Salmonella in Dog Food Infects Humans

Remember that giant Diamond Pet foods recall from earlier in the year? It stretched from December through May, and covered a staggering variety of pet foods. It wasn’t just that hundreds of specific bags of pet food were affected, but also that so many different brands of kibble were all infected. I thought the story was finally over in May when it seemed like we’d heard the last of the recalls. I’m not writing today to inform you that another recall has been announced, but to update the story. At the time although some dogs were reported as coming down … Continue reading

Do You Feed Your Dog People Food?

Not as innocent as she looks I’ve always fallen somewhere in the middle ground of the should dogs have people food debate, between those I know who never let their dogs have the smallest morsel of human food, and those who (and I’ve actually seen this) will feed their pets several hot dogs at a cookout. I think my stance on the issue was born in part out of laziness. Having a dog has certainly ruined me when it comes to cleaning up after myself in the kitchen. Whenever food falls to the floor during meal preparation, my first instinct … Continue reading

Pets for Patriots

I’ve made no secret how devoted I am to helping the cause of animal shelters. I only adopt pets from shelters, and I’m active in my local rescue. Not only do I want to promote support of shelters and rescues, I want to put a focus on unique rescues meant to serve a specific need. In this case, to celebrate its recent Texas debut, I want to draw attention to the animal nonprofit Pets for Patriots. Pets for Patriots, according to its recent release on free press release site PR*Urgent, is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing the love and affection … Continue reading

Another Pet Food Recall

Sadly, it seems that every so often at the pets blog we have to share the news of another pet food recall. We like to make sure we report this important information, but it feels like it’s a topic we have to cover far too often (in my opinion, at all is too much, but at least the companies are being safe in letting us know when there’s a possible contamination). This time around, the Los Angeles Times announces that companies Feline’s Pride, United Pet Group, and Merrick Pet Care are issuing voluntary recalls of some of their products due … Continue reading

Should Foods Come with Choking Warnings?

Warning labels for choking hazards are required on certain toys — especially those with small parts and balls. Here in the United States, it’s a federal law! But there isn’t a similar law on the books for foods that may be choking hazards. The American Academy of Pediatrics — the largest group of pediatricians in the United States — would like to see a similar federal law for foods that may be choking hazards… or see more foodmakers willingly add choking hazard warnings to their labels. Another alternative would be redesigning foods to make them less of a choking hazard … Continue reading

Nutro Cat Food Recall

Nutro Premium Pet Food has announced a recall of certain types of dry cat food: Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care and Nutro Max Cat with expiration dates between May 12, 2010 and August 22, 2010. These products are available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Israel. Why are these foods being recalled? During a routine audit, Nutro discovered that incorrect mixes of zinc and potassium had been added to certain dry foods in the Natural Choice Complete Care and Max Cat food lines. One mix had too much zinc and potassium; another mix … Continue reading

Trust and Pet Ownership

It requires a lot of trust to own a pet. Have you ever noticed that? I didn’t understand how much trust is involved in pet ownership until all this stuff with Murphy’s paw happened. Now I realize how many people and institutions a pet owner must trust on a daily basis. Here’s a few to show you what I’m talking about. 1. Trusting Vets We trust our vets to administer the proper vaccinations annually for our pet’s health. We also trust that the vet knows how to do this and that the vaccines they’re administering are safe. When our pets … Continue reading

Purina’s Precautionary Pet Food Recall Affects Horses, Goats, Pigs

Right now I’m watching the evening news while working on my new laptop and saw that pet owners have another pet food recall to worry about. This time Purina is doing a precautionary recall because of concerns some of their food has been contaminated or exposed to aflatoxin. However, this time it’s not dogs and cats affected. It’s horses, pigs, and goats. No animals have fallen ill yet according to the newscast. The recall is a precautionary measure on Purina’s part. Unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough to note the particular Purina brands that were affected. But aflatoxin was the cause … Continue reading

Diamond Pet Foods Settlement

Before last year’s Menu Foods disaster that killed many dogs and cats across the country, there was another pet food recall. In late 2005, Diamond Pet Foods recalled dog food that was contaminated with a kind of mold called aflatoxin. Dozens of dogs across the United States died from severe liver damage. Diamond Pet Foods has reached a settlement with pet owners affected by the contaminated food. The company will pay more than three million dollars to affected pet owners. Owners of a dog that died from eating the contaminated food will receive up to one thousand dollars. Owners of … Continue reading

Menu Foods Pet Recall: New Clues, More Questions

Photo by hagit M. Are you as mystified as I am about the Menu Foods Pet Recall? Aminopterin On March 24th, Menu Foods issued a press release stating that researchers at the New York State Food Laboratory discovered Aminopterin in samples of the recalled pet food provided to them. In some countries, excluding the United States and Canada, Aminopterin is used as a rodenticide. That’s where all the talk about “rat poison” has come from in the news. However, in the week following this announcement, other scientists trying to also find the root of the problem haven’t been able to … Continue reading