Wal-Mart Chicken Jerky Tests Positive For Melamine

August 22, 2007August 22, 2007

Wal-Mart Chicken Jerky Tests Positive For Melamine

Tests have found melamine in the chicken jerky Wal-Mart removed from shelves in July. The affected brands are Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading. As reported before, Wal-Mart removed these treats after receiving customer complaints, but they didn’t make any announcement to warn consumers. At this point, the FDA still doesn’t have anything about it on their site. Super.

There is a very well maintained list of safe (not part of the previous huge recall) pet foods at PetSitUSA.com. I strongly encourage you to check it out.

You can find out much more on previous recalls on my Pet Food Recall Archive Page.

August 21, 2007

Wal-Mart Quietly Pulls Chicken Jerky From Shelves

Despite no public recall, Wal-Mart quietly removed Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading from shelves in July. Because it isn’t an official recall, Wal-Mart is handling the testing of the product instead of the FDA. It also means many people could still be feeding the treats to their dogs. Lovely.

August 21, 2007

Alex, The Dalmation, Rescued After Four Days In Pipe

Larry Thompson of West Virginia was finally able to rescue his fourteen year old Dalmatian, Alex, after trying three days to reach him. (Play video.) You can hear the intense relief and emotion in Thompson’s voice the moment he pulls Alex free of the pipe. I can only imagine how Thompson felt, especially considering he headed up the rescue efforts himself.

It’s believed that Alex crawled into the storm drain to beat the heat on Thursday. He apparently crawled the length of the 80 foot pipe, turned around and got stuck. On Friday, his family realized he was missing and the rescue efforts began with Thompson using a back hoe to try to reach him. When a heavy rainstorm hit, he had to dig a culvert to divert run-off from the opening of the storm drain in which Alex was stuck. By Sunday night, they still hadn’t reached Alex, so at 3AM Larry Thompson called his cousin and asked if he’d drive to Kentucky to get an excavator. His cousin was at Thompson’s yard at 8AM and they finally got Alex out a little bit later. Alex had been 20-25 feet underground. It looks like, despite everything, the Dalmatian is going to be okay and Thompson will be putting a cover on the pipe opening.

August 20, 2007

NFL’s Michael Vick To Plead Guilty

Michael Vick has accepted a plea deal and will plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges connected to dog fighting. His three co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Vick. Two of the co-defendants signed statements that Vick killed dogs that “underperformed” by drowning, hanging, or slamming them to the ground. Michael Vick could face 12 to 18 months in prison and a lifetime ban from the NFL. Fifty-three of the sixty-six dogs seized from Vick’s property will probably be euthanized.

The Michigan State University College of Law has a very informative page on dog fighting that covers the history, the training, the culture, the societal cost, the criminal links, laws and legal issues, and evidence, including less obvious things such as the drugs/vitamins/medical supplies used. You can also find out about the signs of dog fighting. And the Humane Society of the United States has a FAQ on dog fighting. (Note: None of the these pages have gruesome photos of dogs showing the barbarism of dog fighting. They do have a wealth of information.)

You can help make a change by educating yourself and by supporting these groups:

August 16, 2007August 16, 2007

Feline Hyperthyroidism Linked To Flame Retardants

A new study has found has levels of flame retardant chemicals to be three times higher in cats with hyperthyroid disease than in normal, healthy cats. These flame retardant chemicals are called PBDE’s (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) and are used in things like upholstery, carpet, mattresses, and even televisions. It’s thought cats are exposed to PBDE’s when they groom because they’re ingesting contaminated household dust from our furniture and carpet and from their bedding.

The study also found that canned fish and seafood flavored cat food had significantly higher levels of PBDE’s in them. And a diet of canned food may have levels of PBDE’s twelve times higher than a diet of dry food. It’s estimated that pet cats might be receiving as much as 100 times greater dietary PBDE exposure than American adults.

Sweden started limiting the uses of PBDE’s when it was found in human breast milk. The state of Washington passed legislation banning PBDE’s this year.

Read about the symptoms of and treatments for feline hyperthyroidism.