Thanks to the Sunbear Squad for this week’s tip.

Watch out for wildlife that prey on pets, such as owls and coyotes—they are hunting constantly to feed their young. Be protective. Puppies and kittens are particularly vulnerable.

Thanks to JournalTimes.com for this article.

Japanese Patch Measures Pet Stress

TOKYO - Wondering if your dog or cat is stressed? Just stick a special patch on the bottom of its paw and you’ll be able to tell, according to a Japanese company.

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Anyone who can read this and NOT call for a ban on Chinese food products has to be seriously suicidal. The addition of melamine is not just planned; its systemic. And don’t even try to tell me its not in the human food. Anyone who would add this poison to animal food will add it to human food. Not to mention that when we eat the animals which have eaten it, we ARE eating the melamine too.

My questions now are why are we still allowing ANY food products of any type in from China and why would anyone other than a competing athlete WANT to go to an Olympics in a country where they may be poisoned by the food?

Many thanks to The New York Times for this very enlightening article.

Filler in Animal Feed Is Open Secret in China

By DAVID BARBOZA and ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
Published: April 30, 2007

ZHANGQIU, China, April 28 — As American food safety regulators head to China to investigate how a chemical made from coal found its way into pet food that killed dogs and cats in the United States, workers in this heavily polluted northern city openly admit that the substance is routinely added to animal feed as a fake protein.

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Thanks to the FDA for this recall release.

Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. Recalls Products in Response to American Nutrition Inc. Pet Food Recall

Natural Balance Consumer Contact:
1-800-829-4493

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Pacoima, CA — April 27, 2007 — Because of the pet food recall initiated today by American Nutrition Inc., Natural Balance Pet Foods has announced it is issuing a nationwide recall of a number of canned products manufactured by American Nutrition. This action is limited to four specific Natural Balance canned formulas: Chicken Canned Dog Formula 13 oz , Beef Canned Dog Formula 13 oz, Lamb Canned Dog Formula 13 oz, and the 3oz and 6 oz Ocean Fish Canned Cat Formulas.

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Thanks to the Science Blog for this information.

Dogs imitate, but don’t ape

A distinguishing feature of human intelligence is our ability to understand the goals and intentions of others. This ability develops gradually during infancy, and the extent to which it is present in other animals is an intriguing question.

New research by Friederike Range and Ludwig Huber, of the University of Vienna, and Zsofia Viranyi, of the Eötvös University in Budapest, reveals striking similarities between humans and dogs in the way they imitate the actions of others. The phenomenon under investigation is known as “selective imitation” and implies that dogs—like human infants—do not simply copy an action they observe, but adjust the extent to which they imitate to the circumstances of the action. The research will appear online on April 26th in the journal Current Biology, published by Cell Press.

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A couple of weeks ago I blogged about a very talented performing pack in a beautiful part of Tennessee. The performing pack decided to join Dogster and one of their number, Nevada, barked in to say hi and let everyone know where they can catch up with their fellow Dogsters and his family.

Here’s a link to that original post:
Dog Stars and Dog Visitors Welcome in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Hi Joy..
I just wanted to thank you for the blog you did on us on April 14. I work at the Comedy Barn with 8 of my fur family (there are two that stay and home and are couch potatos!) I have a big family of 11 but mom and dad give us all indivdual attention.

We all thought it was so sweet of you to mention us, as we love to work and love to bring smiles to peoples faces (we love to kiss those faces too!)

We joined Dogster because of your blog that someone sent us!

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Are there any rescue groups who can help Joan become a pet parent? Please bark in!

Joan barked this message in to the blog. Joan, you didn’t say where you live. Please bark in and let us know your city or town.

Joan wrote:
We have found to much dismay that on a fixed income it is virtually impossible to adopt a dog unless it is from the ASPCA. Since they rarely have small dogs we are left no alternatives. We fostered a Maltese that was 12 yrs old will his family went to Hawaii for 6 months. Now that he has left there is a big void in our home that we can’t fill. Wish someone could help us, but don’t know where to look. Most rescues want $200 or more that we just don’t have.

Please note that there are new brands and items in this recall. Even if you have seen the previous recall notices for some of these brands, please check this list anyway!

I thought I couldn’t be shocked any further by these recalls but I am. Some of these brands listed were supposed to be some of the best on the market. Now we find out that they don’t even make their own foods or treats! At this point, I want EVERY one of the foods or treats I give my furbabies to say on the package EVERYTHING IN THIS PACKAGE WAS GROWN AND PRODUCED IN NORTH AMERICA or EUROPE. Why Europe? Because your quality standards are generally higher than ours. I’m not being unpatriotic; I’m being realistic. I want pet and human food that I can trust.

Thanks to the FDA for this recall notice.

American Nutrition, Inc. Issues Voluntary Recall
Contact:
Bill Behnken, 801.394.3477, bill@amnutrition.com
Naomi Keller, 801.554.0023, naomi@amnutrition.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — April 26, 2007 — The Denver office of the FDA informed American Nutrition, Inc. today that certain samples of rice protein shipped to its production facility have been contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers that may be harmful to animals if consumed. The rice protein in question was obtained from San Francisco-based Wilbur-Ellis Company.

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Thanks to JP for barking this in from Canine Caviar.

Canine Caviar is voluntarily recalling less than 1500 cans in circulation nationally (not cases) and expects to have this collected within 48 hours of April 27, 2007. This unexpected situation is due to the fact that our canned food co-packer was using ingredients that were not authorized by Canine Caviar. Our canned foods have not officially tested positive, but we are recalling the following three can SKU’s: 13.2 oz Gourmet Turkey – UPC 674555222134, 13.2 oz Gourmet Beaver – UPC 674555221328, 5.5 oz Gourmet Beaver – UPC 674555221557 dated best by Aug 21, 08 or later.

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Looking for a way to declare that you’re mad about Menu Pet Foods and you refuse to buy any more of their potentially tainted products? Emily barked in to tell us all about a petition we can sign to let the world know how you feel, and more importantly, what you’re NOT going to buy.

Hi Joy,

Thank you so much for sharing this. We need to continue to get the word out.

When this recall started, I wrote a petition demanding a boycott of Menu Foods. I was wondering if you’d consider posting the link in your blog. I’m always surprised to learn that there are STILL people out there who haven’t learned the details of this horrible situation.

Link to petition.

Thanks,

Emily

And this is from petition:

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