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Saturday morning open thread: Airport run, new kitten and Kentucky Derby edition
By Gina Spadafori
May 5, 2007
- If you have a sick pet or a question on your pet’s health, call your veterinarian.
- If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page (includes information on recalled foods).
- If you want to report a sick or deceased pet, click here.
I’ll add news to this thread later. Right now (5 a.m.) I have to make an airport run for a friend.
Busy day! I have to finish “MeowWow: MeowWow: Curiously Compelling Facts, True Tales and Trivia Even Your Cat Won’t Know,” to put something between the covers for a book that’s already for sale. (Nothing like a little pressure, huh?) Next two weekends, its companion book, “BowWow: Curiously Compelling Facts, True Tales and Trivia Even Your Dog Won’t Know,” has to get done. Dr. Becker and I had already planned a busy spring, with three books out in the fall (the first one’s done), but then this pet-food mess made a busy time even crazier.
Later this afternoon, a new member joins my family. Clara is her name, and she’s nine weeks old. For those of you keeping count — including my mother, who shakes her head in wonder and thinks I’m beyond crazy — that’s four dogs, one rabbit, one parrot and a cat. That’s little Miss Clara, pictured.
Finally, Derby Day. I’m a very serious horse-racing fan, always have been. (Here I am a couple months ago with Barbaro’s jockey, the great Edgar Prado, at Gulfstream Park in Florida. That trip, I also met trainer Todd Pletcher, who’s running five horses in the Derby) The highlight of my summer is a trip to Del Mar. I’m really more about the older horses, ones you can follow for more than a brief 3-year-old season. But Derby Day … well, it’s the Derby, what can you do but watch?
My pick? Nobiz Like Shobiz (pictured here, and check out this incredible photo of him by Sarah Andrews from the same race). But I’m a terrible handicapper, so don’t follow me on this one.
Updating with reader suggestions: The Charlotte Observer on increased interest in locally raised meat. (Did you know there’s a made-up word for people who eat locally? Locavores!) Try a farmers market: You’ll get local food, at lower cost. If you have room for a freezer, you can save by stocking up on humanely raised, organic meats. (You’ll be supporting American farmers!) You can also plant a garden.
Another reader sends a link to the latest AP story, via CNN.com, with news that the EPA is also involved in the chicken mess. Speaking of which, do you know that a couple of pet hens can not only be fun but also provide you with eggs?
Here’s a link to a story on researchers at the University of the Pacific who have developed a way to detect foreign substances in food.
Here’s an oddity: The Canadian postal service has stopped delivering mail to a home in Winnipeg because of a “very threatening cat.”
Finally … how about a piece on tricks for getting better pictures of your pets? (Since the topic has come up in the comments section.)
Got anything for us? E-mail us or post in the comments! And be good blog citizens — if your post doesn’t show up, the spam filter caught it, it will be set free later. Do not re-post it or Christie will cry. And you know, no crass product promotion, no nastiness, no hate. It’s so easy to play nice.
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Congrats on the new addition! Little Clara is adorable.
Comment by karen — May 5, 2007 @ 5:20 am
I L-O-V-E Clara!!
Comment by elliott — May 5, 2007 @ 5:24 am
Oh boy! Kitten breath. If there is such a thing, I’ve never had cats. But having a baby in the house is sooo fun. Of course, once they grow up it is really more fun, or at least more relaxing.
I just wanted to add my thanks to all the people that are letting you and Christie know how much we appreciate all your hard work. I know for both of you keeping up with all the recall insanity has sucked the life right outa’ you. As much as we two leggers are thankful, mostly it is the thousands of pets whose lives have been saved because of this webesite and itchmo and the pet food list keeping us current.
In fact my dad was feeding his dogs NB venison and rice. You guys had the info up hours before the company or FDA. His younger dog did have acute pancreatitis (sp?), who knows if it was recall related or not, but a few more meals of tainted food might have been more than her body could handle. She’s back to her mad dog self (anybody out there with Brittanys?)
You both deserve medals for what you have done for the pet community. Hope soon you both can ease back and get some rest. Holly and Mikey say ‘Aahrooo, aahrooooo!’
Enjoy your new kitty, what a little doll!
Comment by cardima — May 5, 2007 @ 5:34 am
Gina, Clara looks just like the cat I had years ago! Adorable, gorgeous tiger striping, long hair… People used to ask if I had a Maine Coon. Can I come over to play with little Miss Clara? Congratulations on the newest family member!
Comment by petlover — May 5, 2007 @ 5:43 am
Gina, Clara is a little cutie. Kittens are SO much fun. Sounds like you have a pet store going at your house just like we do. 3 cats, 3 budgies, 2 hermit crabs, 1 turtle and who knows how many fish - we have a breeding molly tank. It’s alot of fun!
Comment by Sharon — May 5, 2007 @ 5:46 am
1st - remember Barboro will be on NBC tonite
2nd - don’t know what to make of this find, but doesn’t leave me w/ a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. http://disc.server.com/discuss.....ON%20BOARD
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 5:53 am
OMG, Clara is an absolute DOLLbaby!
Is she a brown tabby?
And I’ll add my thanks for this blog. The explosion in information is more than mind-boggling, but it’s so incredibly valuable to know I have somewhere to come for information I know I can *trust*!
Thank you. All of you.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — May 5, 2007 @ 6:05 am
That is one cute as heck kitten!
(and this from a dog person, lol)
May you and Clara enjoy many long & happy years together!
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 6:24 am
Last night on Real Time with Bill Maher…
Maher raised pet (and human) food contamination during 2 separate segments: First during an interview with Tommy Thompson (former sec’y of health & human services), and later in the show during an interview with Sanjay Gupta of CNN.
Episode will re-air Monday at 8pm ET on HBO.
Comment by karen — May 5, 2007 @ 6:25 am
Good Morning all, hope everyone got some sleep!
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped......html#more
“Our view protecting pets and people: Food scares reveal FDA is overwhelmed, understaffed”
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 6:31 am
IMO we should under no cirumstances agree to further into import agreements than we can sustain inspection. Our own American farmers can accomplish so much on their own and can feed Americans. However they cannot compete with the prices of the foreign markets, leading to the so many bankrupt farms. Bring our reliances back home, therefore lessen the burden on the FDA, in turn keeping our food supply as that of our pets much safer.
