dailypetfwd

By Sadie Whitelocks


Picture of health: Amy Curtis and her spaniel Molly have found a new lease of life after shrinking to almost half their previous sizes in less than a year after sticking to a strict diet plan


A woman and her pet spaniel have found a new lease of life after shedding half their body weight in under a year.

Amy Curtis, 26 - who was 21 stone at her biggest - decided to make drastic changes when vets said that her dog Molly was twice the size she should be.

In a desperate attempt to get herself and her pet pooch into shape Amy put the pair of them onto a strict diet plan, cutting out unhealthy takeaways and excessive snacking.


Amy, a Poole borough council worker, admitted that she used to be an avid fan of Chinese buffets and would indulge on takeaways at least three times a week, sharing over-sized portions with her pet spaniel.

Instead of eating Pedigree Chum, like most other dogs, Molly soon developed an appetite for prawn crackers.

Amy, who found that her weight spiraled out of control in her 20s, said: 'I was eating them up to three times a week and going to buffets once a month or more. I just loved them, it was my idea of heaven.

Transformation: At her largest Amy Curtis was 21 stone (left) but now weighs 11 stone (right)


'Molly got fat because I would feed her odd table scraps here and there. If I ate a biscuit then she would have a bit too.

'She's got these lovely big brown eyes and it's so difficult to say no to her.'

It was when Amy realised that her lifestyle could have fatal health implications that she decided to make changes.

In less than a year she has lost 10 stone, sticking to an entirely liquid diet while Molly has lost 6lb by cutting back on fast-food titbits.

Amy added: 'Since there hasn't been any food in the house the weight has just fallen off her and she's got loads more energy.


Unleashed: Vets said that Molly the spaniel was the size of two dogs but in less than a year she has lost 6lb after owner Amy stopped handing out unhealthy titbits


'We love going out for walks together and playing games. She still makes her eyes at people if they eat food in the house, but I make sure she sticks to her two bowls of dried dog food a day.'

Amy - who is now 11 stone - says her life has been transformed and she no longer fears getting stuck in chairs, a phobia that used to prevent her from visiting theme parks.

'Since I lost the weight I feel like me only better. People say that I must feel like a 'new person' but I feel like the old me just much happier.'

She is now a consultant for the Cambridge Diet Plan, the programme that worked for her.

Her first clients were her parents, Stephen and Lesley Curtis, who have both lost 10 stone between them.


source:dailymail

By Mary Isokariari


The 'Bow': Linda Guanti enjoys a yoga session with Lewis, a 17-year-old Egyptian Arabian horse


A veteran horse is still competing in old age after beating stiffness in his joints - by doing YOGA.

Super-fit Lewis, a 17-year-old Egyptian Arabian, mastered a string of yoga moves after copying his owner Linda Guanti, 35.

Linda was mucking out when she began practising her own stretches to help her bad back - and was stunned to see Lewis mimicking her.


She spent several hours a day showing Lewis how to adopt the complex poses and he can now hold positions such as the 'bow' and the 'neck side stretch'.

Lewis has even mastered an awkward pose where he kneels forward to push his nose into the ground and stretch his back while Linda stands beside him and reaches to the sky.

Their joint yoga sessions have cured Linda's lifelong back pain and eased Lewis' stiff joints so much that he can carry on competing.

X-ray technologist Linda, from British Columbia, Canada, said: 'Lewis is a great horse. I've had him since he was five-and-a-half and he loves to try anything that's fun.

'I was amazed when he began to do yoga. He really adores the stretches and it's great that we can both combine our hobby and spend time together.

'Neck Side Stretch' position: Lewis has beaten stiffness in his joints becoming a real poser after learning how to do yoga stretches


'Doing yoga with your horse is a wonderful way to make a connection with them.'

'Lewis has learned how to remain calm in vulnerable positions that would frighten most horses.'

'Plus, he's a fairly athletic horse who jumps and does dressage so there stretches help to keep him fit.' Linda turned to yoga after she fractured three vertebrae in her back falling from a horse when she was 14.

The injury was never fixed and gave her chronic health problems throughout her adult life that meant she was unable to ride properly.

Back improvement: Practising her own stretches with Lewis has helped Linda's back


Several years ago she then suffered three prolapsed discs.

But when Linda discovered yoga in 2007 she noticed a dramatic improvement in her health.

She began doing her stretches while she groomed Lewis in a bid to save time and be around her pet more often.

But to her amazement Lewis soon joined in. In one manoeuvre, Lewis kneels forward and pushes his head into the ground in a stretch that would cause most horses to spook.

The pose, named the 'Bow', stretches Lewis' shoulder forward while his other front leg is tucked behind to stretch the shoulder. The neck, back, and hind legs are also stretched.

Another pose involves Linda standing at the horse's rear and arching her back in a 'Neck Side Stretch' pose. The horse cranes his neck round to the side which helps with flexibility, range of motion and suppleness throughout the neck and also the back.


