What they are saying about the acoustic shows... | Dave Mason: The Official Site.

What they are saying about the acoustic shows... | Dave Mason: The Official Site.

I am flattered.....Dave Mason posted my review on his website......

Insurance Fraud Over Fictitious Cat

Some people will try anything........

 

Tacoma man accused of insurance fraud over fictitious dead cat

Posted by John de Leon

Image of the cat submitted to PEMCO by Yevgeniy M. Samsonov. (Photo from the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner)

A Tacoma man has been charged with first-degree attempted theft and felony insurance fraud after he tried to collect a $20,000 insurance payment for a dead cat.

Trouble is, the cat never existed, says the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

On March 27, 2009, Yevgeniy M. Samsonov, 29, was involved in a minor traffic accident when his car was rear-ended while he was stopped at a traffic light in Tacoma, according to a news release from the commissioner’s office. Damage to both vehicles was minor.

Samsonov filed a claim that included chiropractic treatment of soft tissue injuries. The other driver’s insurer, PEMCO, paid him $3,452, the news release says.

Two and a half years later, Samsonov sought additional payment from PEMCO, claiming that his beloved cat Tom had been killed in the same accident, the news release says.

PEMCO issued Samsonov a check for $50 to compensate him for the cat.

But Samsonov then told PEMCO that he’d paid $1,000 for the cat, who’d been like a son to him, the news release says. He wanted $20,000.

He sent the company two photos he said he’d taken of his cat.

A PEMCO claims representative did a Google Images search and discovered identical cat images appearing on web sites, blogs and Facebook pages. The two images Samsonov submitted are actually of two different cats. Neither belonged to Samsonov, the news release says.

PEMCO canceled the $50 check and forwarded the case to the insurance commissioner’s anti-fraud unit.
Samsonov is scheduled to be arraigned next Wednesday in Pierce County Superior Court.

“We’ve handled some pretty unusual fraud cases, but this is one of the stranger ones,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler.

Canine Companions Can Improve Your Health

An article from the AVMA SmartHealth Brief......

Canine companions can help improve your health

Posted: Jul 05, 2012 3:33 PM CDT

We all know regular physical activity can help improve our overall health. The same is true for dogs.
"Dogs require a large amount of exercise probably more than what your average pet does get and so you exercising with your pet is definitely a good way to achieve that," said Penn-Ohio Veterinary Services' Dr. Nicole Pearsall.

Research from the University of Missouri found that people who walk dogs are more consistent about regular exercise and show more improvement in fitness than people who walk with a human companion.  But, before you leash up your pooch veterinarian Dr. Nicole Pearsall encourages you to check to make sure your dog is at a healthy weight, is current on its flea, tick and heart worm medication and is groomed.  Her suggestion, start off slow.

"Every breed is different.  Every dog is different based on the age and other health factors so that is just a general rule of thumb, but you want to listen to your pet. When they start to slow down, don't drag them and listen to them if they are tell you that they are too hot or too tired and you definitely probably need to stop at that point," said Dr. Pearsall.

On hot days, like today, it is easy to overwork yourself and your pet.  Dr. Pearsall says if your dog begins to pant heavily or drool excessively he or she could be at risk for heat stroke.  That's just one reason why she encourages dog owners to workout with their pets in the morning when it is cooler.

"Depending on how hot it is you definitely have to be careful with the pavement because it can get really really hot. It would be like you walking on the pavement in your bare feet, but if you walk your dog in the grass that tends to be about 10 degrees cooler than the pavement," said Dr. Pearsall.

Once you've wrapped up your workout, Dr. Pearsall suggests giving your dog a little water. Although, she discourages owners from feeding their dogs right away.  Her suggestion is to feed a dog no more than 1 to 2 hours before a workout and 1 to 2 hours after a workout. 

Dr. Pearsall also encourages owners to use harnesses rather than dog collars when walking or running.  She says they do less damage to a dog's windpipe. Also, avoid using retractable leashes. Dr. Pearsall says you have more control with non-retractable leashes.

Recall of Some Varieties of Pedigree Brand Wet Food

Received this notice of another food recall from a friend of mine. ....

 

Taken from:

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm310400.htm

Recall -- Firm Press Release

FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.

