Category: News

The stray cats and dogs around Naval Air Station Sigonella need YOU to volunteer for a good cause 🐾 🐶 SAWS – Sigonella Animal Welfare Society is looking for a special volunteer at this point 🐱

✅ SoMe “INTERNSHIP” (not a board member) ✅

Here you have an excellent opportunity to beef up your college application! SAWS is willing to help you do that through an internship. Here you can work on your SoMe skills, earn volunteer hours and help us do a good cause.

This – an internship at SAWS – will be a win-win situation for you and for SAWS, who needs help with our Social Media.

Short info about the job

As our SoMe “intern” you will help our Communication Team Lead with posts on our Social Media (for example courtesy posts, urgent posts, events and pets up for adoption). Facebook is where we have our main network, and we want to grow Instagram as well.

You are comfortable in working/navigating on Facebook (Meta Business Suite) and Instagram, and you are good at working with pictures and video. Help us create amazing posts, reels, stories from pictures, videos and your magic words 😊

• So – you are good at juggling Facebook (Meta Business Suite) and Instagram
• you are good with creating content from pictures and videos
• you are good with words
• AND – you want to help us help the cats and dogs in the triangle of Naval Air Station Sigonella

READY? SET – GO… write us a PM on Facebook or send us a mail on info@pawsofsaws.org. Tell us who you are and why you would like to work with us and how. Tell us, why you are the right intern for SAWS.

We are looking forward to telling you more about this internship 😁

Unfortunately we have had an incident of Canine Parvovirus in one of our rescues.

For that reason we want to inform you about what the source of infection is and what the symptoms are.

The short info:

This virus is highly contagious and spreads through direct contact with an infected dog or by indirect contact with a contaminated object.
Your puppy is exposed to the parvovirus every time he sniffs, licks, or consumes infected feces. Indirect transmission occurs when a person who has recently been exposed to an infected dog touches your puppy, or when a puppy encounters a contaminated object, like a food or water bowl, collars and leashes, and the hands and clothing of people who handle infected dogs.

Parvovirus causes severe life threatening diarrhea, often bloody. If left untreated, the mortality rate can exceed 90%, with death occurring within 48 – 72 hours after the onset of symptoms.

The more in-depth info:

How Parvo Spreads to Dogs:
Veterinary experts agree that virtually all of the world’s dogs have been exposed to canine parvovirus. The virus begins to “shed,” or be excreted by a dog, three to four days following his exposure to the virus, often before clinical signs of the infection have appeared. The virus is also shed in huge amounts from infected dogs in their feces for 7-10 days; a single ounce of fecal matter from a parvo-infected dog contains 35,000,000 units of the virus, and only 1,000 are needed to cause infection.

In addition, the virus can be carried on shoes, tires, people, animals (including insects and rodents), and many mobile surfaces, including wind and water. Because it is difficult to remove from the environment and because infected dogs shed the virus in such profusion, Parvovirus can spread not only to veterinary clinic, grooming salon, and obedience school, but every street, park, house, school, shopping mall, airplane, bus, and office in the world.

While a dog that is diagnosed with Parvovirus will be quickly isolated by his veterinarian and his recent environment will be cleaned and disinfected, some infected dogs have such minor symptoms that no one realizes they are ill. Infected dogs, with or without symptoms, shed the virus for about two weeks. If conditions are right, the virus can survive for up to six months. Although Parvovirus is destroyed by sunlight, steam, diluted chlorine bleach, and other disinfectants, sterile environments can be quickly reinfected.

Parvovirus symptoms to watch for:
Here are the signs of Parvovirus, you should not ignore if you suspect your dog has been exposed. It is important to remember that most parvovirus deaths occur within 48 and 72 hours following a dog showing clinical signs.

• sudden inappetance (dog won’t eat)
• vomiting
• extreme lethargy or depression
• diarrhea (severe and/or containing blood)
• dehydration
• a bloated, tender, or seemingly painful abdomen
• rapid heartbeat
• red gums and eyeballs
• low body temperature (hypothermia)

Canine Parvovirus Medical Treatment

Most veterinarians treat Parvovirus with intravenous fluids and antibiotics. In addition, treatment may include balancing the blood sugar, intravenous electrolytes, intravenous nourishment, and an antiemetic injection to reduce nausea and vomiting. None of these treatments “cure” the disease or kill the virus; they are supportive therapies that help stabilize the dog long enough for his immune system to begin counteracting the virus.

