Day: May 10, 2011

OREGON AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE HORSE SHOOTING

Law enforcement authorities in Marion County, Ore., are seeking whoever is responsible for fatally shooting a 23-year-old Arabian mare while she grazed in her pasture near Silverton earlier this week. Continue reading…

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The Kentucky Derby Must Kick Its Drug Problem

Throughout the world, drugs are banned on race day. In the U.S., for example, horses can’t test positive for anabolic steroids like equipoise and Winstrol or be treated with antiulcer medications or even Advil-like anti-inflammatory drugs. But the U.S. and Canada are among the very few countries where horses can receive injections of furosemide, a diuretic also known as Lasix, or Salix, up to four hours before post time. This drug is barred in Hong Kong, England and most other places that host horse races. Within racing, Lasix is recognized as a performance-enhancing drug. Imagine if, at

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Pets displaced by tornadoes await reunions

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—Those leaving the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter these days are either overjoyed after finding their pets lost when tornadoes ravaged the region or heartbroken and often moved to tears when they don’t. Reginald Jackson has felt both. He walked up and down the rows of cages, looking for his pit bull Bolo, but the dog was nowhere to be found. About to leave, distressed that his year-old animal was still missing, Jackson looked and there was Bolo. A veterinarian was walking him from an exam. “Someone was coming in the door with him,” said the 55-year-old

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UT studies blacklegged ticks to explain variations in Lyme disease risk

The University of Tennessee is taking part in a $2.5 million study aimed at shedding new light on the blacklegged tick, the parasite responsible for spreading Lyme disease. The project marks the first time scientists have taken a systematic, regionwide look at the blacklegged tick – also called the deer tick – to determine how factors like climate and tick genetics affect the bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi) that causes the disease. For decades Lyme disease has been associated with the Northeast region of the U.S., where blacklegged ticks are common. Evidence indicates that the ticks are spreading to

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