So, I’m sure by now that you have read the news that sleeping with your pets can, and probably will, kill you. It’s a wonder I am still breathing.
I heard it first on the radio on my way to work yesterday. Then read up via everyone’s BFF, The Interwebs.
The first article I came across was this:
I heard it first on the radio on my way to work yesterday. Then read up via everyone’s BFF, The Interwebs.
The first article I came across was this:
Oh my, where do I start?
How about here…
“Among the more serious medical problems animal lovers risk by snuggling up to their pets are chagas disease, which can cause life- threatening heart and digestive system disorders.”
Have any of you ever heard of chagas disease?
Me neither.
Google is my friend. From Google Health:
“Chagas disease is an illness spread by insects. It is common in South and Central America.”
“Risk factors for Chagas disease include:
How about here…
“Among the more serious medical problems animal lovers risk by snuggling up to their pets are chagas disease, which can cause life- threatening heart and digestive system disorders.”
Have any of you ever heard of chagas disease?
Me neither.
Google is my friend. From Google Health:
“Chagas disease is an illness spread by insects. It is common in South and Central America.”
“Risk factors for Chagas disease include:
· Living in a hut where reduvid bugs live in the walls
· Living in Central or South America
· Poverty
· Receiving a blood transfusion from a person who carries the parasite but does not have active Chagas disease”
I don’t see Fluffy mentioned anywhere, do you? Just how the hell am I getting this tropical bug disease from Kate? I guess I need to start worrying if I lose my job, move to a hut in South America and somehow end up needing a blood transfusion. Until then, the bitches can sleep where ever they like.
Oh, and this..
“Cat-scratch disease is another problem. It can come from being licked by infected felines, and can cause lethal damage to the liver, kidney or spleen.”
From being licked? It’s called “Cat-scratch” for a reason. According to these folks, simply having a cat is an issue. Is your cat beating the crap out of you while you sleep? Seems to me it would make more sense to warn people about playing with their cat. Sleeping with them seems much safer.
From Wikipedia:
“Cat scratch disease (CSD) … is a usually benign infectious disease caused by the intracellular bacterium Bartonella. It is most commonly found in children following a scratch or bite from a cat by about one to two weeks.”
“Cat scratch disease (CSD) … is a usually benign infectious disease caused by the intracellular bacterium Bartonella. It is most commonly found in children following a scratch or bite from a cat by about one to two weeks.”
Benign.
Not quite life threatening, yeah?
Not quite life threatening, yeah?
A real doozy…
“A nine-year-old boy from Arizona even caught the plague because he slept with his flea-infested cat, according to the report. “
Of course he caught the fucking plague because he slept with the cat. We are just going to skim over the “flea-infested” bit? Would he have caught the plague if his parents had spent 3 dollars on a
damn flea comb?!
And my absolute favorite…
“The study also showed that most of the dogs allowed to sleep in beds were small, but 41 percent were medium. One in three was large.”
OK, so writers are not mathematicians.
Let’s break this down for them, shall we?
“One in three” = 33%
All dogs sleeping in beds – medium dogs – large dogs = small dogs
100% - 41% - 33% = 26%
26% does not equal “most”
Jesus H!
If you are going to spew crap at least make some kind of sense! If you want me shaking in my boots, give me something to fear. And for fucks sake, buy a calculator!
The only thing I am at risk for catching at my house is a bit of The Crazy.
Ha! I wish they would mention the GOOD things that animals COMMONLY do for people; like lowering stress, risk of heart disease, etc. Since stress and heart disease are much bigger threats that we've all heard of! Sheesh.
ReplyDeletePfft the Daily Mail and their shite 'journalism'. I'm pretty certain that the menagerie I was raised with actually boosted my immunity when I was a kid; I was rarely sick aside from a bout of appendicitis. The rabbits in the kitchen, cats in our beds, dogs on our couches, birds in the garden, sugar gliders in the bathroom, mice in my bedroom and hamsters in the bath tub [what? they enjoyed swimming!] did much more good to my body's defence system than any 'living in a bubble' tactic the world seems to think is the best thing nowadays.
ReplyDeleteah the daily fail :/ not worth the trees its printed on. sky sleeps on the bed, pretty much the only way we get even 5 hours of sleep, and my feet have never been warmer :)
ReplyDeleteHa! This is amazing! That maths is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteAmen again! I saw that news and thought it was such crap I couldn't even give it attention. What hogwash!
ReplyDeleteFanny,
ReplyDeleteIt's the <Lake Wobegone effect, where all the children are above average.
Pops
My take on the "NEWS" exactly.
ReplyDeleteLove Noodles
PS like your blog.
You said it and I love it! I sleep with my Sayde every night and sometimes she is on top of me....then my two kitties are up around my face or under my arms....such heaven! I would never think that I could possibly get anything "bad" from them...sleeping with my furries is sometimes better than sleeping with another human being....woof!
ReplyDeleteExactly! Don't forget about the woman in the CDC study who was actually kissing and transferring food from her mouth to her dog's. Maybe something like that might skew the results, ya think? That doesn't exactly fit the description of most people who hug their dog. We have a post up at Pets Adviser with a similar take on this; it's called "How the Media Exaggerated 'Sleeping With Pets' Disease."
ReplyDeletewe've always been a 'silent follower' of your awesome blog - but this post is just... fan-tars-teeek!
ReplyDeletei don't believe this it can be happen if this is right,it is a bad news for pet lovers..
ReplyDeleteThey should also add that having a pet makes you less prone to have depression, and more likely live longer that somebody that has no pets. I call the person that said that SHANANIGANS!!!!
ReplyDeleteHilarious. That reporter must be hurting for material.May be they should write about how often things are reported that are wrong, irrelevant, or just plain stupid. They could use that special math.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this post!
ReplyDeleteTrust me, as someone who lives in a poor-ish tropical country, chagas disease is the least of one's worries. :-)
Sleep well.
I am willing to bet people have a better chance of slipping the tub, falling down the stairs or giving themselves food poisoning than being hurt by sleeping with your dog.
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