Good morning.

Being a Personal Stylist, I am always seeking to grow my great list of resources, so that I can best serve my clients by providing them amazing  contacts in any and all areas of personal styling.

The other day I was seeking out a new make-up artist for my clients further east in Walnut Creek.  Another stylist friend of mine and I were meeting at Nordtstom to both have our make-up done by a beauty specialist who was highly recommended to us.

I am not a huge lover of make-up, especially brands that have lots of toxic chemicals such as parabens and other preservatives. But I am in the beauty business and most of my clients love make-up. So, every few months I get my face done by a new make-up artist so that I can refer my clients and keep them abreast on the latest and greatest in make-up, facial cleansers, etc.

My friend and I decided that I would get my face done first, so I plopped myself down on the stool ready for the make-up artist to begin.

About half way through the make-up session, I heard a screeching noise that either sounded like a child screaming or a dog. I started to look around as the noise continued, and didn’t stop. I was stunned when I realized that the screeching sounded so much like my beloved Lucy. My heart started to pound, and I felt myself getting agitated.

People in Nordstrom started running toward the escalators. The screeching continued, the escalator stopped….but the screeching continued. I could not contain myself any longer. I excused myself, jumped out of my chair,  and ran up the stopped escalator.

A small group of people were surrounding a woman who was hugging her small dog who was now covered up in her husbands sweat jacket. The husband had blood all over his hands. The woman with her dog was sitting on a chair at the end of the escalator while another woman was trying to calm her and the dog down.

I didn’t have to ask; it was not hard to guess that the small Papillion dog was walking up the escalator with his care takers, and his little foot got sucked into the escalator at the very top where the steps disappear into the floor.

The dog was no longer screeching but he was very frightened. I decided that the woman who was helping was doing a fine job, so I backed off. The little dog’s back foot was revealed and it looked like all was in tact but perhaps a toe nail might have been pulled off. But it certainly didn’t look like anything too serious. Thankfully the escalator had been shut off pretty quickly. And the medics were already there with their emergency kit ready to help.

I took a deep breath of relief as my imagination certainly had me scared for this little precious pup.

All I want to say is please…please if you take your dog into a department store, especially a small dog, do not let them walk on the escalator – Pick them up and carry the little love. The escalators move way too fast and just like small fingers of little children, little toes of our four-legged friends can also get hurt.

I felt the need to blog about this – 1) because I am such a dog lover, and 2) because as much as it is a fluke, I do not ever want to hear the sound of another dog screeching and yelping like I had heard that day.

So please get the word out and pass this along to all of your dog loving friends. Thanks!

*******

Anonymous: I hear ya. I really don’t like it either when I see lazy writing.

Sylvia:  I do no know why that is happening. I e-mailed my tech guy late last night and informed him. To my knowledge, it has yet to be resolved.

Readers: I turned off the comments last night because I do not want my readers to be linked to another website unknowingly. I realize that you, my readers, would not appreciate your names being linked to something that you do not want to represent, or be linked to, without your approval. Again thanks for your patience.

PS: Happy Birthday Mom – Love you!!

Peace & Love….

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Yesterday the kissing couple put a smile on my face. At first glance the image seemed contrived. But when the story was revealed, it was nothing close to that.

Today, Cooney, this sweet beagle below, also makes me smile. At first glance you might smile too. However the revealing story is nothing but bittersweet.

Cooney, the little love, is no longer with us do to the hands of her owner who brutally tortured and killed her. But fortunately she did not die in vain. As horrible as life can be, sometimes there is something good that arises from the evil that is inflicted.

Cooney’s story is not unlike the many stories of animal abuse. But this time, enough was enough. Nevada joined the majority of states where animal cruelty is classified as a felony.

Here’s the write:

Victory! Nevada Passes Felony Animal Cruelty Bill into Law

Animal advocates across Nevada could be heard cheering last Friday night. They were celebrating the signing of Senate Bill 223 (pdf), also known as Cooney’s Law, by Governor Sandoval.

Since its introduction in March, SB 223 has been backed by organizations including Nevada Voters for Animals, SPCA of Northern Nevada and Shade Tree. The new law will make certain acts of animal cruelty a felony, an upgrade from a misdemeanor offense.

