Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Voluntary Recall: Premium Edge Cat Food - FDA Alert

These "pet food" recalls can be a very scary thing, and, as guardians, you really need to be aware of what's in the "food" you feed your pets.

Feed your cats (and all pets) the best food you can possibly afford. If you don't pay up front, so to speak, you will most surely pay later with vet bills.

If you are considering preparing a homemade diet for your cat, live in the U.S., and have access to a VCR, The Pet Guardian, LLC will send you a FREE VHS tape to learn just how simple it can be to prepare your cat's food. We will even pay for shipping. To take us up on our offer, please contact us through e-mail at jean@thepetguardian.com.

With the 45-minute video "Save Your Cat: Nourish Her the Way She's Built to Eat," you will

* Learn how cats are built to eat
* Learn why homemade raw food is best
* See how to make a simple, well-balanced, homemade diet
* Learn valuable tips to transition cats to new food
* Learn in 1/2 hour per week, make and store enough food for one week's meals

Hopefully none of our readers are feeding their cats this brand of food. Buyer beware!

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm187218.htm

Friday, October 16, 2009

Zucchini "Mutt-fins"

Your dogs will enjoy this treat as much as you do and will leave them begging for more!

All ingredients can be found at your grocery store. If you can't find oat flour, check the cereal aisle, where you will also find oat bran.

Use organic ingredients whenever possible.

2 cups oat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup honey
2 cups pureed zucchini (or zucchini/yellow squash, equal to two large vegetables)
1/4 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup raw or roasted shelled sunflower seeds
4.3 oz. bag of Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Slice and puree zucchini in a food processor.

Combine all ingredients together and mix thoroughly. Spoon into muffin pan with cupcake papers placed in it. Spoon mixture evenly into the pan close to the top. (The mix will not rise very much.)

Bake 30-35 minutes. "Mutt-fins" are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes 15-16 treats.

Monday, October 12, 2009

No-Cost Way to Help Shelter Animals


The Pet Guardian endeavors to pass on information that can make the difference in the health and welfare of animals. One of our favorite sites is The Animal Rescue Site.

According to their Web site, "The Animal Rescue Site provides a feel-good way to help promote awareness and prevent rescued animal deaths every day — through easy and quick online activities." The Animal Rescue Site "focuses the power of the Internet on a specific need — providing food for some of the 27 million unwanted animals given to shelters in the U.S. every year. Over 10 million animals are put to death every year in the U.S. alone because they are abandoned and unwanted.

"Each click on the purple "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button at The Animal Rescue Site provides food and care for a rescued animal living in a shelter or sanctuary. Funding for food and care is paid by site sponsors and distributed to animals in need at the Fund for Animals' renowned animal sanctuaries (including Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Texas and the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in California), pet shelters supported by the Petfinder Foundation, North Shore Animal League, and other worthy animal care facilities supported by the GreaterGood.org foundation."

100% of sponsor advertising fees goes to The Animal Rescue Site's charitable partners.

You can sign up on The Animal Rescue Site to receive daily reminder e-mails to click and give help and hope to those most in need. You can also purchase pet-themed gift items in their store, purchases which provide even more bowls of free food for needy animals.

Copy this link into your browser to sign up and receive a reminder every day from The Animal Rescue Site to click and provide free food for the animals. http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3&ThirdPartyClicks=ERA_101209_ARS

Like us, we hope you will make it a habit to click daily. It only takes a few moments to click, but remember: Every day counts in the life of a rescued animal.

Thank you for helping to make this world a better friend for our furry friends!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Chicken Stew for Dogs

You'll want to prepare our chicken stew for dogs and serve it year-round. It's guaranteed to make your dogs go crazy with anticipation for dinnertime. And it's so darn easy to make and should take you only about 10 minutes to throw all the ingredients together!

There's no measuring of ingredients or real work involved. We have medium to large dogs in our household, so we don't cut the meat. Of course, you should cut the meat if you're cooking for small dogs.

* Chicken hearts and gizzards (two to four packs)
* Boneless skinless chicken thighs (large, family-sized pack)
* Chicken livers (two small tubs) - optional
* Fresh or frozen broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, carrot blend
* Fresh or small package of frozen french-style green beans
* Small or large package of frozen chopped spinach (add the amount you desire)
* Cut sweet potatoes (can buy fresh and already cut and ready to use) - optional
* One cut fresh apple minus core and seeds (optional)
* Diced celery (optional)
* Two 28-ounce cans of pealed, diced tomatoes (use low sodium brands, if possible)
* Dried (or fresh) parsley
* Garlic powder (not garlic salt)
* Dried rosemary
* Dried sage
* Thyme
* Cinnamon

Once all the ingredients are in a stew pot (add enough, preferably filtered, water to cover 3/4 of the pot's contents). Remember, frozen vegetables will yield more water. When we use frozen vegetables, we use only 1 to 1-1/2 of the 28-ounce cans full of water. Cook till chicken thighs are thoroughly cooked. Completely cool before feeding to your dogs.

Other ingredients you can add instead of or in addition to those listed are yellow squash, but NO onions.

Note: You can add some of the stew to any kibble you already feed your dogs to eliminate stomach upset. Or cook brown rice and serve the stew over brown rice. In our house, our dogs regularly eat raw vegetables and raw and cooked meat, so they're used to all the stew ingredients.

This recipe yields generous portions for at least four nights' dinner.

We'll bet your dogs are going to love their chicken stew!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

October 2009 Pet Halo Award: Deborah Howard (CAPS)

Deborah Howard, president of Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS), is our October 2009 Pet Halo Award winner.

CAPS is the only national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to protecting companion animals. CAPS' foremost concern is the abuse and suffering of pet shop and puppy mill dogs. Founded in 1992, CAPS actively addresses this issue through investigations, education, media relations, legislative involvement, puppy mill dog rescues, consumer assistance and pet industry employee relations.

CAPS defines a puppy mill as a "commercial breeding facility that mass-produces puppies for resale through pet shops or individuals."

In early 2004, I came to know Deborah Howard. Deborah assisted myself and hundreds of guardians of dogs that had been affected and/or died from the heartworm injectable "preventative" ProHeart 6. CAPS was instrumental in focusing media attention on what was happening to the dogs in over 39 states, leading the FDA to ask the manufacturer of ProHeart 6 to remove the drug from the market until it could be proven safe. (Note: In June 2008, ProHeart 6 was re-released onto the U.S. market, apparently without further safety studies being conducted; instead, relying on the drug's "success" in other countries.")

Our world would truly be a horrible place without Deborah Howard and CAPS. I am honored to call Deborah Howard my friend and have her organization as one of The Pet Guardian's nonprofit 501(c)(3) charities. Deborah is a guardian angel to companion animals everywhere.

If you want to help CAPS in its efforts to eliminate the abuse and suffering of pet shop and puppy mill dogs, please make a tax-deductible donation to:

Companion Animal Protection Society
759 CJC Highway, #332
Cohasset, MA 02025

And please, PLEASE consider adopting your next animal companion from a shelter or rescue organization. Never purchase from a pet shop or over the Internet. Visit www.caps-web-org for more information about CAPS and puppy mill dogs.

Vaccinating Small Dogs: Risks Vets Aren't Revealing


Vaccinating Small Dogs: Risks Vets Aren't Revealing