Yucatan Living

News: It's All about Animals

News starting August 10, 2009

Lost: Mother Cocker Spaniel
The owners of a hostel in Centro found it in their hearts to adopt a female cocker spaniel and her 4 month old puppy. Unfortunately, the mother cocker has simply disappeared from their home. Everyone who lives in Centro is asked to keep an eye out for a 2 year old, spayed, honey colored cocker spaniel. She is a docile dog, and very affectionate. AFAD and her new owners are all very sad because she spent a long time in the shelter before finding a home. Please report any sighting of this dog to 999 947- 6319.

Treats That Could Poison Your Dog
Every once in a while, the scare begins to wane and people forget that there are some common people foods that are toxic for their dogs. This is why you see these notices at fairly regular intervals throughout the year. There are loads of great dog owners who have no idea that raisins can be a toxin. According to Poison Control, as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be a lethal dose for a dog. Sadly, many people give grapes or raisins to their dogs as treats. Onions, chocolate, cocoa, and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too. For a list of other foods that can be toxic to dogs, check with Pet Education.

What Not to Feed Your Cat!
After having been chastised by my favorite reader for not writing as much about cats as we do about dogs, we thought we would add these warnings about what not to feed your cat - or any cat you may befriend in the street. Do not give cow’s milk to cats. They are, for the most part, lactose intolerant. Cow’s milk gives them an upset stomach and diarrhea. In addition, be careful about giving cats leftover tomato based foods, such as spaghetti sauce. They love it, but it can be toxic. Go to Pet Education and print their list of foods that should be kept away from cats. It is almost the same list for both types of pets, so it shouldn’t be hard to keep both your dog and your cat safe from toxic foods.

Little Brother Bug is Not a Pet!
News has reached us that, on a job site in the interior of the peninsula, a “walking stick” bug, sprayed the eyes of a worker. His supervisor went online to What’s That Bug to find out if his employee would be ok or if he needed special medical treatment. It seems that this particular bug is called, by the Mayans, the Little Brother Bug because they are usually in pairs, with the smaller riding on the back of the larger. In truth, this is the male riding on the back of the spraying female. While walking stick bugs and mantises of several kinds are often kept as pets by bug lovers, it is probably not the best idea for a novice to try keeping a Little Brother Bug from Yucatan.

Horses of Yucatan Soon To Be Protected
This past week, several animal rights champions met with officials in Yucatan to begin the formulation of legislation that will finally relieve this state’s working horses, really beasts of burden, a much needed rescue from their present circumstances. All of us have felt the tug on our heart-strings from at least one weary old horse but we also wonder what will happen to the jobs of their owners when they are no longer allowed to use the horses to work? One of the reason that most of the horse owners still use horses and wagons, buggies, or carriages is because they cannot afford a truck. While we welcome relief for the horses, we certainly do wish there could be some middle ground – where both horse and man could win in the end. It seems that pressure from tourists, who do not like seeing the horses suffer, is helping to push along legislation on their behalf.

The Animals (Birds) of Yucatan

For those who might like to see "a few birds" that live in our state, there is a blog that has no text - only pictures. The title of the blog is The Animals of Yucatan but, so far, all of the pictures are of birds and one lonely insect. If you have never seen the flamingos on the coast of Yucatan, these are the best pictures of them that we have ever seen! Please visit The Animals of Yucatan.

Traffic Concerns
While we are usually encouraging everyone to “go, see, and do” whatever our state has to offer, this might not be such a good idea if you are thinking of heading out to the beach right now. The police say that, at any given time – especially on weekends – there are as many as 100,000 vehicles on the roads between Merida, Progreso, Chelem, Chuburna, and Chicxulub. The police traffic count shows that there were 50 to 60 cars per minute entering the expressway between Merida and Progreso. We aren’t suggesting that you stay at home. What we are suggesting is that you travel in off hours – or take the bus. In all cases, please be mindful of the fact that times have changed and August is a bit faster in Yucatan than it used to be. We just don’t want it to be less safe.

More Tourists To Come….
The new tourism push from Mexico is on and all of the major advertising campaigns are including specific mention of Yucatan, especially with respect to “eco-tourism” along the coast. They are running these ads in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Travel Weekly and Conde Nast. For those who are interested in investing in the future of Yucatan, now is the time to enter any business that is, in any way, related to tourism – from selling inflatable beach toys to providing wedding services. Mexico has put out the “Welcome Back” sign all over the world… and it looks as if the whole world is responding.