This video features some practical, simple ways to keep your pet from getting overheated. A new one to me—and a great idea—is rubbing aloe vera gel or Vitamin E oil on a dog’s foot pads before hitting the hot pavement. And chicken broth ice cubes = genius!
Dr. Eric Barchas, our resident vet, also has some great suggestions over at the Vet Blog.
How do you keep your pooch all chilled out? Post a comment and let us know!
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized large amounts of food products intended for sale at PETCO stores in sixteen states because the Supplies Distribution Center located in Joliet, IL was deemed in April (!) to be filthy and unsanitary.
The following is the entire release posted to the FDA’s website dated June 19th.
Today, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Marshals seized various animal food products stored under unsanitary conditions at the PETCO Animal Supplies Distribution Center located in Joliet, Ill., pursuant to a warrant issued by the United States District Court in Chicago.
U.S. Marshals seized all FDA-regulated animal food susceptible to rodent and pest contamination. The seized products violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because it was alleged in a case filed by the United States Attorney that they were being held under unsanitary conditions. (The Act uses the term “insanitary” to describe such conditions).
During an FDA inspection of a PETCO distribution center in April, widespread and active rodent and bird infestation was found. The FDA inspected the facility again in May and found continuing and widespread infestation.
“We simply will not allow a company to store foods under filthy and unsanitary conditions that occur as a direct result of the company’s failure to adequately control and prevent pests in its facility,” said Margaret O’K. Glavin, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “Consumers expect that such safeguards will be in place not only for human food, but for pet food as well.”
The distribution center in Joliet, Ill., provides pet food products and supplies to PETCO retail stores in 16 states including Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
FDA has no reports of pet illness or death associated with consumption of animal food distributed by PETCO, and does not have evidence that the food is unsafe for animals. However, the seized products were in permeable packages and held under conditions that could affect the food’s integrity and quality.
As a precaution, consumers who have handled products originating from the PETCO distribution center should thoroughly wash their hands with hot water and soap. Any surfaces that came in contact with the packages should be washed as well. Consumers are further advised as a precaution to thoroughly wash products sold in cans and glass containers from PETCO in the 16 affected states.
The FDA also requests you contact a consumer complaint coordinator if you believe your pet has been harmed by food bought from PETCO.
Running a large business means huge challenges to provide for constant and complete vigilant oversight of the entire operation, but we must demand that any company that sells nourishment for our pets adhere to the highest possible standards to ensure 100% sanitary and healthy conveyance of all
items they sell at all times.
It’s horrifying that the report states that the Jolliet facility of PETCO twice failed sanitary examinations by exhibiting ‘widespread and active rodent and bird infestation’ and eventually had to have food product seized by warrant so it could no longer be sold on shelves.
Our guest blogger is Tracie Hotchner, radio host and author of The Dog Bible. Tracie is writing a series of daily dog tips for Dogster which you can receive by email. To sign up, just check the box in your newsletter preferences.
Purebred dogs who are expected to have stumps instead of tails have their tails docked days after birth. Approximately 60% of the tail is taken in most breeds, leaving a stump of varying lengths. With Corgis, Old English Sheepdogs and Rottweilers, there is seldom more than a nubbin remaining.
The historical reason for docking in some guarding breeds—Boxers, Dobermans and Rottweilers—was supposedly so intruders had nothing to grab onto. Some hunting dogs were docked presumably for their own safety so their tails would not get hit or possibly broken against fences and thickets. A special circumstance related to Old English Sheepdogs, which were docked because in Old England a working dog was exempt from tax.
Despite a great deal of protest from some English breeders about “breed standards” and “historical precedent,” Great Britain is now amongst the 13 European countries that have made tail docking and ear cropping illegal.
Opponents of tail docking assert that an important aspect of a dog’s ability to express himself is lost when he cannot wag his tail. Tail docking is done only a few days after birth, so if you wanted to have a dog with its full, natural tail you would have to work it out ahead of time with the breeder. Most breeders would resist that adamantly because they would not want a long tail on a docked breed from their kennel.
Newborn puppies are believed to have little pain sensation so presumably docking is not painful. However, it used to be thought that newborn human babies have reduced pain sensation, too—so circumcisions and other procedures were done in the misguided belief that the infants were not suffering. The same may be true of puppies, but it’s unlikely we will find this out in our lifetimes! It is reported with puppies that they “wriggle and squeal a bit” upon having their tails snipped off but “they recover within a few minutes.” This was the same rationalization for circumcision, by the way, although no studies seemed to question whether the screaming infant who then fell deeply asleep was doing so out of the shock/trauma/etc.
Today’s docking and cropping is done simply to “please the eye” because it is what our eye has become accustomed to seeing in a breed for decades. Since our eye is just as pleased by hundreds of breeds that are permitted to keep their tails, it seems archaic—bordering on the barbaric—to be mutilating the end of an animal’s spinal column so it cannot “wag” our teacups off the table.
I say this as someone who has had a Cocker Spaniel, five Weimeraners and a Rottweiler, so I have first-hand experience of living with dogs who have to wiggle their whole butts to communicate a simple wag.
Guest blogger Stacie Tamaki is a Dogster member and guardian of Kitai. We encourage you to follow her example and report dogs left in hot cars. By taking just a couple of minutes to inform a security guard or call the police, you could save a life.
