I'm pretty sure you got the alert on your phone this morning but if you didn't, August 17th is Black Cat Appreciation Day.

This is not to be confused with the October 27th holiday of National Black Cat Day. What's the difference? No one knows but these little guys all deserve their day in the sun. But not too much sun. According to this Mental Floss article, when a black cat spends too much time in the sun, it can dye the pigments causing natural striping or spotting to occur. It's pretty complicated and you should check out the article for a completeexplanation.

One other fact I learned from the article is that black cats aren't bad luck in every culture. Sometimes they're good luck.

If you're a single woman in Japan, owning a black cat is said to increase you number of suitors: if you're in Germany and one crosses your path from left to right, good things are on the horizon.

Seriously, there are 8 black cat facts on that list and at lest 7 are interesting.

I went to the Winnebago County Animal Services site and found that they had quite a few black cats up for adoption. I counted at least 10 without getting too loose with the definition of a "black" cat.

Here's a list of 10 feline friends you can bring into your house to hopefully change your luck for the better.

Darling is a 3-year-old spayed Domestic Shorthair. She also has amazing eyes.

Sami is a 2-year-old neutered Domestic Shorthair. He has tufts of white to contrast the deep black. Very cool looking cat.

Zach is a 1-year-old Domestic Longhair. This isn't the most flattering angle of Zach I'm sure. Perhaps for the cat owner that likes their distance.

The website says this is a 1-year-old male Domestic Shorthair, but I'm pretty sure that's a pug. Either way it looks like Whiskers needs some care so he can relax.

Salem

Salem is a 2-Year-Old spayed Domestic Shorthair and if I'm being honest looks magnificent. I don't even really like cats and I'd like this cat. Her "resting queen-face" is amazing. 10/10 as far as cats go.

Raspberry is a 4-month-old female Domestic Medium Hair. Raspberry appears to be a kitten. Very cute.

Monty is a 2-year-old neutered Domestic Shorthair. Did I bend the rules a little by letting this white nosed cat into the mix? Maybe. But I loved this guy's look. He's only 2 years old and he'll be having none of your s^%t today. I respect that.

Lana is a 2-year-old spayed Domestic Shorthair. I have no idea what the frame of reference we're looking at Lana in, but she appears to be quite small. Perhaps a runt? Runts are great pets.

Keke is a 3-year-old spayed Domestic Shorthair. Is Keke totally black? No but that's another face I felt the need to share.

You can apply onlineand they'll get back to you soon. Rescues are literally the best. Max came from a shelter and is everyone's favorite no matter where I take him.

I know you didn't ask but yes, he IS a very good boy.

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

A trip to the zoo to see the animals is always a highlight to my family's summer. This year, Belvidere's Summerfield Zoo has many baby animals you need to see.

Follow this link:
Here Are 10 Adoptable Black Cats In Rockford. Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day! - 1440wrok.com

COVID-19 isnt the Only Virus to be on the Lookout for West Nile is Back

The West Nile Virus has been detected in a batch of mosquitos that were collected in Salem, New Hampshire on August 3 according to wmur.com. Time to get out that insect repellent. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has elevated the risk for the virus in our area to low. Although the risk may be listed as low it is still something to be aware of. You dont want to get West Nile Virus.

Dr. Benjamin Chan, a state epidemiologist said in a press release, Until there is a statewide mosquito-killing frost, it remains important for everybody to take steps to prevent mosquito bites, including wearing long sleeves, using an effective mosquito repellant on exposed skin, and avoid outdoor activities at dawn and dusk when the mosquitos are most active, according to reporting by wmur.com. Another reason to avoid mosquitos is the risk of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and Jamestown Canyon virus. A New Hampshire resident died just last month after contracting the Jamestown Canyon virus.

If you are bitten by a mosquito carrying the West Nile Virus, you most likely not see symptoms for about a week. The symptoms can feel like the flu, you can have a fever and muscle aches, and fatigue. Some people just get mild symptoms while others can experience a more serious central nervous system disease. Contact your healthcare provider if you have any doubts or are experiencing symptoms. I get so freaked out by sharks when the real threat from viruses is invisible to the naked eye. Just something else to worry about as if I dont have enough. Wear your insect repellent.

Since we are on the topic of getting bit look at this

Here in Maine, there are plenty of critters that can take a bite out of you if they do desire.

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

See original here:
Be Very Careful the West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitos in Salem New Hampshire - wokq.com

10 of 14 Patients in FT596 Single-Dose Escalation Cohorts 2 and 3 Achieved Objective Response; 7 Patients Achieved Complete Response, including 2 of 3 Patients Treated with FT596 in Combination with Rituximab Following Autologous CD19 CAR T-cell Therapy

8 of 11 Patients in FT516 Multi-Dose Escalation Cohorts 2 and 3 Achieved Objective Response, including 6 Patients that Achieved Complete Response; 5 of 8 Responders Continue in Ongoing Response at Median Time of 5.2 Months

FT596 and FT516 Treatment Regimens were Well-tolerated; No Dose-limiting Toxicities, and No Adverse Events of Any Grade of ICANS or GVHD, were Observed; Two Low-grade Adverse Events of CRS were Reported in FT596 Single-Dose Escalation Cohorts 1 and 2

Management to Host Virtual Event Today at 4:30 PM Eastern Time

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fate Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FATE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer, today highlighted positive interim clinical data from the Companys FT516 and FT596 programs for patients with relapsed / refractory B-cell lymphoma. FT516 is the Companys universal, off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell product candidate derived from a clonal master induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line engineered with a novel high-affinity, non-cleavable CD16 (hnCD16) Fc receptor, which is designed to maximize antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), a potent anti-tumor mechanism by which NK cells recognize, bind and kill antibody-coated cancer cells. The Companys FT596 program incorporates both the hnCD16 Fc receptor and a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting CD19, which is designed to enable multi-antigen targeting of tumor cells, as well as an IL-15 receptor fusion (IL-15RF) to enhance NK cell activity and survival.

We are very pleased with the interim safety, response rates, and durability of responses observed in our ongoing clinical studies of FT516 and FT596 for the treatment of patients with relapsed / refractory B-cell lymphomas. These data continue to demonstrate that our off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived NK cell product candidates can uniquely deliver substantial therapeutic benefit and expand patient access to cell-based cancer immunotherapies, said Scott Wolchko, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fate Therapeutics. At this time, we are initiating multiple indication-specific, dose-expansion cohorts to broadly assess FT516 in combination with CD20-targeted monoclonal antibody regimens, including in patients that have experienced disease progression following autologous CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy. In addition, early clinical data with the single-dose FT596 treatment schedule have shown robust 30-day response rates and we look forward to further assessing both single-dose and multi-dose treatment regimens to validate its potential best-in-class therapeutic profile.

FT596 ProgramThe ongoing clinical trial in relapsed / refractory B-cell lymphoma is assessing a single dose of FT596 as monotherapy (Monotherapy Arm) and in combination with a single dose of rituximab (375 mg/m2) (Combination Arm) following three days of conditioning chemotherapy (500 mg/m2 of cyclophosphamide and 30 mg/m2 of fludarabine). As of the data cutoff date of June 25, 2021, 10 patients in the Monotherapy Arm and 10 patients in the Combination Arm were evaluable for assessment of safety and efficacy in the first, second, and third dose cohorts of 30 million cells (n=3 each), 90 million cells (n=4 each), and 300 million cells (n=3 each), respectively (see Table 1). Patients had received a median of four prior lines of therapy and a median of 2.5 prior lines containing CD20-targeted therapy. Of the 20 patients, 12 patients (60%) had aggressive B-cell lymphoma, 10 patients (50%) were refractory to most recent prior therapy, and seven patients (35%) were previously treated with autologous CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy.

