In search of untainted pet food

In the past week we’ve dealt with some very serious issues. A Virginia Tech student killed 32 students and teachers in the worst school shooting tragedy to date. But there is another story that has continued for more than a month now, and while it may seem trivial in comparison, it touches many of us living in North Texas.

Every day, it seems, we read about another pet product being pulled off the market because it is tainted. We switched dog food in our household to a brand with all natural ingredients, and lo and behold, on Thursday that company announced a recall of its cat food. Now, we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Tainted food is a problem affecting people as well as animals. But at least we have a choice when we hear about packaged lettuce with e coli or a restaurant that was serving a batch of e coli infected onions. We decide what we eat and where we eat it.

But our pets don’t have that ability, unless of course, they’re sitting at your feet during dinner, looking for a few morsels of people food. Otherwise they trust us to take care of them, treat them well and not give them tainted food. Because tainted pet food is so widespread, it seems virtually impossible to find an alternative.

Prepare your own meals for your dog or cat? That’s not really feasible especially when you consider they may not receive the nutrients they need. The other revelation for me is that it really doesn’t matter which brand you buy – it seems one company is responsible for supplying most of our pet food.

I realize that relatively few dogs (and cats) have died, but how many dog years will be lost when our pets eat this stuff over time? Let’s hope pet food companies and pet stores help us to do more to ensure the health and well being of man’s best friend.