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 6:38 am
*squeal!!!*
Clara is SO CUTE! Congratulations on the new family member!
I wonder how long it’ll take her to have all those dogs wrapped around her fluffy little paw. ;)
Comment by Katherine — May 5, 2007 @ 6:38 am
Oh heck. I’m moving to the UK. They have better regulations. Here ya go:
http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/I.....-99619.pdf
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 6:44 am
I see no comments on those OpEd pieces on pet food. Anyone else see them?
Well, Gina, you’re in for it now! A kitten!
Comment by CathyA — May 5, 2007 @ 6:45 am
P.S. Right now I’m only at six cats, but I used to have seven cats and a rabbit. My mother’s realized that’s just the way it is. ;)
Comment by Katherine — May 5, 2007 @ 6:45 am
Gina - camera equipment question……
I’ve noticed in your photostream pics of Heather & now Clara above, the extreme clarity of your photographs. Do you mind sharing what type of camera and/or lenses you use? Also, are you achieving your results mostly from your equipment (and shooting experience) and/or adding some post work with Photoshop?
Just curious as I’d love to get better photos of my fur kids.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 6:47 am
Definitely love the UK -
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/em20.....279_en.pdf
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 6:47 am
CathyA -
I imagine the concern is as is everyone else’s - the food supply in general sucks.
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 6:50 am
So wonderful and fun for you to have a new kitten! I was just thinking to myself on Thursday how I would absolutely love to get a new baby kitten and bring her home. A kitten that I could raise from the very beginning using all the information and knowledge I’ve acquired recently about proper food for a long and healthy life. That dream will have to wait, though. Current furry residents seem to feel the family is complete and are not very
interested in having additional “competition”
for attention and sunny spots.
additional “competition” for attention and sunny spots.
Comment by elizabeth R. — May 5, 2007 @ 6:52 am
I have a Canon Rebel XT and a little point-and-shoot Pentax. I’m not a great photographer, by any means. I have found the secret is to take zillions of pictures in hopes that one or two will turn out well. With digital camera, that’s easy, since you’re not wasting film or paying to develop pictures you don’t want.
Of all the pictures I’ve taken, here’s my all-time favorite. My three retrievers, on “stay” and looking at what my Sheltie is up to.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 5, 2007 @ 6:54 am
Gina Miss Clara is adorable, have many happy days with her!
The other day obesity was brought up. This problem runs in my boyfriends family, he is the oddity, underweight. So I have been researching this notion of melamine being part of the problem with obesity.
This morning I found shocking truth behind plastic and obesity! I don’t know how to do the tiny url’s so here is that site.
http://www.truehealth.org/obesity.html
Item 2, made my jaw hit the key board.
Seems to imply that even plastic containers, baby bottles, pacifiers, plastic toys, cups, plates, cutting boards put a little plastic in your diet, gain a little more weight.
Add some processed foods “cakes” with a little melamine in it from time to time. It’s not toxic, unless mixed with other chemicals.
It’s just fattening. Oh guess which counrty had the highest stats of growing obesity. Yes, that is right, “We even put it in our “cakes”.”
China…..things that make you go ewwwwww!
Comment by Maudigan — May 5, 2007 @ 6:55 am
Oh Gina! Beautiful shot!!! Beautiful dogs!!!! Calendar stuff!!!
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 6:56 am
Our children grow faster than they used to as well - that gets mentioned often. Boys get so stocky too.
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 7:01 am
Gina - thanks so much for answering about your camera gear. Maybe I can get my old Canon EOS RebelX to get something similar - will need to refresh my head bone on the finer details of using a film camera, lol. For digi pics, I use a Canon SD400 Elph, but the zoom only goes so far, especially when trying for good snaps at dog shows.
Love the profile of your retrievers on their sit-stay. I have no clue how you got them to be so good lining up that way AND holding their stay. I’ve just begun CGC training with my 13 mth old lab, and although he’s doing well, he does get distracted easily, lol.
The DOF in your sheltie pic is wonderful. As is Drew’s expression as his fur flies with such a sense of joie de vivre!
Thanks again for the info - I’ll keep practicing and DO know what you mean about taking a gazillion pics to get the right one. Trying to get a decent pic of my 2 dogs for last year’s Christmas card was waaaaay more challenging then I ever thought it would be. Heh.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 7:16 am
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 6:44 am
Yeah but those “better laws” came at a horrific price. Read The family that couldn’t sleep : a medical mystery / D.T. Max. especially the chapters on Mad cow (10 and 11 I think)
Just hope we don’t need to go through something that bad. Melmine tour 2007 is bad enough.
Comment by Schnauzer — May 5, 2007 @ 7:17 am
Hello, I was at my Vets office the other day and bought Pet-Tabs Plus for dogs supplement. Today I read the ingrediants and see that the first ingrediant is wheat germ. It also contains Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein. Are these ingediants safe? There is no phone number on the container.
Comment by Peggy — May 5, 2007 @ 7:17 am
2 Peggys & 20 million chickens, what’s next?
Hi Peggy, I’m sorry I don’t know about dog stuff; is that a vitamin or heart-worm tab? I can see where you might be concerned, though.
I’ll change my name slightly:
Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 5, 2007 @ 7:22 am
Congrats on the new kitten.. she’s absolutely beautiful!
Comment by Gwen — May 5, 2007 @ 7:30 am
Article this morning:
PET FOOD MESS
Death rates are expected to rise in coming years
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ywtbvk
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 7:33 am
Peggy, Phizer Animal Health makes Pet-Tabs. I’d suggest contacting them and ask about your concerns. Don’t know how straight they’ll be in their reply, but IMO, it’s always worth a shot.
Pfizer’s web page:
http://tinyurl.com/yuxhjp
I clicked on their contact info (link at bottom of page right) and found this:
Contact Us
To ask a question regarding Pfizer Animal Health products or report an adverse experience, human exposure, or product defect please call 800-366-5288. Our hours of operation are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
Or you can email them at that same contact link:
http://tinyurl.com/26kru7
Hope this helps.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 7:34 am
Wow, Gina, you sure picked a pretty little cat! Clara’s already entirely too cute - and I bet she’ll be absolutely gorgeous as a grown-up.
