Sherman’s News and Editorials

Many dog and cat owners are worried that the food they have been feeding their pet may not be as safe, much less as nutritionally balanced, as they were led to believe. This concern is perfectly understandable, particularly since tainted dog and cat food has been linked to the deaths of at least 23 animals. After all, the current recall has been quite widespread, with over fifty dog brands and more than forty cat brands recalled at this time, including some of the largest brand names out there such as Iams, Best Choice and Eukanuba. In a March 21, 2007 Newsweek article by journalist Matthew Philips entitled ‘Is pet food properly regulated?’ the report states: ” …..authorities still cannot explain exactly what went wrong. Some critics and animal lovers are honing in on what they see as lax regulation of the fifteen billion dollar pet-food industry in the United States.” It should be noted that this recall has not only impacted the U.S. Canada and mexico as well. “There is almost a void there,” states Bob Vetere, president of the APPMA, or the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association. “There is no real pet-food department of any federal agency.” This news is very troubling, but it comes as no surprise to some. I have been hearing about the rendering plants for a while now, and it is clear to me that where there is smoke there is usually fire. Sadly, the standard was low from the start. The first dog food sold was produced in 1860. A salesman named James Pratt was visiting Great Britain from America and saw dogs surviving off of mere left-over biscuits from ships. So he decided to prepare a dog biscuit product consisting of wheat meal and meat, and begin selling them entirely to English rural gentlemen who owned sporting dogs. So at one time dogs subsisted of of scraps, meaning the quality of the produced food never had to be particularly high. The current problem has been linked to rat poison by some sources, but there are many, many other problems with mainstream brands as well. For example, artificial coloring is used extensively despite the fact that they are totally unnecessary and have been linked to medical issues. It is believed by some in the medical field that if an ingredient is foreign to the body the body reacts to it and can cause numerous health problems. Pets are not concerned about color too much. In addition, by-products are a way for dog food or cat food companies to keep their costs down and therefore profits up. Instead of using whole meats, they simply use by-products instead. These are simply the least desirable parts. And there are a number of other items which the labels do not always reveal. For instance, condemned parts of animals which are not fit for human consumption are often rerouted into commercial treats. These parts may be the parts of animals who are dead, dying, decayed or actually diseased. Furthermore, specific meats & other ingredients can’t be sold for use by people, because it is damaged or has some other kind of defect. The dimensions of the problem may be so sizeable that we might not know the reasons for this tragedy for some time. According to a recent MSNBC article, “Some of the 60 million cans and pouches of food have been blamed for kidney failure in scores of animals and killed over 16 pets. Neither the manufacturer nor the authorities have been able to determine why the pets died”. The article mentioned that articles are already being filed by consumers, which calls into question the future of some of these pet food firms. Should you stick with a mainstream brand or go to a premium grade food? Considering that many of the mainstream brands are owned by the same parent company I would be inclined to go with the latter. Who knows what brand will be recalled next. The best brand I an aware of is Life’s Abundance Premium Dog Food from Dr. Jane and also Holistic, Premium Cat Food and supplements but there are several top notch premium pet foods out there to choose from. Especially look for whole food ingredients and freshness above everything else. The ones that mention they are human grade are also usually a safe bet in my experience.

If you are a pet owner, It is now more important than ever to be certain that you are feeding your animal a premium dog food or a holistic, premium cat food. When I first heard about the horrors of the rendering plants, I thought it was an exaggeration. But upon hearing the recent news of the dog and cat food recalls I see that what I heard may have been just the tip of the iceberg. At the time of this writing, there are some 53 dog products which have been recalled and another 42 cat products. And this list is likely to grow. If your dog or cat has eaten any of the food listed on the rather extensive recall list and they are showing signs of illness, be sure to contact your vet right away because with treatment it may not be too late. The FDA states that contaminated dog food that was sold in twenty-three states has already killed nearly two dozen dogs in the country and sickened some eighteen 18 others. The final tally will almost certainly be higher, unfortunately. CBS News has reported on it’s website that some of the dog food may contained aflatoxin. This is basically a chemical which comes from a fungus occasionaly found on corn & other crops, and may cause severe liver damage in some instances. What are the symptoms to look for in your pet? Look for general sluggishness or lethargy, diminished appetite and in extreme instances heavy vomiting, fever and jaundice. According to an article by on USA today’s website by journalist Liz Szabo entitled Pet food recall affects 90 brands’, Laurie Miller, who is a veterinarian at the Hope Center for Advanced Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Virginia., states that she has received many of calls regarding the recall and that she now is treating a two year-old German shepherd who developed diarrhea and vomiting after eating a particular type of Iams dog food which is included in the recall. Most of the products listed are are marketed around the country by retailers like Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and PetSmart, to name a few. In fact, consumers kept a phone line (866-895-2708) set up by Menu Foods busy all weekend. A big part of the problem seems to be that many of these mainstream type brands are owned by the same parent conglamorate corporation. The pet food in question has not only been widely distributed in the United States but also in Canada and Mexico, according to Mathew Verrinder, an Associated Press journalist, as reported in Yahoo news. How can you make sure that your dog or cat is eating Healthy, safe food? I would choose a true premium dog food or cat food. Not just the “natural” version of the mainstream brand found in your local grocery store. According to my research Premium Dog food from Life’s Abundance may very well be the best choice in this regard. This food is formulated by renowned holistic veternarian Dr. Jane Bicks. This Premium Dog Food does NOT contain corn, wheat, dairy, by-products, artificial colors or flavors found in most mainstream brands. If fed a diet that it is optimally balanced, your dog can live to his or her maximum potential lifespan. For cats, take a look at Holistic,Premium Cat food from Life’s Abundance Hopefully this will get you started in the right direction. 

Have any of you ever suffered from Blogging burnout? If you run several weblogs, as I do, you likely have experienced this occurance at one time or another, It is very disconcerting when this happens, and at least with me, it is normally triggered when some error happens with Wordpress or if I somehow manage to accidentally lose all of my work, It really sucks when that happens, it is demoralizing as hell. This phenomenom happened to me recently when I tried to achive a very ambitious self imposed deadline for writing fresh cont3ent for all of my blogs….but I went to the gym and got out of the house for a while and now I feel a lot better. In fact I am fairly fresh now…..so it is back to work for me, writing, writing and more writing!