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8A Daily News – Saturday, October 20, 2012 healthPetsactivities & Injured Marine trains Can Do Canines MINNEAPOLIS (MCT) — A grenade explo- sion might have put an end to Dan Carbonneau's effort to serve his country, but he hasn't let it sway his deter- mination to serve others. He found a new mission: train- ing assistance dogs. Excelsior, Minn., spends 20 hours a week at Can Do Canines in New Hope, Minn., teaching dogs to do everything from punch ele- vator call buttons to open kitchen drawers. The former Marine from Fido should not feed on these can be very hard to resist those soulful eyes peering up at you. We often just want to give them a little taste. After all, if we are enjoying what we are eating, then most likely they will enjoy it, too. However, falling prey to those begging eyes and giving dogs human food can often harm them. By RONNIE CASEY As we look down at our beloved pet while eating, it "The dogs help people with disabilities," he said. "It's nice to know that you're doing something positive for the community." He came within inches of being someone who might need one of the dogs rather than train them. On Sept. 17, 2009, he was serv- ing in Afghanistan when a hand grenade exploded a foot away from him. "Most of the shrapnel MCT photo Dan Carbonneau, who suffered a brain injury as a Marine in Afghanistan, has Erma retrieve a phone. Erma is a helper dog that he is training for an organization that provides the helper animals to wounded veterans. went away from me for some reason," he said. "The rest was absorbed by my (body armor) protection. A friend who was next to me wasn't so lucky. He took it in the chest." Carbonneau, 24, was far from unscathed. He was knocked unconscious and his eardrums were blown out. When he reached the hospital, a traumatic brain injury was diagnosed and Carbonneau was transferred to the Wounded Warrior Battalion at North Caroli- na's Camp Lejeune for treatment. suffers from daily headaches and tinnitus, but you have to pull that infor- mation out of him. Com- plaining isn't his strong suit. "I still have all my Three years later, he still limbs," he said. "There are people a lot worse off than I am." Q: My 5-year-old spayed female cat is just like Morris, the finicky spoiled star of the cat food commercials on TV years ago. She never eats as she should unless I add deli chicken to her food. I have tried every cat food that is out there, and she just takes a few licks and then walks away. If I mix in the deli chicken, then she will eat, but I have to mix it really well. Is there anything wrong with my doing this? My sister says to just leave her alone with the cat food and she will eat eventually, but I do not want to hurt her. I am a senior in a small apartment and this cat is my companion. I want to do what is best for her. And he's intent on help- ing them. Earlier this year, he applied for a fellowship program offered by the Mis- sion Continues (www.mis- sioncontinues.org), a St. Louis-based organization that matches post-9/11 vet- erans with public service projects. When they learned that he had spent part of his time in North Carolina training dogs, it was a natur- al fit with Can Do Canines, where he started in August. "He's doing a great job that focusing on training a pet would help with his recovery. But he took it a step further: In addition to getting a Belgian shepherd puppy to train at home, he signed up for an apprentice- ship with a professional K-9 trainer who was training dogs for the police force. (Yes, he still has his dog. And, no, it doesn't get jeal- ous when it smells the odor of other dogs on his clothes.) for us," said Alan Peters, the executive director. "He's very patient, and he's good at reading the dog. A dog can't tell you, 'I'm con- fused.' You have to keep a very sharp eye on the dog" for signs that it understands what's being taught. "He's been a wonderful asset for us." Carbonneau knows how much a dog can help some- one in need. A dog helped him get back on his feet after his injury. His therapist suggested The dogs Carbonneau trains at Can Do Canines spend the first few months of their lives with volunteer trainers who take them into their homes. (About 30 pup- pies are expected to arrive in November and December, and Peters is desperate for puppy raisers. Go to can-do- canines.org.) Working with in-house professional trainer Laura Waudby, Carbonneau is involved with the final stages of training. By the time he starts working with the dogs, they usually have overthinking this situation. An adult cat living in a small apartment does not need to eat as