Have your dogs ever had a feline ruler before? Or is she going to have straighten them out herself? :) I’m sure she’ll make short work of it.
We have two kitties, one terrier, one lab, and a fish. Our terrier likes to think he runs the place, so every now and then the princess - my female cat - has to put him back in his place. She’s quite good at making her point.
Good luck to you all - should be a very entertaining weekend!
Comment by Laura — May 5, 2007 @ 7:34 am
I must have done Tiny URL wrong (techno-geezer)
Again:
PET FOOD MESS
Death rates are expected to rise in coming years
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ywtbvk
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 7:37 am
I don’t see any difference on the second try. At least I didn’t mess up the blog like yesterday.
Granny
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 7:39 am
Revised link to Granny’s above (without the TinyUrl preview page):
http://tinyurl.com/ywtbvk
Thanks for the find, Granny.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 7:39 am
To Gina, Wow what BEAUTIFUL pics!!! Thank you for the slide show of your pets, it is truly heart warming, each pic made me smile! What precious pets and pics.
Comment by Peggy — May 5, 2007 @ 7:42 am
Least you can do that much Aunt Granny, I can’t do it at all. Getting internet lessons this next week. Should be interesting, a few years behind the times here myself.
Comment by Maudigan — May 5, 2007 @ 7:42 am
Still waiting for your post, Granny! Just to let you know, I am too timid to try the tinyurl thing—-good for you!
Elaine
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 7:42 am
Granny - look at your link & the revised one I posted above. Yours had “preview” in the url address. I know it can be confusing because tinyurl gives you two different options! One for a preview page, one for a direct link. I hope this helps clarify things for you!
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 7:44 am
Ally,
Thank you for fixing that for me. Now I see what I did wrong. Don’t use the preview, right?
This is the kind of info a lot of us have been suspecting. It sure isn’t what we want to hear, but we need to know.
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 7:51 am
Thank you Ally for the revision. Aunt Granny are you in the great central valley of california too?
Comment by Maudigan — May 5, 2007 @ 7:51 am
Thank You Ally !
Comment by Peggy — May 5, 2007 @ 7:52 am
Comment by Peggy — May 5, 2007 @ 7:17 am
Peggy - I had posted a reply to you but I think the spam filter has my original post held captive. Usually I don’t repost, but hopefully Gina will forgive me so you can get this information.
Pet-Tabs are made by Pfizer Animal Health. According to their contact page, they’re closed today, but just so you have the info:
Contact Us:
To ask a question regarding Pfizer Animal Health products or report an adverse experience, human exposure, or product defect please call 800-366-5288. Our hours of operation are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
That same page also has an email form you can try. The link to the contact page for Pfizer Animal Health is here:
http://tinyurl.com/26kru7
Hope this helps.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 7:52 am
Fox 12 Oregon tv, just announced the food safety is their top story this morning. I had called them the other day and told them to listen to the FDA press release, and they were quite perturbed with me for insisting it was a people food problem, as well!
Persistence pays!!
A good website to go to for action on the Country of Origin Labeling is http://www.americansforlabeling.org. Also the Pet Connection archives, April 14th, has a good discussion on COOL.
Speaking of persistence, I am writing letters to congressmen today, and calling their offices again.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 7:54 am
Actually I’m in the North Georgia Mountians :}
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 7:54 am
New Kitten Smell; You put your face right in their fur and breathe deeply. It’s a great stress reducer!! Try it! ;)
Gina, All your furkids look great. I am happy for you and your new addition! All the best! :)
Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 5, 2007 @ 7:55 am
Granny - Yes, don’t use the “preview” tinyurl address. Use the direct link! Anyhoo, no thanks necessary. We all had to learn this internet stuff at one time or another, lol. You deserve the thanks for finding the article!
Peggy - I’ve tried twice to post some info on Pet-Tabs Plus for you as to how to contact the maker, Pfizer Animal Health. I think the spam filter is holding my replies captive. Hopefully Gina will forgive me this one time (posting twice), as I wanted to get their contact info to you.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 7:56 am
Oh, sorry Peggy, I will add my middle name to avoid confusion.
Comment by Peggy Ann — May 5, 2007 @ 7:57 am
I was just over at Itchmo & read a post by Stephan. This is the first thing I’ve heard about cross contamination that makes any sense to me & it sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. Hope it’s ok to quote what he said but I feel it’s important that we try to understand what all this BS is about CC:
“Re: Cross contamination - Although I do certianly think some of it is “don’t ask, don’t tell” ingredient additions (some may have read my musings on the mysteriously high carbohydrate beaver diets) but for the latest rash of Menu recalls - rework addition is my guess. Every time you make food, there is waste. Waste gets put into big bins sorted by general purpose, and blended back in to other runs. Spreads ingredients around fast.”
Comment by JanC — May 5, 2007 @ 7:57 am
Good thing I didn’t add my middle name or else we still would have the same moniker.
Are you a Margaret also?
Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 5, 2007 @ 8:05 am
Articles I have been reading are still saying melamine is “mildly toxic”!! I beg to differ! Mildly toxic wouldn’t have killed all these pets.
There is SOMETHING ELSE for sure.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 8:08 am
It sure has taken most of the media long enough to get on board with this. Here another article this morning on testing the food for melamine.
With this method out public the pet food people will have no excuse:
New Method Developed On University Campus Quickly Detects Tainted Pet Food
http://tinyurl.com/236z7o
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 8:12 am
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 8:12 am
That’s great news!! I wonder if they’re sharing their techniques with other labs now, or waiting till summer.
Comment by Laura — May 5, 2007 @ 8:21 am
I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t be willing to share now with those who ask.
One of them was prompted to do all this because she has pets.
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 8:26 am
To Aunt Granny
Here’s why I’m wondering-
From the article:
“Vail and Sparkman will present their breakthrough method in June at an American Society of Mass Spectrometry conference in Indianapolis. Sparkman says he hopes the method will be applied widely as a “standardized tool” to help keep pets safe.”
Just curious as to whether that means they’re officially unveiling it there, or just giving a presentation on it. Any scientists out there want to translate? I’d like to put our local vet in contact with them.