The yoga expert: Lewis has mastered a string of yoga moves after copying his owner Linda Guanti, 35


Lewis would normally have become stiff as he grew older but the stretches have kept his joints supple and he's able to continue competing in dressage, show jumping and cross county competitions.

Linda said that doing yoga with Lewis has helped to heal her bad back - and even helped with his stamina.

She has become a part-time yoga instructor and now runs classes that people can bring their horses too.

She added: 'There is nothing I can do about my weakened discs and damaged bones but the benefits of doing yoga with Lewis were unmistakable.'

'Yoga with him has helped with the initial healing process and was keeping my body in the healthiest state is could be. All the past limitations and pain from my injury were lessening.'

'I was overjoyed. My riding skills improved, my body awareness and balance improved. My outlook on life improved.'

'Yoga is also just as beneficial for horses as for humans. Horses have the same issues as we do. Stretching and body awareness reduces injury and enhances performance and pleasure in activity.'


source:dailymail

By FIONA MACRAE


Puppies and kittens could be clubbed to death under new European Union regulations on the welfare of laboratory animals.

Currently, newborn puppies, kittens, ferrets and fox cubs which are not needed for scientific research are put to sleep.

But rules due to become law in the UK by 2013 sanction killing by a 'percussive blow to the head'.

Animal welfare charities have described the technique as 'officially sanctioned cruelty'.

And they have accused the Government of bowing to the wishes of drug companies anxious to cut costs.

The directive aims to harmonise standards on labs around the EU. Britain has the option of keeping its own higher welfare standards but shows no sign of doing so.

In a consultation document, the Home Office says that clubbing is likely be to humane – but public perception 'may be (very) poor'.

Dan Lyons of campaign group Uncaged, which brought to light the plans, said: 'The Home Office could have said, “We are not going to introduce it, we are going to retain current methods”.

'Instead, they have opened the door to it.

'The barbaric methods of the Canadian seal hunt are poised to arrive in British labs and breeding establishments.

'The only thing the Government appears to care about is "poor public perception", with no concern for the animals.

'It reflects a deeply disturbing lack of basic morals, ethics and compassion.' The proposal covers very young dogs, kittens, ferrets and foxes, many of which are likely to have been bred specifically for use in experiments only to be killed because they are surplus to requirements.

In other cases, the mother animal may have been used for drug or other testing while the young were still in the womb.

Directive: European Union flags seen outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels


Dr Lyons, one of Britain's leading experts on animal research policy, said that while universities and pharmaceutical companies will still have the option of putting the creatures to sleep, some may see clubbing as quicker and cheaper.

He said: 'It is one of the most extreme forms of officially sanctioned cruelty I have ever come across.'

The RSPCA says that following the directive would leave some animals in chronic severe pain, suffering or distress, as well as allowing inhumane killing.

Dr Maggy Jennings, who heads the charity's work on research animals, said: 'Successive governments have made proud claims that the UK has "the highest standards in the world" for animal research and testing.

'Now they seem prepared to weaken this legislation and take a step backwards on lab animal welfare.

'We urge the Government to respect public concern on this issue and, at the very least, maintain the level of regulation that we currently have.'

'If they don't, animal welfare, public confidence and ultimately UK science will suffer.' Understanding Medical Research, a group representing researchers, universities, drug companies and funding bodies, backed the animal welfare groups' calls for the current methods of killing to be kept.

The legislation could also lead to the number of inspections of labs being cut from 2,000 a year to just 80 and to animals being housed in smaller cages.

Public consultation on the proposals closes on Monday.

Some 3.7million animal experiments were carried out in British labs last year – a one million rise on a decade earlier.

The bulk of the experiments involved mice, followed by fish, rats and birds.

More than 2,500 experiments were on monkeys and other primates, and 8,000 on dogs and cats.


source:dailymail

By JENNY HOPE

Man's best friends: German shepherds and Labrador retrievers were trained to detect lung cancer in a landmark German study

Dogs can be trained to identify the scent of lung cancer long before symptoms develop, say researchers.

The uncanny canine ability to detect smells that escape the human nose could be used for the early detection of lung cancer, according to new study.

It is the first to show that sniffer dogs can be relied upon to find the unique smell of the disease in seven out of 10 sufferers.


Researchers from Schillerhoehe Hospital in Germany believe dogs could become even better at picking up cancer cases with more practice.

But the ultimate goal is to identify the cancer-specific chemical compounds the dogs can smell and develop a device that could be used to help diagnose lung cancer victims at an earlier stage.

Lung cancer is Britain's biggest cancer killer with over 39,000 cases diagnosed annually, of which only 25 per cent will survive a year because the disease is mostly found at an advanced stage when it is very difficult to treat.

Early detection is often by chance, although scientists have been working on using exhaled breath specimens from patients for future screening tests.

These attempt to locate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath that are linked to the presence of cancer, but no reliable methods have been devised so far that are lung-specific.


