Pet Food Recall Gets Personal

My Border Collie, Tippy, died recently. I originally thought it was just a combination of old age and bad luck. Even though we purposely feed healthy dog food, Tippy went to the vet recently. As she was to be knocked out prior to a teeth cleaning, we allowed her no food and only water after 10pm the day previous. Accordingly, her hyperactive self was very hungry when she was dropped off at the vets on Friday morning.

The vet declined to work on Tippy citing poor health possibly diabetes as the reason. Making a long story short, we strongly suspect that Tippy was fed some of the recalled dog food while at the vets. She got progressively lethargic over the week following the vet visit and began vomiting blood the last couple of days. She died a week after her visit to the vets on March 10 2007.

I am trying not to be emotional here, but Tippy was my shadow. At 59 years of age I am allowed a rant once in a while. Now if you have been paying attention to the news in this last week of March, many pets have died and a very very large amount of premium brand name pet food is being recalled. My sympathies to those who have sick pets and those whose pets have died. For the last 54 years I have had at least 2 dogs. All great memories, all but one has passed on.

My issue here is industry accountability, responsibility. The pet food industry operates just about without government regulation. Most of the top brands are produced by contract shops who also produce feed for the inexpensive store brands etc. This recall is all too typical of the pet food industry and here is what I mean.

The contract shop tested the pet food using the supplies with the contaminated wheat. Animals died when they ate it. The percentage of deaths was tolerable in their opinion. Gee I wish they had asked me or any other grieving pet owner. Which is more important: a little more profit or the lives of some pets? What is even worse, the test results were not revealed until the company was pressured by the publicity from numerous pet deaths. Pets are dying. Everyone is upset and asking why. They knew. They may be located in Canada, but they certainly are good at the Washington shuffle. Even though it took forever to reveal the test results; boy it did not take them long to deflect the blame onto a Chinese source of wheat. Responsibility, accountability, I do not think most industry and government leaders can spell either word.

OK, lets assume the source of this problem is the Chinese wheat. Here are several issues with that:

· As Canada is one of the prime producers of wheat on this planet how did it happen that a Canadian manufacturer of pet food is using Chinese wheat?

· If for that last cent of profit, we must ship wheat around the world to make pet food, then who tested it? Who specified the level of rat poison that was used as the preservative/pesticide during the shipment?

· OK, let us move past the manufacturer. What about all these premium brands, you know the ones the vets say are the best by far etc. I do not remember any TV ads telling me that these top brand products were made in contract shops.

· If no real testing, as evidenced by this last recall, is conducted by the company which owns the high profile brand names, then what is the difference between their pet food and the grocery store brand or the no name brand at one quarter the price?

This whole pet food recall stinks. The true tragedy is the loss of pets to many loving owners. The only consolation I can offer you is weak. Revenge is not very Christian but perhaps here is a spin which will catch your fancy. If these high profile brands are so intent on maximizing their profit that they allow pet food to be manufactured and shipped without their stamp of approval through specifications and testing, then take the only thing away from them that they treasure. They took your treasure with their greed. Take theirs. Stop buying the high profile brands. Spend some time on the internet. Read some reports. Read the ingredients on labels for pet food.

There is a Pet Food Report which is available. Read it. It reveals 5 red flags about the pet food industry. Practices and ingredients they do not want you to know about. Misleading ingredient listing practices are revealed and much more.

Again, please accept my sympathies for your losses. If you have had enough, be proactive. Hit them in the only place they care about, their pocketbook.