In the second and third single-dose cohorts of the Monotherapy and Combination Arms comprising a total of 14 patients, 10 of 14 patients (71%) achieved an objective response, including seven patients (50%) that achieved a complete response (CR), as assessed by PET-CT scan per Lugano 2014 criteria on Day 29 following FT596 dosing. Eight of 10 patients (80%) that had not previously received CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy achieved an objective response, including five patients (50%) that achieved CR. Two of four patients (50%) that had previously received CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy, both of whom were treated in the Combination Arm, achieved a CR. In the first single-dose cohorts of the Monotherapy and Combination Arms comprising a total of six patients, only one patient achieved an objective response, suggesting dose-response treatment effects for FT596. The ongoing dose-escalation study of FT596 is currently enrolling patients in the fourth single-dose cohort of 900 million cells in each arm.

The FT596 treatment regimens were well tolerated. No dose-limiting toxicities, and no treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) of any grade of immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) were observed. Two low-grade adverse events (one Grade 1, one Grade 2) of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) were reported, both of which occurred concurrently with other confounding clinical events and resolved on the same day of onset.

FT596 Patient Case StudiesThe multi-antigen targeting functionality of FT596 is designed to uniquely address tumor heterogeneity and overcome antigen escape, and has the potential to drive responses in patients that might not effectively be treated with single-antigen targeted modalities, such as monoclonal antibodies, bispecific engagers and CAR T-cell therapies. The following are two case studies from the clinical trial:

Re-treatment with Second FT596 CycleThe FT596 protocol currently allows for the re-treatment of eligible patients with a second, single-dose cycle subject to consent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All requests by the Company for re-treatment were approved by the FDA. Of note, based on review of data submitted to date to the FDA, the Company is amending its FT596 clinical protocol at the FDAs recommendation to allow for re-treatment with a second FT596 cycle without requiring the agencys consent.

In second and third single-dose cohorts of the Monotherapy and Combination Arms as of the data cutoff date, four patients with CR at the end of the first single-dose cycle were re-treated, all of whom remained in CR following disease assessment at the end of the second cycle, and an additional four patients were re-treated and had not yet been assessed for response. The second, single-dose FT596 cycle was well tolerated, and no events of any grade of CRS, ICANS, or GVHD were observed.

FT516 ProgramThe clinical trial in relapsed / refractory B-cell lymphoma is assessing FT516 in an off-the-shelf treatment regimen of up to two cycles, with each cycle consisting of three days of conditioning chemotherapy (500 mg/m2 of cyclophosphamide and 30 mg/m2 of fludarabine), a single dose of rituximab (375 mg/m2), and three weekly doses of FT516 each with IL-2 cytokine support. The FT516 treatment regimen is designed to be administered in the outpatient setting. Dose escalation is currently ongoing in the fourth multi-dose cohort of 900 million cells per dose.

At the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting held in June, the Company highlighted positive interim clinical data for 11 patients treated in the second and third multi-dose cohorts of 90 million cells per dose (n=4) and 300 million cells per dose (n=7). Patients had received a median of three prior lines of therapy and a median of two prior lines containing CD20-targeted therapy. Of the eleven patients, eight patients had aggressive B-cell lymphoma, five patients were refractory to their most recent prior therapy, and four patients were previously treated with autologous CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. No dose-limiting toxicities, and no FT516-related serious adverse events or FT516-related Grade 3 or greater adverse events, were observed. The FT516 treatment regimen was well tolerated, and no TEAEs of any grade of CRS, ICANS, or GVHD were reported.

Ongoing Response AssessmentOf the 11 patients treated in the second and third multi-dose cohorts, eight patients (73%) achieved an objective response, including six patients (55%) who achieved CR, as assessed by PET-CT scan per Lugano 2014 criteria on Day 29 following the second FT516 treatment cycle. Notably, two of four patients (50%) previously treated with autologous CD19 CAR-T cell therapy achieved CR. At three months following first infusion, all eight responders maintained their response without further therapeutic intervention (3-Month Rate of 73% OR and 55% CR). As of the data cutoff date of July 7, 2021:

FT516 Patient Case StudyThe ASCO presentation featured a case study of a 36-year old male with triple-hit, high-grade B-cell lymphoma with rearrangements of MYC, BCL2, and BCL6 genes. The patient was refractory to all prior lines of therapy with the exception of autologous CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, for which a complete response of two months duration was achieved. The patient was most recently refractory to an investigational CD20-targeted T-cell engager and presented with bulky lymphadenopathy with the largest lesion measuring approximately 10 centimeters. The first FT516 treatment cycle resulted in a complete response with resolution of all metabolically active disease and 85% reduction in the size of target lesions. The patient received a second FT516 treatment cycle, after which the response assessment continued to show complete response. As of the data cutoff date of July 7, 2021, the patients most recent assessment at 4.9 months showed MRD negativity, confirming a profound CR.

Today's WebcastThe Company will host a live audio webcast today, Thursday, August 19, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. ET to review interim clinical data for the Companys FT516 and FT596 off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived NK cell programs. The live webcast can be accessed under "Events & Presentations" in the Investors section of the Company's website at http://www.fatetherapeutics.com. The archived webcast will be available on the Company's website beginning approximately two hours after the event.

About Fate Therapeutics iPSC Product PlatformThe Companys proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform enables mass production of off-the-shelf, engineered, homogeneous cell products that can be administered with multiple doses to deliver more effective pharmacologic activity, including in combination with other cancer treatments. Human iPSCs possess the unique dual properties of unlimited self-renewal and differentiation potential into all cell types of the body. The Companys first-of-kind approach involves engineering human iPSCs in a one-time genetic modification event and selecting a single engineered iPSC for maintenance as a clonal master iPSC line. Analogous to master cell lines used to manufacture biopharmaceutical drug products such as monoclonal antibodies, clonal master iPSC lines are a renewable source for manufacturing cell therapy products which are well-defined and uniform in composition, can be mass produced at significant scale in a cost-effective manner, and can be delivered off-the-shelf for patient treatment. As a result, the Companys platform is uniquely capable of overcoming numerous limitations associated with the production of cell therapies using patient- or donor-sourced cells, which is logistically complex and expensive and is subject to batch-to-batch and cell-to-cell variability that can affect clinical safety and efficacy. Fate Therapeutics iPSC product platform is supported by an intellectual property portfolio of over 350 issued patents and 150 pending patent applications.