Mars Petcare US Announces Voluntary Recall of Limited Range of Pedigree® Brand Wet Dog Food

Contact
Consumer:
877-720-3335

Media:
Julie Lawless
615-585-5861
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -June 30, 2012 - Today, Mars Petcare US announced a voluntary recall of a limited range of three varieties of PEDIGREE® weight management canned dog food products due to a potential choking risk.

Affected product may contain small pieces of blue plastic, which entered the food during the production process. The source of the plastic has been identified and the issue resolved. We encourage consumers who have purchased affected product to discard the food or return it to the retailer for a full refund or exchange. While a small number of consumers have reported finding the plastic pieces, we have not received any reports of injury or illness associated with the affected product. The lot codes indicated below should not be sold or consumed.

Affected product was distributed to retail customers throughout the United States. Mars Petcare US is working with all of our distributors and retail customers to ensure that the recalled products are no longer sold and are removed from inventory.
Recalled Pet Food
Only cans of PEDIGREE® weight management canned dog food varieties with the production codes shown below are included in this voluntary recall. Each product will have a lot code printed on the end of the can that begins with 209, 210, 211 or 212 and a Best Before date that falls between 2/24/2014 and 3/23/2014.

UPC	DESCRIPTION
2310034974	PEDIGREE +® Healthy Weight Premium Ground Entrée in Meaty Juices
2310001913	PEDIGREE® Weight Management Meaty Ground Dinner Beef & Liver Dinner in Meaty Juices
2310023045	PEDIGREE® Weight Management Meaty Ground Dinner Chicken & Rice Dinner in Meaty Juices

No other PEDIGREE® products are affected, including any other variety of wet food, dry dog food, or dog treats.

At Mars Petcare US, we take our responsibility to pets and their owners seriously. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by this recall. Pet owners who have questions about the recall should call 1-877-720-3335 or visit www.pedigree.com/update^{1 2}.

###

RSS Feed for FDA Recalls Information³ [what's this?⁴]
Photo: Product Labels⁵
Recalled Product Photos Are Also Available on FDA's Flickr Photostream.⁶

Dog Distractions While Driving (from the AAA)

With the summer and traveling, many people take their pets along. It is important to minimize any risks in relation to the pets in the car with you. Here are some tips from the AAA.

Doggie Distractions
Fact Sheet
39 percent of U.S. households (45.6 million) have a dog, according to American Pet Products Association.
1 out of 3 dog owners admit to being distracted by their dog while driving, however twice as many (2 out of
3) admit to engaging in distracting activities with their dog while driving, according to the AAA/Kurgo survey.
Looking away from the road for only two seconds doubles your risk of being in a crash, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes
involving a distracted or inattentive driver and more than half a million were injured. However, many traffic
safety experts believe the actual number to be substantially higher.

Only 17 percent of dog owners who have driven with their pet use some form of pet restraint while their
dog is in their vehicle, according to the survey by AAA and Kurgo.

An unrestrained 10-pound dog in a crash at 50 mph will exert roughly 500 pounds of force, while an
unrestrained 80-pound dog in a crash at only 30 mph will exert approximately 2400 pounds of force.

Of the 17 percent of drivers who use a pet restraint, the AAA/Kurgo survey found the most frequently used are:

• Pet harness/safety belt (52 percent)

• Hard-sided pet travel crate (28 percent)

• Pet vehicle seat (18 percent)

• Soft-sided pet travel crate (13 percent)

• Vehicle pet barrier (9 percent)

The AAA and Kurgo survey found the types of trips dog owners most frequently take with their dog include:

• Leisure ride (88 percent)

• Local errands (85 percent)

• Trips to the local pet store (81 percent)

• Day trips (80 percent)

Of the 17 percent of drivers who use a pet restraint system, the AAA/Kurgo survey found they are most
likely to use it while driving on a day trip with their dog (90 percent always or frequently use a restraint
system), however they are least likely to restrain their dog when driving to the dog park (one out of 10 rarely
or never use a restraint system).

When traveling in a vehicle, the AAA/Kurgo survey found the locations most dog owners place their pet
include:

• Back seat (54 percent)

• Front seat (26 percent)

• Rear cargo area (17 percent)

• Pick-up truck bed (2 percent)

Similar to a young child, the front airbag system in a vehicle can be deadly to a dog during a crash if sitting in
the front seat, even if restrained.

DNA Sequenced for Parrot's Ability to Parrot

ScienceDaily (July 2, 2012) — Scientists say they have assembled more completely the string of genetic letters that could control how well parrots learn to imitate their owners and other sounds.

