{"id":2011,"date":"2016-03-03T20:57:54","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T01:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/miserybay.usanethosting.com\/indylite\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2016-03-03T20:57:54","modified_gmt":"2016-03-04T01:57:54","slug":"features-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/2016\/03\/03\/features-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Features"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s Mystery Photo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where is this?<\/p>\n

\"mystery255\"<\/p>\n

Can you tell us where this is located? Drop us a line at mail@sjindy.com.<\/p>\n

203 Floral Ave. <\/p>\n

\"mystery254\"<\/p>\n

The current owners are Steven and Jane Cleland. Previous owners include John Anderson, and Germaine Rehmann.<\/p>\n

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A Look Back <\/strong>– Willis Hettler Jr.<\/p>\n

by Barry Bauer<\/p>\n

\"hettler\"<\/p>\n

Willis Hettler Jr. (right) pointing out some things to Keith Shafley. I think the car was a Ford Model T.<\/p>\n

You never saw Junior, as he was called, without a cigar. He worked for his father, Willis Hettler Sr. at Willis Hettler Auto Sales on E. State St. that sold Chrysler products. <\/p>\n

He also drove their wrecker which was a popular wrecker to call to get you out of bad places. I was fortunate to have him pull me out of a creek after I went off the road in 1962. They carried me “on the books” until I could afford to pay for the tow bill. <\/p>\n

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Benny and Jessie\u2019s Pet Info <\/strong>– Choosing the Best Dog Food<\/p>\n

By T. J. Dunn, Jr., DVM<\/p>\n

“What is the best food to feed a dog?” Every day veterinarians are asked that question by dog owners. It’s a sincere question because most dog owners want to feed the very best to their furry friends. Good health begins with proper nutrition, regardless of price or convenience of acquisition.<\/p>\n

Please understand that the entire discussion on this page relates to healthy dogs with no kidney, thyroid, food allergy or other abnormal conditions. Also, the content of this page is my opinion regarding the “best” dry dog food and how to determine what you think is “best” to feed dogs.<\/p>\n

A big reason why it i is strictly an opinion, there is no single answer to the question “What is the best diet to feed a dog?” Or if there is an answer it is, “It depends”.<\/p>\n

Over the past 37 years I have been examining dogs and cats in my practices I have made it a point to ask the owner “What diet are you feeding?” I have gotten all sorts of answers but in every case I relate the owner’s response to what I am seeing in the patient. And over the years my suggestions regarding what to feed have changed.<\/p>\n

Originally I took the pet food manufacturer’s declarations as fact — that an assortment of “Complete and Balanced” pet foods were perfectly nourishing because that wording was not legally permitted on pet food labels unless feeding trials demonstrated its veracity. I eventually discovered I was mistaken in the belief that any “Complete and Balanced” dog food was appropriate to feed.<\/p>\n

It was in 1978 that I had an awakening. A number of owners were presenting dogs to me that had coarse hair coats and slightly greasy and flaky skin; and often these dogs (and cats!) had chronic itchy skin, hot spots, ear infections and seemed overweight.<\/p>\n

So they were over-caloried but under-nourished. Their calorie intake was up but the food they were consuming simply — no matter that the pet food label indicated “Complete and Balanced” –was not providing a proper nutrient spectrum to the dog. Sometimes I would simply say that some fatty acid supplements “might help”. I was a believer in those “Complete and Balanced” diets. One of the reasons I couldn’t see what was going on regarding these dogs with poor health signals relating to diets was that some of the “Complete and Balanced” diets were resulting in well nourished dogs, partly because the owners were feeding table scraps as well.<\/p>\n

I’ll jump ahead a bit and tell you the defining element that separated the good “Complete and Balanced” diets from the poor ones was this: The poor diets were based on corn — meaning, corn was listed as the first ingredient in the ingredient list on the label — and the good diets were based on chicken or some other meat source — lamb, beef.<\/p>\n

was always instructed, and learned in the few nutrition courses in veterinary school (nutrition is much better covered in veterinary school these days) that an imbalance of calcium and phosphorus in a dog’s diet would lead to health disasters. This holds true today, too. <\/p>\n

