48. Helping People by Helping Pets with PAWS NY Founder and Executive Director Rachel Herman Plus an Update on Bird Flu Artwork

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48. Helping People by Helping Pets with PAWS NY Founder and Executive Director Rachel Herman Plus an Update on Bird Flu

January 13, 2025 • The Animal Medical Center

Dr. Ann Hohenhaus interviews Rachel Herman, Founder and Executive Director of PAWS NY. This organization is dedicated to supporting vulnerable New Yorkers and their pets, preserving the human-animal bond during challenging times. Tune in as they discuss:

What is the mission of PAWS NY?
Rachel's inspiration to establish this organization
How PAWS NY helps New Yorkers having difficulty caring for their pets due to illness, disability, mobility limitations, and finances, among other issues
The poignant story of a man and his dog that PAWS NY helped for over ten years
How individuals, veterinarians, and other organizations can partner with and support PAWS NY
What does the future look like for PAWS NY?

Also on this month's show:

Viral trending animal story of the month about how heroic firefighters saved a dog that fell through ice on a river in Ottawa
Animal news, including updates about bird flu and tips for protecting your pet
Pet Health Listener Q&A

Do you have a pet question for Dr. Hohenhaus? Email askthevet@amcny.org to have your question answered on Ask the Vet's Listener Q&A.

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We want to remind our listeners that this program is for informational and educational purposes only, and not intended to substitute for professional veterinary medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. The Animal Medical Center does not recommend or endorse any products or services advertised by Sirius XM. Welcome to Ask the Vet with Dr. Ann Hohenhaus. This is the place to talk about your pets and get advice for the top veterinarian from the Animal Medical Center in NYC. Hear from the leading authorities on animals and ask your questions. Now here's your host, Dr. Ann Hohenhaus. Well, happy New Year everyone, and welcome to Ask the Vet. It's a podcast for people who love their pets and want the latest in pet and animal news. I'm your host, Dr. Ann Hohenhaus. I'm a senior veterinarian and director of pet health information here at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, right in the middle of New York City. Today, I am especially excited to welcome Rachel Herman. She's the founder and executive director of PAWS NY. This organization supports vulnerable New Yorkers and their pets, preserving the human animal bond even in these challenging times. Rachel's work has made a meaningful difference across the city, and I'm really looking forward to our conversation. We'll also provide an update on the bird flu situation and what pet owners should be aware of, so stay tuned for that. The Schwarzman Animal Medical Center is the only level one veterinary trauma center in New York City, and we have 114 years of experience in being the very best place for your pet. If you're seeking advice on maintaining your pet's health, I'm here to help. Just send me your questions. We have a very easy email. It's AskTheVet@amcny.org. And I'll give that later on again in the show. If you don't have a pen and pencil to write it down. And then if you send me your question, I'll answer it on next month's show. And now it's time for the trending animal of the month. It's time for the internet's most talked about animal. As we wrapped up 2020 for an incredible rescue out of Ottawa, Canada highlighted the bravery of first responders and offered an important reminder about winter pet safety. Taika, a golden retriever, had a terrifying moment when she fell through the ice on the Ottawa River December 30th. Her owners made the smart decision to stay on land and keep an eye on their dog and call 911 instead of trying to save her themselves. When the firefighters arrived, they found Tika struggling to keep her head above water about 30ft from shore. They used a rapid deployment rescue craft, reached her and got her safely back to dry land in about 25 minutes. Ottawa Fire Services praised the owner's quick thinking and I would say should have praised the owner's good decision making in not going out on that thin ice themselves, and by doing so, they gave Tika the best chance of survival possible. So this story is a great example of why it's so important to be cautious around frozen water in winter. Experts recommend keeping your pet on the leash near lakes or rivers and avoiding walking on the ice entirely. If your pet falls through, call for professional help immediately. Never try to rescue them yourselves. It's just to dangerous. And now I'm thrilled to introduce Rachel Herman, who's the founder and executive director of a wonderful organization called PAWS NY. PAWS NY stands for Pets are Wonderful Support and is dedicated to preserving the human animal bond by helping vulnerable New Yorkers care for their pets, especially New Yorkers who are older and New Yorkers with disabilities. Rachel launched PAWS NY in 2008 while pursuing her master's in public administration. With more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, including her time in development at the ASPCA. She's grown PAWS NY into a vital organization that makes a meaningful difference for people and pets here in New York City. So, Rachel, thank you so much for joining me here on Ask the Vet Today. Thank you so much for having me. This is this is wonderful. So for our listeners, this is recorded over zoom. You can't