After further reseach into Flexpets and their founder, I found Lifestyle Pets. A company that sells hypoallergenic pets. At first the thought of someone shelling out $37,000 for their exotic breed was nauseating, wondering how many shelter pets could be helped with that $37K…. but as usual, its gets worse…
http://www.digitalchangeling.com/blog/2007/03/allerca-you-make-me-cry.html
I came across the site www.flexpet.com today which was shocking enough. Although I was not surprised to find that they have already been shut down in Boston. But then there was more…
ITCHMO EXCLUSIVE: Simon Brodie, the controversial founder with a criminal past behind the Allerca hypoallergenic cats, is the CEO of a company that owns Flexpetz, the pet sharing service. Brodie was convicted in the UK of multiple counts of accounting fraud. Ever since his move to the United States, he has been linked to pets or animals in his ventures and is shadowed by a history of failed ventures, lawsuits, unpaid bills, and fraud allegations. He characterized his past by saying “I’ve had some hits, some misses.”
How is Simon Brodie linked to Flexpetz?
Brodie was appointed the CEO of Tetros, Inc. — a firm purchased by ColdStar Capital — on April 4, 2007. Flexpetz issued a press release on April 10 which described itself as a wholly owned subsidiary of Tetros, who are both owned by ColdStar Capital. ColdStar, who lists its president as Jonathon Nicholson, is based out of the Cayman Islands.
When we talked with Brodie, he flatly denied having any knowledge about ColdStar Capital. When asked about the SEC filing that lists him as CEO of Tetros, Brodie retracted his statement, but would not provide a phone number for Nicholson.
The reference to ColdStar Capital was removed from the Flexpetz website on Thursday, the same day we spoke with Simon Brodie.
Add $22,000 exotic “Ashera” cats that haven’t been seen.
Simon Brodie is also the founder of Allerca (which is selling hypoallergenic cats for thousands of dollars) and also the man behind the supposedly unique “Ashera” cats.
Brodie is seeking to set up franchises to sell these “Ashera” cats. However, the cat breeder community says that the cats are not new. They say that the cat depicted on Brodie’s site is the Savannah breed already in existence. In fact Brodie’s company web site does not identify the cat as a Savannah and refused to show pictures of the actual breed until the franchises have been launched.
Mainstream media such as the New York Times and Time magazine have picked up the hypoallergenic cat story and Time went as far as to call it one of the best inventions of 2006.
Even murkier past
A Boston Globe article sheds more light into Brodie’s past.
Former associates have cast doubts about Simon Brodie’s new venture based on the past of its founder.
His latest legal troubles include a $285,000 federal tax lien placed on him last February by the Internal Revenue Service — about the same time Allerca was evicted from its headquarters in downtown San Diego, which was also Brodie’s home, for failing to pay rent.
A ColdStar Capital press release describes Brodie in a more favorable light:
Mr. Simon Brodie, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer has over 20 years of international management, sales, marketing and trouble-shooting experience. He has managed divisions of multinational corporations and has guided startup companies from start-up through acquisition.
Mr. Brodie has worked with organizations including United Kingdom’s National Health Service, Barclays Bank, HSBC, National Freight, Computer Sciences Corporation and JP Morgan. In 2004, he established companies to operate the new concept of high-priced domestic “lifestyle pets” which has resulted in worldwide acclaim for this new sector of the multi-billion dollar pet industry.
A Flexpetz representative could not be reached in time for this post.
There’s no need for your four-legged friend to feel as insecure as you do about the recession. Among the expert suggestions for keeping your dog or cat on the emotionally sunny side despite your recession gloominess: maintain his or her accustomed routines, don’t neglect health checkups and preventive care, and – on the offbeat side – buy your pet some flowers, those with anxiety-relieving properties.
Langhorne, PA (PRWEB) December 30, 2008 — You’re not the only one frightened by news of the deepening recession. Also trembling in fear: your pet.
No, your dog or cat isn’t reading the Wall Street Journal behind your back or channel-surfing to CNN’s “Moneyline” after you leave the house.
But he or she may be picking up on the recession anxiety you experience as stock prices tumble and unemployment figures soar, recent animal-behavior research seems to suggest.
For example, a University of Florida study which received considerable attention earlier this month offered evidence that dogs are more perceptive of human conduct than previously understood. Other research over the years has described humanlike cognitive and emotional characteristics in pets, such as an ability of dogs to read body language and sense fear in humans.
Thus, it holds that your head-in-hands, slump-shouldered, glum-faced dejectedness over the tanking economy and the recession it portends can be telegraphed to your pet who might perhaps start fretting – and grieving – about it along with you.
