Pet food: what you don't know can be harmful

A Poll commissioned by the Wellness® brand of natural pet food found that not enough pet owners know or understand the ingredients on pet food labels.

“Of 1,305 U.S. adult dog and/or cat owners, two-thirds say they feed their dog(s)/cat(s) as if they are members of the family. But their actions don’t always support the claim. 56 percent say they always read the label on their own packaged foods (e.g. pasta, pre-packaged or frozen meals), but only 20 percent of dog owners and 19 percent of cat owners say they always read the labels on their pets’ food. Just 38 percent say they understand all the ingredients listed on their dog/cat food labels. “
The survey was conducted in August by Harris Interactive® and commissioned by the Wellness® brand of natural food and treats for pets.


And then there is this:

http://www.9news.com/news/world/article.aspx?storyid=102207
BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese veterinarian says some 1,500 dogs have died after eating feed tainted with melamine. That's the same industrial chemical that's contaminated dairy products and sickened tens of thousands of babies across China.
The veterinarian says all the dogs died on farms in one village. The animals are a breed known as raccoon dogs. They're raised for their fur, which is used to make trim on coats and other clothing.
The veterinarian says he examined about a dozen dogs and determined that they died of kidney failure. He says melamine was found in the feed and about 25 percent of the stones found in the dogs' kidneys were made of melamine.
In the milk scandal, the chemical was said to have been added to the watered-down milk to make it appear higher in protein. It can cause kidney stones and eventually kidney failure in humans too.
Monday's news about the dogs is raising questions about the extent of the chemical's presence in China's food chain.
(Copyright Associated Press, All Rights Reserved.)

Add to that the odious fact that these dogs were being raised for their fur on these farms and it all makes up a very sad triumvirate.

Pet Treats from China, Clandestinely

Why is it that these online pet food companies still do not understand the importance of posting the country of origin for consumable pet products?
Yet another batch of dog treats just received were made in China—information that was not visible on the company’s site. What is it going to take? If everyone who orders anything for their pets online—where the buyer has the disadvantage of not being able to pick up the prospective purchase and see where it is made—contacted these otherwise very reputable and responsible companies about this—maybe then they would get it.

Let them know. Please

Ordering Pet Products Online

It is one thing to buy pet food and treats in the store where you can actually read all of the ingredients and see where the product is made. But what about shopping online for pet supplies? This is very convenient and you can see varieties not available in a lot of stores. There are a several very reliable sites— www.petfooddirect.com , www.petsmart.com , www.petco.com , to name just a few.

But you mostly are not able to see the country of origin for food or toys—especially worrisome for consumables. For instance, there was a pet chew with the brand name Dingo—you’d think it would be from Australia, perhaps? When it arrived, the package stated the chew came from China. Back it went, maybe not to China, but to the company from whence it came. If the information on the country of origin of this product had been there on the website, the order never would have been placed.

This was mentioned to the company and the reply was something like they didn’t have enough space to put where every product was made. Not much of an excuse, especially considering these bones, chews and treats are going to be given to peoples’ beloved pets, who can’t complain if something they just ate is making them sick. The chances that any of these products could be harmful are probably slim. These are big companies and they know what they re doing for the most part. But putting up a few more lines of text indicating the origin of a product—especially anything to be eaten—seems easy enough. And if they don’t know where these items come from, then shame on them.