see us, but I can see Rachel. And usually there's some little pet like walk in front of the camera or putting its head under someone's arm. So I'm wondering, do you have pets of your own? So, nobody can see it except you, but I'm going to show you a picture of my cat that sadly, we we just lost a couple of months ago. So. Yeah, his name was a. He was 16.5 and such a such a sweet boy. And we're we're still in our grieving period over here. And, you know, taking the time we need to figure out how to move forward. But, he was a he was he was the best cat. So I think that cats find us. I don't think we find cats. So I think a cat will find you just at the right time. Yeah. And I actually will say he found me on one of my first, visits to meet a potential client many years ago. I rescued him off the street in Brooklyn, and he came out and found me. So you're absolutely right. So give me your two minute. Elevator pitch about what PAWS NY is. Absolutely. So PAWS NY is all about the human animal bond. And preserving that important and life enhancing relationships. Pets are family, and our goal is really to provide whatever support we can to help keep families together. And, you know, we believe nobody should have to give up their pet just because they're dealing with difficulties in life that come from, you know, advancing age, illness, disability, and financial constraints. So we're really trying to eliminate any obstacles that New Yorkers are facing so that pets can stay at home where their loved. It's a great mission. What was your inspiration? When I was in graduate school, I used to walk to class every day and on my walk I would often see a couple with their dog sitting outside of a grocery store. And at the time, I realized that this couple was likely giving up a bed because, you know, homeless shelter shelters don't allow pets. And so it really got me thinking about our love for animals and the sacrifices we might make for them. And so I did a little research and, you know, couldn't really identify any organizations in New York City that provided support for New Yorkers who were facing obstacles to care. And I immediately started to think about older adults and how as you get older and, you know, you may start experiencing, you know, limited mobility, that it might become harder and harder to take care of your animal, and that no way is a reflection of how much you love your pet. Right? And so I wanted to do something about it. I, you know, did some research and realized that I wanted to try and help make sure that pets could stay at home with the people who love them, and that the people who love them didn't have to make personal sacrifices in order to maintain those important bonds. So our New York motto is helping people by helping pets. What does that mean to you and how does it guide the work that you do? So our motto is helping people by helping pets and, you know, our organization is really this hybrid between being an animal welfare organization and being a human service organization. And so, you know, our motto is helping people by helping pets, because by providing direct assistance with pet care that is helping improve the well-being and the quality of life of the humans, the pet guardians. And that's really our goal is to not just help animals alone and not just help humans alone, but to help them both so they can all live the best possible life they can with just a little bit of support from our organization. So talk to me about what that support looks like. We have several programs. Our cornerstone program is what we call our House call program. And that is really focused on physical assistance, dog walking, litter box maintenance, the day to day support that our pets need. But if you're somebody who's, you know, going through difficulties due to an illness or disability, you're getting older. Sometimes those things can be difficult. And it might mean you're thinking, maybe I have to give up my pet because I can't take my dog out for a walk anymore. Or bending down to clean the litter box is just something that's too difficult for me. We have, an incredibly committed network of New Yorkers who volunteer their time to visit our clients in their homes. So we're doing hundreds of weekly visits this year. We estimate we'll do about 25,000 visits through our house call program. And those are dog walks, litter maintenance. Even something as simple as putting out food and water can be difficult for the clients that we're helping. And so, here at Paws, we are all about providing support that keeps the pet in the home. So not just coming in and providing help. One day and then you'll never see us again, but really providing enough support that it's making that difference for that family. Think about it. You know, it. If you're someone with arthritis in your hands, I will be very hard to use a can opener or pop that pop top to open up food for your cat. Or if you have a dog you know, do with 25 pounds of dog food. You know, and I don't think 8 pounds of dog food last very long. You can buy small bags, but but then it's a different issue. So those are like things that you and I can do. But I think would be very hard for like my grandma to do. Exactly. And you know, our pets, we often get them in the pets are younger and they they grow along with us. Right. As we get older, they get older, their needs change our our situation changes. And, you know, these are relationships that have existed for a really long time. And just because now somebody is dealing with, some sort of obstacle does not mean that they shouldn't be able to keep their pet. And in fact, that's