Comment by Laura — May 5, 2007 @ 8:32 am
Peggy - just saw my Pfizer post re: Pet-Tabs Plus is showing above here: Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 7:34 am
Hope you get some answers soon & let us know?
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 8:35 am
Oh goodness, now I am twice as sorry! OK, how about I use Peg Long Island NY? No, I am not a Margaret, just Peggy.
Comment by Peg Long Island NY — May 5, 2007 @ 8:37 am
Ally, thank you for the contact info. I will call when they have hours on Monday, and will let you know. Thank You.
Comment by Peg Long Island NY — May 5, 2007 @ 8:40 am
I read something at Itchmo that suggested calling a pet food company and asking them specifically if they could guarantee in writing that their ingredients came from the US. I like a challenge, so we called and emailed.
My husband received an email reply stating, “All of the ingredients that we use in our foods are all from within the United States, with the one exception of the Venison which is from New Zealand”. When I called I was told “all ingredients come from the US”.
The interesting point is the company president posted a letter on their website shortly after the recall began (now removed) that stated “effective immediately, I have instructed our buyers to utilize ingredients from domestic suppliers only; and to specifically exclude any ingredients that might be sourced from China.”
Even though they do not use glutens, you still have to wonder about taurine, etc. And what about all the supply that has not yet been distributed?
In mid-January one of my dogs began to have some tummy issues – difficulty getting her to eat, rapid swallowing, eating grass like crazy. She has a sensitive stomach so I didn’t really think much of it until the other dog had a few similar episodes. There was no routine to their illness. Might be sick today and fine for the next 12, then another brief episode. I called the pet food company and questioned them on change in formula, change in source of ingredients, etc. I was assured there were no changes. Still makes you wonder.
Comment by Donna — May 5, 2007 @ 8:42 am
Oh, now I’m sorry! Peggy Ann was fine or what you have now is also fine. Pick what ever you like, I’ll keep mine as it is; was thinking of changing it to that anyway, as I use Big Fat Momma Cat over at Itchmo.
Just, that, it would have been too weird if we had all three names the same. ;)
Hope you find out about your pet-tabs!
Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 5, 2007 @ 8:42 am
Hopefully we’ll be seeing spectrometer machine and D.A.R.T. devices available for sale in every pet store ‘near you’!
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 8:42 am
Oh Man, this is some choice BS and Spin! I kinda figured this is what the new “Food Czar” would be doing and it sure didn’t take long…
“Food Imports Called Safe”
” Despite publicity about tainted shipments from overseas, Dr. David W.K. Acheson said Americans shouldn’t fear eating imported foods.”
” He said that Americans should not worry about serving pet food to their dogs and cats. “
http://tinyurl.com/yr3zkn
They really do think we’re all THAT STUPID???
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 8:43 am
This is a huge step in the wrong direction. So much of the food on the shelves today needs to get off. Instead everything is so drastically on sale it’s pratically free.
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 8:48 am
Wonder what the Amish feed their chickens. There’s a market about hour’s drive from me that sells organic meats and get fresh chickens shipped in every Tuesday from the Amish in Indiana, I think.
Comment by VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 9:02 am
This article was in my paper on Long Island NY - http://www.newsday.com/news/he.....-headlines
Comment by Peg Long Island NY — May 5, 2007 @ 9:07 am
VJ-
Amish were brought up here a couple weeks ago and the board got pretty hot. Puppy mills are an issue there. I hadn’t known about it until then.
Indiana chicken would be speculative from any seller until we get farm names I imagine. But it could be a great source for other fresh food.
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 9:07 am
Fox News just announced they are covering the pet food/people food in the next segment.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 9:10 am
a mass spec available in every vet clinic — not much chance there — but all tox and pathology labs, most universities, all research institutes have mass specs. Very expensive (talking tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands dollars) and very very sensitive pieces of machinery that require constant and obsessive compulsive maintenance to keep working. I would imagine the fellas who developed the technique mentioned before are more than willing to share with any scientist who asks for the SOP/method. “Presentation” in the research world just means sharing findings and allowing for scientific discussion (question and answer format). It’s faster than waiting for acceptance for publication in a peer reviewed journal.
Comment by gingertom — May 5, 2007 @ 9:14 am
I’m pulling a lot of trade data here - imports and exports - setting my own variables and getting a lot of details by country, product, year, month, dollars - great for anyone interested:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/ustrade/
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 9:14 am
Elaine,
Thank you! I’d switched off the news channels, all they seem to be covering is the newest blonde train wreck (Paris Hilton)…
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 5, 2007 @ 9:15 am
Pet food investigation virtually closed huh. Got yer arms around it then do you? Or are you just hugging yourself like the FDA Commish?
Be advised Mr. Food Czar, we’re not going away any time soon.
Comment by CathyA — May 5, 2007 @ 9:19 am
Re: Granny’s link to the food czar’s comments. Now we know that food czar was hired to be a spin doctor! I sure hope folks aren’t stupid enough to let this pass—but so many are only concerned with what the major news media covers—-Anna Nicole Smith, Paris Hilton, American Idol etc. etc. ad nauseum!!
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 9:20 am
To shelly, yes Puppy mills are an issue in Lancaster Pa. My husband and I go to Lancaster frequently because I like antiques and my best friend just bought a house in Lancaster. There are Anti Puppy Mill Billboards on the thru way. When I went house shopping with my friend, there were MANY homes that had lawn signs in their yard that read Do away with Puppy Mills. My husband and I stopped at one Amish Farm in a town called “Bird in Hand” that had a sign out front that listed the many breeds that they sell. A young Amish girl came outside and asked what kind of dog we were interested in. I said I didn’t know what kind and asked to see All the puppies. I wanted to see how they were kept. The girl said NO that we can’t see where they are kept and said that she would bring them out one at a time to the driveway. We said no thanks and left.
Comment by Peg Long Island NY — May 5, 2007 @ 9:22 am
Comment by gingertom — May 5, 2007 @ 9:14 am
Thanks very much, Gingertom - I’ll pass it along to our local vet school (NC State)!
Comment by Laura — May 5, 2007 @ 9:25 am
Just want to let you all know, I sure do appreciate the inquiring minds—-open minds on this blog. I have never blogged before,(being a technogeezer—Granny’s label)
It is so refreshing to know that it isn’t just us cattle ranchers fighting for COOL, and that we have folks with the dogged determination to keep this food safety issue at the forefront!
