Pet Monologues

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind–the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way. Woof! Meow! Squawk! Whinny! Talk!

When PM thinks of the environment we think about the relationship between humankind, animals, the environment. Humankind, we the people, exercise control over our environment like never before. As our control grows so do our choices. We can make things worse: or better. A good choice would be to spread the word about Blog Action Day. Another would be to share words of wisdom, a story, an image, or environmental resources in comments.

PM just received a request from “Animals as Friends” to raise awareness of a troublesome issue. The killing of animals for money. Possibly people are killed too. The troubled location is the Virunga National Park, Africa.

Please take the time to visit Animals as Friends as well as spread the word, offer advice, or more. Thank you.

Bless the animals.

World Animal Day occurs annually on 4 October. Animal welfare groups, sanctuaries, and individuals throughout the world hold special events to heighten public awareness of animal issues and to encourage people to think about how we as humans relate to animals.

World Animal Day Mission Statement

* To celebrate animal life in all its forms
* To celebrate humankind’s relationship with the animal kingdom
* To acknowledge the diverse roles that animals play in our lives from being our companions, supporting and helping us, to bringing a sense of wonder into our lives
* To acknowledge and be thankful for the way in which animals enrich our lives

“In this photo the Rev. Ron Spahn blesses an equine member of the 10:15am service at Christ Church Grosse Pointe. It was like Noah’s Ark without all the rain.” Photo: Brendan Ross/brossphoto.com

Designer: “Puppy” by Eero Aarnio

History

World Animal Day was conceived at an ecologist’s convention in Florence, Italy in 1931 as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. October 4th was chosen as World Animal Day because it is also the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic Church holiday which is often celebrated with an annual “blessing of the pets”.

Since then, it has grown to encompass all kinds of animal life and has been widely celebrated around the world. It is intended as a day of celebration for anyone in the world who cares about animals. It is not restricted to any one nationality, creed, religion, political belief or ideology. Read the rest of this entry »

Eco-friendly pet toys and accessories…

Get green! Make a statement! For you and your pet!

“I think people should be more aware and not just assume everything is safe,” says Chicago veterinarian Julie Mayer. “They should be skeptical and critics of products out there.

“We need to read the labels. We have to educate ourselves, because no one is going to help us out, unfortunately.”

Here, then, are a few ways you and your dog and cat can live greener lives, and some problems to watch out for.

Wipe and paws

Wash their feet after they come in. What the dogs pick up from outside—animal and human waste, traces of pollution and car exhaust, etc.—can find its way into their systems as they groom themselves. Anything you can do to keep them clean is beneficial. Read the rest of this entry »

Today 21.7 million pounds of hamburger were recalled by Topps Meat Co. Fortunately, it was people food.

A concern was the swiftness of the USDA to conclude that a recall was necessary. 18 days. Our USDA looks highly competent to monitor people food, pet food, and also let’s include painted toys. Expect class action suits for Walmart, Pathmark, ShopRite, and Rastelli Fine Foods.

It was determined that one of the first victims was a Florida teenager. According to the teenager’s mother, she consumed a patty that was “pink” on the inside: cooking meat until the juices run clear will kill harmful bacteria.

While the skillet is hot, not in all cases, now is a good time to bring up raw vs cooked food again. Below is a very detailed study of bacteria, raw diets, dogs and cats.

Here is a summary statement:

1) Feeding raw diets to cats and dogs is becoming increasingly popular. 2) There is an inherent risk of bacterial contamination of raw meat for human or animal consumption. 3) There are unsubstantiated benefits used to support the feeding of raw diets. 4) There are unsubstantiated claims that bacterial pathogens that may be found in raw foods are not able to cause disease in dogs. 5) There are potential risks of feeding raw diets for people handling the food, people handling feces from animals fed raw diets, people handling food bowls, and animals exposed to animals that are fed raw diets.

Get a beverage of choice, get comfortable, and read a scientific study and conclusion: Read the rest of this entry »

Global warming—birds know. Read the rest of this entry »

Global warming and polar bears. It does not take much imagination to see what is going on.

October is adopt a shelter dog month.