when they need the companionship of their pet the most. And, you know, I will say that the people that we're providing support to their pet, in many cases, is their sole source of companionship, their sole family member. We hear that from clients all the time, because if they had a larger network of support, they likely wouldn't need our help at all. And so it's a really beautiful thing actually, to see, you know, our volunteers are going in, like I said, 25,000 visits this year. Those are 25,000 visits between a volunteer and a client. And these beautiful relationships are also forming between the humans. Right. Where now, a senior who was living alone has, you know, up to 14 different visits a week with New Yorkers, they may, have otherwise never known. And it's it's really nice to see the friendships that are forming as well in that respect. So for our listeners, if you've ever been to the AMC emergency room, our AMC emergency room handles about 25,000 patient visits a year. So if you've been in our emergency room, you know how crazy busy it is. And so that tells you how crazy Busy Paws New York is to be able to do the same number of patient visits, albeit in a completely different environment than the AMC emergency room. Yeah, yeah, it's and again, I just have to, to do a shout out to our volunteers because this the city is full of incredible people who are just giving up their time to, to help. And I'm, I'm sort of inspired by them every day. And then, you know, sort of in addition to the house call program, we're providing support in a lot of other areas as well, which I'd love to, to get into now, or if you'd rather go for it, you just said that you had your signature program was house call, but that means there are more programs that we're anxious to hear about are. Yeah. So, we have a pet pantry and we donate pet food and supplies to our clients as well. Pet food is expensive. Some pets need, prescription food, which can be very expensive. Even just the act of getting food to a home can be difficult. Many of our clients don't have access or don't know how to use the internet, so they're not, you know, going online and able to order food themselves. And so we're really helping to ensure that our clients no longer have to choose between feeding themselves and feeding their pets. We've been doing these public events as well, doing distribution events all around the five boroughs, helping out the community in this way. Another program is our Foster Emergency Care program, which has seen the biggest growth it, as far as all of our programs go. And it started originally just for our house call clients. So when a house call client is facing a medical emergency, usually a hospitalization, we will make sure their pet is taken care of, because you'll often find people won't go to the hospital or seek what could be lifesaving medical care if they don't have anyone to take care of their pet. We certainly don't want that. And so we come in, we make sure their pet is taken care of by foster volunteers that we vet, check references on, and when they come home and and they are ready, we will reunite them with their animal. So it's been amazing. And just in the last year and a half we've expanded that program as well. We are providing support to individuals seeking inpatient treatment for substance use disorder who have pets so that their pets are no longer an obstacle to care and they can seek treatment. And we even more recently have been providing support to survivors of domestic violence who need a temporary place for their pets to go while they seek, pet friendly housing. So we're really excited about how this program has grown to really provide support to more people who need it. And beyond that, I mentioned earlier, we started with just our house call clients getting support when they need medical emergencies. That program is open to the public as well. So I just want to make clear for anybody who's facing a medical crisis, who meets our, the financial criteria as well, if they have a pet and they don't have anyone to take care of their pet, potentially we could provide assistance so that they can get their medical needs taken care of, and we'll make sure their pet is taken care of. And that's, one thing they don't need to stress about during a very stressful time already. So we're really, really excited about that program. And then finally, we have a vet care program. That care is, as I'm sure you know, very expensive. And, we're doing everything we can to help make sure that the clients in our house call program have access to the medical care that their pets need. So from things like, vaccinations and basic wellness checks to emergency care and things like that, you know, depending on our financial resources, we will provide as much assistance as we can. And we partner with, that's all around the community, including AMC, who's wonderful, to really make sure that the impact of that program can be as big as possible. So do you just financially support or do your volunteers bring pets to the veterinarian? Because I can see that if people are having trouble bending over to feed their pet properly, that they're not going to be able to put that pet in a carrier and carry it down 62nd Street from the subway. Absolutely. Great question. We do both. So, we provide financial support, and we also provide the physical support of getting the pets to and from the vet, whether it's volunteers who can do the transport in some cases, if it's very basic stuff. We have worked with veterinarians who make house call visits. So a volunteer isn't necessarily needed in the