pet connection

I’m guessing not. But if you ever have a chance to see some of these equine gentle giants up close, you really should take it. I’ve been meaning to go to the Draft Horse Classic for years — it’s held  just up the hill from me in Grass Valley, Calif. — but this is the first time the scheduling gods actually let it happen. (The weather gods didn’t cooperate: It rained like crazy the whole time we were there, which the horses didn’t seem to mind one bit.)

The driving classes are always my favorite. Here’s a skill that used to be an essential part of life for most, but now it’s just a recreational activity for a few. I’d sure love to learn, and as I get older I have to say the appeal of driving a horse is slowly starting to gain on the fun of riding one.

After the competition, we wandered into the stabling area and visited with the horses and their owners. Hard to say which were more friendly and welcoming, although we didn’t kiss as many people as horses, so maybe you’d have to give the horses the edge.

You can see my pictures here.

I think it’s the first time since March I’ve gone two days without blogging.

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USA Today’s Julie Schmit (along with Elizabeth Weise) continues to follow the Chinese import mess, with a story on continued preoblems with Chinese wheat gluten:

One in five shipments of Chinese wheat gluten were refused entry into the USA in recent months because regulators weren’t sure they were free of the contaminant that led to last spring’s pet-food recall.

The refusal rate is high for a product that was rarely inspected before because it was considered low risk. It’s also contributing to higher prices for an ingredient widely used in pet food, as well as breads.

The Food and Drug Administration says it refused 27 of 135 shipments of Chinese wheat gluten that came to the USA between April 24 and July 26. Fifty-two passed; 56 await review. The FDA in April started restricting Chinese wheat gluten unless the importer proved that shipments were melamine free.

An industrial chemical, melamine, was blamed for dog and cat deaths this year after being detected in pet foods intended to contain Chinese wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate. Two firms in China were later found to have spiked the ingredients with melamine to make them look more protein rich than they were. China has declared the practice illegal and launched a four-month national campaign to improve food and product safety.

On the blogs, no-kill advocate Nathan Winograd writes about how to some people he’s a rabid animal-rights fanatic and to others he’s a defender of greedy breeders. Depends on the point of view of the person who hates him at the moment.

Oh, Mr. Winograd, we know how you feel.

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