Thanks!!!
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 9:26 am
Threat to food supply on rise: Pathogens
Comments from the food Czar 2004:
The FDA’s Acheson was cited as saying there is no way to guarantee an end to mad cow, avian flu, hepatitis A or any other agriculture-based pathogen, but that the nation’s food supply is safe and the upgraded inspection system should address concerns about threats from imports, adding, “Food-borne diseases are nothing new. It’s not like we’re having rampant outbreaks of things we’ve never seen before. I can’t say we’ll never have another incident. But we’re doing everything we can to prevent them from happening.”
Same crap..earlier pile.
http://foodsafetynetwork.ca/fs.....h_22-2.htm
Comment by mal — May 5, 2007 @ 9:26 am
Peg NY -
Are there no laws regulating how many dogs a person can have, how they are kept, etc? cruelty to animals doesn’t apply somehow to a situation such as that? I don’t understand how a situation that seems to be as well known in the area as you just described is allowed to legally continue. I understand that they are Amish, but the dogs aren’t.
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 9:30 am
“It’s not like we’re having rampant outbreaks of things we’ve never seen before” -
Not sure I understand his reasoning.
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Mad Cow can be stopped AT THE BORDER, Duh!!! Canada does NOT have it’s BSE under control!
In one article on going “organic” organic food imported from CHINA was mentioned! We need to stop importing food from third world countries!! Duh!!!
U.S. born, raised and processed labeled organic is the only way to go.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 9:33 am
Gina, Nobiz Like Shobiz is our pick, too, out of the Storm Cat mare….how appropriate!
Comment by Nabiya — May 5, 2007 @ 9:40 am
Elaine - I love buying organic whenever possible. But recently, I’ve been discovering articles about organic food that make me a tad nervous. Take this one from Organic Consumer for example: http://www.organicconsumers.or.....e_4549.cfm
Or this one from the American Council on Science and Health from the Huffington Post:
http://tinyurl.com/yqjsjv
Someone posted recently that Farmer’s Market suppliers in the Seattle area must pass stringent certification and checks to prove what they are selling is in fact, organic. I’m going to try finding out if my area, Los Angeles, also has this in place. If so, I’d like to support my local growers buy shopping at their market stalls in lieu of say, a large organic food chain like Whole Foods. I do enjoy shopping at Whole Foods, but there have been times where I’ve read or seen practices of theirs that I’m not wild about.
In light of all the food stuffs that are now being recalled, I’m just trying to be careful. It’s hard to trust anyone these days, you know?
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 9:50 am
To be scrupulously fair, no, there’s no way to make food from USA or abroad 100% safe. You can grow your own then have some nimrod next door overspray it with herbicides while you’re not at home. Be that as it may, they haven’t even really gotten started have they?
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/AFSSPM2007Update.htm
March 29, 2007
FDA Public Meeting on Animal Feed Safety System (AFSS)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will convene a public meeting on the Animal Feed Safety System (AFSS) to present work-in-progress on a method for ranking feed contaminants according to the relative risks they pose to animal and public health.
The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 22, 2007, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn-Gaithersburg, 2 Montgomery Village Ave., Gaithersburg, MD. 20879, 301-948-8900
Comment by CathyA — May 5, 2007 @ 9:53 am
*perks up*
Better pics of pets link? *BOOKMARK*
Thanks, Gina! I love the Veterinary Partners site. I had no idea you contributed over there too!
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 9:56 am
Gina, your new kitten is beautimous! She looks alot like our girl who we miss ever so much. I will bore you with a story. I remember when our girl was just a little older than Clara. I was vacuuming behind the couch and found one of her very first pieces of “artwork”. A big gaping hole in the back of the couch from her scratching. Needless to say I hid it from my husband for quite awhile wanting to protect our little angel. I never did care for that couch anyhow and it was afterall her first artwork and mighty fine at that and may I say large for such a little critter. It turns out months later my husband told me he had already known about it first and was hiding it from me also! So this little ball of fur had us hook, line and sinker from the get go. And no we never got her declawed. Even though she was totally indoor, I never believed in it after my grandfathers cat who was declawed was unable to escape its demise. So anyhow Gina, enjoy your new bundle and appreciate all the artwork, they are with us for too short of time.
Comment by Sandi K — May 5, 2007 @ 9:58 am
http://www.usda.gov/agency/ocr......22404.doc
Statement of
The Honorable Elsa Murano
Under Secretary for Food Safety
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Before the
U.S. Senate
Committee on Appropriations
February 24, 2004
“As the public health regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that meat, poultry and egg products are safe, wholesome and accurately labeled, FSIS quickly reacted to the news of a single positive case of BSE on December 23, 2003”
“Shortly after results were received indicating a presumptive positive test for BSE, the establishment initiated a recall. We are very confident that the meat that entered the food supply posed no risk to public health.”
We had that recall due to ONE COW.
We have millions and no recall - most people aren’t even aware of it - so much food is on drastic sale all over the country - I just don’t get it!
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 9:59 am
CathyA - re: growing your own…..thanks muchly for the reminder. I have some herbs and veggies to get busy planting & luckily my neighbor can’t get to them to overspray. No yard toxins allowed at this dog lovers house!
FYI gardening tip -
If ever you have a snail problem, fill mayonaise jar lids with beer 7 place them where your snails are habitating. They crawl in and croak. Works like a charm but I don’t let the dogs near it, lol.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 10:00 am
oops. “7” above =”&”.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 10:01 am
I agree, Ally. Mandatory COOL, U.S. born, raised and processed is more important that the organic label.
Much of the “organic” produce in my local supermarket is from Mexico! If you can’t eat fresh produce and drink the water while in Mexico, it stands to reason NOT to eat the imported stuff.
Local Farmer’s Markets during the growing season are good.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 10:06 am
Comment by CathyA — May 5, 2007 @ 9:53 am
we may not be able to make sure every thing is 100% safe, but with a system that only checks 1%, it’s like we aren’t even trying.
Comment by straybaby — May 5, 2007 @ 10:08 am
A good organic online source is http://www.azurestandard.com It is a family-owned organic farm.
When this wheat gluten scare first started, I purchased some of their organic flour at the local health food store, and am making my own bread. Yummmm!!