visit can be done in the comfort of the client's home. But our volunteers are incredible, and they're actually the vet. Transports are great opportunities because many volunteers can't commit to the consistency of our house call program, where, you know, if you're doing Monday at 6 p.m. to walk a dog, that's a recurring shift, not just once. And you never go again. So the vet visits are really great opportunities for volunteers because they come up, somewhat randomly and unexpected. But if you know, you have a few hours free when the email comes in, it's a really great way to make an impact. So, our volunteers are incredible and really make that program possible. So talk to me about eight. How do you choose your volunteers? The I see this as a great opportunity for we've a lot of young, wonderful kids that come through AMC who want to be veterinarians and they need animal experience. To me, this sounds like a great animal experience. Could some high school student do this or what are your criteria for your volunteers? Yeah, so we do require volunteers to be 18 or older. If they are under 18, they could potentially come with a parent or somebody older and sort of accompany them. We post all of our opportunities online. And I will say from the very beginning, when I first started the organization, volunteer recruitment has always been and I don't want to say easy because that's not the right word. But I've always been surprised. How many people are signing up. And I think it's because the opportunity is so unique. Right? Lots of people are looking for animal experience, but when you combine that with the human element, I think what we're offering is very unique. And so we do two trainings every month. We ask for volunteers to already sort of have the experience they're signing up for. And what I mean by that is, you know, if you've never walked a 100 pound dog, not that we have so many 100 pound dogs in our house program, but if you've never walked a very large dog, now would not be the time to experiment with that. If you are not sure that you're capable of safely walking a dog of that size right. And so because we're taking care of pets for people, and it's a really big responsibility. And so again, we're volunteers. We're asking them just to, to make sure that they're comfortable what they're signing up for. It's not the first time they're necessarily ever doing anything. And we do provide a lot of flexibility. We provide services throughout the five boroughs. And so for us, our philosophy is, you know, we are trying to meet the volunteer where they are. If it doesn't work for their schedule, they're not going to keep going. And for us, consistency is so important to our clients. We don't want a revolving door of volunteers where each week it's a handful of new people that they've never met before. So, we ask volunteers to take it seriously, to really think about their schedules, make sure it fits in with them, and and if it's not just to talk to us and we'll try and find them a good match, but we're really looking for volunteers to kind of tell us what is going to work for them in terms of their schedule, their experience level. And obviously everybody's an animal lover. They're not going to come to us if they're not looking to have that interaction with dogs or cats. And a lot of people are new to New York City, right? I think they've moved recently. Maybe they used to have a pet in their house growing up, and now they're in the city, and maybe they don't feel like they can commit to having an animal on their own, or they have roommates who are allergic, things like that. So really helping kind of get them their, their animal interaction that they're craving that they may be used to having no longer have. Yeah, I see that as being a great thing or someone who's maybe a little allergic to animals, but going in, picking up a dog and taking it out for a walk and bringing it back, it's not going to set off their allergy. So you want a dog, but you really can't have one of your own. This is a perfect opportunity for them. Yeah. And I think a great opportunity for student volunteer opportunities as well. Yeah. So can you share a story, something about someone that Paws New York has help that really captures your organization? Yeah, it's this is a difficult question because there are so many. Every client has their own unique story. And, you know, there's there's a few that that come to mind. We had a client, sort of in the early days, but he was with us. We helped him and his dog for more than ten years. So the reason I like sharing his story is because, again, you know, we're not an organization that that intends to come in for a short period of time and go away. When somebody comes to us, usually they're not. In some cases they might improve, but in many cases they're not. And we're in it for the long haul with them. Right. And so we help this client for for over a decade, we had volunteers going in every single day, two times a day for for ten years. And he had this wonderful dog. And it's just the relationships he formed with his volunteers were just the most beautiful things. Like, I never could have predicted this. When I started the organization, I really didn't think through those bonds and what they would mean to the person we were providing services to, and so we helped him for ten years. We did things like daily dog walking, vet care, volunteers became like family members who would celebrate holidays with them. You know, when you went into the hospital, we provided foster care and we really helped in all of the different ways that we can provide