About FT516FT516 is an investigational, universal, off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell cancer immunotherapy derived from a clonal master induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line engineered to express a novel high-affinity 158V, non-cleavable CD16 (hnCD16) Fc receptor, which has been modified to prevent its down-regulation and to enhance its binding to tumor-targeting antibodies. CD16 mediates antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), a potent anti-tumor mechanism by which NK cells recognize, bind and kill antibody-coated cancer cells. ADCC is dependent on NK cells maintaining stable and effective expression of CD16, which has been shown to undergo considerable down-regulation in cancer patients. In addition, CD16 occurs in two variants, 158V or 158F, that elicit high or low binding affinity, respectively, to the Fc domain of IgG1 antibodies. Numerous clinical studies with FDA-approved tumor-targeting antibodies, including rituximab, trastuzumab and cetuximab, have demonstrated that patients homozygous for the 158V variant, which is present in only about 15% of patients, have improved clinical outcomes. FT516 is being investigated in a multi-dose Phase 1 clinical trial as a monotherapy for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and in combination with CD20-targeted monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of advanced B-cell lymphoma (NCT04023071). Additionally, FT516 is being investigated in a multi-dose Phase 1 clinical trial in combination with avelumab for the treatment of advanced solid tumor resistant to anti-PDL1 checkpoint inhibitor therapy (NCT04551885).

About FT596FT596 is an investigational, universal, off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell cancer immunotherapy derived from a clonal master induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line engineered with three anti-tumor functional modalities: a proprietary chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) optimized for NK cell biology that targets B-cell antigen CD19; a novel high-affinity 158V, non-cleavable CD16 (hnCD16) Fc receptor, which has been modified to prevent its down-regulation and to enhance its binding to tumor-targeting antibodies; and an IL-15 receptor fusion (IL-15RF) that augments NK cell activity. In preclinical studies of FT596, the Company has demonstrated that dual activation of the CAR19 and hnCD16 targeting receptors enhances cytotoxic activity, indicating that multi-antigen engagement may elicit a deeper and more durable response. Additionally, in a humanized mouse model of lymphoma, FT596 in combination with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab showed enhanced killing of tumor cells in vivo as compared to rituximab alone. FT596 is being investigated in a multi-center Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of relapsed / refractory B-cell lymphoma as a monotherapy and in combination with rituximab, and for the treatment of relapsed / refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) as a monotherapy and in combination with obinutuzumab (NCT04245722).

About Fate Therapeutics, Inc.Fate Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of first-in-class cellular immunotherapies for patients with cancer. The Company has established a leadership position in the clinical development and manufacture of universal, off-the-shelf cell products using its proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform. The Companys immuno-oncology pipeline includes off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived natural killer (NK) cell and T-cell product candidates, which are designed to synergize with well-established cancer therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, and to target tumor-associated antigens using chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Fate Therapeutics is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit http://www.fatetherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including statements regarding the safety and therapeutic potential of the Companys iPSC-derived NK cell product candidates, including FT516 and FT596, the Companys plans and timelines for its ongoing and planned clinical studies, and the expected clinical development plans for FT516 and FT596. These and any other forward-looking statements in this release are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that results observed in studies of its product candidates, including interim results and results from earlier studies, may not be predictive of final results or results observed in ongoing or future studies involving these product candidates, the risk of a delay in the initiation of, or in the enrollment or evaluation of subjects in, any clinical studies, the risk that the Company may cease or delay clinical development of any of its product candidates for a variety of reasons (including requirements that may be imposed by regulatory authorities on the initiation or conduct of clinical trials, the amount and type of data to be generated, or otherwise to support regulatory approval, difficulties or delays in subject enrollment and continuation in current and planned clinical trials, difficulties in manufacturing or supplying the Companys product candidates for clinical testing, and any adverse events or other negative results that may be observed during preclinical or clinical development), and the risk that its product candidates may not produce therapeutic benefits or may cause other unanticipated adverse effects. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause the Companys actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the risks and uncertainties detailed in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Companys most recently filed periodic report, and from time to time in the Companys press releases and other investor communications.Fate Therapeutics is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:Christina TartagliaStern Investor Relations, Inc.212.362.1200christina@sternir.com

More:
Fate Therapeutics Announces Positive Interim Clinical Data from its FT596 and FT516 Off-the-shelf, iPSC - GlobeNewswire

Allow us to introduce you to this week's Pet of the Week from theVanderburgh Humane Society. Meet Buddy.

Buddy is a 2-year-old retriever/terrier mix. According to VHS Executive Director Kendall Paul, he's great with kids, and as you can see from the video, loves to run and play outside. Buddy's adoption fee is $150. That cost, like all adoption fees at the VHS covers the cost of getting his vaccinations up-to-date, his neutering, and microchipping in the event he gets a little too excited and runs off.

If you'd like to meet Buddy, contact the VHS to set up a time to hang out with him and see if he's the right fit for your family. If the answer is "yes" (hopefully it is), you can fill out the adoption form online atvhslifesaver.org.

The VHS is partnering with the Evansville Otters for a special Dog Days of Summer event at Bosse Field on Sunday, August 22nd. The Otters will be taking on the Gateway Grizzlies for an afternoon game, and all dogs are welcome to enjoy the game with their owners. Admission is free, however tickets are required and can be picked up at either the VHS or River Kitty Cat Cafe on the Main Street Walkway. In addition to the game, the day will also feature adoptable pets currently living at the VHS, as well as a half-pot, and half-price hot dogs.

If you have a weekday morning free, come do Mutts Morning Out! Or, on Saturday mornings, Cardio for Canines! (It happens rain or shine pretty much every weekend as long as have volunteers available!)

Shop on Saturdays, donate items, or volunteer. We want to be open more during the week, but need the manpower, so we need people who can commit to a day each week or every other week to help run the register OR sort & price items!

Be sure to follow VHS on TikTok @vhslifesaver to see funny animal videos and behind-the-scenes details on what sheltering really looks like! The clinic behind-the-scenes TikTok is up to more than 700,000 VIEWS!

Wanna watch cats playing LIVE 24/7 (if theyre not sleeping) on their new Petcube Play in the Cageless Cat Lounge and at the River Kitty Cat Cafe. Download the free Petcube app, create an account, and find VHS Cat Lounge. The camera runs all the time and if you turn your phone to landscape, you can control the built-in laser pointer and play with the kittens!vhslifesaver.org!

Why do they meow? Why do they nap so much? Why do they have whiskers? Cats, and their undeniably adorable babies known as kittens, are mysterious creatures. Their larger relatives, after all, are some of the most mystical and lethal animals on the planet. Many questions related to domestic felines, however, have perfectly logical answers. Heres a look at some of the most common questions related to kittens and cats, and the answers cat lovers are looking for.

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

KEEP READING: Check out these 50 fascinating facts about dogs:

See the original post here:
Buddy Wants to Be Your New Best Friend - VHS Pet of the Week - wkdq.com

Every Wednesday at 8:30we're joined by John Perreault, Executive Director of theBerkshire Humane Societyto discuss all the happenings at their Barker Road facility, plus talk about their Pet of the Week.

This week's Pet of the Week is Jerry a long-haired two-year-old domestic long-haired cat looking for his forever home. Jerry is a very sweet cat who often gets overlooked by visitors to the Berkshire Humane Society Purradise location but would make a great companion for almost any household.

If you are interested inJerry or any of the other animals looking for their forever home, please call the Berkshire Humane Society kennel at 413-447-7878, extension 126.

Why do they meow? Why do they nap so much? Why do they have whiskers? Cats, and their undeniably adorable babies known as kittens, are mysterious creatures. Their larger relatives, after all, are some of the most mystical and lethal animals on the planet. Many questions related to domestic felines, however, have perfectly logical answers. Heres a look at some of the most common questions related to kittens and cats, and the answers cat lovers are looking for.