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PLEASE be aware of your dog – and please take care of your 4-legged furry best friend ❤️

We know for a fact, that the Sicilian summer can be relentless. And while we try to deal with the heat ourselves, it is more difficult with the animals. Because when is our best friend too hot? When does it become critical? And best of all – how do we best help our best friend through the summer?

Here’s the best suggestion from SAWS about:

WALKS, WATER, ENERGY, CAR – AND HEAT STROKE

Walks

Walk your dog EARLY and LATE – before it gets too hot and after the sun goes down. Surfaces warm up more than we think, and therefore be mindful of the weather when planning a walk at other times. Watch where you go and take regular breaks in the shade. Make sure, that your dog is not walking the steaming hot pavement. Check how hot it is by placing the palm of your hand on the pavement.

Your dog does not have shoes on like you do and can’t protect its feet. And believe us when we tell you, that your dog will not tell you it’s too hot, but it will suffer!

A good suggestion would be to buy your best friend some shoes to protect its feet, like you would protect your own <3

Search Google for “Scarpe per cani”.

Water

Always be sure, your dog has water – always of course – but more often in the summer. Make sure, there is always plenty of water in the bowl and maybe even an extra bowl for when you are not home.

Bring water, when you go for walks, even if it’s just a walk of 10-15 minutes. Suddenly you can see your dog panting and maybe doesn’t want to continue walking, and you will be happy to be able to offer your dog some water.

You can bring a small bottle and a small collapsible water bowl with a carabine to hang on the leash or on your jacket or bag. Want to go fancy on it, look for a ”portable water bottle”.

Use up your dog’s energy in different ways

When you are not able to run/walk your dog as usual, you might want to help use the energy in a different way. Your dog might quickly get a bit bored when not using up the mental and physical energy as usual. Choose activities less strenuous, like getting toys and treats that can be hidden for the dog – or maybe even better – take advantage of the situation and spend some time training your dog indoors. Lots of commands and training can take place indoor, and if you stimulate your dog mentally, you will win big time, when the summer is over. And your dog will not be bored while learning. You could hide treats an train your dog in finding them.

You could also make great dog treats on frozen lick mats or in a Kong toy, and even get some good healthy stuff in your dog this way. It could also be activity flip boards that will stimulate your dog in finding treats.

Just make sure that the activities you choose are calm and out of the heat.

Never leave your dog in the car

It can be fatal to leave any pet alone in a hot car. Even in the shade with the windows open, they can become uncomfortable and develop heat stroke very quickly.

Always make sure you have a plan, so your dog doesn’t have to be left alone in the car or in any other enclosed spaces. If you see a dog in a hot car, act on it!

If you do have to travel with your dog in the car on a hot day, make sure that you use shade covers on the windows to avoid direct sun on them whilst you are travelling. Keep the temperature in the car down, also where the dog is!

If possible, cool your car down and have the air conditioning on even before putting your dog in. Try to choose the cooler times of day to travel with your dog. There might also be less traffic then, so you don’t get stuck for long periods of time. Ensure your dog has access to water throughout the journey – there are some great non-splash travel bowls available on the market.

And now for the more serious issue: Looking out for signs of heat stroke!

What is heat stroke?

A heat stroke is a potentially fatal condition, where the core body temperature rises to a dangerous level. If not treated quickly, a dog may have seizures and die.

Cats too can be affected by heat stroke, but they’re better able to escape the heat and can move into a shady tree to cool down.

Any dog can develop heatstroke, but overweight, young, elderly, flat-faced, giant-breed, and thick-coated dogs are particularly at risk, even from just sitting out in hot weather.

Signs of heat stroke in your pet can include:

• heavy panting
• difficulty breathing
• confusuion or loss of coordination
• red gums
• vomiting and diarrhea
• thick, tacky saliva
• Drooling or foaming at the mouth
• Shaking or weakness
• Seizures

If you think your dog has heatstroke, you need to ACT FAST. Make sure you contact your vet immediately.

While contacting the vet:

• Move the dog to a shaded and cool area
• Keep it calm and still
• Put it on top of a cool wet towel, a cooling mat or place it in the breeze of a fan
• Allow the dog to drink small amounts of cool water
• Pour cool water over the dog’s feet, ears and head. Never use ice or very cold water as this can cause shock
• Gradually start to move cool water over their body, but not too much that they start shivering
• If possible, continue cooling your dog on the way to your vet