support. And then, you know, sadly, he passed away and all of his volunteers came together. They organized a memorial for him. They made sure that his dog was taken care of. Again, it was just a story of how our organization helps from the very beginning, all the way until the end. And it didn't end when the client passed away, because that pet was a member of our community and was beloved by so many volunteers. And I remember volunteers telling stories, you know, videos of them celebrating birthdays and singing songs. And, you know, it's not there's not like one concrete moment. It's really just hearing the longevity and the relationships that come out of that and seeing pictures and hearing how, because of our support, that man and that dog got to spend another ten years together, when he didn't think he would be able to do that otherwise. That's what means the most to me and and makes me happy. So that's just one example of, of a client that I will always remember because he was with us in the beginning. We helped him for such a long period of time. He must have been one of your very early clients. He was, he was he was such an early client that I was, the one that did intake with him back in the day when he first started and trained many of the volunteers. You know, I don't I don't do the client intakes or train the volunteers myself anymore. I have amazing team members who do that. But, yeah, he it was just incredible. And and, you know, he was with us from very early on and, and got to see the organization grow and really interesting ways as well, which was, which was interesting. So again, I just I feel very fortunate that we're able to play a small part in helping these individuals and their pets stay together. So it, makes me happy. Well, in some ways, it's kind of like what AMC's about is that if we can make them better and they can stay with their owners, it's sort of the same goal. So that brings me back to something you said before, which was, AMC is supportive of your mission. Can you talk about how veterinarians and other groups support your mission? Yeah, absolutely. So veterinarians in particular, as I mentioned, we have a veterinary care program. And so we have a network of veterinary partners who, provide support by giving various, you know, discounts towards services. We have direct connections to them. So making appointments is a little bit easier. And that really helps us. So every dollar that we have to go toward vet care gets stretched further and means it can have an even bigger impact for the pets that we're helping. So that's incredibly helpful and really is going a long way in making the lives of the pets better. It's helping them live longer. It's saving lives in many cases, and then it's helping to keep those pets and those people together for for a longer time. So it's wonderful. We have other partners as well. So we have many organizations that we partner with throughout the community that help us with things like client sourcing. So, for example, we are always looking for organizations that serve a similar demographic, and we work on scheduling presentations, meeting with them to talk to them about what our services are, how a client might qualify and, you know, talking to them and how they can refer people to our various programs. And that's been a really, great way for us to find people throughout New York City who need our support. And in addition, you know, help with volunteer recruitment also comes out of some of these partnerships as well. But the real focus is on clients who are saying, you know, the people that we're helping, a lot of them, you know, they're not on their computers or their phones all day. It's harder for them to access some of this information. And so a lot of the people who come to us, especially for house call support, are coming to us because a case manager learned about us at a presentation at their agency or a neighbor or vice versa. So for us, like, the more people we can, you know, talk to about our programs, the more people that will be able to help. And it really feels like a grassroots sort of thing because, you know, we really need to just get into the homes of the people who need us and that everybody knows we're out there. So this is a very personally focused question. And that is if I was a veterinarian that didn't work with you. And I happen to be listening to this program and said, oh, I have a veterinary hospital and I would like to work with this group. What what would that veterinarian do to say I'm interested. Can we talk about a partnership? Yeah. What we would absolutely love, as there is no limit on how many veterinary partners we could have, we, welcome many more and we're always trying to grow it so the best thing to do would be to reach out to us. There's information on our website or email us at info@pawsny.org and my colleague, Carrie Nydick Finch manages our programmatic partners. And I would make that connection. And and you could go from there and really kind of talk through, what the partnership could look like and how we could really best collaborate with one another. Terrific. So that's kind of like what you're doing now. But let's talk about what where you want to be in the next 5 to 10 years. What what do you want to do next. Great question. So, you know, we're doing a lot, but I will say I feel like we're just starting to scratch the surface. New York City is a huge city. So there are I know that there are thousands more out there who could use our assistance. So right now we're really focused on growing, growing our resources. So raising the money we need so that we can