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healthPetsactivities & Virus ruffling Puff's feathers By Jeff Kahler, D.V.M. McClatchy Newspapers Puff is a 2 1/2-year-old umbrella cockatoo living with Salema and Trevont in Atlanta. She was born in captivity and raised from hatching by Salema's mother until she was about 12 weeks old. Puff has a very large cage in which she spends nights. Her days are spent outside the cage and throughout the house. She is allowed to fly. Her diet is based on pellets, but she does eat a huge variety of foods. Going back over the past year, Salema reports having noticed abnormal-appearing feathers on Puff's wings. It started with just one or two and has progressed now to the point where there are many. These feathers are curling and do not have proper length to the shaft. Most recently, it appears Puff is reluctant to fly and, when she does, it's only for short distances. She has not been to her veterinarian yet but has an appointment, according to Salema. I am very concerned about Puff's abnormal feathers. There are multiple possible causes, but one in particular is a progressive process that ultimately ends in death. It is called psittacine beak and feather disease. many different species of birds, predominantly within the parrot group, the group we term psittacines. It was first described in what are called Old-World parrots, but this dis- ease can also occur in parrots from the new world. PBFD is a contagious disease caused by a virus called circovirus. It can spread from one bird to another via feather dander and feces. There can be birds that are carriers of the virus but not have the disease. These birds can pass the virus to other birds, which contract the infection. Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) occurs in PBFD can manifest itself in an acute or chronic form. The acute form usually occurs in younger birds and is rapid- ly progressive and fatal. The chronic form may not begin to cause visible symptoms for months to several years after contact. Puff would fit into this category. With the chronic form of PBFD, the first symptom usu- ally described is the development of abnormal feathers. These feathers are misshapen and usually have retained sheaths with abnormal quills. Often, these feathers will show blood within their shafts. There can be blood in nor- mal feather shafts as they newly develop, but with PBFD, it occurs in abnormal feather shafts. The number of abnormal feathers usually progresses with each molt, which is the term used to describe the normal shedding of old feathers with new ones. Over time, the beak, and less commonly the nails, can become involved and show distortion in growth and the resulting abnormal appearance. Some of these birds can survive in captivity for years as this disease progres- sively distorts their feathers and beaks. Eventually, they become so severe that they are either euthanized due to poor life quality or they die on their own. Each case progresses at its own pace, which is thought to be dictated by the individ- ual bird's immune response against the virus. It is possible for a bird to clear this virus and eliminate the disease. This is not common, however, and the progno- sis once this disease is diagnosed is usually grave. Diagno- sis is accomplished with immunologic blood testing for the circovirus agent that causes PBFD, as well as biopsy of affected feathers. With a positive circovirus test and charac- teristic microscopic lesions in the feathers, a positive diag- nosis for PBFD is made. This is precisely what needs to be done for Puff. If, regrettably, Puff has PBFD, she can be helped with the secondary issues of the disease. This involves mainly treat- ing the discomfort associated with the disease. We usually use anti-inflammatory medications. As long as Puff main- tains her quality of life, in my opinion, she should be allowed to keep rolling! We do not know how long that will be. There are other possible causes for Puff's feather abnor- malities, but it is very important to rule out psittacine beak and feather disease. Let's hope her testing results are nega- tive. Jeff Kahler is a veterinarian in Modesto. Questions can be submitted to Your Pet in care of LifeStyles, The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto CA 95352. Slower pace suits champion horse Holly Parks-Robinson, took the washed-up racehorse and gave it to Parks' daughter, Saman- tha (Sammy), to give her the experience of rehab- bing a horse back to health through nutrition and proper exercise. Sammy Parks is the third generation of her family to devote their lives to the love of hors- es. Her grandfather, Edwin "Don" Parks, was in the last mounted 124th Cavalry that fought in the China- Burma-India Theater in World War II. "They helped open the Burma Road for Gen. (Joseph) Stilwell," said Robinson, who owns HPR Stables in Bath, which is affiliated with the Interscholastic Equestrian Association for sixth- through 12th- graders. Today, life is good for the 19-year-old thor- oughbred,m who is boarded at Ashwood Farms in Wadsworth, Ohio. "He is so loving. He does whatever you ask," said Sammy Parks, 19, a sophomore studying equine management at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio. Westminster introduces 6 new breeds LOS ANGELES (AP) — Six dogs will make his- tory this year as the newest breeds eligible to compete at Westminster. If they have visions of winning, though, history is against them. The names of some of these rookie