I was instructed that “since meat is high in phosphorus and lower in calcium, too much meat is not good for dogs over long periods of time”. (Many people still confuse the disastrous all meat diets with meat-based diets; one is not good the other is ideal.) Grain-based diets for dogs, and even more so for cats, do not make nutritional sense and that was exactly why I was seeing those patients with the dry and flaky, sometimes greasy skin and coarse hair coats. They were eating “Complete and Balanced” grain-based diets with nothing else added. Why add anything when it is “Complete and Balanced” already?<\/p>\n

Further confirmation came when I saw another litter owned by a local Bloodhound breeder. This fellow seemed to me to be quiet and a healthy ten-year-old dog with a shiny coat.<\/p>\n

When I’d ask him what he was feeding his dogs we would get into our annual nutritional discussion and I’d keep warning him about the home-made recipe and all that meat he had been feeding his dogs for years.<\/p>\n

Funny thing was, his dogs were among the very best I had ever seen. All his litters, and adult dogs, were robust, had perfect skin and coats even at six weeks of age, and never had to come in for skin problems, skeletal dysfunction, gastrointestinal problems or oral health issues. This breeder was sending his pups all over the country and there I was trying to tell him to be careful about “feeding too much meat” and I’d talk about such things as “a ‘Complete and Balanced’ commercial dog food would be best, make sure you don’t get skeletal problems”. I wondered why I felt rather foolish instructing him because I honestly thought his dogs were in optimum health.<\/p>\n

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Maralyn’s Did You Know?<\/strong> – Food Recalls<\/p>\n

Whole Foods Market Recalls Maytag Blue Cheese <\/em><\/p>\n

Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas is voluntarily recalling Maytag Raw Milk Blue Cheese nationally due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.<\/p>\n

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.<\/p>\n

No illnesses have been reported in connection with this recall to date.<\/p>\n

Customers who have purchased this product should discard it, and may bring their receipt into the store for a full refund. Consumers with questions may call 512-477-5566, extension 20060, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time.<\/p>\n

Recalling Alfalfa and Alfalfa Onion Sprouts <\/em><\/p>\n

State health and agriculture officials are investigating an outbreak of food borne illness. Retailers and restaurants should not sell or serve alfalfa sprouts and consumers should not eat them at this time.<\/p>\n

Routine disease monitoring by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) identified seven E. coli O157:NM cases in January and early February; E. coli bacteria from those cases all had the same DNA fingerprint illness. The ill individuals range in age from 18 to 84 years, and five are female. Four of the cases are residents of the Twin Cities metro area, and three live in greater Minnesota. Two were hospitalized, and both have recovered.<\/p>\n

Jack & The Green Sprouts is cooperating with this process and is located in River Falls, Wis., and distributes alfalfa sprouts to states in the upper Midwest and possibly other states. The seven Minnesota cases and at least one of the Wisconsin cases were exposed to the implicated alfalfa sprouts from a variety of locations, including grocery\/cooperative stores, restaurants, salad bars and commercial food service.<\/p>\n

For more information see http:\/\/www.fda.gov\/Food\/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies\/Outbreaks\/ucm487651.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Letters <\/strong>– Reader sees herself in A Look Back<\/p>\n

Wow, my cousin sent me the link and I see my picture with Dr Stoller and a story about me. I couldn’t of been more surprised. <\/p>\n

\"stoller\"<\/p>\n

I am Kathy\/Kathleen Cornell Williams. I look back on my years at Rodney B Wilson Hi and only smile. They were wonderful and I treasure all the memories. <\/p>\n

\"cornell\"To give a bit of an update. I did go on and take my nurses training at Hurley Hospital in Flint. I may of graduated in the top 10 from RBW but sure didn’t there. Nurses training was the hardest thing I had ever done. I think anyone attending a hospital school of nursing would say the same thing. In one of my first classes the instructor said “Look to your left and right, by the end of the year one of you will be gone and by the end of the second year only one will be left” and she was right. But it was great training and I did go on to graduate in the spring of 1971 and went right to work. <\/p>\n

Most recently I worked 15 years at Clinton Memorial (I still call it that) before moving in 2007 to my present home in Northport, at the tip of the beautiful Leelanau Peninsula. I loved working at CMH serving my hometown. <\/p>\n