increase the number of people and pets that we're able to help. And so we'd like to grow in scope within the five boroughs. Over the last year or two, we've been really focused on outer borough expansion, because our Manhattan base was much larger than the outer boroughs. And then beyond that, we are starting to have some very preliminary conversations about, you know, could there be an expansion that happens that's maybe outside the five boroughs? Is this a model we want to take and maybe grow? Nothing set in stone or definitive yet, but we love what we do, and we'd love to figure out how to, you know, help even more people and pets. Whether that's only in New York City or beyond. That's to be determined. But we're, really excited about growing and and helping as many New Yorkers as we can. So I ask this question from the veterinarian standpoint of a veterinarian want to contact you how to get in touch. But what if my non veterinary listeners are inspired by your work? How can they get involved to volunteer or donate or spread the word? That's a great thank you for asking that. So the first step would be to to visit our website which is pawsny.org. There's a ton of information there. There's links to donate for for individuals who would love to to make a contribution. We would absolutely welcome and appreciate that. For those looking to get involved as volunteers, we have information on upcoming virtual orientations, which we host twice a month. I think we have one actually today or tomorrow it's sold out, but we we do it twice every month. Very easy to get involved. And finally, social media. I mean, for us, just getting word out there about what we do is incredibly important. So, you know, finding us on Instagram and Facebook and other social media would be an amazing way to kind of get started and learn more about us. And, you can find us on Facebook and on Instagram @pawsny that's our handle. And yeah, I, I think there's lots of opportunities to get involved in whatever way feels right, you know, for you. So I want to thank you, Rachel Herman from PAWS NY, for joining me today here on Ask the Vet. And I just want to one more time say that if you're interested in learning more about the organization, you know, someone who needs the services or the organization or you want to volunteer, you can find further information at www.pawsny.org. Thank you again for being on with us today, Rachel. Thank you for having me, I appreciate it. I know that keeping your pet healthy is very important to you, and with that, I hope you'll reach out to me. If you have a question about your pet's health, I'll respond on next month's Ask the Vet podcast. Just email me at AskTheVet@amcny.org. Now we have a short break coming up, but stay tuned because there are lots of interesting animal news stories when we return. We're back with Dr. Ann Hohenhaus on Ask the Vet. Welcome back to Ask the Vet. And now it's time for the animal news. It's time for animal headlines, the biggest animal news from across the world in the news is H5N1. Now, that might not mean anything to my listeners, but this is the bird flu and everybody is really concerned because bird flu affects usually wild birds, mostly waterfowl, like ducks and geese, but now has lapsed into affecting poultry, such as chickens and ducks, and then also is affecting livestock and some pets, including cats. So while bird flu has circulated in the US for actually probably forever, but the recent outbreak has been going on since 2022 and that recent outbreak has resulted in cases of bird flu and dairy cattle and cats, which highlights the need for caution with pet cat owners. Cats appear to be particularly vulnerable to the virus, which can cause severe respiratory and neurologic issues and in some cases very sadly, death. So how can you protect your pets? And please note that I'm lumping dogs and cats into pets because although there is only one dog reported to have gotten bird flu, I think that the prudent dog owner would follow the same instructions that I'm giving for cat owners. So first, caution is avoid repeating your pets raw meat, and raw poultry has been the strongest link to bird flu, but there's concern that raw beef might also, play a role so raw pet food is not an appropriate thing right now while this bird flu epidemic is going on. Also, there have been cats who've gotten bird flu from drinking unpasteurized milk. These were cats that lived on dairy farms, and it's very common on dairy farms to give cats milk directly from the cow. There's a very high amount of bird flu virus in unpasteurized milk. So that is a no no for your cat right now because of the risk of causing bird flu. And then finally, if you have a cat, you want to keep them indoors because if you had, dead wildlife such as ducks or geese and your cat decided to get too close to them or sniff around a little bit, or maybe see if it tasted good. That cat would be at high risk for bird flu. And in fact, the single dog that has been reported with bird flu apparently munched on a dead goose. That ultimate was thought to have bird flu. So keep your pets away from dead animals, livestock, wildlife, or their waste. Finally, if your pet showing signs of illness like it's really lethargic, has a fever, runny nose, coughing, trouble breathing, of course we know you'd reach out to your veterinarian as soon as possible, but you would want to let the veterinarians office know that you have a cat and it's got respirator urine infection, because that will allow your veterinarian to take precautions so that other animals in the office that day wouldn't get infected. Health