much food as you may think. Most adult cats sleep 18 hours a day and spend the rest of the time just looking out the window. So the few mouthfuls of cat food she does eat are just what she needs to fuel her metabolism. However, it is clear she has learned that if she licks the food a few times and then walks away from it, you will make a fuss and add in the deli chicken. This is a routine she has come to enjoy. In a perfect world, you would just harden your heart as your sister says and leave her unaltered food out, and she would eat it the next day. As they say, hunger is the best sauce. In my world, though, one of the pleasures in life is feeding animals and watching them eat. You obviously feel the same way. So I see nothing wrong with adding in a little meat, as long as the cat is not too heavy. However, processed deli been assigned to a client. The trainers teach them the exact skills they will need to serve that client. If the per- son is deaf, for instance, the dog is taught hand signals. If a wheelchair is involved, the dog is trained to keep out of the device's way. "Typically, when a dog learns to heel, it's taught to sit down whenever you stop," Carbonneau explained. "Sometimes we have to cure them of the urge to sit. The wheelchairs can turn suddenly, and the dog has to pivot to stay out of the way." The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center receives thousands of calls per year. In most instances the poi- soning was caused by common human foods. Unfortu- nately, many of the foods we enjoy are dangerous to animals. Here is a listing of many of the foods that can cause harm to your pet: Alcoholic beverages and foods containing Alcohol - Can cause the same damage to an animal as it does to humans. Even a small amount of alcohol may cause coma and death in both dogs and cats. Artificial Sweetener - Sugar-Free candy or anything containing Xylitol (a common sweetener) can cause a sudden drop in an animal's blood sugar resulting in a loss of coordination and seizures. If left untreated, the animal could die. Avocados - They contain a toxic component called persin, which can cause difficulty in breathing, abdom- inal swelling, and fluid accumulation in the chest and around the heart, again, resulting in death. This fruit is very toxic to dogs, cats and most other animals. Baby food - Can contain onion powder, which can be toxic to dogs and cats. (Please see onion below) It can also result in nutritional deficiencies, if fed in large amounts. Caffeine - Coffee, tea, and anything containing caf- feine contains an alkaloid called theobromine. Theo- bromine acts as a cardiac stimulant and a diuretic, which in turn can cause a heart attack or other heart and nervous system problems in animals. It definitely can be fatal to dogs. The patience really comes into play when teaching complicated tasks, such as opening a kitchen drawer. "With the difficult tasks, you break them down into small steps," he said. "You teach one step at a time and then connect all the steps at the end." On any given day, he'll Animal Island: Feeding a finicky cat; caring for a mantis A: It seems that you are chicken or turkey breast. ——— chicken is really not that good for a cat — too much salt and preservatives. Use plain chicken or turkey breast instead. Cut it up and mix in the cat food as you are doing now — just do not let it surpass more than a third of the total volume of the meal. The canned food has needed vitamins and minerals not found in the large praying mantis in one of the shrubs in front of our house the other day. They wanted to keep it, so we put it in a glass tank with a few potted house plants and tree branches. We give it water every day from an eyedrop- per, and it is eating crickets we buy from a pet store. How long can we expect it to live, and is there anything else we need to do for it? A: Any mantis that you Q: My children found a Chocolate - Contain substances called methylxan- thines, that are found in cacao seeds. Methylxanthines can cause vomiting and diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death. Dark and unsweetened baking chocolates are especially danger- ous Grapes and Raisins - Although the toxic substance within grapes and raisins is unknown, these fruits can lead to kidney failure in dogs. The effects are cumulative, which means that even if a dog eats just one or two grapes or raisins regularly, the toxin builds in his system and will eventually kill him. Eggs (raw) - Contain an enzyme called avidin, which decreases the absorption of a B vitamin. This can lead to skin and coat problems. work with five to 10 dogs, but in bursts of time. Milk