I have an excellent whole wheat bread recipe that I developed years ago if anyone is interested.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 10:15 am
They CAN’T enter those hogs and chickens into the human supply chain! It’s illegal!!!!
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE.....5-016N.pdf
“FSIS administers a regulatory program under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) to protect the health and welfare of consumers by preventing the processing and distribution of meat and poultry products that are unwholesome, adulterated, or misbranded, or otherwise unfit for human food.
Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), all ingredients used to formulate a meat, poultry, or egg product must be declared in the ingredients statement on product labeling. “
This is a very small part - there is a lot of reading here and I’m not finished myself. FSIS - do your job! This meat is KNOWN to be adulterated, whether it was intended or not by our own farmers is irrelevant, it IS. There is product in the meat that MUST be on the declared on the label, it’s not! And it sure isn’t wholesome….
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 10:16 am
Elaine - thanks muchly for the organic online link. Off to check it out and bookmark!
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 10:18 am
Featured news article on Yahoo! home page http://www.yahoo.com “What’s Your Dog’s Life Worth”
About the lawsuits from the recalls…
Comment by Nabiya — May 5, 2007 @ 10:22 am
When you look at how the Peanut Butter recall has been handled:
Peanut butter recall widens for salmonella link
US food safety authorities extended a recall of peanut butter linked to a salmonella outbreak to include products bought as early as October 2004.
Initially, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said all Peter Pan peanut butter bought since May 2006, and all of Wal-Mart Inc.’s Great Value peanut butter with the batch code 2111 should be discarded.
US manufacturer ConAgra Foods Inc. makes both, and has recalled all potentially contaminated batches.
But on Friday night, the FDA said ConAgra had said all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111, including peanut butter toppings, back to October 2004, were being recalled.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sto.....ryId=69660
The initial complaints started in August 2006 and are took until Feb 2007 to be recalled, with multiple recalls extending the recall date time. How much energy will they devote to pet food or the tainted animal feed. This is an issue that the FDA would just like to sweep under the rug.
Comment by mal — May 5, 2007 @ 10:23 am
Fox news coverage was very thorough, they had a gal on from Food and Water Watch. Thanks Fox Nws!
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 10:27 am
It wasn’t on the Fox Local channel here in the Washington DC area - Stargate Atlantis is on.
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 10:31 am
I wonder if the ‘Center for Science in the Public Interest’ is aware of what is taking place at the moment? I found this letter:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE.....14R2-1.pdf
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 10:38 am
It was on the national Fox News channel, which I think is based in DC. I live out in the boonies and can only get tv on a sattelite dish! :-)
They called it a breaking news story, or developing story or something?
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 10:39 am
from the yahoo article:
“Today 42 states have made cruelty to animals a felony,”
so can we press some charges here? I’m pretty sure if I was knowingly poisoning my pets, they would arrest me. That 3 week period and everything that has followed pretty much amounts to the same thing.
Comment by straybaby — May 5, 2007 @ 10:43 am
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org is a D.C. based NGO. I haven’t looked over the website yet, but I sure did like the stance their spokesperson gave on Fox News.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 10:46 am
Excellent point straybaby - yet one more thing we’ll sue for in our class action. Cruelty to animals, via each of the 42 states. Jackapples
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 10:47 am
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....7KXa_MWM0F
Interesting article… the chines companies declared it as a non-food product, and bypassing chines inspections……
Wonder what else leaves the country as a non-food?????????
Comment by Don — May 5, 2007 @ 10:52 am
Food and Water Watch http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org has a Take Action page with an already to sign letter on COOL for those of you that find it hard to think of what to say to your congressmen.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 10:55 am
Just remember, COOL has been proven to increase prices. So remember what next years price increase will be fore.
Comment by Don — May 5, 2007 @ 10:57 am
“Proven”? Care to cough up some citations?
You get what you pay for.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 5, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Don, that is not true, it is a story put out by the big food conglomerates—opponents of COOL because they want to import cheap food from other countries and thereby make a larger profit. There are studies that prove otherwise as well as:
Fish has been labeled as to Country of Origin for at year, and fish prices are not out of sight.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Elain & Ally. I’m buying more organic lately but resisted it for a long time thinking I didn’t want “insects” in my food. But my question is-what about the produce we buy at farmers markets. Do we know if they are sprayed or not. Ok we can ask. Do we get the truth all the time. Some of those people out there in the market are not true farmers. Like here in Mich when the markets are open in the winter, where does the food come from? Big farms, little farms from the South or West or foreign countries. Can’t grow stuff in frozen ground.
How much can we question without driving ourselves crazy in the process. Really vicious cycle.
Comment by VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 11:14 am
Forgive me if this was already posted - if so, I must have missed it. Just saw that mal found another zinger (posted at Itch):
http://tinyurl.com/23meul
Oh this is bad. VERY bad.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 11:20 am
A few insects just add a bit of protein! :-) Much better than the protein from China.
Snicker.
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 11:21 am
If they want to use COOL to jack up prices, fine by me. They are going to use some excuse, so why not let them use that one and we get to know where our food is coming from ;)
I can research all the brands I buy now, but unless I plan on making inquiries constantly, they can change where they get their ingredients at anytime and I wouldn’t know it. And that is just not acceptable to me.
Comment by straybaby — May 5, 2007 @ 11:22 am
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 11:21 am
“A few insects just add a bit of protein! :-) Much better than the protein from China.”
ROTFLMAO! Elaine, you’re a riot!
Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 5, 2007 @ 11:25 am
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 11:20 am
I am SO glad this issue is coming up again. There was an article right around the beginning of the recall, but I think it went unnoticed by the public. After all, *only* 16 confirmed deaths of pets wasn’t that big of a problem for most it seems. Now with the human food supply compromised, maybe folks will sit up and pay attention.
Comment by straybaby — May 5, 2007 @ 11:25 am
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 10:15 am
Would love to share your bread recipe - thanks! I will include a link in my sig to a webpage that has my e-mail address.
Comment by slt — May 5, 2007 @ 11:30 am
Ally, this is par for the course—-did you know that both Canada and the U.S. drastically scaled back testing for Mad Cow Disease?