The research team unraveled the specific regions of the parrots' genome using a new technology, single molecule sequencing, and fixing its flaws with data from older DNA-decoding devices. The team also decoded hard-to-sequence genetic material from corn and bacteria as proof of their new sequencing approach.

The results of the study appeared online July 1 in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Single molecule sequencing "got a lot of hype last year" because it generates long sequencing reads, "supposedly making it easier to assemble complex parts of the genome," said Duke University neurobiologist Erich Jarvis, a co-author of the study.

He is interested in the sequences that regulate parrots' imitation abilities because they could give neuroscientists information about the gene regions that control speech development in humans.

Jarvis began his project with collaborators by trying to piece together the genome regions with what are known as next-generation sequencers, which read chunks of 100 to 400 DNA base pairs at a time and then take a few days to assemble them into a draft genome. After doing the sequencing, the scientists discovered that the read lengths were not long enough to assemble the regulatory regions of some of the genes that control brain circuits for vocal learning.

University of Maryland computational biologists Adam Phillippy and Sergey Koren -- experts at assembling genomes -- heard about Jarvis's sequencing struggles at a conference and approached him with a possible solution of modifying the algorithms that order the DNA base pairs. But the fix was still not sufficient.
Last year, 1000 base-pair reads by Roch 454 became available, as did the single molecule sequencer by Pacific Biosciences. The Pacbio technology generates strands of 2,250 to 23,000 base pairs at a time and can draft an entire genome in about a day.

Jarvis and others thought the new technologies would solve the genome-sequencing challenges. Through a competition, called the Assemblathon, the scientists discovered that the Pacbio machine had trouble accurately decoding complex regions of the parrot, Melopsittacus undulates, genome. The machine had a high error rate, generating the wrong genetic letter at every fifth or sixth spot in a string of DNA. The mistakes made it nearly impossible to create a genome assembly with the very long reads, Jarvis said.

But with a team, including scientists from the DOE Genome Science Institute and Cold Spring Harbor in New York, Phillippy, Koren and Jarvis corrected the Pacbio sequencer's errors using shorter, more accurate codes from the next-generation devices. The fix reduces the single-molecule, or third-generation, sequencing machine's error rate from 15 percent to less than one-tenth of one percent.

"Finally we have been able to assemble the regulatory regions of genes, such as FoxP2 and egr1, that are of interest to us and others in vocal learning behavior," Jarvis said.

He explained that FoxP2 is a gene required for speech development in humans and vocal learning in birds that learn to imitate sounds, like songbirds and parrots. Erg1 is a gene that controls the brain's ability to reorganize itself based on new experiences.

By being able to decode and organize the DNA that regulates these regions, neuroscientists may be able to better understand what genetic mechanism causes birds to imitate and sing well. They may also be able to collect more information about genetic factors that affect a person's ability to learn how to communicate well and to speak, Jarvis said. He and his team plan to describe the biology of the parrots genetic code they sequenced in more detail in an upcoming paper.

Jarvis added that as more scientists use the hybrid sequencing approach, they could possibly decode complex, elusive genes linked to how cancer cells develop and to the sequences that control other brain functions.

Pelleted Bird Food Recall

Seems like there has been a number of pet food recalls lately. With birds, there was the recall of the Kaytee bird hand feeding formula, which due to human error, contained too much Vitamin D3, resulting in mineralization of the kidneys and death.

I just received another notification from a friend of mine with another manufacturer of pelleted diets for bird, Mazuri, which also has a problem withe excessive Vitamin D3, leading to similar problems and hence they recalled their food.

The source is the AFA (American Federation of Aviculture).

A Zoo has recently experienced significant losses in small psittacines fed a commercially prepared avian pelleted food marketed to zoos.  Clinically affected birds exhibited depression, weakness, posterior paresis, CNS signs, loss of body condition, or acute death.  Histopathologic lesions found on necropsy included myofiber degeneration and multiple sites of mineralization of soft tissues.  Exhaustive testing of environmental samples and feed revealed extremely high levels of Vitamin D3 - twenty-two times higher than the labeling for the product.  The Manufacturer has been notified of the problem and is investigating. 

 

I received a call today that ALL PRODUCTS from the Mazuri feed company  (not just the small bird pellet) will be recalled with a manufacturer date between April 11-23.