Thinking of a New Pet? Why Pet Adoption Should be Your First Option

By: Laura Sesana

WASHINGTON, September 4, 2012- I grew up with dogs at home and naturally, when I moved out to college, I wanted a dog of my own. I wanted a perfect puppy and bought a Miniature Schnauzer at a pet store on Lexington Avenue in New York City, kind of on impulse. Luckily, we were a good fit, and she was my best friend and companion for 14 wonderful years.

However, after learning about the practices of pet stores and puppy mills, I wished I had done a little research and checked out my local shelter or the Internet first. Today, my husband and I have two dogs, both rescues from Petfinder.com. They fit our lifestyle perfectly, and our family wouldn’t be the same without them.

If you are thinking about getting a pet, there are several reasons to consider adoption before contacting a breeder or heading out to a pet store.

1. Save a life. Be a hero! By adopting a pet, you will be saving a life. Petfinder.com estimates that six to eight million pets got to a shelter every year. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), three to four million pets are euthanized every year because shelters are overcrowded and not every pet can find a home. By adopting a pet from a shelter, humane society, breed rescue group, or animal control agency, you will be saving the life of a very grateful animal.

2. Avoid supporting puppy mills and pet stores. By adopting a pet, you will not be supporting pet stores and puppy mills. Pet stores, online sellers, and people who sell their animals through classified advertisements in the newspaper often get their animals from puppy mills and are willing to sell them to anyone willing to pay, no questions asked. Puppy mills and pet stores are part of a very cruel industry where animals are kept in shockingly brutal conditions with little medical care. Breeding dogs in puppy mills are locked in small cages for years without human companionship or attention. After a heartbreaking life spent in a cage, these animals are then killed, abandoned, or sold at auction.

Pet stores will also sell an animal to anybody, without making sure that the animal will go to a good home, will be safe, and the new owners understand the responsibilities of pet ownership. Many of these animals usually end up in shelters- if they are lucky.

3. Find the right pet for you and your family. Bringing a pet into your life is a serious decision that must not be taken lightly. Before bringing a pet home, owners need to be aware that it is the beginning of a relationship that may last 10 to 20 years, and that a pet needs constant care, supervision, and companionship.

Even though pet stores are likely to have the cutest puppies you’ve ever seen, the cute factor is not everything. Taking a pet home based solely on its appearance can be a recipe for disaster and yet another reason why so many pets end up in shelters.

Whether a pet fits your lifestyle is much more important than what it looks like. A pet carefully chosen to fit your lifestyle is more likely to result in a lasting home for the pet and a happy life for the owner. “Some people think yellow labs are adorable as puppies and beautiful dogs. But a person who lives a sedentary lifestyle and does not like to go running or exercising should not have a lab,” Gail Buchwald, vice president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), told Parents.com.

You are more likely to find a greater variety of animals and a better fit for any lifestyle at a shelter or through adoption websites like Petfinder.com. Unlike pet stores, which are only interested in making a profit and moving their “merchandise,” shelters are more concerned with matching a person or family with a pet of the right breed and temperament for their lifestyle. Shelters have also spent time caring for the animals, know their disposition, and what type of owner they would be a good fit for. With so many pets entering shelters every day, you are very likely to find exactly the right pet for you.

Our dog, Emma- half gremlin, half hyena

Adoption is the way to go if you want a purebred animal or a one-of-a-kind. According to HSUS, about 25% of dogs and cats in shelters are purebreds. There are also a number of breed-specific rescue groups that have purebred adults and puppies for adoption.

Other people see the attraction in a unique mix. Some mixes have the positive characteristics of several breeds. Our dog Paco is a lab-collie mix, and he has the great qualities of both. He has a sweet disposition, is very calm, fantastic with kids, and can be trusted all the time. Our little one, Emma, is more of a mystery. When we adopted her at 9 months old, we were told she was a Chihuahua- Jack Russell mix, but I think she has some Cairn Terrier in her. My husband says that she is more like half gremlin and half hyena. To us, she is beautiful. She is lively and energetic, always getting into trouble. Both are unique, and we love them for it.