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

Read more:
Berkshire Humane Society Pet of the Week: Meet Jerry - Live 95.9

Big Heart Pet, Inc. the makers of Pup-Peroni Dog Treats (Original Beef & Triple Steak Flavors) has withdrawn, the dog treats because of the presence of mold. specifically, Various lot numbers and sizes of Original Beef Flavor and Triple Steak Flavor Pup-Peroni Dog Treats, with best by dates ranging from Sept. 25, 2022 to Dec. 24, 2022.

Sku info sent by Chewy that was affected:

Pup-Peroni Original Beef Flavor Dog Treats, 38-oz bag 79100830527125211

Best by Date/ Production Code: VariousLot: Various Pup-Peroni Triple Steak Flavor Dog Treats, 38-oz bag 79100589913177938

Best by Date/ Production Code: VariousLot: Various Pup-Peroni Original Beef Flavor Dog Treats, 25-oz bag 7910058371399923

Best by Date/ Production Code: VariousLot: Various Pup-Peroni Triple Steak Flavor Dog Treats, 25-oz bag 79100149810142268

Best by Date/ Production Code: VariousLot: Various

Ina release from the company that makes pup-peroni, the J.M Smucker Company

They have initiated a withdrawal of specific lots of Pup-Peroni Triple Steak Flavor andOriginal Beef Flavor Dog Treats due to an incident involving mold. While we continue to evaluate the issue, thedata we currently have does not suggest a food safety risk and we are coordinating this withdrawal out of anabundance of caution.

The Companies records indicate you have received shipments of impacted products.The company asksthat you examine yourinventories and immediately destroy any impacted product that remains.

Earlier this week, several customers shared photos on Pup-Peronis Facebook page that appeared to show mold on dog treats.

To receive your credit, please complete the Product Destruction/Return Summary form enclosed and send it to the contact identified on theform.

If any product matching the below production information is located at individual stores or distribution centers,please destroy the impacted product, fill out the included Verification of Product Destruction/Return form andsend it to your customer service representative.

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

LOOK: The least obedient dog breeds

KEEP LOOKING: See What 50 of America's Most 'Pupular' Dog Breeds Look Like as Puppies

KEEP READING: Here are 6 foods from your cookout that could harm your dog

Read the original post:
A Well Known Dog Treat Your Pups Love Has Been Withdrawn - WUPE

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc.(NASDAQ:ONCT)Q22021 Earnings CallAug 05, 2021, 5:00 p.m. ET

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the Oncternal Therapeutics, Incorporated's second-quarter 2021 financial results call. [Operator instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Richard Vincent, chief financial officer. Thank you.

You may begin.

Rich Vincent -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Darryl. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Joining me on this call this afternoon are our president and CEO, Dr. James Breitmeyer; and our CMO, Dr.

Salim Yazji. We welcome all of you. Today's call includes a business update, a discussion of our 2021 second-quarter financial results, as well as our upcoming milestones, which will be followed by Q&A. Today's press release and a replay of today's earnings call will be available on the investor relations section of Oncternal's website for at least the next 30 days.

We also filed our 10-Q for the second quarter of 2021 earlier today. Please note that certain information discussed on today's call is covered under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. We will be making forward-looking statements during this call about future events, such as our business and product development strategies and future financial and operating performance. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied by these forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business.

These forward-looking statements should be considered in conjunction with and are qualified by the cautionary statements contained in today's press release and our SEC filings, including our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. This conference call contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of the date of the live broadcast, August 5, 2021. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this conference call. With that, it's my pleasure to hand the call over to our CEO, Dr.

Jim Breitmeyer.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Rich, and good afternoon, everyone. At Oncternal, we are committed to developing novel treatments for patients with cancer who have critical unmet medical needs. We're advancing a robust product pipeline with clinical and preclinical product candidates that target several such cancer indications. We are particularly pleased with the progress made during the second quarter of 2021 to advance the development of cirmtuzumab, our investigational, potentially first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody that binds with high affinity to a biologically important epitope on ROR1, also known as receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor one.

Encouraging updated interim clinical trial results with cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib in patients with mantle cell lymphoma, or MCL, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, were presented in a poster session at the ASCO 2021 annual meeting. In addition, in July 2021, we opened a new treatment cohort of our ongoing Phase 1/2 study to evaluate cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib in patients with MCL who are refractory to prior BTK inhibitor treatment, including ibrutinib, acalabrutinib or zanubrutinib; and to include patients who are at high risk for progression, having had an inadequate response to ibrutinib that is only achieving stable disease or a partial response. Our CMO Salim will provide additional details on each of these. We also have an ongoing dialogue with the U.S.

FDA concerning the potential registration pathway for cirmtuzumab, and we expect further feedback on a potential pivotal study design this year. ROR1 has been an -- become an increasingly visible target in the oncology space and has been the subject of M&A activity, including the acquisition of VelosBio by Merck & Co. VLS-101, VelosBio's ROR1-targeted antibody drug conjugate, or ADC, was originally invented and developed add-on terminal, and it incorporates the cirmtuzumab antibody to target ROR1. We believe we have one of the most advanced and diverse pipelines targeting ROR1 in the industry today.

We also continue to collaborate on two investigator-sponsored clinical studies of cirmtuzumab at UC San Diego. First, a Phase 1b clinical trial of cirmtuzumab in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of women with HER2-negative metastatic or locally advanced unresectable breast cancer; and second, a Phase 2 clinical trial of cirmtuzumab in combination with venetoclax, a BCL2 inhibitor in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL. UCSD finished enrollment for the breast cancer study in the second quarter of this year. So moving on to our immuno-oncology cell therapy programs, we continue to make progress on our novel ROR1-targeting CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapy candidates, moving them from the laboratory toward the clinic as planned.

We are very encouraged by the advancement of our cell therapy efforts, including successful recruitment of the internal team and external scientific advisors; preclinical activities with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden; development and manufacturing activities with Lentigen Technology and Miltenyi Biotech; our research collaboration with UC San Diego; and our development partnership with Shanghai Pharma Limited in Greater China. We are tremendously excited by the potential of our cell therapy program targeting ROR1, which may allow for the selective targeting of tumor cells that express ROR1 while sparing healthy tissues. We also advanced the development of TK216, our investigational targeted small molecule inhibitor of the E26 transformation specific, or ETS, family of oncoproteins. We presented encouraging interim clinical data for TK216 in patients with relapsed or refractory Ewing sarcoma in an oral session at the ASCO 2021 meeting.

Based on the data, we added an expansion cohort with an optimized dosing schedule. Salim will provide additional details on this program as well. During this past quarter, we further strengthened our executive team with two key additions in the medical and business fronts. Dr.

Salim Yazji, joining us on the call now, is our new chief medical officer. Salim brings over 25 years of experience in both industry and academic settings, leading global oncology development and regulatory strategy throughout all phases of development, including various product approvals. Pablo Urbanejaas joined us as our SVP of corporate development. Pablo is a seasoned biotech professional with a solid track record in corporate strategy and licensing, and he will lead our expanding strategy portfolio and business development functions at Oncternal.

With this, I will now turn the call over to Salim to provide more color on our clinical programs.

Salim Yazji -- Chief Medical Officer

Thank you, Jim. Good afternoon, everyone. At this year's ASCO meeting, we announced updated clinical data for cirmtuzumab in combination with ibrutinib. In patients with relapsed/refractory MCL enrolled in our ongoing Phase 1/2 trial, the data cutoff at that time was April 16.

