The recall of pet foods made with peanut products possibly contaminated with Salmonella has been growing since the outbreak started in January and now includes several bird-food products.

The latest pet foods added to the recall list include Raisin Suet, Variety Suet 3, Nutty Safari Suet, Variety 15 Pack Suet Multi-pack with 15 suets and the Woodpecket Suet Pack, all made by the Scotts Company; Roasted Feed Grade Peanuts made by Western Trade Group; and several American Health Kennels Inc. products, including numerous varieties of Bark Bars and other dog snacks.

The newest recall items join an already large list that includes: Carolina Prime Peanut Butter Hooves, Rawhide Bone Peanut Rawhides, Beef Shank Peanut Butter Dog Bones and Rawhide Bone Peanut Butter Rawhides, all varieties of Grreat Choice dog biscuits, Saligs three-count packs of Healthy Hide Deli Wrap 5-inch Peanut Butter Filled Rawhides, SuperValu Happy Tails Multi-Flavored Dog Biscuits, numerous American Nutrition Inc. dog treats and Shoppers Valu multi-flavor dog biscuits.

More than 2,100 products have been recalled so far by more than 200 companies in response to the Salmonella typhimurium outbreak at Georgia and Texas plants owned by the Peanut Corp. of America (PCA). Hundreds of people have been sickened in the outbreak, and some have died. So far, only one sick dog was reported in Oregon.

PCA shut down the Georgia plant where the outbreak originated in January, followed by a second plant in Texas on Feb. 10. The company filed for bankruptcy Feb. 13 and has announced that is can no longer communicate with customers of recalled products as a result of the bankruptcy filing. The FDA is conducting a criminal investigation after discovering that the company shipped products even after receiving positive Salmonella tests on the lot.

Source:

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Veterinary+news/Pet-food-recall-expanded-again-now-includes-bird-f/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/583468?contextCategoryId=378

Last week I received a phone call from Ray, a man in Damascus, Va. that had adopted from us in the past. He informed me that he had found a stray female husky mix but was uable to keep her as he already had 3 dogs of his own. He asked us to help find her a home. We agreed. But Gabby’s guardian angel had other plans. On Friday Feb 20th  I was at our veterinarians office dropping off a recent pound rescue to be be neutered. As I usually do I check the bulletin board for animals in need of homes or lost. Well low and behold I spotted a  missing dog flyer with a photo of Gabby her owners had posted. After a few phone calls to Ray and Gabby’s owners I am happy to report Gabby is now home safe and sound where she belongs.A very special thank you to Ray & Penny for keping this girl safe until her owners could be found!

Sacramento, Calif.

– A tax on veterinary services is officially off the table in California.

Legislators finally passed a 17-month budget during after overnight session Feb. 19 after months of negotiation. The final bill, approved by state Senate and Assembly, does not include a veterinary service tax included in previous versions of the budget proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The governor’s plan was harshly criticized by veterinarians, who say the tax would have put a huge burden on pet owners and compromised public health. The California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) also opposed the tax on the grounds that it would have made veterinary medicine the only taxed healthcare service in the state.

“Requiring pet owners to pay a tax to care for their animals is bad public policy,” says Bill Grant II, president of the CVMA. “We are pleased the members of the ‘Big Five,’ including the governor, recognized that and that the proposed tax was removed from the final budget bill.”

The CVMA organized a large-scale grassroots campaign to oppose the tax, which was first proposed in November to help close California’s $42 billion budget deficit. The veterinary service tax would have added about 10 percent to veterinary bills and, along with other non-medical service taxes, provided about $350 million in new revenue for the state.

“The opposition of veterinarians, pet owners and concerned citizens was so intense, a special extension was added to the governor’s budget voicemail line to handle the opposition to the tax on pets,” Grant says, adding thousands of calls and letters flooded the governor’s office. “We believe the overwhelming number of calls delivered an emphatic message to the governor that taxing pet owners would be hugely unpopular and inequitable.”

The California Legislative Analyst’s Office, which reviewed versions of the state budget proposals agreed in a recent analysis, saying the veterinary tax would “create inequities in the tax structure by taxing some services while leaving other similar services untaxed.”

A full version of the new budget was not available at press time, but it does include other tax increases outside the veterinary tax. There is no word yet on when the governor plans to sign the new budget into law.

SOURCE:

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Veterinary+news/Calif-vet-tax-defeated/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/582576?contextCategoryId=378

In response to a request from DVM Newsmagazine, ASPCA officials estimate that 500,000 to 1 million cats and dogs in the country could be given up by their owners for economic reasons.

Why the huge disparity? Many shelters are not equipped to accurately report numbers and reasons for relinquishments, says Alison M. Zaccone, manager of media and communications at ASPCA.

