Daily Paws

Pet news, tips, entertainment and opinions from VetLocator.com

Archive for the ‘Dangerous Dogs’ Category

URGENT: 3 Dog & Cat Food Brands Recalled for Salmonella

Friday, February 7th, 2014

Pro-Pet LLC Recalls a Limited Number of Dry Dog and Cat Foods Due to Possible Salmonella Contamination – No illnesses have been reported, this is a precautionary alert!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 5, 2014 – Pro-Pet LLC, St. Marys, Ohio, has initiated a voluntary recall of a limited number of Dry Dog and Cat Foods for possible Salmonella contamination. A single field test indicated products manufactured during a two day period, on a single production line may have the potential for Salmonella contamination. Pro-Pet LLC is voluntarily recalling the potentially impacted products made during this timeframe. There have been no reports of illness related to this product to date.

Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, 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. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

 

Product Best By Lot Code UPC Number
40 lb Hubbard Life Happy Hound Dog Food 05 06 14 096 13 SM L2 2A 1219033878
40 lb Hubbard Life Happy Hound Dog Food 05 06 14 096 13 SM L2 1A 1219033878
18 lb Hubbard Life Cat Stars Cat Food 05 06 14 096 13 SM L2 1A 1219033873
40 lb Hubbard Life Maintenance Dog Food 05 06 14 096 13 SM L2 2A 1219033875
15 lb Joy Combo Cat Food 05 06 14 096 13 SM L2 1A 7065407721
40 lb Joy Combo Cat Food 05 06 14 096 13 SM L2 1A 7065407713
40 lb Joy Combo Cat Food 05 06 14 096 13 SM L2 2A 7065407713
20 lb QC Plus Adult Dog Food 05 07 14 097 13 SM L2 2A 2351780103
40 lb QC Plus Adult Dog Food 05 07 14 097 13 SM L2 2A 2351780104
40 lb QC Plus Adult Dog Food 05 07 14 097 13 SM L2 1A 2351780104

 

These products were distributed through select retailers, distributors and on-line consumer purchases in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia

No other products/lot numbers are affected by this recall.

Customers should immediately discontinue use of any impacted product and contact Pro-Pet at 1-888-765-4190 for disposition.

For more information on the recall, customers can contact the customer service line for Pro-Pet at 1-888-765-4190. Customer service representatives will be available Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm CT.

For more information and recalled product photos, check FDA website.

When one dog attacks and kills another dog, who is to blame, the dog or the dog’s owner?

Saturday, November 12th, 2011

An incident involving an escaped pitbull and a poodle was in the news a couple of months ago.

Unfortunately it is an all-to-common story.  A loose dog (and when pit bulls are involved it usually makes the news)and an attack on another dog who ultimately dies.

(if you want to see some of the many instances of pitbull attacks that have resulted in death, just go to youtube.com and search for pit bull kills.)

Our pets are like our family.  Most dogs live to be at least 10 years old, many live to be 15.  That’s a big amount of time that we have cared for, cooked for, shared time and adventures with and given our love to a pet.

When something like this happens, it is like having a member of our family murdered.  In fact, that is what it is.

When something like this happens, who do you blame?

Is the animal naturally aggressive or did the owner encourage that behavior in their dog? What more could the owner have done to prevent the tragedy from happening?

It seems to come down to a classic case of nature versus nurture. Is the pet born with natural aggressive traits, or did it acquire them under the watch of its owner?

Although it is a bit farfetched to think that a pit bull is born a natural killer, some people feel the breed is just that and want to see all pitbulls put down.

However, many pit bulls go their entire life without doing harm to anyone, human or canine.  Would it be right to kill an animal who was innocent of any wrong just because he/she was a pit bull?

Pit bulls are naturally combative – which is why they are favored for dog fighting, but not all pit bulls will act on that instinct.  Some of the best pet/owner love stories I’ve seen involve pit bulls.

One thing is for certain: owning a pet is a responsibility and anyone who chooses to own a pit bull must be alert for and take precautions against their breed’s tendancy to show little fear and to agressively fight to death another animal.

It is the owner’s responsibility to train the animal to behave around other animals and people, it is the owner’s responsibility to ensure their pet is secured when left outside, it is the owner’s responsibility to discipline the animal so it knows right from wrong, it is the owner’s responsibility to make sure the animal receives the kind of care it deserves and it is the owner’s responsibility to take the correct steps to isolate or remove an animal that he or she sees is dangerous so that animal does not have the opportunity to kill another.  If you did happen to do the youtube search for pit bull kills, you will have seen several videos with titles like – pit bull kills child and pit bulls kills boy.  These horrifying videos have to do with the family dog.

But what about an owner who tries to do the right thing and still winds up with a bad situation?  Although an owner can argue they did everything right, it is still the owner’s responsibility to right any wrongs that happen as a result of his or her pet’s behavior, whatever that right might entail.

 

My opinion,

Linda

VetLocator.com

The Less Adoptables

Thursday, September 15th, 2011
An American Pit Bull Terrier.

Image via Wikipedia

I read today that this week, September 17-25, 2011, has been designated Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet week by PetFinder.com.  I read this tonight, after returning from an errand where I visited a home I’d not been to before.  I didn’t know the woman who lived there, and when she opened the door this smallish woman had next to her a great big pit bull mix.

If you aren’t familiar with my views on dangerous dogs, I’m wary of certain breeds that have a higher percentage of dangerous dogs that other breeds, this coming after an un-neutered male German Shepard bit my daughter in the face and went on to bit at least 5 more victims before the owners moved out of town to save the dog from being put down.

Needless to say, Pit bulls are squarely in that same category and this was a great BIG pit mix with the strong and muscular body of the breed.  He looked menacing.

I put on my human making friends with the dog demeanor and greeted the big beast.  The woman introduced her dog as Punky so I said “Hi Punky!  I’m Linda – great to meet you!”  Punky shyly looked at me for a moment and then dashed off to get his squeeky toy to show me.

I was instantly charmed.

Punky turned out to be a wonderful host, a show off and the gentlest and nicest dog.  He was protection for this single woman and he was also her great friend.  It was a nice relationship.

As I walked back to my car I thought about how preconceptions can color your views on a dog or a person. You start out either liking or disliking them before knowing anything about them.

Punky, being a Pit Bull, is a good example.  Before getting to know him if I saw him in a shelter, I’d pass him by because he was a pit bull.  Now that I know him, I’d take him home with me in a minute, he is that charming.  Shelters often have a large number of pit bulls that are not adopted because of the breed.  You want to know my advice on finding the right pet for adoption?  Talk to the workers/care givers who get to know each animal in their care.  They can give you great insight into the personalities the dogs and cats that are there, and suggest the perfect dog or cat for you.

So – this is adopt a less adoptable week and I applaud Pet Finders for creating this week.  If you have room in your home and room in your heart for a pet, try and adopt one of the less adoptables to give a forever home to.

Linda
VetLocator.com