Supervisor Don Maben has secured an additional $50,000 in spay/neuter voucher funds for Kern County. Kern County Animal Control will once again take applications for spay/neuter vouchers for low-income residents of Kern County.

Also, the County now has fliers in both English and Spanish to assist in educating people about their spay/neuter options.

Anyone wishing to thank Supervisor Maben may do so at mabend@co.kern.ca.us or by mail at 1115 Truxtun Ave., 5th Floor, Bakersfield, CA 93301.

Since so many people here have pets and may do some shopping at PetSmart:

Phoenix, AZ, Nov 4, 2009 - PetSmart is voluntarily recalling two Dentley's Beef Hoof products for potential salmonella contamination. The products were manufactured by Pet Carousel, Inc. in Sanger, Calif. 

The recalled products include only the following types of Dentley's Beef Hooves purchased between Oct. 2, 2009 and Nov. 3, 2009:

Dentley's Bulk Cattle Hoof UPC# 73725703323
Dentley's 10 Pack Beef Hooves UPC# 73725736055

You can read the rest of the details from the official release here.

First case of swine flu confirmed in cat.

And it looks like the cat got it from the people he or she lives with. Jeepers.

If you are planning to head out to the Home Show this weekend, please stop by the Friends of Kern County Animal Shelters Foundation and enter their raffle --- or just drop a buck or two into the donation jar. These are really good people trying to do good things for the shelter animals in Kern County and can really use a little community support.

The purpose of the Foundation is to raise money for items not directly budgeted by the County. Previous fundraisers included securing funds to have a hot water heater installed at the Mt. Vernon shelter so pups going out to off-site adoption events can have a warm bath and look their best, and raising funds for spay/neuter vouchers so more pets can be altered, thus reducing the need for shelter services.

If everyone attending the show gave $1, we could set records.

Peace.

Hey Cat, how's it going on Day 3 of being smoke-free?

Come and talk to your support group! Sorry, but I didn't want to have to search through pages of posts to keep the topic alive. Tell us what's up in the world of easier breathing.

larger view

At this week's Animal Control Commission meeting, Supervisor Don Maben stated that he will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to support funding of the Public Education and Enforcement Team (PEET) Program. This is the licensing program that recently reported collecting just over $10,000 in revenue during the first five months of this year, for a net revenue gain of over $5,400 --- money that can be used to expand services such as a low-cost spay/neuter option.

It is time for all of us who support making positive changes on behalf of animals in Kern County to call, write and attend this meeting in support of this program. To see how effective a properly ran licensing program can be, one need look no further than the presentation given by Bill Bruce in June. Read Lois Henry's comments on the presentation here and the licensing program here, as well as my take on the presentation here.

Let's let our Supervisors know that money spent on the PEET Program is money well invested in the future of Kern County.

To contact your Supervisor:

Jon McQuiston - district1@co.kern.ca.us (661) 868-3650
Don Maben - district2@co.kern.ca.us (661) 868-3660
Mike Maggard - district3@co.kern.ca.us (661) 868-3670
Ray Watson - district4@co.kern.ca.us (661) 868-3680
Michael Rubio - district5@co.kern.ca.us (661) 868-3690

Kern County Board of Supervisors Meeting
Monday, July 20
7 p.m.
1115 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield

Sunday's paper had a letter to the editor asking people if they could live without television for a year. I found the timing nearly perfect, as my spouse and I have been talking for the past few weeks about making some radical adjustments with our relationship with our television set --- namely, canceling our satellite service.

Night after night we find ourselves either watching DVDs or using the TV as background noise/distraction while we are busy with other pursuits; reading, blogging, researching or playing guitar. The TV's just on because it's on. While some couples fight over the remote, we will occasionally tussle over who gets stuck with it. We toss it off like a challenge, "Here. You find something interesting to watch."

For this we pay over $80 a month. Now, I'm not ranting about the high cost of entertainment, but I just don't think I'm getting $80 worth of fun or enlightenment. I can subscribe to Netflix for $20 and get all the documentaries my heart desires. There are several Internet sites that replay episodes of television shows, should there be one I decide I truly can't live without and all of the political channels also have websites to match.

So I'm thinking about it. How about you? Could you do without TV for a year?

In case some of you are currently feeding Evanger's to your pets...

The FDA announced that they are suspending the temporary emergency pet food manufacturer permit for Evanger's Dog & Cat Food Co., Inc.

According to the release

"Evanger's, operating in Wheeling, Illinois, deviated from the prescribed process, equipment, product shipment, and recordkeeping requirements in the production of the company's thermally processed low acid canned food (LACF) products.  The deviations in their processes and documentation could result in under-processed pet foods, which can allow the survival and growth of Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), a bacterium that causes botulism in some animals as well as in humans."

“The FDA is stopping Evanger's ability to ship pet food in interstate commerce,” said Dr. Bernadette Dunham. “Today’s enforcement action sends a strong message to manufacturers of pet food that we will take whatever action necessary to keep unsafe products from reaching consumers.”

Read the entire release by clicking here.

Bill Bruce, Director of Animal Services and By-Laws in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is coming to Bakersfield to talk about how Calgary claims to have achieved the lowest euthanasia rate and highest license compliance in North America, as well as a no-cost spay/neuter program. All programs are self-funded and all without Breed Specific Laws or Mandatory Spay/Neuter.

Now is a great opportunity to learn what others have done to successfully manage the pet overpopulation issue.

The event takes place on Wednesday, June 10, at 6 p.m. at the Kern County Supervisor's Chambers, located at 1115 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield.

I've attached a flyer for more information. Hope to see you there.