The best objective response, complete or partial response rate, or ORR, was 83% for these heavily pretreated patients with MCL treated with cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib, which compares favorably to historical ORR of 66% for ibrutinib monotherapy. Seven of the 18 evaluable patients, or 39%, had achieved a complete response, or CR, by chip and criteria, one of which was a complete metabolic response, CMR, by pet scan. These CRs remained durable for eight to 30-plus months. This compares favorably to the historical CR rate of 20% for ibrutinib monotherapy.

The media progression-free survival, PFS, and overall survival, OS, were not reached for MCL patients. And the PFS estimate at two years was approximately 60% with a median follow-up of 18.9 months. This compares favorably to the historical PFS of ibrutinib monotherapy of approximately 30% with a median follow-up of 24 months. For patients with CLL, the ORR was 94%, and five patients had achieved the clinical criteria for complete responses with a bone marrow confirmation pending in one patient.

The median PFS and OS has not been reached for CLL patients. And the PFS estimate at two years was approximately 82% with the median follow-up of 22.1 months. The combination of cirmtuzumab and ibrutinib continues to be well-tolerated with the safety profile consistent with or slightly improved compared to the historical data for ibrutinib monotherapy. For example, in patients with MCL Grade 3 and 4 neutrofil decrease was documented in 11.5% of the patients with cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib, compared to 29% for ibrutinib alone from its registrational study.

We and our study investigators continue to be particularly impressed by the response in heavily pretreated patients. Six patients with MCL who has relapsed following prior autologous stem cell transplant, or CAR-T, therapy, were enrolled in our study, and all six of them responded to the combination of cirmtuzumab and ibrutinib. Four patients achieved complete response, and two patients achieved partial response. All four patients who had received prior treatment with ibrutinib responded to the treatment with cirmtuzumab and ibrutinib with the two CRs and two PRs.

We continue to support our Phase 1b investigator-initiated clinical trial in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of women with HER2-negative metastatic or locally advanced undetectable breast cancer. At AACR in April 2021, the UC San Diego investigators presented results showing an objective response rate of 57% with an encouraging toxicity profile. These results were consistent with the previously reported interim results of the study and compared favorably to the historical results of single-agent paclitaxel, particularly for patients such as these who had received a median over six prior therapy for metastatic disease. As Jim mentioned, this trial was fully enrolled for a total of 15 evaluable patients.

The results are expected to be presented at the scientific conference or publication. Also, at AACR, we presented data from preclinical study, investigating cirmtuzumab in combination with chemotherapeutic agents, cisplatin and paclitaxel, used to treat high-grade serious ovarian cancer, HGSOC, an endometrial cell line in vitro. Cirmtuzumab demonstrated single-agent activity and enhanced the anti-corrosive effect of chemotherapeutic agents in both ovarian and endometrial cancer cell models, including platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Our program to develop TK216, our ETS family inhibitor, continues to progress.

At this year's ASCO meeting, we presented an updated clinical data from our ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of TK216 for patients whose relapsed/refractory Ewing sarcoma, and the data cut for that was April 22. The data remains consistent and confirm and extend previous results. Two patients who achieved CR remain with no evidence of disease, one for over 24 months and the other for over 14 months on a study. The treatments continue to be well-tolerated with reversible myelosuppression as the most common side effect.

Based on our encouraging data and KOLs' feedback, in July 2021, we added a new Phase 2 expansion cohort, targeting Ewing sarcoma patients to evaluate clinical response to a single-agent TK216 using an optimized dosing regimen, treating for 28 days per cycle to intensify the amount of TK216 administered over time. I will now turn the call over to Rich Vincent to review financial results and upcoming milestones.

Rich Vincent -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Salim. In October 2017, CIRM awarded an $18.3 million grant to researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine to advance our Phase 1/2 clinical trial, evaluating cirmtuzumab in combination with ibrutinib for the treatment of patients with B-cell lymphoid malignancies, including MCL and CLL. We are conducting this study in collaboration with UC San Diego and expect to receive approximately $14 million in development milestones under research sub awards throughout the award period. In conjunction with this award, our grant revenue was $0.9 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021.

Our total operating expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, were $8.6 million, including $1.8 million in noncash stock-based compensation. Research and development expenses for the quarter totaled $5.2 million. And general and administrative expenses totaled $3.4 million. Net loss for the second quarter was $7.7 million or a loss of $0.16 per share basic and diluted.

As of June 30, we had $103.7 million in cash and cash equivalents. We believe these funds will be sufficient to support our operations into 2023. As of June 30, we had 49.4 million shares of common stock outstanding. With respect to upcoming milestones for our cirmtuzumab program, we expect an interim clinical data update for the ongoing Phase 1/2 study in MCL and CLL at a scientific conference in the fourth quarter of 2021, a clinical data update from the fully enrolled ongoing breast cancer Phase 1b IST study, an FDA interaction update regarding a potential registration trial of cirmtuzumab in patients with MCL and further preclinical data in additional ROR1-expressing tumors.

On the cell therapies front, we are advancing our ROR1 CAR-T program to treat the first patient in the first half of 2022. For our TK216 program, we expect an interim clinical data update for the ongoing Phase 1/2 expansion cohort in Ewing sarcoma at a scientific conference in the fourth quarter of 2021, as well as additional preclinical data and other ETS-driven tumors. Now I will turn the call back over to Jim.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Rich. In closing, this past quarter, we presented very encouraging data from our clinical programs. We've strengthened our management team, and we continue to have a strong balance sheet and look forward to multiple potential catalysts in the coming months. Thank you for listening to our presentation today.

With that, I'll turn things back to Darryl for the Q&A portion of this afternoon's call.

Operator

Thank you. [Operator instructions] Our first questions come from the line of Hartaj Singh with Oppenheimer. Please proceed with your questions.

Hartaj Singh -- Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. -- Analyst

Great. Thank you, and thanks for the presentations, gentlemen. Jim, a couple of questions. One is, you sort of talked about earlier or about the potential registrational trial for cirmtuzumab and ibrutinib in MCL.

Could you talk a little bit more about what the comp tours of that could look like, whether it would be in a proper Phase 3 drug trial, Phase 2 number of patients? How large could it be? I know you might not have the full information now, but if you can just sort of give us an idea. And then, in your CAR -- your ROR1 CAR-T program, can you talk a little bit about how do you expect to undertake the manufacturing of that for your patients as you dose them? Will it be sort of localized manufacturing at the various facilities where you're giving the CAR-T? Will it be more centralized manufacturing? And then, I got a quick follow-up. Thank you.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Thank you for your questions, Hartaj. So your first question regards a potential pivotal trial that we are actively discussing with the FDA. And as I said, we are hopeful that we may reach agreement on a study design during this calendar year. So certain elements are still being discussed.

But with both based on FDA feedback and discussions with KOLs and considering commercial considerations, we do believe that a randomized trial of cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib versus ibrutinib is by far the most robust and best way to go forward toward approval. We have -- we are also carefully examining the ibrutinib response into -- for patients with MCL. And we believe that there is unmet medical need there where we could have a population of MCL patients that is more likely to progress on ibrutinib, without, we think, having a dramatic reduction in the patient population for eventual commercial rollout. And then, I'd say that we're still -- the statistics are still being discussed with FDA.