Woman's best friend: Carol Witcher and her dog Floyd Henry, who she claims discovered her breast cancer with an acute sense of smell


The dogs successfully identified 71 samples with lung cancer out of a possible 100. They also correctly detected 372 samples that did not have lung cancer out of a possible 400.

The dogs could also detect lung cancer independently from COPD, prescription drugs and tobacco smoke, says a report in the European Respiratory Journal.


source: dailymail

By Daily Mail Reporter


Diet buddies: Alyson King, from Pontypridd, south Wales, lost more than five stone while her dog Lucky lost two stone


A dog owner who lost more than five stone in one year has seen her Labrador win an award for HIS slimming efforts.

Alyson King, 49, also put Lucky on a diet after she was told by doctors to lose weight because of a heart problem.

The grandmother, from Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd, south Wales, weighed 17 stone while Lucky was more than 8 stone.


Lucky was announced the winner of vet organisation PDSA's Pet Fit Club annual prize. He had been struggling to walk after gaining weight from biscuits and roast chicken dinners.

The Labrador lost two stone and five inches from the waist which is likely to increase his life expectancy by several years.

Mrs King, a housewife, said: 'I guess you could say it's true pets take after their owners.

'I started trying to lose weight after suffering with heart palpitations. Around that time Lucky wasn't in the best of shape because he had problems with his legs due to his size.

Shedding the weight: Alyson King weighed 17stone at her heaviest (L) before losing five stone


'So we both went on a diet and the results have been amazing. All the extra exercise I've been giving him has helped me losing five stone, so it's been a real weight-loss journey for the both of us.

She added: 'I'm so thrilled at the change in Lucky. Before Pet Fit Club he struggled to walk properly because of pain in his joints and hated all types of exercise.

'But that's all changed now. As the weight has dropped off he's become much more energetic. He certainly keeps me in check - if he thinks it's time for walkies he starts whining at me so I don't forget.'

Lucky triumphed over fellow contestants - four dogs and six cats - to take the title of Pet Fit Club Champion and is now the charity's slimming ambassador.

This year's finalists lost a total of 40kg - equivalent to 100 tins of pet food.

One too many dog's dinners: Lucky the labrador is champion of the PDSA Pet Fit Club after losing two stone


The PDSA said more than one in three cats and dogs are overweight and it is expected that half of pets will be obese by 2013.

Senior vet Elaine Pendlebury said: 'The transformation in Lucky and all of this year's pet participants is truly fantastic. Obesity is a growing problem amongst UK pets.

'But this year's Pet Fit Club finalists are a great example of what can be achieved and we hope this will inspire others to make a positive change to their pets' lifestyles.'

As well as the title, Lucky won his owner £300 of holiday vouchers.

She said: 'I haven't yet decided where I'm going to use them, but I quite like the idea of a walking holiday in Devon.'

And the runners up...

Second place: Rottweiler Maddison, 8, from Liverpool. Slimmed from 8.2 stone to 6.4 stone


Third place: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Max, 3, from Portsmouth. He dropped from 3.1 stone to 2.5 stone


source:dailymail

By Daily Mail Reporter


'Saddest-looking dog we've ever seen': Princess, pictured in December, sits hairless in a cardboard box


She was branded Britain’s saddest puppy after she was abandoned by heartless owners and kicked out into the cold with a skin condition which left her close to death.

Rescue workers came close to giving up all hope for her recovery but Princess has now overcome the odds and has made a miraculous return to health.

Wagging her tail and bouncing through open fields, life is now a far cry from the days when she could only gaze longingly from a window.

Incredible recovery: She is now full of life, playing with Lucky, a ten-week-old Terrier cross


The forlorn puppy made international headlines after she was discovered suffering from a condition which made her skin so delicate that she could not go outside in any weather.

Even a warm jacket would irritate her beyond endurance.

At just six months old, she was pictured sitting in a cardboard box with a horrific case of mange which left her completely hairless.

Her heart-melting face laid bare the appalling levels of neglect and abuse she suffered at the hands of her owners.

Staff who took her in, at Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, near Edenfield, Lancashire, feared the harsh winter weather would kill her and rescue workers said a course of drugs, costing a five-figure sum, was her only hope of survival.

But donations flooded in and now, only two months on, Princess has made a remarkable recovery.

She now looks the picture of health as she bounds about with other dogs, enjoying rough and tumble play with a shiny new coat.

Heartrending: The six-month-old puppy was found abandoned. She has now been nursed back to health


Healthy and happy: Princess, now eight months old, looks like a different dog. Pictured with carer Sallie Canroy


Sanctuary staff are looking to re-home her with permanent owners.

'She’s the saddest-looking dog we have ever seen,’ said manager Neil Martin.

‘Our staff are all in love with her but it’s only recently that she’s started learning how to enjoy a cuddle.

‘She didn’t even know how to play. We tried to get her to cheer up with some toys but she was scared of them.'

Princess, thought to be a bull terrier-greyhound cross, was found in Colne, Lancashire.

Her debilitating condition was caused by mites which burrowed into her hair follicles.


Source:dailymail