VoyForums

[ VoyUser Login optional ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, [5], 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: Monday, February 09, 08:12:14am
Author: Dave Zitzkat
Subject: Anyone Doubt that a Vegan Diet works?

Vegetable-Eating Dog Lives to Ripe Old Age of 27
Also: Who is the Oldest Dog in the World?
And: How to Make Your Dog Live 1.8 Years Longer

SOMERSET (UK) — Remember 1977? I think I spent most of the year waiting in line to see Star Wars. Meanwhile, a two-year-old Collie was narrowly escaping a disastrous flood at a shelter in West Wales. That dog, "Bramble", not only lived to see the release of Star Wars but is still around to see the 4th sequel Attack of the Clones (that is, if she can handle another dose of that Jar Jar Binks character).

"Is it snack time, or are we going to playing fetch?"
Scoop staff Chocolate Labrador (recently adopted from an Atlanta shelter) demonstrates the latest canine diet which has been known to extend the life of dogs far beyond expectations. An exclusively vegetarian diet of "rice, lentils and organic vegetables every evening," coupled with good exercise, has propelled "Bramble" the Collie into her 28th year. Guinness World Records is currently considering whether that makes her the oldest living dog in the world. (Photo: DogsInTheNews.com)


According to the Sunday Telegraph, Bramble, living in Bridgewater, Somerset, has just celebrated her 27th birthday, possibly making her Britain's oldest living dog and a contender for the oldest dog in the world.
Luck of the Dog

How exactly does a pooch live to be 189 (in dog years)? Anne Heritage, 43, describes how Bramble survived at least one near-death-experience right at the outset in February 1977:

"The day after we brought her home, the [New Quay rescue centre] kennels flooded and the other dogs drowned," says Ms. Heritage.

"So she's been incredibly lucky."

No Bones About It

Aside from luck, Bramble's secret to longevity is a vegetarian diet. Ms. Heritage is a vegan and has brought up her pooch on the same diet regime she herself follows (although Bramble does wear a fur coat—but don't go pouring buckets of red paint on her for that little violation).

"She has a big bowl of rice, lentils and organic vegetables every evening," says Ms. Heritage.

Hairball in the Pool

In addition to healthy eating, exercise is a must. Last year while recovering from a back injury which doctors said could have paralyzed her, Bramble began taking swimming lessons at a canine hydrotherapy pool in Stolford. She now enjoys a weekly dip every Friday for half an hour.

Astute Scoop readers can tell that this is a cat, not a Collie. Well, same story, different species. See CatsInTheNews.com May 3, 2002: "Cat Splash Fever" for more. (Photo: Moggies UK)

Says Ms. Heritage: "She's an inspiration and just goes to show that if you do eat the right things and keep on exercising, you can extend your life."

How to Make Your Dog
Live 1.8 Years Longer

An extensive 14-year study has just been completed, stating that a calorie-restricted diet results in dogs living a median 1.8 years longer than the average dog.

The study was conducted by University of Pennsylvania and published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (May 2002).

In addition, these same dogs are also slower to develop chronic diseases, such as osteoarthritis, implying that not only the quantity but the quality of life is extended.

"Dogs in the calorie-restricted group didn't require treatment for osteoarthritis until a mean age of 13.3 years, fully three years later than the dogs in the control group," says Gail K Smith, professor of orthopedic surgery at Penn. "Because osteoarthritis is painful, this deferral represents a substantial boost in quality of life."

Of course, Scoop senior editor "Wags" has his own opinion about boosting the quality of life. It has something to do with leaving the refrigerator door open.
Who is the oldest dog
in the world?

"Bluey" was an Australian Cattle Dog who herded cattle and sheep in Australia for nearly twenty years before retiring. The dog died in 1939 at the age of 29 years, five months. Another dog, an Australian Cattle Dog / Labrador mix, died in 1984 reportedly at the age of 32 years and 3 days, but this case was not fully documented, and so it is not official.
Source: World Pet Records, AnimalNews.com

200 Years Old and Still Standing

This pooch might have them all beat on a technicality. "Barry" the St. Bernard, who saved dozens of lives in the Swiss mountains, lived from 1800-1814 and is still around today, albeit taxidermically (stuffed), at the Natural History Museum in Berne. See Apr.1, 2002 "The 2 Worst Rescue Dogs in the World".


So you wanna have the next
"Oldest Dog in the World"?

Here's how you do it:
Get a dog.
But don't just get any dog. Get a head start by adopting an old dog. That way, you won't have to wait as long before you and your pooch are rich and famous! Take a look at some of the canine seniors listed here, or click on the picture of "Lottie" the 12-year-old Dalmatian looking for a home.


Keep your dog.


Contact us at DogsInTheNews.com in about 25-30 years. Congratulations!



Vegetarian dogs?

Check out these places on the web:
Vegtarismus.ch - Europe
(links for vegetarian pet food)
vegetariandogs.com
"Meat-free dog food"
(Telegraph UK. 19 Sep 2002)
Dogs - A Vegetarian Diet?
The Canine Cookbook
Vegetarian Cats?

The Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition (UK) states: "Although both dogs and cats are carnivorous by nature, the dog has evolved such that it is able to adapt to a vegetarian diet, if required. This is not true for the cat, whose diet must be derived, at least in part, from animal tissue."

(I guess you're off the hook, Morris.)

Source: Nutritional Imbalance,
Waltham.com



§§§

Headlines
PrevNext




Copyright © 2002 Canine Nation. All rights reserved.
Click here

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
Forum timezone: GMT-5
VF Version: 2.94, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2012 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.