ASPCA’s message this month is “Think Globally, Adopt Locally.” They encourage people who are considering adding a four legged barking buddy to their family to adopt from their local shelter. And, if you do bring a new friend home, they also have tips that will help make the transition go smoothly for you and your new dog. Here are some of their tips…

1. You Better Shop Around
Stock up on supplies before Fido arrives! Your new pal won’t need much—the Burberry overcoat and crystal tiara are optional—but essentials include food and water bowls, safe chew toys, grooming tools, a collar and leash, an identification tag and a crate with bedding (towels will do if you don’t want to spend money on a fancy crate pad).

When it comes to food, try to buy the same brand he’s already eating. If you want to change foods, make the switch gradually, mixing old food with new, over a period of a few weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

Chapter 9: The stories that nourish a newspaper.
By John Armstrong

[This is the ninth of 14 excerpts, running Tuesdays and Thursdays, from John Armstrong's memoir of the working life: Wages.]

When a cement truck lost its brakes on a hill and ploughed through someone’s backyard, you needed the parents and relatives of the dead and wounded, the name of the driver, the owner of the company, the neighbours (to fill out the background and describe the terror they faced daily with Big Trucks roaring though their neighbourhood) and someone from government licensing to comment on why he and his department hadn’t checked this truck’s brakes.

It was also important to get the Opposition critic for that department who would describe how the government had failed so tragically in this case, despite his repeated warnings that such a disaster was coming, and how his party would do things differently if they were in office….

The same was true of any local tragedy whether it was the man who hacked up his wife and mailed her postage due to her parents or an immigrant woman who spoke and read no English and bled to death in the emergency room because she couldn’t fill out the admittance papers. Read the rest of this entry »

Almost a week after Bravo! a raw pet food diet producer, announces a product recall, Melinda Miller, one of the principals of Bravo and a co-founder of the North American Raw Petfood Association (NARPA) writes a memo and sends the following email:

*******
A Message From Bravo:

*ALL* raw meat carries pathogens. Whether you buy from the grocery store, from wholesale meat suppliers, or from prepared raw diet manufacturers.

It is impossible to avoid. The USDA allows poultry producers to have up to 23% Salmonella contamination on poultry. A good portion of chickens are actually *born* with Salmonella. So the poultry products that manufacturers must use are contaminated long before it ever gets to us. Since these are *RAW* diets and we don’t cook them, the bacteria is left intact. This is true for *every* raw diet manufacturer and for every person who feeds raw regardless of their source. Raw meat has bacteria - that’s why people are told to wash
their hands after handling raw meat. ANYONE who has fed raw has fed pathogens such as Salmonella and Listeria.

Do Salmonella and Listeria pose a threat to our dogs and cats? Not really. If you go to our website you’ll find a recall FAQ that gives citations about how Salmonella is a normal part of the intestinal flora and how dogs apparently neutralize the bacteria. There’s even a quote from the FDA Consumer magazine that acknowledges that healthy dogs and cats rarely become ill from Salmonella.

So why is the FDA involved and why did we do the recall? You can find more information on that on our website also. But briefly you should know some of this:

The FDA agents told us that we are just the first of the raw diet companies to be visited, and that they hope to be able to shut down the raw diet industry and stop raw feeding. So this is an industry problem, not a Bravo problem.

The FDA has a very black eye due to the melamine recalls. So, they want an easy win so they can prove they are safeguarding America’s pets. Raw diets are an easy target for them.

The FDA is holding raw diets to a *cooked* diet standard and has no desire to be reasonable and acknowledge that you can’t hold *RAW* meat to the same regulation that governs *cooked* meat.

The FDA and USDA are currently in a bitter battle. The FDA is trying to take control of USDA operations. We believe one of the reasons Bravo was chosen was that we are a USDA facility. By bashing Bravo
they are able to bash the USDA.

This recall is the result of politics and unreasonable bureaucrats. Bravo raw products carry the same risk - and BENEFITS - as any raw product - whether home-prepared or manufactured.

We have been a company dedicated to high quality. That’s why we use antibiotic-free poultry, and grass-fed, hormone-free red meats. It’s why we manufacture in our own USDA plant under USDA human processing
standards. Other than the reality that all raw meat has some pathogen presence, nothing has changed. You can still count on us to make a high quality and beneficial products.

To those who have been sending notes of support, thank you very much. We’re caught in the midst of a political struggle and it helps to know there are people who understand and appreciate the passion
and care we put into Bravo products.
FMI: www.bravorawdiet.com

Melinda

Melinda Miller
Bravo Raw Diet