Concierges get Cave Creek Wild West Days tour

By Curtis Riggs | October 22, 2008

Quarterly tours planned
CAVE CREEK – The Cave Creek Merchant’s Chamber of Commerce officials recently provided Valley resort concierges with a glimpse of what will be happening during the Wild West Days community celebration, Oct. 31 through Nov. 2.

CCMCC board members Annette Spino and Carol Reill took a dozen concierges on a tour bus and showed them the best of what Cave Creek has to offer.

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Fifth annual Rita Cohen Memorial Dog Walk this Saturday

October 22, 2008

Annual event raises money for Foothills Animal Rescue
CAVE CREEK – Foothills Animal Rescue (FAR), a no-kill animal shelter, is holding its 5th Annual Rita Cohen Memorial Dog Walk on Saturday, Oct. 25. In previous years, over 350 people have attended the event to be held at the Carefree Amphitheater, Carefree. Registration is at 8 a.m. with the dog walk starting at 9 a.m.

The dog walk will consist of both a short and long course with maps provided. There will be a one half-mile “Chihuahua Cha-Cha” course and a one-mile “Terrier Trek” course, with an opportunity for those who want longer distance to repeat the walk.

The event will also include raffles, a silent auction (including donations from Sonoran Arts League and local artists), approximately fifteen vendors and a doggy costume contest. A doggy fashion show, sponsored by Scottsdale store Classy-Jazzy, will follow the event with the purpose of helping raise money for FAR.

This annual dog walk event was started five years ago to honor outstanding FAR volunteer Rita Cohen. Not only was Rita a FAR founding mother, but she also served as vice president of the board of directors and chief fund-raiser for the group for many years. In addition, she always jumped right into any job needing to be done at the office/cattery and was always at the forefront of any effort to aid FAR.

This year, the dog walk event is an extremely important fund-raising event for FAR. Having lost its home base at the end of September, FAR’s hope is that enough tax deductible donations will be raised to make the dream of a new home for the no-kill shelter a reality. Out of dedication to the animals, FAR volunteers are currently fostering all the cats previously located at the shop cattery. A minimum of $200,000 is needed in order to purchase a commercial location for a new FAR home in the Cave Creek/Carefree area.

The services Foothills Animal Rescue provides are vital to our community. The organization’s mission is to provide shelter, care and adoption services for the many domestic cats and dogs that, due to the present economic situation or other domestic problems, are given up, abandoned, lost, or stray in north Maricopa County. FAR also sponsors a spay/neuter program, community pet safety education and a pet lost and found service.

Those interested in signing up for the 5th Annual Rita Cohen Memorial Dog Walk can do so at the FAR website www.foothillsanimal.org in advance or register on the day of the event. Adoptions will not occur at the event, but participants are encouraged to inquire about a specific type of dog or cat through FAR volunteers at the event or at 480-488-9890.

Photo: One of the many animals Foothills Animal Rescue cares for that will benefit from the Dog Walk is Misu, a Newfoundland/Border Collie mix who is up for adoption.
Courtesy Photo

Carefree tightens belt in face of budget uncertainty

By Curtis Riggs | October 22, 2008

Cost controls called for after economic development conference
CAREFREE – Town officials have instituted a belt tightening for town departments and projects.
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Pet Health Education
Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries

October 22, 2008

An exercise in making the best of a difficult injury
Knee injuries in the canine constitute about 60 percent of all injuries to their joints. When we are presented with a lameness in the rear limb, a progressive evaluation of all the joints of the limb is performed. The intent is to thoroughly evaluate the limb as a whole prior to the above bias entering into our differential diagnosis. This leads to the discovery of concomitant injuries that are often over looked. This article deals with just the knee and its potential abnormalities.

The physical exam will reveal the presence of several abnormalities that support the diagnosis of an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury. Lameness can range in severity of 1 to 5 out of 5. 1 being a subtle lameness at walk and trot and 5 being 3 legged (not using the injured leg). The joint is often swollen with poor distinction of the regional structures. The inside or medial joint is painful. The range of motion of the joint is reduced. This can be determined by a comparison with the normal limb. This applies to evaluating all aspects of the joint, limb and lameness. The condition of the joint’s stability is determined by several manipulations. Lateral and medial distraction checks the collateral ligaments. Anterior and posterior drawer evaluates the cruciate ligaments. The anterior drawer movement is checked in a flexed and extended posture. Pops or rough sounds are noted during any of the above manipulations. Following the complete evaluation and diagnosis of an anterior cruciate ligament injury, we can then begin to decide on a course of action to modify and assist in the joints re-stabilization.
The first thing to understand is that the joint can not be returned to its original condition. All procedures and support is aligned at making the best of a difficult injury. Two goals exist in all cases. First relieve a substantial amount of the discomfort and second reduce the rate of inevitable arthritis.

We start all patients on adequan (glucosaminoglycan), glucosamine/condroitin sulfate, and omega 3 fatty acids. These nutritional supplements provide the building blocks for healing of or maintaining the remaining structure of the joint. Non-steroidal anti-inflamatory agents are used to reduce the swelling and pain. This is similar to us taking an Advil, Aspirin or Tylenol for swelling and/or pain.
Correction of the injury surgically is based on radiographic evaluation of the joint and the athletic potential of the patient. Doing nothing is probably not an option. The joint will remain painful and continue to degenerate at an accelerated rate. Two procedures currently are considered the best options for the athletic patient. They are the tibial tubercle advancement and the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy. They are complicated procedures that do not reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament, but create new physics of the joint that impart improved stability. The physics of the repairs are beyond the scope of this article. We prefer to perform one of the surgical repairs on a partially torn cruciate ligament rather than waiting for it to completely fail. This provides for the opportunity of the ligament to have support that may prevent it from completely failing.
Rehabilitation of the injury following a surgical repair takes about 4 months. The exercises are specific and need to be followed closely for the most optimal outcome. Our hope is that you will never have to make decisions regarding an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

This article is courtesy of Animal Health Services, 37555 N. Cave Creek Rd., 480-488-6181. For more pet health information go to www.ahsvet.com.

Note: Beginning November 3, Animal Health Services will extend their hours. They will be open until 10 p.m. Monday – Thursday for emergency and walk-in care.

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