Cooney was a beagle mix who was brutally tortured and killed by her owner, Raymond Rios. He brought her body to the SPCA of Northern Nevada, the shelter he adopted her from, and told shelter manager Holly Natwora what he had done. Holly immediately called animal control to report the crime. When police found Rios, once again, he confessed his crime and showed the officers Cooney’s body.

But since the act was a misdemeanor offense and the police did not witness the crime, they let Rios drive away.

That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. SB 223 was introduced to bring Nevada into the majority of states where animal cruelty is classified as a felony. Under the new law, Cooney’s death would be a felony crime for the unjustifiable death of a dog.

Having Cooney’s face and story prominent in support of SB 223 helped legislators realize that animal cruelty is something to pay attention to. “We cannot put our heads in the sand or pretend that people don’t do horrific things, sometimes to the people they love,” Holly told me. “By putting a face on this violence, we can begin to have empathy which leads to compassion and then to love.”

Many of the staff at SCPA of Northern Nevada remember Cooney from her time at the shelter and were devastated by the news of her death. The healing process is still evident, even as the shelter begins a new chapter with the grand opening of their new and expanded building this past weekend.

“At the time I couldn’t understand why such a horrible thing had to happen to such a sweet and loving dog, but now I know that Cooney had a bigger purpose to serve and I believe her life was not lost in vain but for the betterment of all animals in Nevada,” Holly said.

The law may not be enough in and of itself to prevent animal cruelty. Cases like this one are excellent examples of the link between animal abuse and domestic violence. No one knew Rios’ violent past toward both humans and animals. To protect both animals and people, animal cruelty needs to be taken seriously, not only with strong laws but with strong sentencing for animal abusers.

Photo of Cooney provided by SPCA of Northern Nevada

*********

Readers: If the world gave one tenth of the love that Beloved Lucy gives me every morning, oh how changed the world would be.

Inas: When I read a comments such as the one you posted, I am reminded how screwed up our country really is. And how stupid the ones in power think we and others are. I am not surprised by your post, and yet why should I be? This type of behavior is “normal”*. And yes, the arab men are no doubt correct.

Najat: I was relieved to hear that you were safe and enjoyed yourself, and yet I was not surprised by the comments from Inas that the Saudi went behind closed doors and made threats, not to mention America’s involvement.

I think about arab women quite a lot especially when I am walking Lucy and I run across a muslim woman wearing a hijab, and the weather is particularly hot. And I realize that if she is uncomfortable here just in a hijab I can only imagine how you girls must feel in your own country, forced to dress head to toe in black in blistering heat. It is abusive.

The picture you posted I saw that other day when I was perusing the net preparing for my write. I remember the first time I saw a woman dressed like that. Twenty years ago, I was leaving India headed to Nepal when we missed our plane and got laid over in Oman. I was fascinated by a woman that I saw, all in black, with only her mysterious, dramatic eyes peaking from beneath.

I knew nothing of the culture…the oppression and abuse of their women. I smiled when she caught a glimpse of me looking. My ignorance and love for the unique left me glamorizing her as this mysterious exotic beauty. Oh what little did I truly know of her and other arab women. As Ahd, said “Life is hell. If it were not for technology, this wonderful venue to gain knowledge, I, as well as many others might still be ignorant of the plight of arab women.

Yes, it is shameful that men from other countries look the other way. I know if they did pay attention…if they truly cared about women…if they took a stance and refused to do business with arab countries unless they treated their women better, arab men would change. I believe, in an instant.

If we can’t inspire arab men to care more for women than they care for money, we have to force them. And if forcing them means to take away the money to get them to change, then that’s what we need to do.

It seems so simple. We women have more voting power in America, but we don’t use that voting power and support women in becoming leaders, becoming the power of our country. We need to, not only to support women in America, but so that we can be the ones to demand that arab men treat their women better or we will refuse to do business with them. Because as it now stands, the men in power are obviously not going to.

