Yet again, Mars Petcare US has recalled several of its pet foods manufactured in its Allentown Pennsylania facility because of salmonella. The recall includes all dry food produced at the plant with a “best by” date between August 11, 2009 and October 3, 2009.
Is your pet’s food safe? Here is how you can find out:
The affected food would have been purchased at BJ’s Wholesale Club, ShopRite Supermarkets, and Wal-Mart locations in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, and West Virginia.
According to the Mars website, the following brands (and upc codes) of food are included in the recall:
Berkley & Jensen Small Bites & Bones Dog Food 52# 00000 14958
Ol’ Roy Puppy Complete Premium Dog Food 4# 81131 79078
Ol’ Roy Puppy Complete Premium Dog Food 20# 81131 79080
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition Premium Dog Food 4# 81131 17550
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition Premium Dog Food 4.4# 81131 69377
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition Premium Dog Food 8# 05388 67144
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition Premium Dog Food 20# 81131 17549
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition Premium Dog Food 22# 05388 60342
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition Premium Dog Food 44.1# 81131 17551
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition Premium Dog Food 50# 78742 01022
Ol’ Roy High Performance Premium Dog Food 20# 05388 60345
Ol’ Roy High Performance Premium Dog Food 50# 78742 05815
Ol’ Roy Meaty Chunks & Gravy Premium Dog Food 22# 81131 69630
Ol’ Roy Meaty Chunks & Gravy Premium Dog Food 50# 81131 69631
ShopRite Crunchy Bites, Bones and Healthy Squares Dog Food 20# 41190 04521
Special Kitty Original Premium Cat Food 3.5# 81131 17557
Special Kitty Original Premium Cat Food 7# 81131 17562
Special Kitty Original Premium Cat Food 18# 81131 17559
Special Kitty Gourmet Blend Premium Cat Food 3.5# 81131 17546
Special Kitty Gourmet Blend Premium Cat Food 7# 81131 17547
Special Kitty Gourmet Blend Premium Cat Food 18# 81131 17548
Special Kitty Kitten Premium Cat Food 3.5# 81131 17553
Special Kitty Kitten Premium Cat Food 7# 81131 17554
The last recall also involved Salmonella. When is Mars Petcare going to do something about their food poisoning companion animals?
This is unacceptable.
Salmonella infections in pets may cause lethargy, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Animals can be carriers with no visible symptoms and can potentially infect other animals or humans. If your pet has eaten any potentially contaminated pet food products and exhibits any of the above symptoms, please contact your veterinarian immediately.
Over the years, we have spent what seems like a lot of money on our pets. Be it for food, toys, supplies, routine care, emergencies, or problems that may have arisen, money has never been an issue regarding our animals. There have been occasions where it was extremely difficult. We adopted all of our animals when we were young, and we had no idea how much they would be like human children when it came to expenses. We were just married, both in college, and, well, broke.
It started when we found Chewy, our oldest cat, lying in his litter box. We made an appointment with the vet and took him to be checked out. The vet wanted me to leave him for a few hours because he said that he needed to be catheterized. By the time I got back home, the vet was calling me on the phone. Chewy’s bladder had ruptured, and he was in bad shape. The Dr. said that he could operate, but that there were no guarantee that he would even survive the surgery.
He also said that it would be somewhere between 600-800 dollars. (To put this into perspective, we were probably only bringing home somewhere in the ballpark of 300 to 350 a week at that time.) After a moment that seemed like a flurry of sadness, panic, and shock, we told the vet to go ahead with the surgery. We loved our cat. Before we hung up, I asked him if we would be able to set up a payment plan. He told me to come back to the office and make a deposit (which I did) and we could pay monthly until we had a zero balance.
Fortunately, Chewy came out of the surgery like a trouper, and came home a few days later. When all was said and done, we had a bill that was almost 700 dollars and a “prescription” for special food. The food was sixteen dollars for a five pound bag. We have three cats. There is just no way to separate the cats for meal time, so they all had to eat the new food. That in itself was a major expense. Now, eight years later, we buy the same food by the 30 pound bag. It is up to forty-six dollars for that size, which lasts for exactly two weeks. While that’s a lot of money for cat food per month, Chewy has been healthy and energetic ever since. He is twelve now, and still as sassy as ever.
