Richmond Daily Beast is looking for volunteer writers! If you’re interested in helping create a local animal-lovers + pet-owners community, enjoy blogging,  and have a bit of time to spare, drop us a note at rvadailybeast@gmail.com

a guest post from Jason Guard:

Today, I tried to refill a Vetsulin prescription for my 13-year-old black lab. As usual, I expected to pay $185 for a five-week supply, plus the price of needles. To my surprise, both my online pet pharmacy and my local vet were out of Vetsulin and said it was discontinued. This is a big deal. Without 24 units of insulin twice per day, my dog’s body gets out of whack, she goes to the bathroom everywhere, and I’ve been warned that she might die. Owners of diabetic animals know how fragile this situation is.

To get the dog onto a new brand of insulin will mean one or more expensive stays at the vet for testing various brands and dosages of a product that’s not actually approved by the FDA for domesticated animals. Word about this possibility was announced by Vetsulin’s manufacturer over the past year, but my vet said we would cross that bridge when the time came. That time is now. We’re about out of insulin and needles.

Hopefully, my vet and I will get something figured out, but I wonder
how other owners of diabetic pets are handling this. The transition to a new insulin may not be in the budget, or they may not be given enough notice by their vet. A diabetic without insulin can deteriorate rapidly. They go blind and/or deaf in a matter of days, and those senses don’t come back.

People are commiserating on other online forums. I’d like to hear from other Richmonders who have already dealt with this issue — Was there adequate support from Vetsulin’s manufacturer? From your veterinarian? Does it strike anyone else as an inhumane racket that Vetsulin cornered the market, charged exorbitant rates for a product on which animals depend, and then alternatives aren’t lined up when it’s no longer available? Perhaps this is just venting from the emotional stress of owning a sick pet, but there have to be thousands of people in my shoes — with potentially grave consequences for the pets.

Mark your calendars: on July 16, the Richmond Craft Mafia hosts an opening reception for their exhibit Handmade Throwdown: Art vs Craft at Crossroads Art Center. On opening night, 10% of sales will  go to the Richmond SPCA; 5% of sales are donated thereafter, and the show runs through September 8. Read more about the show here.

This week’s adoptable friends come from Richmond Animal Care & Control.
Bully Boy is a blue brindle 4-year-old chihuahua; Isabelle is a beautiful 6-year-old cat. They’re waiting to make your acquaintance at the RACC.

AARF Dog Adoption Stand at PetSmart: Sat Jul 3 11:00 am
BARK Adoption Event: Short Pump PetSmart: Sat Jul 3 12:00 pm
CARE Cat Adoption Stand at PetsMart in Short Pump: Sat Jul 3 11:00 am
F.U.R.S. Adoption Stand: Sat Jul 3 12:00 pm
Greyhound Meet and Greet: Sat Jul 3 11:00 am
Henrico Humane Dog Adoptions: Sat Jul 3 11:00 am
BARK Adoption Stand: Short Pump PetSmart: Sun Jul 4 12:00 pm
Richmond SPCA Supper Club: Bottoms Up: Wed Jul 7 6:00 pm
Wednesday Night Bingo for Cat Alliance of Central Virginia: Wed Jul 7 7:00 pm
MORE…

Read more >

It’s so hard to resist stepping in, but this article gives an interesting argument against. Read the whole thing here.

[O]bviously injured or abandoned animals should be left alone unless the cause of the animal’s distress is related to humans. For example, babies whose mother was hit by a car, or an animal that’s been injured by an off-leash dog, should be brought to a wildlife hospital.

But in most cases, babies that appear abandoned aren’t. Even animals that look injured might just be temporarily dazed.

“We highly advise people to leave animals alone,” said East Bay Regional Park District spokeswoman Shelley Lewis. “Sometimes picking it up is the worst thing you can do.”

Meet Carley, from Angel Dogs, and Pascha, a foster at Cat’s Cradle of Greater Richmond.


Read more >

Read about the Great Chihuahua Airlift here.