4. Shelter pets may have “baggage,” but this is not necessarily a bad thing! Many people think that a pet that is in a shelter is there because of some kind of behavioral problem. The truth is that there are many reasons that people have to give up their pets, most having nothing to do with the pet. These include moving to a place that does not allow pets, not having time for the pet, not being able to afford the pet, allergies, etc. Petfinder.com has a sheet on the reasons pets are surrendered to shelters, which explains that most of the time the reason for surrender comes from the owner and not the pet.

On the other hand, adopting a pet, which has had a previous owner, may already be toilet trained and have other positive characteristics. (See # 9, the case for adopting an older pet)

5. Shelter pets are healthy. Even though some pets may enter a shelter without being neutered or having proper medical care, most if not all shelters give the pet a thorough medical screening and will not clear the pet for adoption until it has a clean bill of health. Most shelters also spay or neuter the pet before adoption.

6. Adopting is much less expensive. While adopting a pet is usually not free, the adoption fee will usually cover spaying or neutering, distemper vaccination, rabies vaccination, heartworm test, and flea/tick treatment. These services can cost up to $2000 at a regular vet, but adoption fees usually range from $100 to $300. On the other hand, a puppy at a pet store can cost over $700 and these services are usually not included.

7. Time. Adoption usually focuses on whether the pet will be a good match for a potential owner. Shelters are more likely to help you find your ideal buddy because shelters don’t expect and don’t want you to walk out with a new pet in 20 minutes or less, the way pet stores do. Shelters understand that finding the right fit takes time and a few visits. Shelters also allow you to interact with a pet and spend some time together before you take them home. Moreover, most shelters will allow you to take the animal home on a trail basis and take the animal back if things do not work out.

8. Set a good example. Parents.com lists “setting a good example” as one of the reasons to adopt a pet. I don’t have children, so I can’t really speak to this point from personal experience, but I agree that adopting a pet can teach a child “how to care about those that others may view as castoffs.” Adopting a pet can also teach children that they can make a difference by saving an animal’s life.

9. The case for adopting an older pet. For certain people and families, adopting an older pet may be the best choice. There are several benefits to adopting an older pet. For one thing, there are fewer surprises when you adopt an older pet. From the outset, you will know its full-grown size; temperament; and food, grooming, and exercise requirements. Older pets are also easier to train because they are calmer and have more experience interacting with people. An older pet also requires less attention, is usually toilet trained, and settles into new environments more quickly than a younger pet.

Another wonderful thing about adopting an older animal it that it has experienced living in a home as well as being surrendered, and is ready to forge an instant bond with its new owner. Finally, as mentioned above, adopting an animal may represent a 10 to 20-year commitment that many people are not ready to undertake. People with certain plans for their long-term future as well as very elderly people would be good candidates to adopt an older pet. According to the ASPCA, even though the commitment level is the same, it is for a shorter period of time.

10. Not all breeders are bad. If you have looked into adoption and cannot find the right pet, the American Humane Society has a very informative page on how to identify a responsible breeder.

Connect to the Human Society here

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Raising an exotic animal

We had a lot of fun last week here at the Pet Chauffeur offices with Leo the leopard!  He was a boisterous little fellow!  Check out our videos of his visit on our Facebook page.  To mark the unique experience, today’s blog is about exotic animals.

Having an exotic pet can appear to be quite glamorous, or so the celebrities who pose with them in magazines make it appear.  But is it really?  Let’s take a look at what is involved in looking after a leopard.

Habitat, range and diet
The leopard is the smallest of all big cats, i.e. tiger, lion and jaguar, and there are a number of breeds within this species, such as the African Leopard, the Sri Lankan Leopard, the Amur Leopard and the Clouded Leopard.  The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its range of distribution has decreased radically because of hunting and loss of habitat. It is now mainly found in sub-Saharan Africa; there are also fragmented populations in Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malaysia, and China. Because of its declining range and population, it is listed as a “Near Threatened” species by the Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

The leopard’s natural habitat is grassland and woodland which extends for miles.  Their home ranges can extend from 12-30 square miles for males and 5.8-6.2 square miles for females.  They have a very broad diet and eat anything from an antelope to insects and they mostly go hunting from sunset to sunrise.
Bearing all this in mind, how would you be able to humanely house and feed a leopard in NYC??

