I Poisoned Kirby
Friday, April 22, 2011
Then I discovered how wrong I was! One day just surfing the net I started coming across eye opening articles about what was really going into commercial dog food. There were too many to ignore and the more I read the more alarmed I became. Instead of whole chickens Kirby was eating chicken heads, beaks, feet, and intestines. Instead of choice cuts of beef Kirby was eating cow brains, tongues, disease-ridden tissue with high levels of hormones and pesticides. My stomach was turning into knots.
Manufacturers have learned to take inedible scraps, fortify them with artificial vitamins and minerals, preserve it to sit on the shelf for more than a year, and add dyes to make it attractive. Then the kibble is sprayed with a combination of animal fat, lard, and kitchen grease. Dogs love the taste of this sprayed fat which also acts as a binding agent for other flavor enhancers. No wonder there have been so many dog food recalls!
Animals rejected for human consumption are routinely used. These include 4-D rated animals which are dead, dying, or diseased, thereby not meeting human food qualifications. Mad Cow anyone? Very little goes to waste. When cattle, chickens, and other animals are taken to a slaughterhouse, the choice cuts are trimmed away from the carcass for human consumption. The remains (bones, blood, intestines, ligaments, hooves, horns, beaks) are used as the protein source for dog food.
Even more disturbing were the "pet byproducts" which it turns out are the rendered euthanized bodies of dogs and cats. That means the drugs used to euthanize are processed into the food which is then absorbed into the body of the dog eating the kibble. Trace amounts that can accumulate over years possibly contributing to cancers that develop over time. The following video actually shows the President of AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) admitting just that, even mentioning "Fluffy" by name.
I hope you have been enlightened to what your four legged friend could be consuming. Is this information a fallacy, a big hoax? Snopes does not yet confirm any of this but I believe there is too much generated information out there to ignore. The increasing number of dog food recalls and the increasing number of pets dying from diseases gives me cause for concern.
Do you have a dog food brand you trust? Do you prepare home made meals? Maybe a combination of the two? Please share!
Canine Nutrition Dog Tags Dog Food, Dog Nutrition, Kirby
Reader Comments (9)
I do feed my dogs commercial dog food but I read the labels very carefully and only choose food that uses the best cuts of meat and high quality sources of vitamins and carbohydrates.
Mom Beaglebratz again - yep, there are a whole lot of people who think Delta's new anti-raw diet policy is directly related to their sponsorship by Purina. Besides this policy, Delta is now putting Purina's logo on some of their products such as the vest you can get from Delta for your dog and the I.D. badge that the team must carry with them on a visit - I really don't like this because to me it is free advertising for Purina and their food is the last thing I would feed my dogs. I have even started my own personal boycott against Purina.
And I meant to say this earlier - I know I mentioned about checking out other therapy dog groups - but I forgot to say that I bet Kirby would make a great therapy dog - the people he would visit would fall in love with that face and he is a great size for people to hold in their laps - something I can't do with either of the Beaglebratz.
Kim
Max is a beauty! Too many people don't realize the higher cost of good dog food will save a ton in vet bills. Our last dog, Sugar, lived fifteen years and rarely got sick. It was recently we realized we fed him mostly human food. A small bag of Iams would last him months!
Thanks for the info - I'll be checking these sites out! I understand your irritation with Delta Society. I have to think it all has to do with their new association with Purina. If they can be paid off, so to speak, then we don't need to support them in the first place.
I hadnt seen the dog food test before.....Blue Buffalo Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice scored 96. This makes me feel good about our choice for Max.
Thanks! Honest Kitchen is great stuff! We were told not to feed it to our fosters cos we fed it to Cordelia (our first) and she refused to eat anything else when she went to another foster. :( Dogs know good stuff when they taste it!
smokey got some honest kitchen as a gift to share w/his foster/shelter friends last november. they loved it! we used it to supplement sick/weaker/skinny dogs and also as ice cubes and w/kibble in kongs. honest kitchen is honestly great. good move kirb.
We have done the same thing with Max .......Our last dog died when he was 15 yrs old and we fed him commercial store brand dog food.(which has been analyzed as a not so good food) I dont know why I never researched dog food before now. Riley was a lab and very healthy but he did have allergies . The vet never suggested it might be his food. I think his life was cut short a year or two and the quality of his life by the food he ate. He was diagnosed with an abdominal "mass" when he died. Max is on Blue Buffalo and we have been pleased with it. GSD's are prone to stomach "bloat" so we feed him twice. When we brought him home he weighed about 10lbs....he now weighs 95 lb and has a beautifl coat.
I am now researching my cats food.
From mom - both of the Beaglebratz are registered therapy dogs with Delta and when I heard their decision, to say I was upset with it - is putting it mildly. No, the Beaglebratz are not fed a raw diet but for someone to tell me what I can and cannot feed my dogs. At this time, I just don't have the time to do the needed research and fixing a homemade or raw diet - beside the fact the stupid Delta policy. At this time, Delta is the ONLY therapy dog association that has this policy so if I were you and wanted to make Kirby a therapy dog, I would definitely look further. Delta has lost over a hundred Pet Partner teams due to this decision - there is some question among the membership about why now - me and Shiloh have been a team since 2005 then all of a sudden (AFTER Purina becomes a major sponsor) Delta comes up with this new policy. Me and the Beaglebratz are also members here in Topeka with a local therapy dog group that for many years, followed much of Delta - we have a member that does feed a raw diet and refused to change but still wanted to work in therapy so she switched groups. I could say more but this post is more about dog food - I also have changed my way of thinking since I was a child growing up with dogs in the family. Now the food MUST be made in the US and ONLY with human-grade products. When I read what goes into animal by-products - it made me sick at my stomach. I do rely a lot on some of those websites that grade dog food such as
http://www.pawstoadmire.com/index_files/RateYourDogFood.htm
Then when I read the reviews about Castor & Pollux, at this site -
http://dogfoodchat.com/castor-pollux-dog-food/
I decided to try it. Granted, the reviews were not all in agreement but I liked the ingredient list which consisted mostly of organic products - I also like the mix of kibble and veggies/fruits and the barley - maybe not perfect but fairly close. However I am always looking for something better and within my budget.
Sorry this comment is so long - Delta and their policy can bring out the talker in me.
Kim