Dr. Katarina Reilly at the Veterinary Center of Greater Newburyport in Salisbury, Mass., doubts whether dogs and cats are able to interpret downcast moods and pit-of-despair gestures in quite so sophisticated a manner. However, she allows that owners do give their pets worry-inducing clues when big changes are coming.
“Your pet,” she says, “may get anxious if your routine varies,” as could be the case were you to lose your job because of the recession and start packing a suitcase in preparation for a trip to another city in search of employment.
Some veterinarians specialized in animal behavior advise against causing your pet emotional stress because that can trigger physical health problems.
Of course, it’s not possible to engage your dog or cat in reasoned discourse, rationally spelling out that there’s nothing to fear but fear itself. Still, there are ways to help your pet avoid sharing your recession-induced funk.
For starters, maintain your pet’s accustomed routines. Walks in the park, having him or her sit in your lap while you watch a favorite television show, even visiting the vet for periodic checkups and shots should be continued in order to provide a reassuring sense of stability despite the instability of your recession-plagued finances just now, experts recommend.
Speaking of vet visits, protecting the health of your pet becomes even more important than usual during stressful, recessionary times like these, warns Dr. Jennifer Adler, internal medicine specialist at the Center for Animal Referral and Emergency Services (CARES) in Langhorne, Pa.
“Neglecting checkups can lead to big health problems, which are often difficult and expensive to treat,” says Adler, who hints that some pet owners, in a misguided attempt to save money during a recession, skip vet checkups. “Preventative medicine is an excellent idea. For pet parents wanting to save money in the long run, wellness visits should be made a priority.”
Reilly agrees. “It is very important pets routinely see a veterinarian to evaluate any changes in their health and catch any problems early,” she says. “Blood work is important as well, since it uncovers things that cannot be seen by the eye. Catching problems early is important for your pet’s health, and can avoid costly treatments if illnesses go undetected.”
Other advice for keeping your pet from feeling as insecure as you do about the recession:
About Veterinary Center of Greater Newburyport. Founded in 1996, the Veterinary Center of Greater Newburyport offers preventative, diagnostic, and surgical services. The beautiful two-story facility boasts a training facility, four exam rooms, an in-house laboratory, and other cutting-edge equipment. These features enable the dedicated doctors and staff to provide the highest quality of care to their patients. Veterinary Center of Greater Newburyport is dedicated to providing comprehensive, compassionate and personalized veterinary care in the community while maintaining the highest ethical and professional standards.
A 50-year-old Stanfordville man has been accused of shooting a Great Dane to death and then hacking the dog’s head off, according to police and the dog’s owner, Tracey Sturgess of Woodstock.
Stanley Jablonka was arrested in the early morning hours Sunday and charged with misdemeanor violation of the New York state Agriculture and Markets Law, according to the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office.
Sturgess said her pet was an all-white albino Harlequin Great Dane named Humphrey. She bought the male dog, which was deaf and blind, in California nearly four years ago at 6 weeks old for $3,500.
He was a gift to her 16-year-old daughter.
“He just needed someone to love and care for him,” Sturgess said Monday. “It hurts so much to even talk about this. This dog was my hero.”
Deputies said that Jablonka apparently felt that the dog was aggressive when it was barking at his brother “so he took it upon himself to shoot and kill the animal,” according to a press release from the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said that the suspect also cut the dog’s head off.
“He thereafter decided to decapitate the animal as he believed this was customary and needed if one wishes to have a rabies test done on a dog,” the press release says.
Sturgess said she had brought Humphrey to Jablonka’s Stissing Street home because her car needed repair. She said Jablonka is an acquaintance of hers and is a mechanic.
Sturgess said she was sleeping at Jablonka’s house at the time her dog was killed, which she believes was sometime between 11 p.m. Saturday and midnight Sunday. She said one of the witnesses to the killing woke her up and told her, “Something happened to the dog and it ain’t good.”
Sturgess said she went to a garage and found blood splattered at the end of a chain that was attached to a wall. She said Humphrey was chained up to protect him and any visitors who might surprise the blind and deaf animal and him to react.
The woman said that witnesses told her the dog was shot while chained up and then “dragged out and his head was hacked off with an ax.”
Sturgess said that witnesses told her the dog was shot with “some kind of rifle.”
A deputy at the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office could not be reached Monday to confirm the use of an ax or rifle.
Sturgess told people there that she was calling the police. Jablonka, she said, told her she could be shot.
Another person replied, “‘It won’t be as easy to shoot her because she wouldn’t be chained to a wall,’” Sturgess said.