According to Born Free USA, the exotic pet industry is a multi-billion dollar business, but it is incredibly difficult to rear animals such as leopards in an enclosed environment when they have been used to living in a home that measured a minimum of 6.2 square miles of grassland or woodland, not to mention the problems with trying to feed them.  I mean, where can you go to stock up on fresh antelope for them to eat?? Where would you be able to take them for a walk?

Effects on wild animals living in captivity
According to the ASPCA malnutrition, stress, trauma, and behavioural disorders are common in exotic animals kept as pets. In the states where it is legal to have an exotic animal (only a few states allow this, and even then you will need a license) getting medical care is extremely difficult.  It may require a trip to your local zoo as your everyday veterinarians aren’t trained to deal with the diseases specific to animals usually found in the wild such as salmonella and herpes.

The reality is no matter how adorable an exotic animal may look, or how cool you think it would be to have one living with you, it really isn’t a good idea for you or for them.  The little that we do know about them shows that humans cannot meet their needs properly in captivity at all.

Leo is in the hands of trained experts who know what he needs and have the means to provide him with it, which is why he was such a handful for us at Pet Chauffeur!  If that wasn’t the case he may have ended up like a number of wild animals living outside of their environment do; as the majority of people who keep exotic animals cannot meet their needs, the animals end up caged, chained, or beaten into submission.  Some owners will even have an animal’s teeth or claws removed, so that the animal cannot harm the owner should an attack occur.

Outside of their natural environment, the best place for a leopard or any other wild animal is a smaller, controlled environment such as a reserve where, even though there isn’t as much room as they are used to, they can roam freely and get the specialist care and attention that they need.

Finding the best diet for your pet

You will find nowadays that it is becoming the trend for pet owners to start feeding their cats and dogs a raw diet.  The deterioration in health of these animals over the last 20 years has prompted a lot of research to find out why. The over all results cited poor quality ingredients in commercial animal food as being the common denominator in declining pet health.

Are our pets really getting what the label on the tin says?
In his article “Food Not Fit For a Pet,” Dr Wendell O. Belfield, D.V.M, who has been practicing small animal medicine for over 25 years, states that when he is asked which commercial pet food he recommends, he replies “none”.  Researchers have found that the “meat” in sampled commercial pet food was purchased from rendering plants which also receives material from slaughterhouses such as hair, feathers, hooves and any part of the mammal which is condemned for human consumption.  If food is condemned for human consumption, there is no reason why an animal’s constitution would be able to digest it. Rotten meat is rotten meat; mixed with hair, feathers and hooves it is a stomach churning meal.

A raw diet, which has been prepared with fresh, organic ingredients, will enable you to have peace of mind about what your pet is really eating.

Why a raw diet?
Before dogs and cats were transformed into pampered household pets, they were used to living in the wild, hunting for food.  Their diets would have consisted of raw materials which in that state provided them with the fullness of the vitamins and minerals that their systems needed to remain healthy.  There weren’t any cooked meats and other little treats and delicacies for them to eat!  And they have survived for centuries!  If we want Fido to live in optimum health, then his diet must mirror what he used to eat before he became a pet.  But do your research first of all, to determine if this diet works best for your animal.

You will find however, that opinions are sharply divided on this issue: a lot of veterinarians do not agree with a raw diet, citing high levels of bacteria in uncooked meats as being dangerous to your pets.  I suggest an experiment – put your pet on a raw diet for a fortnight and monitor the changes. If the changes are positive then keep going.  If not, then stop.

If you know you want to change your pets’ diets but find the thought of serving up raw meat a little nauseating, consider an organic diet instead.  Eating a diet with less pesticides and questionable ingredients can only be a good thing for them.  Again, conduct thorough research first of all before you decide which diet is best for your pets.