breeds compet- ing in this year's Westmin- ster Kennel Club Dog Show on Feb. 13-14 at Madison Square Garden are a mouth- ful: the Entlebucher moun- tain dog, the Norwegian Lundehund, the American English coonhound, the Finnish Lapphund, the Cesky terrier and the Xoloitzcuintli, previously known as the Mexican Hair- less. The six new breeds bring Sierra Sound Car Audio 35th $ 226 So. Main St., Red Bluff 527-3735 All CD's 13.99 Anniversary Sale or less to 185 the number that will compete this year for the best of show grand prize in the annual contest, the old- est sporting event in the United States next to the Kentucky Derby, said David Frei, the club's director of communications and the USA Network show host. In 1990, there were 142 eligible breeds. a significant number of the dogs in the United States and there has to be a breed club to oversee enthusiasts and geographic diversity. The rookies will com- pete with all the other dogs but they won't be a good bet to win best in show. This is no limit on the number of new breeds that can be admitted each year, but there are strict criteria. For the last 12 years, no more than six rookies have been approved in any year, Frei said. Kennel Club will approve a new breed, there have to be The Back Packs ARE HERE! The Back Packs ARE HERE! Look for them at local businesses Before the American Frei said the rookie that rose to the top and became best in show fastest was the Bichon Frise. DAILYNEWS in Discount Coupons were published last week in the $ 59 00 $ RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY offering percentage discounts, two-for-ones and Free-with-Purchase offers! … And that does not count all the ads Don't miss a day of it! Subscribe Today 527-2151 It pays for itself. DAILYNEWS In RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 WEDNESDAY July 11 00 AKRON, Ohio (MCT) — As a champi- on, race announcers called him Si My Shoes — as in "eat my dust." But in the slower- paced life of a retiree, the thoroughbred race- horse adopted by a Bath Township, Ohio, family in 2008 is known as Raleigh — short for the Magnificent Sir Raleigh, the name under which he competes today in equestrian contests. Although the aging racehorse wasn't much to look at when the Parks family adopted him from a stable in Wellington, Ohio, Raleigh is nonetheless the three times great- grandson of Native Dancer (1950-1967), nicknamed the Grey Ghost, one of the most celebrated and accom- plished racing thorough- breds in history. "We paid the owner's daughter a dollar for him, to make it legal," said Ned Parks. Parks and his sister, Saturday, July 7, 2012 – Daily News 7A MCT photo Raleigh, a thoroughbred and former racehorse, nuzzles his current owner Sammy Parks at Ashwood Farms. Ned Parks said the horse, who came to them with several strange markings, including having one eye lower than the other and a marked divot above his nose, also had a serial number tattooed on his upper lip — the sign of a racing thoroughbred. Parks, who operates together, she said, "I thought my ankles were touching." New Directions Learn- ing and Development in Bath, said curiosity got the better of him so he started researching the horse's lineage. travels, he found Liz Lundberg, a jockey who raced the horse to his one and only first-place finish on July 4, 1996, at Mountaineer Racetrack in Wheeling, W.Va. Horse and jockey were reunited last week after she accepted an invitation to visit the family. During his online Lundberg, who at 53 is retired from racing but still fit enough to ride to a win, said she remem- bered Raleigh because he was so "green" when she first met him as a youngster. "He was a big, weedy, gangly thing," she said. His legs were so close Rather than the win on Independence Day, Lundberg remembers a second-place finish that impressed her more. "That week, I had already run four races. He was my fifth horse. He was 15 lengths behind in the top of the stretch and I got beat by that much," she said, holding her thumb and index finger an inch apart. As Sammy Parks put Raleigh through his paces, Lundberg remem- bered riding the horse with the "goofy" gait. "He was so young, it won her heart with his engaging personality. One of Raleigh's favorite games is pulling a cellphone out of a per- son's back pocket. "He's very ornery. Sammy said Raleigh You cannot leave a cell phone around him. He'll get it and chuck it across the room," she said. His personality also shows through when he nonchalantly "takes his lead (rope) out of your hand," Sammy said. Robinson said she remembers wavering on whether to adopt the horse. But when they noticed him going back time and again to see a reflection of himself, her husband Larry Robinson said the family had no choice. "He's very social. My husband said 'he needs to be with another horse. We have to take this horse. He's alone,'" she said. While Sammy is at school, Robinson's stu- dents help keep Raleigh fit, riding him during classes. felt like I was riding a rubber band," she remembered. with a loving family, the horse could live another decade or more. "Twenty to 30 is a good age for a horse," she said. Lundberg said that fit and happy is proof that there are happy end- ings, even in racing, a business that has a deserved reputation of being rife with fraud, she said. But seeing the horse "The real heroes in this story are Sammy and this family," she said. Look for your copy of the 2012 Tehama District Fair HANDBOOK With Categories, Rules and Entry Forms EXHIBITORS