Issue #38
Police training dogs to sniff out thumb drives and phones. It’s a lesser-known use for K-9 detection dogs, but there are at least 17 of these training Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) programs used by police/FBI in the US. Specifically, dogs are looking for the chemical compound triphenylphosphine oxide, which can be found in all gadgets that contain memory. They say electronics are harder to sniff out than bombs, drugs, humans, or flammable liquids. In particular, Labrador retrievers tend to have the excellent snouts that are required for the job. But do tech-sniffing K9s violate the fourth amendment?
No, killer dog flu is not the next human pandemic. On Tuesday, researchers reported that they identified a new strain of dog flu, called H1N1, in dogs from southern China. If H1N1 rings a sickly green bell, that might be because a pandemic of swine flu went by the same name in 2009. A flu-ridden dog may have a runny nose, lose his appetite, become lethargic, and run a fever; basically, the same symptoms that a person has when they catch the flu… but it’s not likely you’ll ever catch the flu from your dog.
There’s a new box out AND you can still win free treats! Available until July 15h, here’s the lineup: 🐓 Chicken Heart, 🐖 Pork Kidney, 🐟 Yelloweye Rockfish, 🐑 Lamb Weasand, 🦆 Duck Neck, 🐄 Beef Backstrap 🐶 Super Chew this box: 🐖 Pig Foot 🔥 Peep the [unboxing!
](https://www.instagram.com/p/BkN4b_gl561/?taken-by=realdogbox)
Last month, we kicked off our #lamblungchallenge with the new box, giving 5 current members a chance to win a free bag of treats! Find the official rules here.
Mars expands pet-care business with purchase of AniCura & Linnaeus. AniCura has 200 animals hospitals in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Together with Britain’s Linnaeus, Mars is working to build out its veterinary business, which is currently concentrated in North America with brands including VCA, Banfield and BluePearl. [The deal is worth 1-2 billion euros.
](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mars-m-a-anicura/mars-petcare-to-buy-european-vet-business-anicura-idUSKBN1J70QL)
Lawsuit filed against 6 pet food companies for misleading packaging. In a recent lawsuit, Wysong Corporation, a Michigan-based pet food retailer, alleged that six of its competitors were deceiving customers by placing photos on bags of kibble that were not accurate representations of included ingredients. For example, a bag of pet food might include an image of freshly cut lamb chops, when in reality the pet food only contains leftover trimmings. The defendants named in the lawsuit were APN, Inc., Big Heart Pet Brands and J.M. Smucker Company, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Mars Petcare, Nestle Purina Petcare and Walmart. Overall, it was ruled that the products in question were dog food, and common sense dictates that consumers would not expect dog food to be made from the same cuts of meat that people eat.
Freshpet tricks people into eating dog food. In a video made by Freshpet, taste testers from the UK, including young children, had three meaty meals placed in front of them by a chef experimenting with a range of recipes. But what they weren't told was the meal placed in front of them contained dog food. Some described the meat as a "good texture" and "very good flavor," others said "there's something different about it but I love it." But when the chef revealed that what they were eating was dog food, their faces dropped in disbelief.
Dog Parker becomes DogSpot, fights to stay in NYC. Brooklyn startup DogSpot, which recently changed its name from Dog Parker, is preparing for a national expansion, even as it fights to remain in its home city. DogSpot had to take all of its doghouses off the street in February after being found incompliant with DOT regulations. At its peak, DogSpot had over 50 doghouses outside Brooklyn stores with over 1,000 customer accounts. Legislation that would allow DogSpot to continue operating was introduced to the NYC Council last month, [but it could take 6-8 months for the bill to pass.
](http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3498473&GUID=342A8A3A-9206-47EE-8E11-F524406C3635&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=pet)
Dogs can detect agricultural diseases early. Study shows dogs can sniff out laurel wilt-infected avocado trees well in advance. Laurel wilt disease has had a devastating effect on the avocado industry in South Florida in past harvest seasons. Early detection can be instrumental in deterring a widespread infection. The use of scent-discriminating dogs has shown to offer the avocado industry legitimate signs of hope in their fight against the spread of the disease throughout their groves.