Ahd, Areebah, Alhena: Your stories are so hard to read, one can only imagine the lives you lead, and the fear you must feel daily. I don’t know what to say. HOPEing for a solution to arise is not enough. We must be the solution. And I don’t mean you specifically. I mean women in general. Especially American women.

Girls: The stories posted by Ahd, Areebah and Alhena are more common than we know. When are all women going to learn that we can’t count on the men in this country to care more about us than they do each other and money? It is up to us.

*This world is run by male arrogance and selfishness.  I am used to it, but I am not numbed by it, where it becomes “normal” even though it is “normal” behavior by men…it is not acceptable and never will be.  To get used to it means, we “normalize” it and that is never going to happen with me – that means we as women are giving up and giving in to it. That will never be. I am just sick of it. It is so prevalent in so many ways from obvious abuse to little hits of dialogue…the nuance that can slip by in a sentence or two if one is not conscious of it being there. We need to be and stay conscious of it and not be numbed by this “normal” behavior.

Like I said, it is up to us women to ban together and make the changes for each other,  because it is highly doubtful that men ever will for us.

Peace out.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Have you seen this e-mail?

My dog sleeps about 20 hours a day. He has his food prepared for him. He can eat whenever he wants, 24/7/365. His meals are provided at no cost to him. He visits the Dr. once a year for his checkup, and again during the year if any medical needs arise. For this, he pays nothing, and nothing is required of him. He lives in a nice neighborhood in a house that is much larger than he needs, but he is not required to do any upkeep. If he makes a mess, someone else cleans it up. He has his choice of luxurious places to sleep. He receives these accommodations absolutely free. He is living like a king, and has absolutely no expenses whatsoever. All of his costs are picked up by others who go out and earn a living every day. I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a brick in the head: Holy S##t!!!

My dog is a Democrat!

I never got this e-mailed to me in it’s original format, but after Tess commented on it, I did a little searching myself. Yes Tess, the republicans are sending this out and yes idiots accept these inane comparisons as gospel. But what is more idiotic is that some Democrats are forwarding it too. How stupid is that?

This e-mail is Republican hypocrisy at it’s best. Or should I say at it’s worst? This is the kind of life that republicans want, and no doubt some have. And if they presently don’t have this kind of life, yet, you know from their political agenda,  they are certainly aspiring to have it….doing anything they possibly can to have it.

Republicans need to look in the mirror. Oh that’s right, they do – They look in the mirror every day, smile and say, “Okay what can I get away with today? Who can I lie to? What will I lie about that will bring big bennies to ME and MINE?!”

No doubt, I am not the only one who thinks this. However,  I received this clever e-mail that I thought was the perfect answer to “my dog is a democrat” The original e-mail is in BLUE and the response to the e-mail is in RED:

My dog sleeps about 20 hours a day.

My creature never sleeps He is always plotting to rip off the middle class with some lying scheme.

He has his food prepared for him. He can eat whenever he wants.
He controls the costs of all the food I buy by allowing the Corporations to collude to fix prices artificially high.

His meals are provided at no cost to him.
His comforts are provided for him by those big Corporations.

He visits the Dr. once a year for his checkup, and again during the year if any medical needs arise.
He visits the Medical Industry for his campaign Check and again during the year for personal aggrandizement.

For this he pays nothing, and nothing is required of him.
For this he gives them a monopoly on fleecing the American people with insurance policies that he does not have to honor.

He lives in a nice neighborhood in a house that is much larger than he needs, but he is not required to do any upkeep.
He lives in a better than middle class neighborhood much larger than he needs, but he isn’t paying for it with his paycheck.

If he makes a mess, someone else cleans it up.
When he bankrupts the country with his fiscal policies, he blames it on everyone else.

He has his choice of luxurious places to sleep.
He has his choice of Industries to sleep with.

He receives these accommodations absolutely free.
He receives generous accommodations from those industries.

He is living like a King, and has absolutely no expenses whatsoever.
He is living like a King and has absolutely no conscious whatsoever.

All of his costs are picked up by others who go out and earn a living every day.
All of his cost are picked up by the Health, Energy, and Banking Industries that fleece the American people every day.

I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a brick in the head…….
I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a brick in the head…….