But for -- as you can imagine, for a randomized trial, it would probably be in the range of several hundred patients, let's say, low single-digit hundreds of patients, while we work out the particulars. So as far as CAR-T manufacturing is concerned, we have -- as I mentioned, we're working with Miltenyi, and they are developing a very interesting technology that would permit local and regional processing of the cells. And we are looking at, for example, the Miltenyi prodigy system, which is a closed bench-top system where many of the steps to process the T-cells from the patient can be done in a fairly common GMP facility, not requiring brick-and-mortar. So that is -- that's a leading example of what we're considering on the manufacturing side, so that we can do the processing near where the patient will be located.

Hartaj Singh -- Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. -- Analyst

Great, great. Thank you, Jim. And then just a quick question on the preclinical data that you're going to present in the fourth quarter of additional ROR1-expressing tumors. Is that in the solid tumor domain, liquid tumor domain? Or does -- and will you be looking combo or monotherapy there? And thank you for the questions.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Certainly, Hartaj. So what we -- with our -- with Pablo Urbanejaas joining of the company and his strength in strategic planning, we are doing an extensive review of a number of indications where literature or existing preclinical data suggest that ROR1 inhibition could be clinically meaningful. And it is including both solid and liquid tumors, and it's including both monotherapy and combination therapies. And so with that, we're going to put each of those indications through the ringer pressure test and determine what makes the most sense to proceed with for our upcoming clinical indication or indications.

Hartaj Singh -- Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. -- Analyst

Great, great. Thank you, Jim. I'll get back in the queue.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Hartaj.

Operator

Thank you. Our next questions come from the line of Robert Burns with H.C. Wainwright. Please proceed with your questions.

Robert Burns -- H.C. Wainwright & Co. -- Analyst

Hey, guys, thanks for taking my questions, and congrats on the quarter. Just two for me, if I may. First, you have framed expectations with regard to the update we're expected to see in 4Q for cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib in MCL. In particular, what the duration of follow-up will look like there? And any incremental data we may see? And then, my second question is, considering the data we've seen within the Phase 1 breast cancer study and now that it's fully enrolled, can you discuss your current thoughts around next steps within breast cancer? Or if you're planning on pivoting to a different indication within the solid tumor space? Thank you.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Thanks for the question, Rob. I'll answer the second one first and then turn over to Salim for the first one. So breast cancer is going to be one of -- probably at this point, first among several indications that we're looking at in this strategic planning process. And so we are -- we really like the breast cancer results, and they're very encouraging, apparently, double the objective responses compared to paclitaxel alone with a good safety profile.

So that is -- that's certainly something that we'll think hard about building on. So let me turn it over to Salim as far as how much follow-up and what we may be presenting in our next interim update.

Salim Yazji -- Chief Medical Officer

Yes. Thank you, Jim. Actually, I mean, what's gonna happen is we most likely gonna present the data at the next scientific conference. And as you know, we only can present the evaluable patients.

They have to have at least one evaluation after two months of treatment. So we would expect probably a handful of patients, additional patients to be presented at the end of the quarter. As you know now, we only have 18 evaluable patients for MCL and 34 evaluable patients for CLL. So for CLL, we're not gonna have any more patients, but we will have 18 evaluable operations, more than 18 evaluable patients by the end of the quarter.

Robert Burns -- H.C. Wainwright & Co. -- Analyst

Awesome. Thanks for the color there, guys.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Sure. Thank you, Rob.

Operator

Thank you. Our next questions come from the line of Carl Byrnes with Northland Securities. Please proceed with your questions.

Carl Byrnes -- Northland Securities -- Analyst

Great, thank you, and congratulations on all the progress. Obviously, a number of conferences toward the end of the year, ASH in December, the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium also, I believe, in early December and then the CTOS symposium in November. Would you anticipate any presentations prior to those events? And if so, what events might they be? Thanks.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Carl. And you did name the most likely venues for us to present in the fourth quarter. We've presented before their high profile, their great conferences. At this point, we don't have anything before that on the books.

But we always keep our eyes open for opportunities to try to give updates when we can.

Carl Byrnes -- Northland Securities -- Analyst

Great, thanks. That's helpful. And also, looking back to cirmtuzumab for MCL with respect to registrational trial, just kind of assuming for the moment that the PFS number that we find is very high, what might be done in terms of a trial design that wouldn't penalize you, if you will, for having a long PFS? In other words, if we want to accelerate something to market and you've got obviously PFS, progression free survival of two times, what could be done there? Thanks.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So great question, Carl. And so what we think is particularly interesting is that we've got a strong objective response rate, and that is an endpoint that has been accepted by the FDA previously for accelerated approval. And then, we have this substantial improvement in progression-free survival, which is an endpoint that has been accepted for full approvals.

And so we're considering that certain patients with MCL on ibrutinib have a shorter progression-free survival than average. And so we may be able to further accentuate the difference in PFS by enrolling a population of MCL patients with unmet medical need.

Carl Byrnes -- Northland Securities -- Analyst

And then, would you also potentially be able to follow that up with kind of a post surveillance for other patient populations to achieve kind of a more reflective PFS?

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Yes. The short answer is yes.

Carl Byrnes -- Northland Securities -- Analyst

Cool. Great. Thanks so much. That's helpful.

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Carl.

Operator

Thank you. [Operator instructions] Our next questions come from the line of Kumar Raja with Brookline Capital Markets. Please proceed with your questions.

Kumar Raja -- Brookline Capital Markets -- Analyst

Thanks for taking my questions. With regard to the breast cancer trial, what do we know about the ROR1 expression in the patients who had a partial response? And also, how does the treatment impact their ROR1 expression?

Jim Breitmeyer -- Chief Executive Officer

Salim?

Salim Yazji -- Chief Medical Officer

Yeah, so you're talking about the expression of ROR1 and tumor type? Just to clarify the question.

Kumar Raja -- Brookline Capital Markets -- Analyst

Yeah, I understand that in the breast cancer trial, all of them had ROR1 expression based on IHC. My question is like, is there a cutoff point where you're seeing the partial responses and whether this can be optimized in a future trial, so that you are selective for patients whom you think would be responsive?

Salim Yazji -- Chief Medical Officer

Excerpt from:
Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc. (ONCT) Q2 2021 Earnings Call Transcript - Motley Fool

The adorable Cavalier King Charles mix puppy is acting very unpuppy-like: He is lethargic and doesn't have an appetite.

Veterinary technician Carlene Ternes holds the tiny, white-and-ginger puppy up into the air and gazes at his fuzzy, teddy-bear face.

Hes not eating, but his tail works, she reports, grinning.

Logan is just one of the many patients spending Friday night at the Red River Animal Emergency Hospital and Referral Center. The 24/7 emergency veterinary hospital the only one in North Dakota or western Minnesota treated somewhere between 18,000 and 20,000 patients last year, according to Dr. Andy Carver, the hospital's director and the first board-certified specialist in emergency and critical care in North Dakota.

In fact, the 11,000-square-foot hospital is so busy that plans are underway to add a $6 million, 17,000-square-foot addition to the building at 4491 23rd Ave. S., Fargo. The hospital will also add 20 staff, including specialists in internal medicine, oncology and surgery as well as critical care veterinary technicians, says Bill Walker, hospital administrator. A groundbreaking to commemorate the new construction will be held at 1 p.m., Thursday at the hospital.

As a pet owner who has brought my own dogs into the ER several times, I've often wondered what goes on behind closed doors at an emergency veterinary hospital. Now, thanks to access granted by Carver and Bill Walker, the hospital administrator for the RRAEHCC, I know.