And yet Canada has found, I think 5 more cases with scaled back testing? In Canada’s case I think the scale back was the hope that they would quit finding cases.
I believe the USDA reason for scaling back testing is because they know we will have more cases imported from Canada, and they don’t want to find ‘em! It is global trade that is important, dontcha know! Who cares about U.S. cattle herd health and consumers?
The same theory could apply to closing some of their labs. They DON’T WANT to keep finding this crap, they would rather just feed it to us and tell us our food supply is “safe”
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 11:32 am
Re: Elaine 9:32 comment Mad Cow be stopped AT THE BORDER, Duh!!! Canada does NOT have it’s BSF under control! Many farmlands in North America are situated on both sides of the border, meaning the farmer owns property in the US and Canada, no border through land. Animals can cross over anytime they want to, no border control, no passport, no immigration. Duh! Please stop putting the blame on Canada. We are all in this together. The cow with BSE is 5 1/2yrs. lets just wait and see what side of the border the cow came from in the fist place before we point blame.
Comment by Susan Mckee — May 5, 2007 @ 11:35 am
http://www.ama-assn.org/amedne.....sa0409.htm
Rise in Kidney Disease in humans
Go figure
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 11:42 am
VERY INTERESTING READ:
Posted on Itchmo:
menusux Says:
May 5th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
This is from 2004–it might provide a little more insight on the FDA situation. If you’ve followed fairly recent news regarding the court fight over “confidential” documents posted on the internet re: the drug, you’ll realize the story is far from over.
More than one journalist has uncovered corrupt connections between the Bush Family, psychiatry, and Eli Lilly & Company, the giant pharmaceutical corporation. While previous Lillygates have been more colorful, Lilly’s soaking state Medicaid programs with Zyprexa—its blockbuster, antipsychotic drug—may pack the greatest financial wallop. Worldwide in 2003, Zyprexa grossed $4.28 billion, accounting for slightly more than one-third of Lilly’s total sales. In the United States in 2003, Zyprexa grossed $2.63 billion, 70 percent of that attributable to government agencies, mostly Medicaid.
http://zmagsite.zmag.org/May2004/levine0504.html
Comment by mal — May 5, 2007 @ 11:47 am
No offense meant, Susan. My point is that both countries government agencies are just stumbling around and covering up the problems, not doing what is best for their farmers and ranchers.
I know that the Canadian ranchers and farmers have taken a big hit because of the BSE, and I also know that the big U.S. packing companies that have packing plants in Canada have really taken advantage of this to buy cattle cheap.
Assuming you are a Canadian (?), in the produce department I do buy Canadian as I trust the farmers to produce a quality product. (When I visit Canada, I am not warned not to eat the produce or drink the water!)
Comment by Elaine — May 5, 2007 @ 11:50 am
How is any of us to know, since it is unclear when the toxic ingredients began being added to pet food, if past pets with kidney failure were victims of this practice? Likewise, since it is unknown how melamine affects things over the long term, how would we know if any future pets with kidney failure were victims of the food they were fed? Personally, my pets don’t eat 100% commercial food (well, right now they eat NONE actually but in past they have eaten some) so I’m wondering if any of them might have problems in the future from having infrequent exposure to melamine (they ate Blue canned, for example). It’s all such a mess…
Comment by slt — May 5, 2007 @ 11:51 am
From Mal’s earlier post: “It’s not like we’re having rampant outbreaks of things we’ve never seen before. I can’t say we’ll never have another incident. But we’re doing everything we can to prevent them from happening.”
Comment by mal — May 5, 2007 @ 9:26 am
We’re having rampant outbreaks, PERIOD.
Findings:
CSPI tracked a total of 5,000 foodborne illness outbreaks, involving 152,097 individual cases that occurred between 1990 and 2004.
The food categories most commonly linked to foodborne illness outbreaks were:
• Seafood and seafood dishes: 984 outbreaks involving 9,969 cases of illness
• Produce and produce dishes: 639 outbreaks involving 31,496 cases of illness
• Poultry and poultry dishes: 541 outbreaks involving 16,280 cases of illness
• Beef and beef dishes: 467 outbreaks involving 13,220 cases of illness
• Eggs and egg dishes: 341 outbreaks involving 11,027 cases of illness
Multi-ingredient foods (such as salads, pizza, and sandwiches) where the contaminated ingredient was not identified were linked to 948 outbreaks and 27,812 cases of foodborne illness.
Foods regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), such as seafood, produce, eggs, and dairy, were associated with more than twice as many outbreaks as foods regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which include meats and poultry.
Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 11:53 am
RE:Comment by shelly — May 5, 2007 @ 11:53 am
From Mal’s earlier post:
As I said in my earlier post the food czar uses the same answers to everything ..in the past..present and most likely the future:
“the nation’s food supply is safe “
same crap..different pile
Comment by mal — May 5, 2007 @ 11:59 am
I am going out to do my “pet food patrol” at my local stores.
One suggestion for the FDA. Since you don’t want to actually deal with the problems happening right now, could you at least ask the pet food and people food manufacturers to add on thing to their labels:
“May contain melamine and other poisons”
Some of us and our pets may be allergic to these substances.
Comment by mal — May 5, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
Comment by mal — May 5, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
“Some of us and our pets may be allergic to these substances.”
mal - I’m sorry to laugh at such a serious situation, but you almost made me wet my pants. thanks kiddo, I really needed that laugh before heading out myself.
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 12:07 pm
Cleo update: She’s improving and she let me pet her…I can’t stop tearing up because of this. She’s a psycho at the vets. Anyway, good news is that I think the vet is going to go looking for “spoked wheels” in Cleo’s samples. We are both starting to suspect that Cleo might have been exposed to more melamine because she was eating Natural Balance right before it was recalled.
Comment by Sharon — May 5, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
slt, you asked about long term effects.
I wanna say they don’t know nothing since there’s no testing been done for melamine and especially no testing for a combination of melamine, cyanuric acid and whatever other crap thats in there.
And I found this piece for you
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.c...../705050361
PET FOOD MESS
Death rates are expected to rise in coming years
By Jed Chernabaeff
Long-term effects
“Many pet owners who unknowingly fed their cats or dogs contaminated food are battling to keep their pets alive. Dr. Bonnie Beaver, former president of the American Veterinary Medical Association and professor of veterinary medicine at Texas A&M University, said that even pets receiving immediate treatment might suffer long-term kidney problems and shortened lives.”