My dog is a Democrat
My Creature is a Republican

*****

Readers: Don’t you love it? I wish I could clam that I wrote it.  Kudos to who wrote this ( you know who you are:) But hey, I’m clever enough to recognize genius and print it. If you got this e-mail, forward them this – that’ll piss off the republicans big time, and maybe the democrats will wake up too. And maybe between all of us we can get this e-mail to go viral, and snuff out the original.

Thoughts? Anything you want to add? Blog this BABE.

Peace Out.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Probably many of you have already seen this but I could not help from posting anyway. I am such a huge lover of animals and everyone knows that dogs hold a special place in my heart.

I was first told about this video from Doug and then I happened to see it on Yahoo News.

Dog in Japan stays by the side of its ailing friend in the rubble

It’s a universal truth that dogs are man’s best friend, but they’re pretty darn loyal to their own as well. Case in point: this tear-inducing video, via the website Jezebel, showing a dog, shivering and disoriented, remaining loyally by the side of a stricken fellow canine amid the devastation of the Japanese tsunami.

The video is a stark reminder that, as was the case when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, there will likely be thousands of pets orphaned or involuntarily abandoned due to the catastrophe in Japan. If you’d like to help efforts to help these animals, you can find info on doing so below.

UPDATE: CNN and the UK Telegraph have both reported that the dogs have been rescued since the footage aired, and are both receiving veterinary care; the more seriously wounded dog is at a clinic in the city of Mito, while the protective spaniel-type dog is receiving care at a shelter in the same town.

…..

Readers: Thankfully these two pals have been rescued, but we know others are still out there, hurt and alone, confused and scared, looking for their best friends, human and canine to help them….to comfort them.

The livelihood of animals has always been a passion of mine. The little loves depend on us so much. It’s amazing how much I depend on their love. Whenever I see or hear about hurt, homeless, or abused animals, I always think of my own little love Lucy, and how grateful I am to be her companion. Then I hug and kiss her over and over again, and tell her she is such a lucky dog…but that I am even luckier.

Animals affected by the disaster in Japan aren’t so lucky. And they need a little help too. So why not give a little love back in the form of support.

The organizations below specifically help with animal rescue efforts in the affected areas of Japan. However, once again,  please make sure that you do your due diligence before you donate to ensure you’re not getting scammed.

And if you are thinking of donating you might want to check out exactly where you’re money is going. I always go to the Better Business Bureau website first, and research the business that will be receiving my donation. I do this to make sure that the majority of my money donated (At least 60% or more) is going to the cause, in this case the animals, and not toward administration. Just a suggestion, if you want to ensure that the recipient of your donation is getting the most bang from your hard-earned buck.

World Vets is a non-government organization (NGO) providing veterinary aid around the globe in collaboration with animal advocacy groups, foreign governments, US and foreign military groups and veterinary professionals abroad. They are getting supplies and a first responder team ready to deploy to Japan.

March 15 update: World Vets is also accepting donations of veterinary supplies and medications at their Fargo, ND headquarters.

The American Humane Association’s Red Star Animal Emergency Services Team is monitoring the situation closely and is reaching out to its international partners in order to provide a joint response to this global emergency.

The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation has deployed search and rescue teams to Japan.

The Animal Refuge Kansai is an organization in Kansai, Japan, that is preparing for a huge influx of animals from the disaster areas.

Japan Cat Network, together with Heart Tokushima and Animal Friends Niigatahas formed Japan Animal Rescue and Support. They are providing frequent updates of rescue efforts on their Facebook page.

March 15 update: they’ve posted a wish list of items for in country donations, but ask that you contact them before shipping anything from overseas.

Please note that the donation links for the organizations in Japan take you to the Japanese language version of PayPal. Once you enter the amount of your donation in Japanese yen (4000 yen is roughly $50 US), and enter your PayPal login information, it takes you to an English PayPal page and you can complete the donation.

The Animal Miracle Network Foundation is collecting cell phones to send to volunteers helping animals in Japan.

Blog me.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

“ Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox“

Answer: Then treat her or him like one! And if you’re not so kind to your family, well…I’m not gonna go there…but at least be kind to your pet. After all you may not have unconditional love for your family, but your pet has unconditional love for you, and deserves the best.