and other dairy products - Some adult dogs and cats do not have sufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose in milk. The consumption of milk and milk products by a lactose intolerant pet can cause excessive intestinal gas and foul-smelling diarrhea. It is best to avoid most dairy products, although most dogs can tolerate small amounts of cheese or plain yogurt, since these products have less lactose than milk. Mushrooms- Contain toxins, which may affect multi- ple systems in the body, causing shock, and resulting in death. may find outside in mid October doesn't have too much time left to live, so bringing it indoors to observe is not harming the environment at all. They are quite amazing creatures. In nature, they die off at the first frost. I have kept some of them TOP COWDOG COMPETITION Ten Dogs - Ten Handlers - One Amazing Event! Dynamic performances & high level competition • Young Marines - Presenting the colors • Sweet Adelines - Singing the National Anthem October 27th Tehama District Fairgrounds FREE ADMISSION Presented by Crystal Rose Cowdog College along with Back to School Project • 10AM Judges: Curt Pate (Stockmanship Handler) & Carolyn Carey (CA Beef Council Board Member) A demonstration on cattle handling will given by Curt Pate, for more details call 530-529-3700 Join us early for a "Pet and Greet" at 9:00 AM 530-529-4074 Welcoming Event Sponsors call alive up until the end of December, so it is possible you will have it for a few more weeks yet. The care you are providing is just fine. Be sure to feed it crick- ets that have been fed a vita- min and mineral powder, as these vitamins will also ben- efit the mantis. Most likely it is a female. The females are larger than the males and are the ones we usually notice. She may yet lay an egg case on one of the branches in the vivarium. If she does, just leave the case inside for a few days until it hardens, then take the branch outside and tie it onto a shrub in a protected area of your yard so the babies will hatch from it next spring. If you leave it indoors, the babies will hatch in the middle of the winter, and they are so small and deli- cate that you will not be able to feed them properly and they will all starve to death. Effects can be anything from vomiting to paralysis and death. Within 12 hours of eating the nuts, pets start to develop symptoms such as vomiting, hyperthermia, weak- ness, and an elevated heart rate. These symptoms can be even worse if your dog eats some chocolate with the nuts. Onions and Garlic (raw, cooked, or powder) - Contain thiosulphate which damages red blood cells. Cats are more susceptible than dogs. Garlic is less toxic than onions. Destruction of an animal's red blood cells can lead to anemia, weakness, and breathing difficulties. The effects are also cumulative over time. Salt - Large amounts of salt can produce excessive thirst and urination, or even sodium poisoning in pets. Signs that your pet may have eaten too many salty foods include vomiting, diarrhea, depression, tremors, elevated body temperature, seizures and even death. Tobacco - Contains nicotine, which affects the diges- Nuts - Walnuts and macadamia nuts are especially toxic. tive and nervous systems. Can result in rapid heartbeat, collapse, coma, and death. Yeast dough - Can expand and produce gas in the digestive system, causing pain and possible rupture of the stomach or intestines. Accidents can happen. If you suspect your pet has con- sumed or been exposed to something toxic, even if they are not exhibiting any symptoms, stay calm, and call for help immediately. Keep the telephone number of your local veterinarian handy, along with the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center Hotline phone number (888-426- 4435). Ronnie Casey is a volunteer with Providing Essentials for Tehama Shelter.You can read her blog, Mutts & Moggies, at redbluffdailynews.com. Dog and rat die in hot SUV FAIR OAKS (AP) — A dog and a rat have died in a hot sport utility vehicle parked outside a Northern Cal- ifornia pet store. ver was hiding her pets from her landlord. She told a security guard she was in the middle of a dispute with her landlord over how many pets she's allowed to have. Four other rats in the SUV survived. The security guard says he saw the Dachshund and rats locked inside the SUV in the Fair Oaks PetCo park- ing lot on Tuesday afternoon. He used a hammer to smash a window to get the animals. Temperatures in Fair Oaks were in the low 80s, but experts say they can soar to 100 degrees in a locked vehicle. It's unclear if the woman will face charges. KTXL-TV (http://bit.ly/RB3Hpo) says the SUV dri-