Fortunately, we have had no major issues with the dogs. Aside from Bill’s lymphoma, most of the dogs’ care has been fairly routine - checkups, vaccinations, and the occasional dental cleaning. In fact, Pub just had his teeth cleaned last month, and the bill was a whopping 300 dollars. He has a few fatty lumps on him (which the vet said are common and not anything to worry about) that we contemplated having removed, but at the additional cost of 200 to 300 dollars, we decided to leave them alone unless they become a health concern.
When I went to pick him up, the dog dentist, who was extremely nice, explained the easiest way to care for his teeth at home. That included a rinse that I was instructed to use daily. The rinse ended up being twenty dollars for eight ounces, so it also ended up back on the shelf. It would last two weeks AT MOST.
At thirty eight dollars per large bag, the dogs’ food is also quite expensive. It lasts between two and three weeks, usually. We are willing to spend that kind of money on their food for several reasons:
It contains only quality ingredients and no fillers – You can check reviews on your dog’s food here.
It is not made in China. These days, it seems like nothing that comes from china is safe.
Just for fun, I decided to go back through my checkbook since January of this year and add up all of the money that went toward anything for the animals, including food, check-ups, medication, toys, kitty litter, and surgeries. The final tally includes Bill’s euthanasia and cremation, as well as Annie’s spay. Still, these are not totally unusal expenses. When all was said and done, from January to October of this year, we have spent $1,316.07 dollars on pet care. There’s still two more months to go before we have a final tally.
Here’s the point. We love our animals more than anything, and we will spend whatever we have to to keep them healthy and happy. It’s not a problem for us. Five years ago, it would have been a major problem. Ten years ago, we would have never been able to do it. So here is my question: How can veterinarians sleep at night? It is thirty dollars just to walk in the door. That seems bad enough. Why on earth would a vet charge eighteen dollars to squirt eye wash in a dog’s eye? Why in the hell would they charge forty dollars for a urinalysis, or thirty dollars for a heartworm test?
My friend recently called her vet on a Friday to see if he would see her dog that day or the next to check her knee. She had had it replaced the year before, and began favoring it. The receptionist told her that they had no appointments, but that the vet would see her if she paid a SEVENTY FIVE dollar emergency fee. But the vet was already going to be there all weekend! Needless to say, she has since found another vet.
If I were a vet, I could never turn an animal away because it’s owner couldn’t pay me. And it does happen. I wish it weren’t about money to so many.
To a lot of people, expenses for animal care are crushing. There are a lot of people out there who have adopted pets, and who love animals, but they cannot afford the ridiculous prices that many vets charge. Often, these pets are fed poor diets, not spayed or neutered, and don’t receive the proper vaccinations. It can be very difficult to mange all of these things plus flea and heartworm prevention, and anything else that may come along. I know, because I have been in their shoes. Pets are a major responsibility. We were fortunate that our vet let us make payments eight years ago. Many will not. We have borrowed money from our parents, and we probably even charged a visit or two.
Sadly, many animals will probably be put to sleep when their care becomes too much of a burden, and, even worse, many vets will put them to sleep before they will offer their services at a reduced rate. It’s a disgrace.
So, what do you think? Are some vets more concerned about money than the animals?
Once again, people with companion animals are faced with the reality that most store brand foods are, well, crap. Mars announced a voluntary recall, this time because of Samonella.
Here is an excerpt from the press release, which you can read in its entirety by clicking on the link:
Salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and, if there is cross contamination caused by handling of the pet food, in people as well, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune systems. Healthy people potentially infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. On rare occasions, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.
Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Animals can be carriers with no visible symptoms and can potentially infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.
Some of the foods included in this latest recall are Pedigree, Pet Pride, Ol’ Roy, Special Kitty, and Wegman’s brand.
If you have any of the pet foods which have been affected, take them back to the store where you purchased them for a full refund.
This is yet another scary reminder that people should be very informed about and aware of the foods that they are feeding their pets, and not just buy what is on sale. I would be willing to bet that many people have no idea what is really in the food that they are feeding their furry friends. Many commercial brands of pet food not only test their products on animals, but they contain parts of animals that our government considers to be unfit for human consumption. They are often animals that have been taken out of the human meat pool, so to speak, because they are diseased, dying, or disabled, so why feed this garbage to the pets that we love?
I recently came across a great book called Eco Dog, and it had a lot of fun and interesting ways to care for pets in safe, earth friendly ways. I highly recommend it. One of the best projects was an easy recipe for homemade dog treats:
1 large jar of organic baby food
1 cup of organic wheat germ
Mix together, form into 1 inch balls, press with a fork, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
My dogs love the sweet potato treats! Try it with different flavors!