Good morning!

Josie: This one’s for you, and everyone else who loves their furry feline and

For many dog and cat owners, the continuing problem of widespread pet food recalls is cause for concern.

And I certainly agree the deadly contaminants turning up in commercial pet food formulas present a significant, immediate danger to your dog’s health.

But it is my belief the substandard ingredients found in the majority of affordable pet foods present an important, if longer-term threat to your beloved dog’s health as well.

It takes research and practice to make sense of pet food nutrition labels. Whether or not it’s deliberate, pet food companies seem to go out of their way to make ingredient labels confusing and even misleading.

Actual Product Label Comparison of a High Quality and a Poor Quality Dog Food

Raw, Sold Frozen
‘Premium’ Dry Dog Food
Guaranteed Analysis (as fed)
Guaranteed Analysis
Protein (not less than)
12%
Crude Protein (min)
25%
Fat (not less than)
8%
Crude Fat (min)
10%
Moisture (not more than)
71%
Moisture (max)
14%
Carbohydrate (not less than)
3.5%
Carbohydrate
??
Fiber (not more than)
0.5%
Crude Fiber (max)
4%
Ingredients
Ingredients
Free-Range Meat = 69%
chicken meat including bone, chicken gizzards, chicken hearts and chicken livers

Organic Vegetables = 29.3%
carrots, squash, yams, zucchini, celery, romaine, parsley, apple cider vinegar

Special Nutrient Mix = 1.7%
kelp, sea salt, inulin, zinc, copper and iron amino acid chelates, vitamin E

Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), soy protein concentrate, soy flour, water, rice flour, pearled barley, sugar, tricalcium phosphate, propylene glycol, animal digest, dicalcium phosphate, salt, phosphoric acid, sorbic acid (a preservative), calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried spinach, dried apples, dried sweet potatoes, choline chloride, calcium propionate (a preservative), added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Yellow 6), Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, Vitamin B-12 supplement, DL-Methionine, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite

As you can see, at first glance the guaranteed analysis doesn’t tell much of a story. The actual ingredients, and the order in which they appear, gives a better picture of the difference in quality of the two foods.

Noteworthy on the guaranteed analysis comparison, however, are a few items:

• The lack of carbohydrate content of the dry food. This is important information to have, because your dog has no biological requirement for carbs (notice the carb content of the raw food is less than four percent). Food with a high carb content is therefore not species-appropriate for your carnivorous canine. Chances are the carbs in the food are displacing some percentage of protein your dog’s body really needs.
• The use of the term ‘crude’ protein, fat and fiber on the dry food label. Crude can mean a lot of things. Shoe leather, for example, is a ‘crude’ protein. Bottom line: there’s no way to determine how much of an ingredient categorized as ‘crude’ is digestible or will provide nourishment to your pet’s body.
• The difference between the protein and moisture contents of the two foods. At first glance, it appears the raw food has less than half the protein of the dry food. This is misleading. It’s a comparison of apples to oranges.

In order to compare apples to apples, we need to calculate the guaranteed analysis ingredients on a dry matter basis using the following formula:

100 Percent – Percent Moisture = Percent Dry Matter (DM)

Using this formula, we can determine the percent dry matter (DM) of each food as follows:

Raw food has 71% moisture
100% – 71% = 29%
The raw food is 29% DM
Dry food has 14% moisture
100% – 14% = 86%
The dry food is 86% DM

Now that we know the dry matter content of each food, we can compare the true protein amounts with this formula:

Percent Protein / Percent DM = Percent Protein on a DM Basis

Using this formula, we can determine the percent protein of each food as follows:

Raw food: 12% protein, 29% DM
12% / 29% = 41%
Raw food has 41% DM protein
Dry food: 25% protein, 86% DM
25% / 86% = 29%
Dry food has 29% DM protein

You can use the same calculations to compare the other guaranteed analysis ingredients on a DM basis as follows:

Raw food: 8% fat
8% / 29% = 28%
Raw food has 28% DM fat
Dry food: 10% fat
10% / 86% = 12%
Dry food has 12% DM fat
Raw food: .5% fiber
.5% / 29% = .02%
Raw food has .02% DM fiber
Dry food: 4% fiber
4% / 86% = .05% fiber
Dry food has .05% DM fiber

As you can see by this apples-to-apples comparison, the raw food has significantly higher percentages of the three most important pet food ingredients: protein, fat, and moisture.