experts emphasize the importance of avoiding contact with infected animals, handling poultry and wild birds carefully, and practicing good hand hygiene. That means handwashing with soap and water. Taking these simple steps should help keep your pets safe and will also reduce the risk of a larger bird flu outbreak. Our second news story today is about a new app that's helping pet owners across the United States prepare for emergencies and sadly, I suspect that it's might be getting a lot of use right now out in California, where the wildfires are disrupting people and their pets. This is called the Pet Help and Rescue app, which is at www.phar.org. So P-H-A-R is Pet Help Rescue App, and it was created by a gentleman named Dave Crawford and was inspired by his experience during the Marshall Fire in Colorado in 2021. Now, this devastating fire claimed the lives of two people, destroyed hundreds of homes and left a thousand pets unable to escape. So after Mr. Crawford lost his home and rescued a dog during the disaster, he was determined to develop a tool to prevent additional tragedies. This app allows pet owners to upload essential details about their pets, such as photos, descriptions, hiding spots, and designate trusted contacts who can assist in emergencies when activated. This app since detailed instructions to the contacts listed in the app and helps them to evacuate the pets safely. You can find more information about this really cool app and download it at phar.org. And our third story today is about dogs. Dogs have long demonstrated their remarkable ability to sniff out everything from wildlife to drugs and even explosives. Now conservationists are using this unique talent to locate endangered plants. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Maryland Detector Dog Program has recruited specially trained dogs to find the small whorled pogonia orchid, a rare and elusive green flower. These orchids play a critical role in indicating environmental health because they depend on pollinators and fungi from decaying trees to grow. However, their green hue makes them nearly impossible for human surveyors to distinguish them from the surrounding forest vegetation. In comes the dogs trained to detect these orchids by using dried orchid leaves. The dogs signal their findings by sitting and barking, which earns them their favorite toy as a reward. These dogs are so skilled that they can even detect orchids lying dormant between the soil. Thanks to their efforts, the USDA has surveyed over 2500 miles of terrain, discovering 320 clusters of orchids, including in areas once thought to be devoid of the species. Further evidence that man's best friend continues to prove indispensable in ways we never imagined. That's a great one. And now it's time for questions from our listener. Our first question is from Debra in New York. Question is, I was planning to adopt a dog, but I found out he has ringworm. I hear that ringworm is not a worm. So what is it? And how serious can it be? I have a cat, and I'm concerned about her catching it. How is ringworm treated? And are there any steps I can take to safely bring the dog home while protecting my cat and myself? So, Debra, you're absolutely right. Ringworm is not a worm. I think it's called ringworm because when you get it on your skin, it forms a very itchy, circular lesion. As I've had it, a couple of times, from cat patients. Having a dog with ringworm is a little unusual. But since this is an adoption, this dog could have easily picked up ringworm in a shelter. It's contagious. From dog to dog or cat to cat or cat to people, like, in my case. And it's it's spread from hair. Ringworm is an infection of a fungal infection of the hair. And so if a dog or cat sheds hair, then, it can be in the home and the environment where other people or pets can catch it. So Deborah's also right to worry about her cat, because cats are usually the patients I see with ringworm. And cats seem to be more susceptible than dogs are. And so she would need to keep her cat and this new adopted dog separate. And the new adopted dog would need to be kept somewhere that's easy to clean. No upholstered furniture, no carpeting on the floor, and a bed that goes in the washer or a couple times a week to keep that hair down. And she would want to, like, groom or brush the dog outdoors, not indoors to keep the amount of hair down. And all this needs to happen while she follows the veterinarian's instructions about how best to treat this particular dog. It might be treated with topical medicine, or it might be treated with oral medication, and it could also be treated with a bath. Just depends on what the dog's particular form of ringworm is and how serious it is. So, Deborah, I hope the new adoption works out well in your home and that nobody gets ringworm. But I think there's a way to do it safely. Our next question comes from our friends to the north in Maine, and Jerry has a question for us. I recently lost my beloved dog, Tuck and it has been a heartbreaking experience. He was 14 and it had been declining for a while. Our vet eventually diagnosed kidney failure and we had to say goodbye. Soon after he died, I came across information about stem cell therapy for animals. Has this been used successfully in dogs? What research is being done to advance this treatment? So all of us here at Ask the Vet Jerry, send our sympathies about your loss of Tuck. And for all of us that have experienced pet loss, we know it is a heartbreaking experience, but I think you sound like you're being a little hard on yourself for not knowing about stem cell transplants