Small Pilot Survey on Parents' Perception of the Relationship between Children and Pets

Since companion animals are taking on more important roles in family life, the aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of parents about the relationship between their children and pets. A number of parents were asked to fill in a questionnaire; the principal topics were: pet ownership, pet care, relationship between pets and children, and sources of information about pet management. Eighty-two parents completed the survey; 71.4% of them already had pets before having children; pet care and health has emerged to be rather important, since 96.4% of the pets are taken to the veterinarian at least once a year; moreover, the great majority of the parents (97.2%) were not worried about the possible risks, linked to pets, pertaining to their child’s health. The present survey confirms that pets are mostly considered as members of the family, and not only as a benefit for the children. Moreover, the relationship between children and pets is basically seen as a positive experience for children

Effect of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and Vitamin E on serum oxidative status in horses performing very light exercise

In sporting horses the use of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) could enhance performance because these fatty acids are very important in membrane permeability, and in particular they seem to increase the possibility of long chain fatty acids entering mythochondria to be burnt. The composition of cellular membranes and lipoprotein fatty acids com- position is strictly related to dietary fat quality; percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids and amount of antioxidants also affect tissue susceptibility to lipid peroxidation. Six horses were used in a latin square design in which three homogeneous groups were subsequently assigned three dif- ferent dietary treatments for one month each: Control group (C): basic diet; Oil group (O): Basic diet + 200g/day oil rich in PUFAs (Crossential GLA TG20, Croda ®); Vitamin E group (O+E): basic diet + 200 g/day oil rich in PUFAs (Crossential GLA TG20, Croda ®) + 5 g/day α-toco- pheryl-acetate (Egon-E, Acme ®). At the end of each experimental period blood samples were taken by jugular vein puncture. Serum oxidative status was evaluated by TBARs and d-ROMs assessment. Oxidative markers showed the high- est mean values for the oil group, even if no statistically significant differences were found