“She says the full scope of the problem won’t be known for years.”
“Let’s say you have a cat that eats some of the tainted pet product and some kidney damage occurs, but not enough to detect clinically,” Beaver said. “As the cat continues to grow older, it will naturally lose more kidney function. So now, the cat shows up four to five years later with kidney failure.”
grim outlook; not great news here…
Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 5, 2007 @ 12:47 pm
Can’t find my earlier comment where I advised about asking vet for copies of all tests. Forgot to mention to also ask for xrays to be put on a disc so if you need to make a trip to late-night emergency, you will have this also and may save you a bit of cash not having to re-xray again.
Comment by VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
Watching the Derby and thought just struck me, was it ever determined a few years back what was making the horses sick and they were dying. Did anyone ever hear or read what the determination might have been?
Comment by VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 2:05 pm
On another note there’s an article in the local paper Should Chimpanzee be Declared “Person”? Vienna Austria. In some ways Hiasl is like any other Viennese: he indulges a weakness for pastry, likes to paint, enjoys chilling out watching TV, doesn’t care for coffee. Isn’t actually a person. At least not yet. In a case that could set global legal precedent granting rights to apes, animal rights advocates seeking to get 26 yr old male chimp legally declared a “person”. Supporters argue he needs that status to become a legal entity that can receive donations & get a guardian to look after his interests. “Our main argument is that Hiasl is a person & has basic legal rights,” said Eberhart Theuer, a lawyer leading the challenge on behalf of the Assoc Against Animal Factories, a Vienna animal rights group.
“We mean the right to life, to not be tortured, to freedom under certain conditions”.
Comment by VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
If you’re talking about the foals dying in utero, here’s the story:
http://www.txtwriter.com/onsci.....foals.html
There have also been outbreaks of equine herpes, as well, affecting adult horses:
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/topics.htm
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 5, 2007 @ 2:29 pm
Comment by VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
i can see the Creationists having a fit over this one, lol!~ ;) and then there’s that little issue with *our* Chimp . . .
Comment by straybaby — May 5, 2007 @ 2:31 pm
Sharon,
I’m so glad Cleo is getting better. Hang in there! Keeping her in my thoughts.
Katie
Comment by Katie — May 5, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
• Produce and produce dishes: 639 outbreaks involving 31,496 cases of illness
• Poultry and poultry dishes: 541 outbreaks involving 16,280 cases of illness
…..Really quite humorous that produce caused twice the amount that poultry did. Sounds like raw food for animals is 50% safer than salad.
Comment by CathyA — May 5, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
VJ, your excellent advice to ask the vet for copies of all tests was in last night’s “Late Shift” thread (in case you want to add about the xrays):
http://tinyurl.com/26acr3
Time you posted was:
VJ — @ 8:56 am
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
Just a note about vet records. Every state has different rules as to how much vets can charge (if they even do) per page for making copies. They also have set time limits for producing the copies. I’ve never run into any problems. If I’m leaving the practice and asking for copies of all clinic notes besides lab reports, I give them a few days to do it. Otherwise I’ve always gotten lab copies on the spot. So what happens depends on your state. Here in Floriduh I think they’re allowed to charge a buck a page (which I consider usurious) but I’ve never been charged anything. X-rays are the property of the vet and they can make you a copy, but it’ll cost. The rule about X-rays is not restricted to state. No hospital will give you an X-ray either. If they’ve made a diagnosis from the X-ray they need to keep it.
Comment by CathyA — May 5, 2007 @ 4:04 pm
Thanks Ally - 3:28 post
Couldn’t find it for the life of me. grrr
Comment by VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 4:19 pm
Thanks also Gina - reply of 2:29pm regarding horses (foals) dying in Kentucky several years ago. Cyanide from caterpillar feces. Wow
Comment by VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
VJ - no prob, happy to help.
I was lucky in finding it. I happened to stumble upon it today & had replied complimenting your excellent advice. If the state rules allow it of course. ;-]
Comment by Ally — May 5, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
Thanks Katie :) Today has been a pretty good day. I picked the winner in the Derby, Cleo is on the mend and I finally got the vet to listen to me and check her urine for the melamine. She’s also listening about Dude’s strange behavior (sensitive to touch when I pet his back, he’s also pulling himself onto the furniture rather than jumping). He gets a full urine test done on Monday. Maui, on the other hand, looks beautiful, is eating well (She was completely down and out 7 weeks ago and the only one to have a 3 day IV). I really think ANY animal exposed to this needs a very agressive IV treatment, even if their symptoms are minor.
Dad’s making me a steak, hubby is always wonderful, and the baby is getting over her cold.
Things are heading in the right direction :) For awhile there, I was thinking about breaking out a bottle-a-wine and I’m not a drinker at all ;)
Comment by Sharon — May 5, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
Reply to comment of CathyA 4:04pm
You are correct. Xrays are the vets property as well as hospital but now many are doing discs of your xrays which they will give for free (my vet) or the hospital will have a small fee. A disc is much easier to carry around also.
Comment by VJ — May 5, 2007 @ 4:27 pm
VJ: Interesting about the X-ray on a disc! Doubt any local people around here have the capabilities.
Gina, I used to watch the K Derby all the time, then fell out of the habit. Now I wished I would have - what an exciting race! A powerhouse of a young horse and a good win for a long time jockey who gets up every day and just plugs away at it.
Comment by CathyA — May 6, 2007 @ 8:37 am
CathyA ask your vet. He may have the capablity and doesn’t think to say anything to you. If he doesn’t, have his office manager check into it. Don’t think it’s any big deal to do. My vet’s girls did it in about 20(?) minutes. Probably depends on how many xrays your pet has had over time.
Comment by VJ — May 6, 2007 @ 9:25 am
Thanks for linking my Biz photo on your blog, Gina! I wish the big horse ran better but I have faith that he’ll come back strong this spring/summer. If good looks won the race, he’d be wearing roses.
One more Biz photo for any fans:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r...../457206527
Send my love to Clara- I’m her biggest fan in Jersey.
Comment by Sarah K. Andrew — May 7, 2007 @ 4:07 pm