sooner. But what I would say to you about stem cell transplants is we're in the early stages in veterinary medicine of figuring out how best to collect stem cells, how best to give them back to the patient, and to make sure that that treatment is safe before we start using it on very elderly, very sick dogs. Like it sounds like Tuck was. So I think that this treatment has a lot of potential for the future, and people are definitely looking at it for kidney disease, but it is not quite ready yet for prime time. And so you did not miss an important treatment that Tuck should have had by not knowing about this until after his passing. And veterinarians will continue to research this topic, trying to figure out how best to help dogs like Tuck. And our last question today comes from Beth Kay. My cat rarely seems to drink water from her bowl, but she eats wet food. Is that enough to keep her hydrated and healthy? So, Beth, you're absolutely right that eating wet food probably provides enough water to most cats. And if your cat has normal kidneys, canned food is probably plenty of water for her daily needs. Certainly, if I have a cat who's got kidneys that are not working very well, I might encourage owners to add water to the food in order to up the cat's water intake. But for the typical well cat, they get plenty of water from their pet food. If you shifted your cat to eating dry food, I would be willing to bet you would notice a big uptick in the time that cat spends at the water bowl. Because, of course, dry food has much less water in it than canned food does, and she would compensate by drinking more water. But even though she doesn't drink a lot of water, I still think she needs a bowl of water available to her at all times. So thank you to everyone for your questions today. We're going to take another quick break, and when we come back, we'll have information from AMC's Usdan Institute. We're back with Dr. Ann Hohenhaus on Ask the Vet. Welcome back to Ask the Vet podcast. It's time for important information from AMC's Usdan Institute for Animal Health Education. So we've already talked a little bit in this show about winter and pet safety. So let's talk some more about walking outdoors with your dog in the winter. It's a wonderful way to keep your pet's weight down. Provide them with mental stimulation, but a winter walk does require a little extra care to keep your dog safe. Every dog has a different tolerance for cold. One of my patients sent a picture of himself. He was laying on the back stoop, surrounded by snow, with his head on the back step and looking very comfortable, freezing to death outside. He's one of those dogs with a high cold tolerance. But other dogs, like my office neighbor, Bella. She doesn't like the cold at all, and she wears a coat even indoors. So if your dog is shivering or whining or slowing down, lifting one part a time, or tugging to go back to the house, those are clear signs. It's time to head inside. Always remember to keep your dog on a leash during winter walks. And we had the story about the dog who fell through the ice. That can happen if your dog is not restrained by a leash. The other thing is that snow and ice can mask familiar sense to your dog. So it's easier for your dog to get lost in a snowy, icy environment before you head out on any walk. Be it winter or summer. Be sure your dog has an ID tag and a microchip and that all the information is current. So if your dog does get lost, it can come back to you. Now both of you need to dress for cold weather, so if you feel cold in your coat, your dog is probably cold too. Sweaters work better for dry, cold and a water resistant coat is better in the snow. Don't forget to protect their paws with waterproof boots or pole racks. And while it might seem harmless, eating snow is not necessarily safe. It can contain harmful substances like antifreeze and the source. So bring a portable water bowl and fresh water on your walks so that when your dog needs a little break out on that winter walk, you can offer them something safe to drink. Once you get back home, be sure to wipe down their paws, their underside, and their legs to remove any chemicals that they may have picked up while frolicking in the snow. And I think with these precautions, you and your dog can enjoy safe and memory making winter walks together for free access to timely and relevant pet health articles, upcoming pet health events, video tutorials, and other pet parent resources. Check out AMC's Usda Institute for Animal Health Education at amcny.org/usdaninstitute. Now, we want to take a minute to really thank Rachel Herman from PAWS NY for joining me today. And don't forget that wonderful opportunity to volunteer with PAWS NY by going to pawsny.org. If you want to know more about your pets well-being or looking for pet health information. Don't forget I'll answer your questions on next month's Ask the Vet if you just email me your questions at AsktheVet@amcny.org. This podcast can be accessed on the Sirius XM app from all major podcast platforms, and also on AMC's website by typing Ask the Vet in the search bar. Thanks to AMC's long standing partnership with Sirius XM, all this is available to you for free. Don't forget to check us out on social media on Facebook. It's the Animal Medical Center, Twitter and Instagram, it's @amcny and I'd love it if you could take a moment to give the Ask the Vet podcast a review so that you can like and subscribe to receive new episodes as soon as they're out. And don't forget to join me next month for another episode of Ask the Vet. Thanks everyone and have a great month!