Truth4Dogs

Looking for a list of organizations that help people in need with their vet bills? Dr. Jean Hofve has allowed me to reprint it here. Please bookmark this page and send it to friends.  Also check out her other terrific articles, and sign up for her newsletter, at LittleBigCat.com.  (I interviewed Dr. Hofve for my book and for three wonderful recordings on pet nutrition called How NOT to Kill Your Dog or Cat. If you’d like to learn more about feeding your pet, we hope you’ll check them out.)

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Whether it’s the damage caused by recalled food, an accident or something else, vet bills can be quite a burden. Below are listed some of the programs that can help with financial needs. Read more »

Salmon in the Wild

Many of us who are careful about our diets have real concerns about eating farmed salmon and other farmed (aka “ocean-raised”) fish.  We want the Omega-3 fatty acids from the fish oils — for ourselves and for our pets — but wonder if we are trading lower prices for contamination.  This is especially important for pets, most of whom eat the same food every meal, every day. If there’s fish in their food (and it’s sometimes there without our realizing), it’s especially important that it’s safe.

But is wild-caught fish really all that better?  The prices should tell you something. In a store near me, you pay $6.99 per pound for farmed; $16.99 for wild (when you can get it); and $15 or more for farmed fish fed organically. Given these prices, you can bet that Fifi and Fido aren’t getting organic or wild-caught.

The health dangers from farmed fish comes from the contamination of their fat with harmful chemicals called PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls).  An article called PCBs – Is Farmed Salmon safe to eat? reports: “The manufacture of PCBs was banned in the U.S. in 1979 because of evidence they build up in the environment and can cause harmful health effects. However, PCBs persist in the environment. Fish absorb PCBs from contaminated sediments and from their food.” Read more »