In California it is now illegal to leave a dog in a hot car. In 2006 Gov. Schwarzenegger signed SB 1806:
“SB 1806 makes it a crime for a person to leave a pet unattended in a vehicle in a way that endangers the well-being of the animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, or lack of food or water, or other circumstances that could reasonably be expected to cause suffering or death. Unless the animal suffers great bodily injury, a first misdemeanor conviction for this crime is punishable by a fine of $100 or less per animal. If the animal suffers great bodily injury, the punishment is a fine of $500 or less, a sentence of up to six months in county jail, or both. A person convicted of felony animal cruelty is subject to a fine of $20,000 or less, time in state prison, or both.”
The bill was passed in 2006 and became a law in 2007. Last year I saw a police officer at a mall and because he was waiting for his partner to get a cup of coffee I approached him and asked if they had ever used the law yet. He was really nice and said he had heard there was a law but no, he had not responded to an incident of a dog in danger at that point in time.
He didn’t know the specifics of the law, so it may be a good idea, if you live in California, to make a copy of the statute or the article at the link above to show the police if you ever see a dog in distress and they are reluctant to do anything about it.
I find the place I most often see dogs in parked cars is at the mall, in which case I contact mall security to let them know. Even if the sun isn’t on the car at that moment, we all know that could change if the car remains for an extended period of time. Last year I called them 3 times, and for the record, none had the air conditioning running.
For those who live in states that don’t have this type of law, you could always forward a copy to your legislators and ask them to pass a similar bill where you live.
Thanks to MyFoxSTL.com for this recall announcement.
E. Coli Scare Leads To Meat Recall
Created: Sunday, 18 May 2008
CHICAGO — Federal officials say a Chicago-based company is recalling beef products distributed in 11 states, including Missouri, due to an E. coli scare.
FDA Shuts Down Seafood Processing Company, Requires Products Be Recalled
Failure to follow consent decree drives action
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today directed Hope Food Supply Inc., a Pasadena, Texas, food processing company, to shut down and immediately recall all products manufactured from its Texas facility since 2007.
Thanks to all of you who barked in this article from ConsumerAffairs.com. Are we on the verge of another recall?
String of Illnesses Afflicts NUTRO-Fed Pets
Company insists its food is ‘100% safe’
By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com
April 18, 2008
A worrisome health trend among dogs and cats across the country has surfaced in the past few months. Scores of pets from California to South Carolina have experienced sudden and recurring bouts of diarrhea, vomiting, and other digestive problems.
Through an examination of reports submitted by readers, ConsumerAffairs.com has uncovered a common link among these pets: They all ate the same brand of food: NUTRO pet food.
In all of the cases we’ve examined, the animals’ conditions improved once their owners switched them to another brand of food.
This recall is a couple of months old but since people tend to keep canned goods around for a while I thought I’d err on the side of caution and let you know about it anyway.
If you feed green beans or any of these kinds of vegetables that have been recalled to your furbabies, check out this list of brands.
New Era Canning Company (Botulism) Recall
(Includes large institutional-sized cans of all types of
beans, blackeye peas and asparagus)
Updated: February 8, 2008
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers about a potential Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum) contamination of canned beans manufactured by New Era Canning Company, New Era, Mich. C. botulinum is the bacterium that causes botulism, which can be fatal. The company is broadening its nationwide recall of canned vegetable products for a third time.
This recall is intended to prevent further distribution of foods potentially contaminated with Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum). The affected products are large institutional-sized cans, weighing between six and seven pounds, of various types of vegetables.
I am so glad to be able to share this list with you. I have been looking for a list of Chinese-made drugs. While this list is ostensibly published for humans, many of the drugs on this list are also prescribed for our furbabies.
Knowledge is power and knowing which drugs are Chinese-made gives us the power to look for other options and, at the least, be aware that we MUST pay closer attention to our dogs, cats and ourselves in case of dangerous side-effects caused by tainted products.
Even if your furbabies are not taking any drugs at this time, please take a close look at this list for drugs you or your human family members may be taking. For example, penicillin is on this list. How many of us get penicillin without ever being aware that it comes from a country KNOWN for poisoning their own people and other people around the world with tainted products?
Then there are other drugs like tamoxifen which is given to women fighting breast cancer. These women already have lowered immune systems. How many of these women have suffered and even died from tainted tamoxifen? Hopefully none but since its coming out of China and NO ONE seems to be testing it, how do we know for sure?
Please be aware that I am NOT saying don’t take a needed drug. What I am saying is that we MUST limit the import of potentially deadly drugs until we can effectively oversee their safety and efficacy.
And why are these drugs made in China? It’s NOT because the Chinese are known for their superior technologies or safety records. It’s because some pharmaceutical executives have placed their bonuses and corporate well-being above that of the humans and other species who trust them and depend on them for life-enhancing or life-saving drugs!
Please share this post with your friends and relatives. The more who know about these drugs, the better.
Thanks to KMOV.com for putting together and sharing this list of Chinese-made drugs.
The Dogster Dog Blog is committed to tracking every story related to all foods recalls. You can count on us to keep you completely in the nose of every detail.
We're pet-lovers like you who want to keep you up-to-dog about everything canine. From news to expert advice to fun stuff, we sniff out the best squirrels of doggie happenings for you. The blog is brought to you by Dogster, Inc, makers of the hydrant-famous Dogster and the unnecessarily-feared Catster.