The benefits of a raw or organic diet

Reduction of skin ailments and allergies – If your dog suffers from allergies or an irritating skin condition, you’ve probably tried everything hoping to provide your pet some relief. Organic dog food may provide your pet with the best chance of combating skin infections and allergies in the long term. It is free of artificial colors and flavor enhancers, chemical additives and toxic pesticides that could be the source of your dog’s allergies.

More energy and a healthy weight – Since organic/raw food is naturally more nutritious, many owners report their dogs eat less organic dog food than other commercial varieties. Organic food doesn’t contain bulk-fillers, so your dog consumes only what it needs to maintain healthy energy levels and life functions.

Fewer digestive disorders – A lack of chemicals and artificial substances makes organic dog food more digestible. If your dog vomits occasionally after meals or commonly experiences gas, bloating or diarrhoea, check with your veterinarian for underlying illness. In the absence of another cause, feed your dog an organic diet and you’ll notice a definite change!   Easily digestible oats, barley or other natural whole grains and human-grade turkey, lamb or chicken make a tremendous difference to your dog’s digestive system. Rather than consuming corn or other bulk fillers and chemical additives, your dog will ingest only what it needs for healthy metabolic functioning.

Better overall health and stronger immunity – Organic dog food provides better quality sources of nutritional substances than even the non-organic, premium brands. It is more digestible for dogs, and therefore dogs are more likely to absorb than eliminate more of the nutrients they require to maintain a healthy immune system. Boosting your dog’s immunity may help prevent costly infections and illnesses that require veterinarian care.

Where can I get this type of food for my pet?
Some pet owners have taken to preparing food for their cat or dog by hand from scratch.  This is great if you have the time to do this, but I suspect that not many people will. Try these companies who provide ready prepared, natural foods for both cats and dogs and let us know how their products worked with your pet.

Stella and Chewy’s

Paw Naturaw

American Eskimo Food

Onesta Organics

Raw Advantage

Primal Pet Foods

Only Natural Pet Store

Also check out Sled Dog Central which has listed companies providing organic animal food throughout the US. It also lists a few companies in Canada and one in Germany, Europe!

Pet Airways – The first pet only airline

Travelling abroad or in the US can be quite a taxing operation with so many things to organise.  For those travelling with pets this can be a lot more problematic.  Apart from ensuring that your pet has had the right shots, has up to date health certificates etc, the safety of animals in transit is also a big issue.   How it all happened

Pet Airways  are leaders in the field of pet comfort and safety during long haul travel.  The company was born after the founders, Dan and Alysa Wiesel,  kept running into difficulty with airlines when trying to travel with their beloved dog, Zoe.  There just seemed to be no suitable way for Zoe to fly with them whenever they wanted to go on vacation.  Finally they gave up trying to convince human airlines to transport animals more responsibly and decided to take up the cause themselves.  In 2008, Pet Airways was born.

Pet Airways is the first airline that caters exclusively for animals.  With the exception of the pilots (obviously, LOL!) and pet attendants onboard, all of the passengers are of the furry variety.  The beauty of this airline is that it’s run by pet lovers for pet lovers.  Every conceivable occurrence has been thought of to ensure that pets arrive at their destination healthy and happy.

Locations

At present, Pet Airways operates domestic flights only and flies to and from the following cities: Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles/Hawthorne, New York, Omaha and Phoenix.  If you need help finding reliable international pet shippers, feel free to contact us and we will point you in the right direction.

The plane

Pet Airways uses the Beechcroft 1900 as the plane of choice for flying animals around the country.  This plane was chosen because of its impeccable safety record.  The animals all travel in the main cabin of the plane, NOT in cargo and each pet has their own container.  There is a climate-controller on board which ensures that the pets will neither be too hot or cold.

As with traditional flights, tickets  are booked online. There are different size seats to accommodate the various frames of animals who may be travelling: your pet can only travel on a given flight if the correct size seat is available.  If there isn’t a seat available on the day you want to travel,  you can either choose a different day or be put on their waiting list just in case another pet drops out.

Pets are checked every 15 minutes during the flight, or as needed and have regular potty breaks.  Everything is done to ensure that they are not distressed at any point during the flight.