After moving, I worked almost 2 years at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City in the woman’s surgical, pediatric, OB and NICU areas. In the spring of 2010 I started work only 4 miles from my parents home (I moved north to live with them (James and Geneva Cornell) and they are now 90 and 92). I am the 3-11 supervisor at what was once the Leelanau Memorial Hospital and is now an Assisted Living and Memory Care facility called Highlands of Northport. Again I service my community but in a different capacity and I very much enjoy it. <\/p>\n

\"aurora\"One of my fondest memories of high school is the choral music department and Mr Vandemark. Thanks to his training (along with my 9 years of accordion lessons!) I am using that music talent directing the choir here in my local church as I did when I attended my hometown church in St. Johns, Bingham\/Bengal EUB then joining and taking the name of Pilgrim UMC. It just goes to show that our past really does link the future. <\/p>\n

I have family and friends in the St. Johns area that I stay in touch with. And if any one wants to see a most beautiful part of our whole nation, come visit us in Leelanau County. Our home is easy to find and we love visitors to stop by. It’s just past Woolsey International Airport on 629 just 4 miles north of Northport on the way to Grand Traverses Lighthouse. I thought you might be interested in a little update. <\/p>\n

– Kathy Williams
\nkrcwilliams@juno.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Maralyn’s Pet Corner<\/strong> – Are Fish Flavored Cat Foods Causing Hyperthyroidism?<\/p>\n

I am all too familiar with hyperthyroidism. It is one of the most common endocrine (hormonal) diseases of cats. I\u2019ve diagnosed many of my patients with the condition, including two of my own cats.<\/p>\n

First some background. Hyperthyroidism is a usually caused by a benign tumor within the thyroid gland that secretes large amounts of thyroid hormone. One of the primary functions of this hormone is to regulate an animal\u2019s metabolism. Cats under the influence of too much thyroid hormone have a greatly increased metabolic rate, leading to the classic symptom of weight loss despite a ravenous appetite. Elevated thyroid hormone levels can also lead to high blood pressure, a type of heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, vomiting, diarrhea, and increased thirst and urination.<\/p>\n

In most cases, hyperthyroidism can be diagnosed when a cat has high circulating levels of thyroid hormone (total T4 or TT4) in conjunction with typical clinical signs. Additional forms of thyroid testing may be necessary in complicated cases. Treatment varies depending on the cat\u2019s overall health and owner finances, but options include radioactive iodine therapy, daily medication, a low-iodine diet, and surgical removal of the thyroid gland.<\/p>\n

While diagnosing and treating hyperthyroidism is relatively straightforward, identifying the disease\u2019s cause is not. Theories abound, some of which have scientific research to back them up. Hyperthyroidism has been connected to canned cat food (perhaps because the lining of the cans contains bisphenol A \u2013 BPA) and exposure to flame retardant chemicals (polybrominated diphenyl ethers \u2013 PBDEs) used in furniture, electronics, and other consumer products.<\/p>\n

Another possible risk factor is fish flavored food cat food. A study published in 2000 looked at the medical records of 100 cats with hyperthyroidism and 163 control cats (cats without hyperthyroidism) to determine whether or not a number of environmental or dietary factors played a role in which cats became hyperthyroid. The researchers found that \u201cexposure to fertilizers, herbicides, or plant pesticides; regular use of flea products; and presence of a smoker in the home were not significantly associated with an increased risk of disease, but cats that preferred fish or liver and giblets flavors of canned cat food had an increased risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now more evidence points to problems with fish flavored foods. A 2016 study that evaluated feline blood samples and cat food found that the type of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) derivatives found in the cat food and cat blood came from \u201cmarine organisms.\u201d Additionally, they were able to show just how feline physiology could convert the type of chemical present in the food into the sort that was found in the cats\u2019 blood.<\/p>\n

These papers aren\u2019t definitive so I don\u2019t recommend that we all immediately throw out our fish flavored foods or panic if that\u2019s all our cats will eat, but the next bag I buy will probably be chicken rather than fish flavored.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s Mystery Photo Where is this? Can you tell us where this is located? Drop us a line at mail@sjindy.com. 203 Floral Ave. The current owners are Steven and Jane Cleland. Previous owners include John Anderson, and Germaine Rehmann. A Look Back – Willis Hettler Jr. by Barry Bauer Willis Hettler Jr. (right) pointing Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/indylite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}