Within four hours there, I was exhausted. In that time, I saw dozens of animals, including a ferret named Bandit who ingested an Advil, a green conure with fluid build-up in its abdomen and a very large dog named Elvis who jumped out of a moving car.

I also saw a bunch of hard-working vets and supporting staff who impressed me with their professionalism, teamwork and stamina.

Veterinary staff Alex Wong (left) and Amanda Fish remove the oxygen tube from a Basset hound's nose as they prepare him to go home. / By Tammy Swift

I can't stop comparing the facility to a human hospital.

There's a posh waiting room, a big reception desk and a slew of exam rooms.

The waiting room of the Red River Animal Emergency Hospital was empty most of last year when COVID-19 made it impossible for owners to wait for their pets as they were treated. As in many other veterinary clinics, owners needed to wait in their cars until their pets could go home. / By Tammy Swift

In the back, there's a glass-enclosed recovery unit and ICU units outfitted with oxygen and temperature control. There's a triage area, a blood bank, operating rooms, an x-ray room and a room that contains a human-grade CT scanner. RRAEHCC even has a mechanical ventilator.

The hospital has several pieces of human-grade medical equipment, including this CT scanner. Tammy Swift / The Forum

Carlene Ternes was instrumental in setting up the hospital's blood bank, which is now regularly restocked by more than 30 dogs and 15 cats. The pets receive treats and toys for their life-giving gift. / By Tammy Swift

Vet techs like Ternes marvel over how much the hospital has grown in her nine years here. When she started, the clinic was in a single suite on Oak Manor Drive South. In the early days, only one or two vet techs would work each night and there would be evenings when no patients were admitted.

In 2018, the hospital moved into the site of the former Golden Corral. Their new space can accommodate up to 38 animals at once and it frequently does. So much so that they have had to initiate a priority system. Once the hospital reaches Level 3 capacity, they will only accept the most critical cases. Owners whose animals have a less-serious ailment, such as an ear infection, are encouraged to monitor their pets closely and get them to their primary providers as soon as possible.

Vet tech Kailley Martinson holds a cat still while Molly Moritz draws a blood sample from its jugular vein, a commonly used venipuncture site for felines. / By Tammy Swift

Talk to staff and they share many theories as to the hospital's popularity. Carver attributes it to a growing regional awareness that the facility exists. Walker attributes it to the RRAEHRC's excellent reputation. Still others link it to the metro area's vigorous growth.

Another factor: People nowadays are more willing to pamper their pets. "More people are willing to spend money. They're family members now," Ternes says.

Carver says he hates turning owners away, as he knows how upsetting it is when one's pet suddenly gets sick. Even so, it has become necessary in a facility with limited room and staff. "I think its tough for people to realize the whole art and science behind needing to triage things and prioritize care," he says. "Everyone who comes there truly feels its an emergency. They see a quiet parking lot or lobby and get frustrated. I wish they understood ... priority has to be on caring for the sickest ones. We're not just being lazy and hanging around behind closed doors."

Just as I arrive, Carver emerges from surgery. Hes just operated on a 7-pound Yorkie to remove foreign objects from the puppys stomach.

The dogs owner brought him in after noticing the little guy was shaky and uncomfortable.

Carver soon found the problem. Or, actually, a whole wad of problems. The dog had ingested enough hair ties to outfit a drill team.

Carver removed a wad as big as a newborn's fist, along with another oddity a single jalapeo.

Any veterinary surgeon worth their scalpel has found a grab bag of goodies in the digestive systems of pets, from rocks, pantyhose and socks to children's toys, pacifiers, tinsel and pencil erasers.

While a "dog eat sock" world might sometime be caused by a nutritional deficiency or anxiety, Carver says most cases stem from pets being playful and inquisitive. "They're curious about things and they may like the mouth-feel and, without thinking about it, they may wind up swallowing it," he says.

Carver moves on to perform an ultrasound on a small dog.

The source of the dogs pain is soon apparent. A healthy pancreas is less than one centimeter thick and is hard to find on an ultrasound, Carver says. But this dogs pancreas is a billowy mass, filling the upper one-fourth of the ultrasound screen.

Dr. Andy Carver (left) performs an ultrasound on a dog with pancreatitis, while Dr. Anna Stansbery assists.

The little guy has a taste for eating trash, which explains the pancreatitis, Carver says. The pancreas produces enzymes to assist in food digestion and hormones to regulate blood sugar or glucose metabolism. When it isn't working right, it activates those enzymes prematurely, so they actually start digesting the pancreas itself.

Some bouts of pancreatitis are mild and can be treated at home. But some cases are severe and life-threatening; those animals may wind up in ICU, hooked up to feeding tubes and treated for multiple related problems.

Carver says this dog's pancreatitis is in the "moderate severity" range. The dog will make it, but his garbage-foraging days are over.

The ultrasound has helped RRAEHRC staff diagnose problems with greater efficiency and accuracy, Carver says. Before they had the machine, they relied on a patients bloodwork, which would have shown elevated liver enzymes. It could have easily been misdiagnosed as liver disease. This way, the pup will be on the road to recovery much more quickly and his owners will not have to spend more time and money trying to get to the real problem.

When people are looking for highly specialized medical care, many will travel to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. But when Mayo physicians and Minneapolis-area pet owners seek highly specialized care for their pets, many will travel to Fargo.

Dr. Ashlyn Kuklock performs emergency surgery on a canine patient while Kailley Martinson (center) and Rachel Manning assist. / By Tammy Swift

As the RRAEHRC has the only dialysis machine for animals between Seattle and Chicago, the University of Minnesota Veterinary Hospital routinely refers dogs and cats with failing kidneys here.

A recent example: After a referral from the University of Minnesota, Carver and Dr. Sam Wigglesworth, the second criticalist to join the RRAEHCC staff, performed a therapeutic plasma exchange on a golden doodle, who had managed to eat an entire bottle of ibuprofen.

The animal was in acute kidney failure, so the two vets performed a therapeutic plasma exchange, a process in which they used dialysis to separate the cells from the liquid part of the blood, then discarded the liquid part, which contained the toxins. They then replaced that fluid with donor fluids.

"The dog did great and went home with no symptoms," Carver says.

In another case, a Mayo doctor's dog, Ezra, was on dialysis at the Fargo hospital for weeks, Walker says. A little later, the hospital again received a call asking if they could keep Ezra for 10 days. Staffers were alarmed: Was Ezra sick again? Oh no, the doctor responded. He planned to go on vacation and didn't trust anyone else to watch his dog.

One of the more serious cases of the day involved a farm dog hit by a car. Tex's owner had driven two-and-a-half hours from Devils Lake to bring him here. She heard this is the best place, says Dr. Anna Stansbery, who is overseeing his case.

Veterinary technician Shelby Feickert comforts Tex, a cattle dog who suffered a severe compound fracture after being hit by a vehicle. / By Tammy Swift

Tex is a handsome Australian shepherd with long, russet hair. His snout is enclosed in a muzzle and his breathing is shallow and fast. His amber eyes are wide open, but dont seem to focus on anything. He is pretty shocky, a vet tech remarks.

Upon seeing his injury, its easy to see why. Tex's left front leg is broken so badly that splinters of bone peek through the skin. The limb bends at an unsettling angle.

Pain relief is first priority. While several techs stroke to calm him, Stansbery calls for a shot of methadone a quick, effective painkiller for animals.