Fares

As with all niche/boutique enterprises, you must expect to spend a bit more than you would on human airlines.  Fares start from $149 per animal per flight, but keep an eye out as they sometimes have sales.

It’s great to finally see the issues of animal safety during flights being addressed in this way.  It’s a relief to have the peace of mind that while your pets are out of your sight, they are being looked after by people who love them as much as you do.

Pet transportation by Pet Chauffeur can help Taxi your pets to this location.

Client Testimonials

    Testimonial from Roberta Flack

I have depended on Pet Chauffeur for ten (10) years to help me get my pets to life saving situations. Whether the trip is long or short, my animals are always looked after with the greatest care.  It’s good to know this kind of assistance is available and on time.  Thank you David and crew for being in my life.  Even if my concerts and public appearances take me from home, I can trust Pet Chauffeur to look after the travel needs of all of the dogs and cats, who are a part of my family.  BIG THANKS!

” Testimonial from another happy client”

   About seven years ago, in late November, my dog needed major surgery at Animal Medical Center in the far E 60s, a pretty far walk from my UWS apartment. My dog was small, but never learned to ride in a bag; she was a rescue and freaked out when she was put in the bag, so I worried that she had had some kind of trauma about being shut up in places and didn’t push it.AMC called me on Thanksgiving night to let me know that she could be picked up if I wanted to come get her. I didn’t want her to have to spend one more minute there than necessary so I walked over there in a mix of light snow and rain; I thought I needed to save all the money I could for a cab ride home and didn’t even want to buy a  Metrocard. I worried about getting a cab, though. Cabs often pass people, even with small dogs, and I didn’t see many as I walked over.My dog had had a giant tumor removed from her side. She had been shaved and was stapled up from end to end like some kind of Frankenstein dog. I wrapped her in a blanket and headed out, apologizing for the weather and hoping I’d be able to get a cab somehow.Then outside the exit to the hospital I saw an orange and blue van labeled “Pet Chauffeur.” I walked up and asked the driver if he was waiting for someone. No, he had just dropped someone off. I asked how much it would cost to take me and my dog back to my apartment and it turned out I had just enough money with me. The driver took us home in the bad weather, without my dog ever having to wait in the cold rain and snow at all.I don’t have any business advice to offer Mr. Lang. I just wanted to say how much I appreciated that van being there that night and I sincerely hope he makes it through this recession storm. Good luck–

New website launches for luxury travelers and their pampered pets

Can’t bear the thought of leaving home without your furry friend? Good news pet-lovers: a new pet-travel site just launched offering information and news about luxury hotels, travel and luxe spots that allow your pets while you’re traveling.More hotels have embraced the pet-travel trend, allowing guests and their four-legged friends to sleep in the lap of luxury while traveling. Boston’s XV Beacon Hotel (photo), three Kimpton hotels (Nine Zero, Onyx and Marlowe), and the Charles Hotel are just a few of the local hotels that are pet-friendly. Take your pet outside the city and you’ll need some help finding the best luxe home for them.

Enter: TheJetSetPets.com, the “luxury travel source for pampered pets on the go.” The site has information on destinations, transportation, products and services that are pet-friendly for travel.

USA Todayformer staff writer Kelly E. Carter launched the site. According to the paper, Carter spent a decade globe-trotting in style with her beloved longhair Chihuahua, Lucy. Lucy enjoyed all the amenities and activities as Carter, including massages and room service at luxury hotels. Carter started TheJetSetPets.com as a resource for other travelers, including updates on hotels and travel providers that offer services and amenities for pets.

A quick look around TheJetSetPet.com site and I learned a few things, too. For example, The W Los Angeles Westwood has a separate pet meal menu, The Little Nell in Aspen allows dogs of all sizes (most hotels cap the weight at 30lbs.), and Paris is one of the most pet-friendly cities in the world, allowing pets in many of its most famous museums and tourist attractions.

The site also has a social media component, The Jet Set Pets Community, that allows members to create profiles for their pets, join groups and share photos of pets on vacation.

Pet Transportation by Pet Chauffeur of NYC is the best Pet Taxi service in the NYC metro area.

