I just wonder:
Check your emotions at the door or dont read this.
Every pet death creates pain, suffering and grief for its owner. As an old man with many pets over the years, I have gone through this many times, and it never gets easier. Dogs, rabbits, cavies, etc., we miss them all.
BUT!!!!!
Pets die every day. We have no real info on how many do so. We are told by the media that several hundred have died because of bad pet food. In the beginning, I breathed a sigh of relief because the Purina dry and Alpo wet foods my beagles (
http://www.gardenendeavors.com/ )consume every day were not listed. One internet source claims 61,081,000 dogs are in the USA (
http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-most-pet-dog-population.html ). Of these, given an average life of 10 years, at least 10% die every year or almost 17,000 dogs die every day (61,080,000/10/365).
And then: Several hundrred pet deaths cause a story???
We heard first that wheat gluten from China was the culprit.
Then NO, it was RAT POISON!
Actually not rat poison, but a cancer treatment drug that is used as rodent poison in some parts of the world.
Then the media glommed on to the "RAT POISON" theory. (How's that for attention getting news?)
The FDA has not found ANY rat poison in any of the foods, only a small amount of melamine (Large quantities are necessary to be toxic), that came from wheat gluten sourced in China.
I wonder if we will ever know the truth. If the pet food was really that bad, wouldn't we be looking at 100,000 or more pet deaths every day, instead of 17,000 or so???
I truly wonder what is going on here!!!!
Does someone have it in for Menu Foods?
Now owners of expired 11 year old dachunds are considering suing (
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070402/NEWS01/704020323 )
Is there really a problem, or is it just hysteria????????
Or maybe could some pets just die of old age, or even worse could some despicable owners be poisoning their pets in order to claim damages?
Just my old CPA cynicism at work here.
Anyone else have comparable thoughts?
One last comment: Personal testimonials, however backed by the testfiers beliefs, are worthless. They are the main reason the FDA came into existence. I will never forget the personal testimonial "I feel I could digest a brick, if only I had my Instant Postum" Beliefs are not proof.