FOOD IS MOST IMPORTANT TO PET HEALTH

REPOST

 (Thanks Susan! You're our Hero!)

TruthAboutPetFood.com

Many of us have worked for years trying to bring awareness of health/illness reports of pets directly linked to pet food.  For what seems to be forever, only other concerned pet owners have listened. However, things are changing.  Our efforts are beginning to show results.

An example of our efforts showing results...the recent Blue Buffalo dog food recall.  Not the recall itself, but how it happened.  Here's how I see pet owner efforts have led to this shift...

While Big Pet Food dismisses pet related blogs, often telling pet owners these websites are the foundation of misinformation, pet blogs/websites have helped save lives when it comes to a tainted pet food.  Countless thousands of pet owners have closely followed numerous pet websites, learned from these websites and shared with fellow pet owners for years.  Pet food information learned from these websites has altered pet food choices.  Informed/educated pet owners have then visited their veterinarians questioning quality of nutrition and common pet food ingredients.

At first, veterinarians were caught off guard.  By-products?  What?  BHA/BHT, ethoxyquin?  What?  What food was recalled?  “In the past I have been caught with my clients notifying me of recalls, which sort of makes you look like an idiot in the client’s eyes,” writes Dr. Randy Davis of Evansville, Ind., in a VIN discussion. “What — you're the vet and don't know about this?”  http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=16618

To provide veterinarians with the latest online news, VinNews supplied forums for vets to discuss various health issues and learn from each other.  In September, VinNews announced a recall notification system for vets.  And then something amazing happened...

Statements from veterinarians linking a pet illness/death to pet food have been few and far between.  While perhaps vets thought or discussed in private a possible link to a tainted pet food, public statements were rarely made.  Then, in late August 2010, VinNews.com provided public news about pet illness linked to Blue Buffalo dog food.  And in early October 2010, Michigan State University did the same; publically announcing a link to illness in dogs and Blue Buffalo dog food.

Within hours after Michigan State University Diagnostic Center posted their information on the Internet, 10/8/2010, Blue Buffalo recalled various brands of dog foods.

I don't believe the timing was coincidence.  Two public statements from veterinarian organizations firmly suspecting a link between pet illness and a pet food would be a difficult thing for any pet food to ignore.  While pet owner complaints can/have gone ignored for years by (most) pet food, veterinary complaints are much more challenging to dismiss.

I cannot say thank you enough to VinNews and MSU.  Both of you have taken a brave step forward; both of your actions is a step to improved trust between pet owners and their vets.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  

Pet Owners...take a moment to pat yourself on the back as well.  We have nudged this momentum forward.  Our determination to learn the 'truth about pet food' (and I don't mean just from this website - all sources of pet information) and our determination to share what we've learned has shifted the 'don't tell' foundation pet food has had on everyone in the past.  http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/a-shift-in-pet-food-incident-awareness.html