Readers: Do you travel with your pet? What are you recommendations for pet-friendly airlines, hotels, restaurants and companies?

Posted by Melanie Nayer   March 25, 2012 08:46 AM

Cities Will Talk to the Animals by Going Orange

By Sharon L. Peters, Special for USA TODAY
April 10th, 2011   The color orange will infuse landmarks Tuesday from New York and Philadelphia to San Francisco.
Manhattan’s Empire State Building, Chicago’s Sears Tower, San Francisco’s City Hall and Philly’s quaint quarter-mile span called Boathouse Row will be lit in orange; the famous Wall Street charging bull sculpture will be decorated in the color; and the Louisiana Boardwalk fountain in Bossier City, La., will look to be spraying orange water.

It’s the 141st birthday of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and people and groups nationwide are donning and draping the ASPCA’s signature color to “celebrate the special human-animal bond,” says Jo Sullivan, the organization’s vice president of development and communication.

School teachers and librarians will offer special-educational programs, shelters are holding special animal events, and animal-friendly businesses have devised ways to trumpet support of the day. Pet Chauffeur in Manhattan the premier pet taxi service ,will tie large orange bows on its cars,pet transportation is a big service in NYC. Petride.com 212-696-9744 is open 365 days a year.  Also Jack London Square in Oakland will display ASPCA posters.

COLOR THEM ANIMAL LOVERS

• New York – A celebration at Union Square from 4 to 8 p.m. will feature Animal Planet personalities, a costume party and an adoption fair.

• Bossier City, La. – Louisiana Boardwalk merchants will dress themselves and their establishments in orange, eateries are concocting orange drinks, and their will be a pet costume party.

• The L.A. Coliseum – “Go Orange for ASPCA Day” will streak across the Jumbe\otron.

• Austin – The Round Rock Express minor league baseball team will make an announcement during the game, and employees will wear orange wristbands.

The efforts are an outgrowth of a Manhattan celebration last year of the New York-based ASPCA’s 140th birthday. Response to the event extended far beyond New York as supporters from all over the country e-mailed goofy costumed-pet pictures to support the day.
“It was to have been a one-time event,” Sullivan says, but organizers realized that they had “tapped into something.”

Three decades ago, valuing animals “was not on the radar” of most Americans, ASPCA president Ed Sayres says. But society has become a more animal-conscious place, he says.

More than 50,000 ASPCA orange wristbands are expected to be ordered online for the celebration (1 million are in circulation already). The ASPCA has created 10 animal e-greetings that website visitors can send to friends and family, and the group is posting several “go orange” ideas.

Dogs Sniff Out Lung Cancer

Specially trained dogs can identify most patients with lung cancer by smelling their breath, researchers said.

Sniffing 100 breath samples from patients with biopsy-confirmed lung cancer, the dogs failed to flag only 29, reported Thorsten Walles, MD, of Schillerhoehe Hospital in Gerlingen, Germany, and colleagues online in the European Respiratory Journal.

Among 400 other samples from individuals without lung cancer, the canine sniff test gave false positives for just 28, the researchers found.

Action Points

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• Explain that specially trained dogs could identify most patients with lung cancer by smelling their breath.
• Point out that the findings may be more important for confirming that human exhalations contain markers for lung cancer, which eventually may be detectable by more conventional means.

However, Walles and colleagues suggested that the findings were most important for confirming that human exhalations contain markers for lung cancer, which eventually may be detectable by more conventional means.

“This is a big step forward in the diagnosis of lung cancer, but we still need to precisely identify the compounds observed in the exhaled breath of patients,” said Walles in a press release.

Several earlier studies have found that dogs, with their keen sense of smell, can identify patients with various forms of cancer, including tumors of the breast, colon, and lung merely by sniffing. The proposition originated in 1989 with a case report of a man whose melanoma was diagnosed because his dog kept sniffing the lesion.

The dogs used in the current study were young family pets  —  two German shepherds, one Labrador retriever, and one Australian shepherd. Using test tubes containing exhalations from 35 lung cancer patients and 60 healthy controls, a professional dog trainer taught the animals to lie down in front of tubes with samples from the patients.