She said there was at least 10 witnesses to the killing, including children, one of whom is 12 years old.
Sturgess said the killing of Humphrey is probably the saddest moment of her life. During an interview, she broke down in tears several times.
Sturgess said she was in the process of writing a children’s book, “The Adventures of Humphrey, the Handicapped Canine,” to help educate people about those with disabilities.
Manchester, Vermont – December 26, 2008
An industrial kitchen in Manchester is stocked with many of the ingredients any bakery would have, but this business is for the dogs.
Neil Reilly of Wagatha’s Dog Treats explains, “People are using pets almost as surrogates for children.”
Wagatha’s produces organic dog biscuits. They’re part of a large and growing pet food and gift market estimated at about $41 billion a year. Reilly says, “Of that, the organic section is the fastest-growing segment, so we’re in the sweet spot, it’s really nice.”
Reilly was a Wall Street commodities trader who gave up the city life for a quiet Vermont venture. He renovated Burton Snowboards’ former plant and partnered with a professional chef, Norman Levitz. Levitz says, “Most often, pet food is made from food not edible for human beings.”
But because he had years and years of restaurant experience, Levitz designed recipes using ingredients from human food. Whole wheat flour and allspice are just some of them. He explains, “I just didn’t feel right about producing something I wasn’t proud of and wouldn’t eat myself.”
So he does eat his own dog treats, and offered me one. I have to admit, it wasn’t bad at all. They taste like thick gourmet crackers. With flavors like Tuscan tomato & herb, cranberry cheddar, and maple oatmeal with bananas and apples, the biscuits sound like human food too.
Rabbis have even certified them Kosher for observant Jewish households. Levitz says, “We’re one of the few in the industry doing that.”
When some Chinese-made pet food was found to contain harmful chemicals, the safe, all-natural approach here paid off in a big way. Business, both direct and wholesale, has quadrupled since 2007. You can find Wagatha’s in 48 states and countries as far away as the Middle East.
Neil Reilly beams, “It really matters in the business world when you say something’s Made in Vermont.”
Buoyed by the strength of the organics industry, Wagatha’s expects continued growth for their Made in Vermont treats from buyers who pamper their pets, and wouldn’t give them anything they wouldn’t eat themselves.
Most organic products including these biscuits come at a premium price. Wagatha’s treats are about $8 per container, and are sold at retailers around the state. Some include City Market and Scribbles in Burlington, Healthy Living in South Burlington, Noah’s Ark in Colchester, the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, and Catamount Pet Supply in Rutland. Wagatha’s also sells treats direct from its website.
Source: UPI.com, Published: Dec. 23, 2008 at 7:56 AM
ANCASTER, Ontario, Dec. 23 (UPI) — A Canadian woman owes her life to a dog that found her partially frozen under heavy snow three days after she went missing west of Toronto.
Donna Molnar, 55, left her home to get baking supplies in the town of Ancaster, about 45 miles west of Toronto, on Friday as a major winter storm battered the region.
When she hadn’t returned by sundown, her husband called police, the Globe and Mail said. Police found her SUV Saturday night in a rural area. It had been all but obscured by snow pushed aside by a plow, the report said.
Search crews fanned out around the vehicle and continued Sunday as a second winter storm dumped more snow on the region.
Midday Monday, volunteer searcher Ray Lau and his Dutch shepherd dog Ace were in a snowy field near where the SUV was found when the dog bounded away from him and began barking at a spot where Molnar was found under 30 inches of snow.
She was taken to Hamilton General Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition Tuesday from hypothermia and frostbite. Police said the heavy snow likely acted as an insulator against the sub-freezing temperatures, the Hamilton Spectator said.
Source: BBC News
Scientists in Austria say they have found a basic form of jealousy in dogs.
The Vienna-based researchers showed that dogs will stop doing a simple task when not rewarded if another dog, which continues to be rewarded, is present.
Writing in the journal PNAS, the scientists say this shows a sensitivity in dogs that was only previously found in primates.
The researchers now plan to extend their experiments to look at co-operative behaviour in wolves.
The experiment consisted of taking pairs of dogs and getting them to present a paw for a reward. On giving this “handshake” the dogs received a piece of food.
One of the dogs was then asked to shake hands, but received no food. The other dog continued to get the food when it was asked to perform the task.
Reward value
The dog without the reward quickly stopped doing the task, and showed signs of annoyance or stress when its partner was rewarded.
To make sure that the experiment was really showing the interaction between the dogs rather than just the frustration of not being rewarded, a similar experiment was conducted where the dogs performed the task without the partner. Here they continued to present the paw for much longer.
