| 2005 Americans spent over $15 million on | | | | owner was so grief-stricken she sold her house to |
| behavior-modification drugs for their pets. A cat that | | | | raise the $50,000 needed for RNL Bio. RNL is a |
| was attacking its owner was diagnosed as being | | | | biotech company affiliated with the South Korean lab |
| deficient in serotonin, the neurotransmitter that | | | | that produced the world's first cloned dog. RNL |
| provides a feeling of well-being. A dog that chased its | | | | scientists used skin cells taken from Booger's ear |
| tail for up to 5 hours was diagnosed with | | | | before he died to make embryos. The embryos |
| obsessive-compulsive disorder. Then there's the | | | | were later implanted in two surrogate dogs. Two |
| increasing number of pets being treated with drugs | | | | months after that the now-houseless Ms. McKinney |
| that have the same active ingredient as Prozac. | | | | had five, black pit bull terrier puppies and may be |
| What's next? Maybe we should have holistic centers | | | | happily living in a pup tent. |
| where pets can be taught to reduce stress by | | | | Advances in medicine, however, are not just |
| petting their owners. | | | | prolonging the lives of pets. They are enabling zoo |
| On the other hand - or paw - some pets take very | | | | animals to live longer too. The National Zoo in |
| good care of their owners. Some dogs can | | | | Washington, D.C. has 100 geriatric animals - animals |
| differentiate smells and know their owners are sick | | | | that have outlived the lifespan they would have had |
| before they know. Studies have shown that dogs | | | | in the wild. There's a lion with a weight problem, a |
| can detect breast and lung cancer. The Pine Street | | | | gorilla with heart disease and exotic birds with |
| Foundation, a non-profit cancer education and | | | | hardening of the arteries. Then there's Ambeka, a |
| research group, is training dogs to detect ovarian | | | | 60-year-old, female elephant. Elephants have 6 sets |
| cancer. Other canines have been trained to recognize | | | | of teeth in their lifetime and Ambeka is on her sixth |
| when diabetics' blood sugar levels drop and for the | | | | set. It's harder for her to stand up and lie down. Her |
| past 20 years dogs have been used to alert owners | | | | weight has shifted and she moves slower. Because |
| of pending seizures. It seems dogs have the ability to | | | | older humans can identify with Ambeka's age-related |
| be dognosticians. | | | | problems, maybe older elephants actually do forget. |
| When Booger, a black pit bull terrier died, his California | | | | |