During both the training and the subsequent testing phase, each sample was given to the dogs only once so that they would not simply learn to recognize individual participants’ characteristic odors.

The testing involved 50 healthy people, 25 patients with histologically confirmed lung cancer, and 50 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). These were different individuals than those providing samples for the training phase.

In the cancer patient group, one patient had stage I disease, two each at IIa and IIb tumors, four were staged IIIa, five had IIIb disease, and 11 were at stage IV.

Blinded observers watched the dogs as they each sniffed at five tubes per session. If a dog appeared to hesitate in front of a tube, it was automatically recorded as an incorrect result. The investigators also took a variety of steps to keep from subtly influencing the dogs.

The testing was conducted in three phases. First, the dogs were presented with samples from healthy controls and lung cancer patients. Next, samples from lung cancer and COPD patients were presented. Finally, the dogs evaluated samples from all three groups.

Somewhat surprisingly, the dogs had the most difficulty in the first test, discriminating the lung cancer patient samples from those of healthy people. The total number of correct results from the four dogs was 22 versus 18 false results.

Accuracy was much better in the second phase, with the dogs correctly identifying 32 samples from the COPD and lung cancer patients against eight false results.

Results were better still in the third test, with 19 correct results and only one incorrect.

Overall, the sensitivity for detecting lung cancer was 71% overall (95% CI not reported). There was little difference in accuracy according to disease stage, the researchers indicated: All samples from the sole stage I patient had positive results in the sniff test. Accuracy rates for other disease stages were:

• 75% for stage IIa
• 75% for stage IIb
• 94% for IIIa
• 75% for stage IIIb
• 63% for stage IV

The dogs varied somewhat in their ability to sniff out cancer accurately, with one dog scoring 68% of samples correctly while another had 84% correct results (kappa statistic 0.436).

Specificity overall was 93% (95% CI not reported).

Walles and colleagues also calculated “corporate dog decision” accuracy by counting as accurate only those results on which three of the four dogs gave the same result. Sensitivity of these group decisions was 72% (95% CI 51% to 88%), with specificity of 94% (95% CI 87% to 98%).

The researchers determined as well that the dogs were as accurate in classifying smokers versus nonsmokers, indicating that the animals were not simply responding to tobacco-related breath components.

Because their study ruled out a role in the results for smoking and certain other potential confounders, the current study is an advance over previous research on dog sniff tests for cancer.

It “confirms the existence of a stable marker (or scent pattern) that is strongly associated with lung cancer and independent of COPD,” Walles and colleagues wrote, “reliably discriminated from tobacco smoke, food odors and (potential) drug metabolites.”

Whether dogs will ultimately be better than machines for breath analysis remains to be determined, they indicated.

“Electronic nose technologies” are not yet practical because of their complicated sampling procedures and vulnerability interference, the researchers commented.

Dogs, on the other hand, are “virtually on the verge of respectability” for disease detection. Yet without better understanding of what they are responding to, it will be impossible to develop a reliable screening test for lung cancer based on their abilities, Walles and colleagues suggested.

“Unfortunately, dogs cannot communicate the biochemistry of the scent of cancer,” they lamented.

By John  Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today
Published: August 18, 2011

Pet Chauffeur Tries to Adapt to Tough Economy

The recession has not been kind to the pet industry. While their finances are in flux, pet owners are less likely to splurge on toys or grooming, and fewer vacations spell empty kennels at the boarding house. In fact, prospective owners are less likely to take on the financial burden of a new dog or cat to begin with.

As you can see in the video above, David Lang, owner of a Manhattan business called Pet Chauffeur, is keenly aware of these challenges. Fifteen years ago, Mr. Lang noticed that the subway system’s vast ridership included few dogs. Passengers can bring small pets on board in carrying cases, but owners of larger dogs cannot travel with their pets by subway, bus or taxi. Sensing he could fill a void, he founded Pet Chauffeur, a taxi service for animals, in 1996.