The dog sees its partner rewarded
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Dr Frederike Range from the department of neurobiology and cognition research at the University of Vienna, says this shows that it was the presence of the rewarded partner which was the greater influence on their behaviour.
“The only difference is one gets food and the other doesn’t, they are responding to being unequally rewarded.” she said.
The researchers say this kind of behaviour, where one animal gets frustrated with what is happening with another, has only been observed in primates before.
Studies with various types of monkeys and chimpanzees show they react not only to seeing their partners receiving rewards when they are not, but also to the type of reward.
The dog study also looked at whether the type of reward made a difference. Dogs were given either bread or sausage, but seemed to react equally to either. Dr Range says this may be because they have been trained.
“It’s through the fact they have to work for the reward, this confers it with a higher value,” she said.
Evolution
The researchers say this behaviour, reacting to others receiving rewards, may represent an earlier stage in the evolution of co-operative behaviours seen in human and primates.
“I think it’s a precursor, simpler than in humans, it’s a selfish behaviour, they don’t react to seeing others treated unfairly. With humans they react, say it’s unfair, we can’t see anything like that in the dogs,” said Dr Range.
The dog soon refuses to raise a paw
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The researchers say the type of behaviour exhibited in the experiment is probably due to the dog’s close association with humans. Dr Range says other animals need to be studied to really show how animals naturally exhibit jealousies or cooperate.
“I’m sure that it’s not something that evolved with the dogs, we will have to test it in wolves and other cooperating species,” she said.
Dr Range is currently rearing wolf cubs in order to perform similar experiments. She says the wolves will be able to do the paw test, but that it is really the wrong experiment. She regards this as something unnatural, that dogs are taught by their owners.
“They can give the paw, but it’s not the right test. We must take the human out of the equation, then we can compare directly wolves with dogs.”
Created On: Friday, 05 Dec 2008, 1:13 PM EST, by Shannon Wolfson
AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) – An intuitive dog saved a women from certain sexual assault during an attack near an Austin bus stop.
A 23-year-old woman told police she had just missed her bus at a stop in Rundberg Lane when a man stopped and offered her a ride.
The victim told police the man then drove her to a wooded area and tried to sexually assault her inside of his truck.
“At some point during the incident, she heard what sounded like dog tags,” said Austin police Detective James Mason. “Someone walking a dog through a wooded area.”
“My dog went right to the truck and he was just sniffing around and hanging right by the doors,” said Margaret Lane-Mendoza who was walking her dog in the area.
The victim then kicked the car horn with her foot.
“What really got my attention was the horn honked and as soon as that horn honked, I thought, maybe somebody is in trouble,” said Lane-Mendoza.
The horn spooked the attacker and the victim was able to get free and get out of the truck.
“I said, are you OK? And she said no, and then she told me to get the license plate number,” said Lane-Mendoza.
The victim told Lane-Mendoza she was late for a college class and had just missed her bus.
“She just thought this guy was being a good Samaritan and then he wouldn’t let her out of the car,” she said.
With the license plate and the victim’s description, police were able to track down Roger Castro,36. According to an arrest warrant for Castro, he admitted to being at the scene of the crime. He was not arrested during his initial question, but police have since charged him with attempted sexual assault. Castro has not been arrested.
“As we know right now, we’re looking at other cases, trying to link them together, and if they are, we’ll file additional charges on him,” said Detective Mason.
Source: Associated Press, Dec 5, 2008
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — A dog weighing more than 120 pounds survived being frozen to a sidewalk overnight, probably because he was insulated by layers of fat, authorities said.
The Sheboygan County Humane Society says the “morbidly obese” dog, an aging border collie mix named Jiffy, froze to the sidewalk when he was left out overnight Wednesday. Shelter manager Carey Payne says few dogs could survive the single-digit temperatures, and it was probably the fat that made the difference.
Jiffy’s 59-year-old owner was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of animal neglect, Sheboygan Police Lt. Tim Eirich said. She told police she tried to get the dog inside but couldn’t, and instead checked on him every few hours.
The dog is 11 or 12 years old, Eirich said. Shelter workers poured warm water over Jiffy’s back end to unstick him from the sidewalk, Payne said, and it was too soon to say whether he suffered any long-term effects.
Source: Local6.com
A dog rescued another dog that was struck by a vehicle in Chile, dragging the animal by its teeth across the busy highway to safety.
The feat was captured on video, which shows cars driving by at highway speeds while the dog performs the rescue. An expert said the act of bravery was natural instinct for the dog.
Inside Edition, which obtained the video, said both dogs survived.
To view the live video, visit WKMG.com:
http://www.local6.com/family/18210629/detail.html