“According to national financial estimates, approximately one in 171 homes in the United States is in danger of foreclosure due to the subprime mortgage crisis,” adds Dr. Stephen Zawistowski, executive vice president of ASPCA programs and its science advisor, in a prepared statement. “Considering that approximately 63 percent of U.S. households have at least one or more pets, hundreds of thousands of animals are in danger of being abandoned or relinquished to animal shelters.

“Economic issues aside, it is estimated that 5 million companion animals enter shelters each year,” Zawistowski adds. “If you factor in the animals merely in danger of becoming homeless, it could result in an extra 10 percent to 20 percent increase in relinquishments to shelters. This has the potential to grow into a serious animal-welfare issue, and some regions of the United States, like Nevada – where the foreclosure rates are three times the national average – could be hit much harder than others.”

Gov. Mike Beebe has signed into law new animal-cruelty restrictions that make aggravated cruelty to cats, dogs and horses a felony on the first offense.

The new law, which also makes cockfighting a penalty, comes after previous attempts to stiffen animal-cruelty restrictions had faltered over arguments between animal welfare groups and hunters and farmers.

“I became convinced that a first-offense felony was appropriate for the definitions in the bill,” Beebe said Wednesday at a bill-signing ceremony.

“They satisfied me that it wasn’t going to be used for things that were discussed as extreme and the language was there and protected to ensure that. I don’t know who could argue against it.”

Arkansas becomes the 46th state to make cruelty to animals a felony, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who negotiated the compromise between the groups to support the new restrictions, said the measure shows that it’s possible to protect animals without infringing on the state’s hunting and farming heritage.

“It speaks to our better nature as to whether or not we’re good enough or strong enough to stand up for those people and creatures who cannot stand up for themselves, and this act does that,” McDaniel said. The law, he added, also “acknowledges our own heritage and culture and appreciation for our agricultural way of life.”

Groups that supported the new law include the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Arkansas Poultry Federation, the Humane Society of the United States and the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association.

The law, which will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns, makes aggravated animal cruelty on first offense punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and up to six years in prison. The bill also includes a five-year sentencing enhancement for anyone convicted of torturing an animal in the presence of a child.

In exchange for the stiffer penalties, animal welfare groups made several concessions, including a change in state law so only certified law enforcement officers can arrest someone for animal cruelty.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_re_us/arkansas_animal_cruelty

The following story was sent to me by a member of the Concerned Citizens Coalition in Montcalm county, Michigan (see story Michigan Deals With the Devil). The American Anti-Vivisetion Society  posted the following article detailing the fate of one of the Montcalm dogs, Cruella.

This is the face of the greed of R&R Research and the complicity of Montcalm County’s councilmembers. This is why we must continue to fight.

Victim of Pound Seizure:

Meet Cruella (E6993)

Every year, millions of animals in need of sanctuary enter animal shelters across the country. While many are lucky enough to find new homes, hundreds become victims of pound seizure, as they are purchased by class B dealers who then sell the animals at an enormous profit to research and education facilities, where they are used in invasive and oftentimes painful experimental procedures.

Such was the case with Cruella, a shepherd cross who was found in Carson City, Michigan, wearing a purple collar and chain, indicating that she was once someone’s companion animal. Considered a stray at the time, Cruella was housed in pen 20 at Montcalm County Animal Control until she was relinquished to R&R Research, a class B animal dealer, and became known simply as E6993. She remained at R&R for 6 months, likely spending most of her time alone, confined in a cage with limited human companionship.

Later, traveling well over 1,000 miles with 13 other dogs, E6993 was sold to the University of Florida, where veterinary students named her Cruella. While there, over a period of 7 months, she was sedated or anesetized 7 times, often for hours at a time, and used in medical training procedures, including endoscopy, abdominal surgery, and ultrasound exercises, by both veterinary students and veterinarians. Cruella also underwent surgery with the intention to spay her, but it was discovered, after her abdominal cavity was opened, that she was already spayed, further pointing to the fact that she was once someone’s pet. During her last month at the University, Cruella twice experienced a lack of appetite; however, reportedly, she would eat handfuls of canned food. Whether this was the result of kennel stress after months of isolation and exploitation or the physical toll of enduring multiple sedations and veterinary procedures is unknown, but it is certainly likely.

On July 23, 2008, 195 days after her arrival at the University of Florida and over a year after she was found in Michigan, Cruella was killed via lethal injection.

http://www.poocini.com/report/archives/1132

If you are against Montcalm County’s contract with a Class B dealer, tell the county commissioners how you feel! Send a letter! Please feel free to copy and paste the letter below, or put your own words in the comments box and hit “send”! When signing your letter, please include your name and address so they know where the letters are coming from.

To send a letter to Montcalm County’s Commissioners, go to:

http://www.cccmontcalm.org/

The following is written by Mollie McCurdy, a Retired Humane Investigator,Shelter Supervisor, Animal Activist and my friend.