From his home office on East 36th Street, Mr. Lang coordinates a fleet of four orange-and-blue minivans and a staff of 12 dispatchers and drivers. Customers have the option of riding along with their pets, but many choose not to, leaving the drivers to learn their dogs’ idiosyncrasies first-hand. And dogs are not the only animals getting a lift: Pet Chauffeur has transported everything from leopards to bulk shipments of lab rats. But dogs are the most frequent riders, and Mr. Lang says the most popular destinations are veterinary clinics, grooming salons and boarding kennels.

The bulk of Pet Chauffeur’s $1 million annual revenue comes from its business in New York City, but its vans have traveled as far as Florida, and the company also coordinates the shipping of animals by air. Because many of his customers live in Manhattan’s tonier neighborhoods, Mr. Lang hopes to sell ad space on his vans to luxury retailers. “I got vans running up and down Fifth Avenue all day long,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want their perfume on top of a Pet Chauffeur?”

Despite these plans, Mr. Lang is wary of expansion. He used to run a boarding service and a pet supply retail Web site, both of which failed to weather the recent recession. He now concentrates all of his effort on transportation and has adapted his company to the new economic context in two ways: first, he targets high-end customers. In 2008, he came to the conclusion, “now’s the time to get rid of the people who don’t want to pay for our service anyway, and up the price, and go with the high-end people that want our service.”

Pet Chauffeur’s other post-recession adaptation is to collaborate with competitors. If Mr. Lang is unable to arrange a pick-up for a customer, he will refer that person to other companies Because the pet taxi industry represents such a niche service, Mr. Lang said, he’d “rather see someone go with the other guy than not go at all.” Mr. Lang added: “Anyway, we’ve got the best service, so they’ll come back to us in the end.” 

Pet Chauffeur Tries to Adapt to Tough Economy

The recession has not been kind to the pet industry. While their finances are in flux, pet owners are less likely to splurge on toys or grooming, and fewer vacations spell empty kennels at the boarding house. In fact, prospective owners are less likely to take on the financial burden of a new dog or cat to begin with.

As you can see in the video above, David Lang, owner of a Manhattan business called Pet Chauffeur, is keenly aware of these challenges. Fifteen years ago, Mr. Lang noticed that the subway system’s vast ridership included few dogs. Passengers can bring small pets on board in carrying cases, but owners of larger dogs cannot travel with their pets by subway, bus or taxi. Sensing he could fill a void, he founded Pet Chauffeur, a taxi service for animals, in 1996.

From his home office on East 36th Street, Mr. Lang coordinates a fleet of four orange-and-blue minivans and a staff of 12 dispatchers and drivers. Customers have the option of riding along with their pets, but many choose not to, leaving the drivers to learn their dogs’ idiosyncrasies first-hand. And dogs are not the only animals getting a lift: Pet Chauffeur has transported everything from leopards to bulk shipments of lab rats. But dogs are the most frequent riders, and Mr. Lang says the most popular destinations are veterinary clinics, grooming salons and boarding kennels.

The bulk of Pet Chauffeur’s $1 million annual revenue comes from its business in New York City, but its vans have traveled as far as Florida, and the company also coordinates the shipping of animals by air. Because many of his customers live in Manhattan’s tonier neighborhoods, Mr. Lang hopes to sell ad space on his vans to luxury retailers. “I got vans running up and down Fifth Avenue all day long,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want their perfume on top of a Pet Chauffeur?”

Despite these plans, Mr. Lang is wary of expansion. He used to run a boarding service and a pet supply retail Web site, both of which failed to weather the recent recession. He now concentrates all of his effort on transportation and has adapted his company to the new economic context in two ways: first, he targets high-end customers. In 2008, he came to the conclusion, “now’s the time to get rid of the people who don’t want to pay for our service anyway, and up the price, and go with the high-end people that want our service.”

Pet Chauffeur’s other post-recession adaptation is to collaborate with competitors. If Mr. Lang is unable to arrange a pick-up for a customer, he will refer that person to companies like Pet Taxi or Tony’s Canine Cab. Because the pet taxi industry represents such a niche service, Mr. Lang said, he’d “rather see someone go with the other guy than not go at all.” Mr. Lang added: “Anyway, we’ve got the best service, so they’ll come back to us in the end.”