruelty-free deodorant too!

Don’t be fooled: Dogs don’t really
like being couch potatoes.

The following post was originally published by Karen on KP’s Dog Blog, October 17, 2007.

Part of the canine psyche is a desire for gainful employment. Believe it or not, dogs who lie around getting petted all day are not feeling exactly fulfilled. They want to have something to do that makes them feel important. They want a job! The jobs can be simple or they can be more involved and require training. As a person who is not very creative, I have trouble thinking of jobs for my dogs, but luckily, they can sometimes come up with their own jobs. For example, Rowdy came up with the job of checking the perimeter of the fence every time we go out into the back yard. And Sunny created for herself the job of keeping an eye on me (i.e., guarding me) as I move from room to room within the house.

I did actually come up with Dexter’s job, which is to go out onto the front porch with me whenever I have to take out the trash or the recycling. As you may have guessed, the jobs don’t technically have to be useful; they just have to make your dogs feel useful. So to that end, you should always thank and praise them for their service each time they get the job done.

The following post was originally published by Amy Cook on The Veg Cooking Blog. Click here to view the original post.

One of the best things about going vegan—aside from the whole “being healthy, feeling great, saving animals” thing—is that if done right, it can be a very cheap way to eat. Yes, you can spend an arm and a leg if you’re only buying prepackaged items or hard-to-find soy cheeses, but if you go the more natural route, you can really save.

The best money-saving trick is to stick to staples like dried beans, rice, and pasta. All three of these can be purchased for less than a dollar, can last a long time, and are healthy.

Loading up on veggies is a necessity for any healthy diet, and you can save a little cash by buying frozen veggies. They usually contain more vitamins and nutrients than the canned options and last longer than the fresh stuff—meaning that you never have to throw out that broccoli you never used and waste money.

Creative, ethnic dishes are a great way for vegetarians to add flavor to their meals while still cutting costs, and you can make easy at-home versions. Pick up a soy-based sauce (around $2 at many stores), add it to those veggies I told you about, tofu (four servings can be purchased for $1–$3), and rice or noodles, and you could have an easy stir-fry for four that comes in under 10 bucks.

Or if stir-fries aren’t for you, try simple sandwiches. Peanut butter can be purchased for, well, mere peanuts at most stores. Spreads like hummus, mock-tuna salad, and mock-egg salad might be expensive if you buy them already prepared, but making them on your own is cheap and easy.

And for those of you who are totally against all things green or natural—processed vegan items, like soy cheese and faux meats, are now readily available at just about any grocery store, and they’ve become much more affordable. If you ate only these items, you might not see any savings, but adding them to your menu sometimes definitely won’t break the bank.

These are just a few pointers, and there are many other ways to save while eating vegan. To find out more about specific budget-friendly meal ideas, check out our guide to going vegetarian.

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When my son was a couple of weeks old, I began to panic because, in my sleep-deprived state, I hadn’t yet started actively encouraging his intellectual development. If he’s going to start playing Trivial Pursuit on Friday nights with Mom and Dad, I’d better get going on the early learning, right?

So, I went out and bought a couple of books, including one of nursery rhymes (subtitled A Crash Course in 80 Nursery Rhymes for Clueless Moms and Dads) that came with an accompanying CD (funsies!). I kinda knew “Itsy Bitsy Spider”—about a strong, resilient spider who beats the odds to climb up the water spout—and “This Old Man,” who gives his dog a bone, but little did I know of the horrors hidden in many of the cutesy verses sung by generations of parents to their children.

Cases-in-point: “Alouette”—a pleasant ditty I learned to play on the piano in elementary school. But translated from the French? It’s about plucking a pheasant in preparation for dinner! Then there’s “To Market, to Market to Buy a Fat Pig” (yikes!); a farmer’s wife cuts the tails off “Three Blind Mice”; if you “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” you’ll condemn 24 blackbirds to death baked inside a pie; and “Old Mother Hubbard’s” dog starves to death. At least the black sheep is asked for his wool, instead of having it stolen!

Happily, there are some animal-friendly alternatives (kiddies can go “to market, to market, to buy a ripe plum”), but if they aren’t readily available, you can always improvise on the fly (”this little piggy ate tofu”!). The point is, keep an eye out for opportunities to be kind while you’re teaching your kids to be creative. I leave you with the words of the wonderful little Spanish lullaby “Pio, Pio, Pio” (which is also the chorus sung by baby chicks) translated into English:

The baby chicks say, “Pio, pio, pio,”
Whenever they are hungry
Whenever they are chilly.

Then hens look for corn and wheat
For the baby chicks. “Pio, pio, pio.”

They give them food
And keep them warm
For the baby chicks. “Pio, pio, pio.”

Cute, huh? For more information on chickens, please read this.

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The following post is a guest post by PETA president, Ingrid E. Newkirk.

As you would wish to find it: That’s how a cat’s litterbox should always be left. As I write in 250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You, I can’t count the times I’ve been to the homes of “animal lovers” and found the litter neglected. There is no excuse for treating a cat in that way or for neglecting a duty that takes all of one or two minutes in a 24-hour day!

Cats’ noses are sensitive, and their urine can be pungent. They do not wish to soil their dainty feet in it. Removing solid waste once or twice a day, or even after the act, is not enough. Truly happy cats never have to wrinkle their noses—the litter pan should be completely dumped out daily, swilled with vinegar, washed with soap, and then thoroughly rinsed and dried. Sometimes a little baking soda is placed under the litter. In multicat households, there is no fewer than one pan per two cats. Oh, how sweet life can be!

TOP TIP: Never use a pine-based cleaner. It can be toxic to cats. And as tempting as “clumping” litters may be, you should know that some experts think they may be doing to kitty’s innards what they do to household plumbing—stopping it up. Writer Marina McInnis relates how three kittens deteriorated from “a robust, healthy group” to “thin, dehydrated little skeletons” with clay-like bowel movements, which had the consistency of the clumping litter they were using. The stools even had gray and blue flecks inside them, just as with the litter itself, and smelled of clay. She says that only emergency medical care, in this case holistic treatment that included slippery elm bark and lots of broth, saved them.

To be absolutely sure that your cats’ litter is free of chemical deodorizers and other stuff, you can use alfalfa-based litters, which may be hard to find, or natural clay types, which use chlorophyll. Whatever you do, change the litter and clean the box no less than once a day.

Enter to win a Litter-Robot!

Want some help keeping your kitty’s litter clean? Now is your chance to win a Litter-Robot. All you have to do is post a comment to tell us why you and your cat should get the Litter-Robot! The winner and two runners-up will also receive a copy of 250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You, by Ingrid E. Newkirk.

And now for the legal stuff: The contest ends on November 14, and winners will be selected and notified by November 18. You should also be sure to read the contest terms and conditions and PETA’s privacy policy before you comment—you’re acknowledging that you have read and agreed to both by leaving a comment.