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Recall: Steve’s Real Food Turducken Canine Recipe Patties

Steve’s Real Food Recalls Turducken Canine Recipe Patties Because of Posssible Health Risk

March 7, 2013 - Steve’s Real Food of Murray, Utah is recalling its 5 lb. bags of Turducken Canine Diet – 8oz. Patties due to potential contamination of Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

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Remains of a 33,000 year-old dog found in Siberia

I had watched the dog origin wars as a chronicler of the dog-human relationship for several decades when in 2009 I was approached a young editor The Overlook Press about writing a book on the origins of the dog.  I readily agreed, and the result was How the Dog Became the Dog.

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JoAnna Lou
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Apartments Appeal to Dog Lovers

With Americans spending more than $50 billion a year on their pets, the companion animal industry has been a lucrative one to capitalize on in recent years. The real estate business is no exception. Particularly with the economic downturn, I’ve seen a lot of apartments in New York add special perks to woo dog lovers. We’re an attractive bunch since the pet industry was less affected by the recession.

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Pet Sellers Lobby

Few, outside of the pet “industry,” have probably heard of the trade organization PIJAC—Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council.  Part of their mission is to “ensure the availability of pets,”  [in pet stores] because, as one of their members notes on a promotional video, “... without the sale of pets, there is no pet industry.” PIJAC is about to host their annual meeting in Napa, California in April. Looking through their conference agenda was an eye opener. It leads off with what is sure to be a lively, but rather one-sided, panel discussion.

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A Dog's Right to Speak

Despite the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) efforts to stop a debarking ban bill (A01204), the New York State Assembly overwhelmingly voted for its passage on March 5, 2013. AKC argued that the government should not interfere with a dog owner’s decision making. While I understand and value the freedom to choose what is best for my personal pets, I make an exception to acts of cruelty such as debarking.

 

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JoAnna Lou
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Overpopulation by the Numbers

The pet overpopulation problem can feel really overwhelming at times and it can be hard to see if rescue efforts are making a real difference. I recently read an article that looked at the juxtaposition of compassion and cruelty--the side of the pet world that pampers our animals like children versus the side that kills millions of them each year. The statistics are sobering, but also provides a little hope (we've greatly reduced euthanasia numbers over the last few decades).

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Photo by Life Lenses/flickr.

Karen B. London
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He Can Do Stairs?

While dog sitting a big Chocolate Lab, I noticed that when we humans went upstairs, he stayed at the bottom of the steps. He had that, “What about poor me?” look about him, and I assumed he was not comfortable with stairs. Perhaps he had no experience with them, or a bad experience had made him nervous about them. There are a lot of dogs who don’t like stairs, and I assumed Bear was one of them.

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JoAnna Lou
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Mysterious Death of a Show Dog

Earlier this month Cruz, a Champion Samoyed, was at the top of his game, trotting around the breed ring at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Just four days later the three-year old was at the emergency vet, dying of symptoms consistent with ingesting rat poison. No necropsy was performed, so it's unclear what killed Cruz. But if the suspicions are true, Cruz would have had to have eaten the poison while in New York for the show.

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Photo by Lynette Blue.

Karen B. London
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Extendable Leash Accident

The dog was running away as fast as he could from what scared him, but unfortunately, he couldn’t get away from it. That’s because he was running away from his extendable leash, and it was still attached to him. The dog had hit the end of the leash and pulled hard enough to jerk the handle from his guardian’s hand. The handle had come flying towards him as the leash fed back into it at top speed and the internal mechanism broke. He became more and more terrified as the “monster” first charged him and then continued to come after him. Despite his speed, he was unable to escape.

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Buried Treasure

The missing socks caper has been solved. This morning I was catching up on Spring weeding, when I spied a strange blue object peeking out from under the wet soil. Much to my delight it turned out to be one, of the many, socks that have gone missing recently.

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