With Tex's pain managed, Stansbery analyzes the best way to proceed. The owner could take the dog to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center, where they could perform a complex surgery in attempts to reconstruct the leg. But it would cost at least $5,000 and contain no guarantee that the leg would work.

Tex is 12 years old. Most dogs adapt well to three-legged life, especially smart, athletic herding dogs, Stansbery explains. At the same time, the loss of a front limb is harder, as the front legs bear more weight than the hind legs.

She discusses the options with the owner, who decides it is best to amputate.

When Tex awakes, he will be a three-legged dog. But, as Stansbery points out, our pets don't wrestle with the same pangs of self-pity that we do.

"They don't wake up and say, 'Poor me,'" Stansbery says. "It's more like, 'What can I pee on and what's for dinner?'"

Even in this adrenaline-charged atmosphere, I spot many little acts of compassion.

Sarah DeCrans and her French bulldog, Nigel, provide a morale-boosting visit to vet tech Chris Knutson. / By Tammy Swift

One chihuahua has been crying most of the night. A veterinary assistant walks over and strokes its tiny nose, which immediately calms the dog. Later, I see another vet assistant cuddle a tiny calico kitten simply because "he's so darned cute."

A veterinary assistant reaches into the kennel of an ailing Chihuahua to comfort her by stroking her nose. Tammy Swift / The Forum

This tiny calico kitten looks particularly tiny and vulnerable in his kennel, but is comforted by piles of blankets and the snuggles of veterinary staff. / By Tammy Swift

Out in the triage area, another puppy is having a bad day. Freia is a baby black lab who had a run-in with a lawn mower. Its one of the trials of puppyhood: Learning how to co-exist amid all the shiny, cleverly-hidden dangers in the human world.

Dr. Ashlyn Kuklock carefully examines the afflicted foot to make sure Freia only has soft-tissue damage. But first, she caves to the pup's sweet charm, cradling the little Lab's head in her hands to plant a masked kiss to Freias soft, furry forehead. The puppys tail whips back and forth hopefully.

Experienced vet tech Carlene Ternes knows one of the perks of the job is the ability to snuggle and comfort adorable pets like Logan, a puppy admitted for lethargy and poor appetite. / By Tammy Swift

Its a testimony to puppy optimism that even when they hurt, most still find a reason to wag their tails.

In a quiet area on the south end of the treatment area, a lone veterinary technician works over a gray cat. I'm about to ask what he's in for before realizing he has been euthanized. She is cutting off the bandage that secured his IV; theres no need for that now. Black ink prints of his paws have been made on white cards and rest by his body. He lies atop a cuddly fleece blanket. For some reason, I am glad for the blanket, this last offering of comfort before he crossed the rainbow bridge.

Emergency pet hospitals often must perform euthanizations when an animal becomes gravely ill or critically injured outside of their regular veterinarian's office hours. Grieving owners are able to say goodbye to their pets and grieve in the privacy of a special "comfort room," which features overstuffed furniture and displays this comforting passage from "The Rainbow Bridge." Tammy Swift / The Forum

It is a sad, quiet moment.

Its a question I ask several people who work there. How can these animal-loving professionals handle the euthanizations? Their answers reflect a combination of professional reserve and compassion. They tell me that it is easier for them to remain objective than it is for a grief-stricken owner. They also talk of mercy, how they see this as a way to relieve an animal whose body is racked by pain, severe illness or the ravages of old age.

But after saying all this, a couple of vet techs admit it is the least favorite part of their job.

This tiny calico kitten looks particularly tiny and vulnerable in his kennel, but is comforted by piles of blankets and the snuggles of veterinary staff. / By Tammy Swift

Walker says the team likes to focus on the the triumphs the dog that beat life-threatening sickness, the kitten saved by dialysis. "Compassion fatigue is very real in the veterinary business," he says. "So it's the good things, the ones that survive and beat the odds, that keep everyone going."

All of the veterinary staff are pet lovers, as illustrated by veterinary assistant Rachel Manning's "cat-too" of her two cats. / By Tammy Swift

See more here:
From broken legs to a punky pancreas, here's what a night in Fargo's animal ER is like - INFORUM

This one will get you right in the feels. And it's going to hurt.

Stories like this work the emotions in two ways. They anger you and break your heart.

Who could have done such a thing and why? You're hoping it was just an accident and that way you can just have pity on this poor pup for an unfortunate and unlucky accident. We're still hoping that's the case.

But it feels like this could be more and worse. An act of just pure disregard. Who would throw a dog in a dumpster and leave them there. Were they hoping something like this would happen to the animal? If they put the dog in the trash, they had to of known something like this could happen.

We've got lots of questions and CAHS is hoping you can shed some light on the situation.

Please take a look at the dog in the picture above. Share the Facebook post, picture, and phone number.

Check back often to see if Capital Area Humane Society has updated the information.

If you have any information regarding this dog, please contact CAHS at (517) 626-6060.

From what you can read in the Facebook post, she was in a dumpster and it appears that she was subsequently dumped into the back of a garbage truck.

She sustained life-threatening injuries, and is lucky to be alive. She is currently at an emergency veterinary clinic receiving the care she needs. (CAHS)

If you can, help us find out what happened and if someone did this.

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

LOOK: The least obedient dog breeds

MORE: Unique Pets You Can Legally Own In Michigan

MORE: Thanks for Adopting from the Capital Area Humane Society

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Help Us Find Out Who Did This Horrible Act of Animal Cruelty - wjimam.com

Joe will be there to greet you with a lot of love and affection, that's why we all need a Joe in our life.

Joe is a Shepherd and Britney Spaniel mix that is a pretty sweet boy who is currently living at the Humane Society's Pets Fur People in Tyler. Joe is three years old, weighs about sixty pounds and he's been neutered, is current on starting vaccinations, including rabies, and has been microchipped for identification purposes. Pets Fur People's Executive Director Gayle Helms says Joe would thrive in a family with children and would be perfect for a family that already has dogs and or cats. He can be in inside dog too because he's been house trained. Like all adoptees, Joe will go home with a starter kit of food, a collar and leash and a certificate for half price on basic obedience training from Tyler Obedience Training Club.

For additional information on adopting Ally call 903.597.2471 or check the Humane Societys Pets Fur People website. Due to concerns over COVID-19, pet adoptions are currently being handled by appointments only. Check out the animals that are available for adoption. Adoption hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. - closed for lunch 1 - 2 p.m. The Humane Societys Pets Fur People is the oldest brick and mortar no kill shelter in East Texas. Pets Fur People offers dog boarding and routine vaccinations, except for rabies, to the public for dogs and cats. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Please be a responsible pet owner - spay or neuter your pets. Donations are appreciated.

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

Why do they meow? Why do they nap so much? Why do they have whiskers? Cats, and their undeniably adorable babies known as kittens, are mysterious creatures. Their larger relatives, after all, are some of the most mystical and lethal animals on the planet. Many questions related to domestic felines, however, have perfectly logical answers. Heres a look at some of the most common questions related to kittens and cats, and the answers cat lovers are looking for.

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

From grazing Tibetan antelope to migrating monarch butterflies, these 50 photos of wildlife around the world capture the staggering grace of the animal kingdom. The forthcoming gallery runs sequentially from air to land to water, and focuses on birds, land mammals, aquatic life, and insects as they work in pairs or groups, or sometimes all on their own.

Read the original here:
Everyone Needs A Joe In Their Life - mix931fm.com