4/23/10 Politics, religion and dog food.

Politics, Religion and Dog Food

Recently on my online groomers group, we had a discussion about pet foods and which brands are better than others, which companies are “safe” and so on. Of course it started a heated debate, much like discussions about religion or politics. There were those of us with personal stories of what we have seen and experienced, vs. those who are staunch proponents of their brand of xyz dog food, with only information given to them by the maker, not necessarily the truth. No matter how hard we tried to convince them to look further into the brand and see exactly where their ingredients came from and what the ingredients mean and include, they wouldn’t listen, they only defended their brand and lumped the rest of us into a “new age tree hugger group”. I find that happens with many people and vets that have been educated by companies about products but don’t have a clue what the ingredients mean.
Face it, when it comes to OUR food, most of us don’t read labels and have no clue what all the ingredients are, especially when you add preservatives we can’t pronounce let alone define. So I’m not surprised when people think they are feeding great food to their pets with all the commercials that say how wonderful and happy your dog will be if they eat xyz brand dog food, or that the food is veterinarian recommended, which would be great if it the vet wasn’t only educated by the company itself, with little to no education on what each ingredient was or where it came from. That’s one-sided and biased. I have a problem with that.
I’ll admit it, I’m a grudge holder. I may forgive but I will never forget. I have a tough time putting faith in any of the companies that were involved in the recall, even thought they claim they have better testing now in place. Just when I think oh that company has come out with a healthier formula, something else happens and kills that trust.
When we had the great pet food recall of 2007, I personally know 3 dogs that died from the tainted food. At the time, they didn’t link it to the food; they died shortly before the recall. But after seeing their brand was in the recall, their pet was already buried and had the same symptoms as the pets that ate tainted food; it was pretty clear what had happened. There were thousands of pets that died, but so many died before the recall, that nobody suspected the food, and now it’s too late.
I recently found on truthaboutpetfood.com something they call “vindication” which is a permanent memorial to the pets that died or remain ill due to the contaminated food that was recalled. While it won’t bring them back, and it’s not a lawsuit and no compensation is made to those owners, it will be a reminder that those pets mattered to us. If you lost a pet to the recall, please get online and put in your pets name so a permanent memorial can be made and your pet can also be included in “vindication”. See below for details.


If a pet food has ever sickened or killed a Pet of yours, a friends,
or a family members… please read and share with others.
Losing your dog or cat because a pet food was contaminated is one of the worst experiences a Pet Owner can endure. You feel guilty. You feel taken advantage of. You feel alone. Saying good-bye to your dear friend, BECAUSE OF A PET FOOD, is the worst emotional roller coaster ride imaginable.
From the 2007 melamine pet food recall alone, some estimates are as high as 300,000 U.S. and Canadian Pets became sick, died, or are still fighting kidney disease. Countless thousands more pets have become sick from recalls or silent recalls of tainted pet food since.
They all mattered to someone;
They all matter in Vindication.
Vindication will Never Forget Them;
Nor why They Died.
Vindication is five acres of land at Keystone Lake, Tulsa, OK donated to Pet Owners.
Vindication will provide a permanent memorial to Pets that have died or remains ill due to a poisoned/contaminated pet food. Vindication is being groomed into gardens with cascading pathways lined with handmade stones; each stone bears the name of a Pet that has died or remains ill due to a pet food. For the first time in history, there will be a visual count of the deadly effects of tainted pet foods. The land, the garden, the handmade stones are provided by an anonymous Pet Family whose lives where shattered by a poisoned pet food. The five acres of Vindication will remain in trust to Pets and Pet Owners.
No laws have changed, no lawsuits have been settled, none responsible have been jailed. No one has told us how many died or remains sick; no one tells us how many continue to become sick and/or die from new recalls. Countless thousands of Pet Owners have felt they had no ground to stand on, they have been abandoned by the pet food manufacturer and the FDA, alone with the memory of their beloved friend…until now.
Vindication will be an emotional visual display of how deadly pet food has been. The demand for safe pet food will not be denied with these thousands of Pets as our foundation.
If your Pet has become sick or died due to a pet food, please include them at Vindication.
Go to www.TruthaboutPetFood.com click on the Vindication banner on the right.
There is no charge to any Pet Owner to include their Pet in Vindication.
Each Pet that has died or remains ill because of a pet food deeply mattered to someone…Each Pet matters in Vindication.