I recently received this thoughtful and heartfelt email letter from a listener who was once a Veterinary Technician and is now a student becoming a medical doctor for humans. Her concerns are ones I have definitely raised before, but her passion for information and transparency about how most pet foods are made inspired me to share it with you. It reaffirmed my commitment to Halo’s dry foods because of their commitment to never, ever use rendered meat products in their kibble: that is the basic explanation for why Halo kibble may seem costlier than some other premium brands of dry food — their fundamental protein source is a higher quality that costs them more. For myself and my dogs, I never want to think about the possibility that someone’s loved pet (along with all the drugs in her body, her flea collars and rabies tags) is possibly in my dogs’ dinner bowls. It’s a peace of mind and health benefit for which I am grateful to pay a little more. Here is Jessica’s letter to me:
I am an avid listener of Dog Talk® and Humane Talk™, and would like to make a suggestion for a subject I’d love to hear you talk about. I was never really aware how much certain commercial pet food companies actually use rendered pets in their dog and cat food until I read an article on Dog Food Advisor (http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/dogs-meat-meal/). Not only pet food, but also the other products (like soap and cosmetics) surprised me because these were commercial products I’ve been buying and had no idea.
I was disgusted to learn that when you put your pet to sleep and choose to leave them with the vet (maybe due to not being able to afford to get the ashes or lack of a place to bury), vets often sell the deceased animals to the rendering plants, tags and all. But the scariest part about this is that the Pentobarbital used to euthanize these animals never breaks down. And in 1996 veterinarians began to notice that it was requiring larger amounts of this drug to euthanize animals — the animals fed these foods had in fact, built up a tolerance over their lives! I couldn’t believe that these disgusting pet food companies are not only feeding our pets other pets (awful enough), but the chemicals we use to end their lives! And it has been proven that not even the rendering process can deteriorate pentobarbital. Sadly these companies include the biscuits on supermarket shelves which many people I know who spend tons of money on high quality dog food still give to their dogs. I have to say it’s an awkward conversation to have with your friend when you know what they are giving to their pet and they already think they’ve done everything right.
I would love it if at some point you would address this issue which could help listeners be more aware (as if the other reasons not to feed commercial pet food were reason enough) about this issue, especially the thought of your beloved pet going into commercial dog food when he passes away. Perhaps encouraging people to find out what disposal method their vet uses before they have to make this kind of decision.
I really admire your journalism and your will to spread the word of what is right. As a former vet tech (before switching gears to go to medical school) I always shuddered at the “vet diets” the vet gave out, but had I ever said anything I would have been fired. So I always hoped people could find the information in other ways. I hope you know how indirectly you have influenced the lives of so many animals through your listeners who spread the information to other pet owners.
Thank you for everything you do!
When I read this letter aloud on my Sirius/XM satellite radio show CAT CHAT® last week it was right before my guest for the show — Dr. Annie Forslund, a veterinarian from Tustin California who specializes in home pet euthanasia (www.homepeteuthanasia.com) came on. (You can hear her on DOG TALK® this week discussing end-of-life issues and “when it is time.” She will be coming back on the show soon to share her own knowledge about the presence of companion animals in rendered meat products.)