A Few Things You WANT to See on a Dog Food Label

• Human grade (USDA approved) ingredients. This can be a tricky area, because the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has very effectively prohibited the use of the term ‘human grade’ on pet food packaging. As a result, very few pet food labels contain the phrase. According to TheBark.com:

AAFCO says “human-grade” is false and misleading, and constitutes misbranding, unless every ingredient in the product-and every processing method-meets FDA and USDA requirements for producing, processing and transporting foods suitable for consumption by humans, and every producer of the ingredients is licensed to perform those tasks. Few pet food companies can meet these criteria.

What you want to find out is whether the ingredients in the brand you buy are fit for human consumption. Despite the fact manufacturers can’t list ‘human grade’ on the ingredient panel, if they are using ingredients fit for human consumption, you’ll know by the information provided on the bag, as well as their marketing materials. The company will want you to know why their food is more expensive.

The better the brand (and higher the cost), the more likely it is the ingredients are human grade. If all else fails, you can visit the manufacturer’s website or call their toll free number to get your questions answered.

Even better is if the protein source is either free-range or pasture-raised and hasn’t been shot full of hormones and antibiotics.

• A whole food protein source at the top of the list of ingredients. The key here is to look for named meat, typically one-word descriptions of the protein in the formula, for example: beef, turkey, lamb, chicken, etc. Avoid any product with non-specific descriptions like ‘animal,’ ‘meat’ or ‘poultry.’

Most commercial pet foods also contain meat meal, which is fine as a secondary ingredient to a whole food protein source. Meal consists of meat with the moisture removed, with or without bones and has the right calcium/phosphorus balance. Like the primary whole food protein source, meal should be from a named, specific meat.

• Grain-free. Your carnivorous pooch has no biologic requirement for grains. Many grain-free formulas use potatoes instead, but potatoes or other starches should not be added in excess simply to offset meat content.
• AAFCO guarantee. AAFCO has established minimum standards for complete and balanced pet nutrition. Most of us concerned with animal health realize there’s room for improvement in the AAFCO guidelines. However, you can be reasonably sure a pet food meeting those guidelines will provide all the elements of nutrition your dog needs to sustain life. A formula without AAFCO certification will likely be deficient as a sole source of nutrition for your pet.

… And a Few Things You DON’T

• Meat by-products, digest. Meat by-products, especially those not specified as a certain kind of meat (chicken, beef, turkey, etc.), contain unsavory ingredients ground into the mix during processing like beaks, feathers, feet, hooves, hair, entrails – even tumors. The exception would be by-products derived from human grade organ meats like liver and kidney.
• Poor quality, incomplete proteins. These include corn gluten meal, wheat gluten meal, rice protein concentrate and soy protein.
• Formulas containing corn or soy. Corn is a cheap filler ingredient with no nutritional value. It is also a known allergenic. Soy is estrogenic and can wreak havoc on your dog’s endocrine system.
• BHT, BHA, ethoxyquin, propyl gallate. These are all artificial preservatives. Ethoxyquin is banned from use in human foods, but is used to preserve the fish meal found in many pet food formulas. You won’t find it on your pet food label because it is added before the fish meal arrives at the manufacturing facility. When considering dog foods containing fish, look for written manufacturer assurance on the label or web site that the fish meal does not contain ethoxyquin. Otherwise, assume that it does or contact the manufacturer directly to inquire.

Look for foods preserved with vitamins C and E, also called tocopherols.

• Artificial colors, flavors, sugars, sweeteners or propylene glycol.

How to Avoid Contaminated and Poor Quality Pet Food

The very best nutrition you can feed your dog won’t be found in a bag or can of processed food.

As I discussed in 13 Pet Foods – Ranked from Great to Disastrous, your best bet is to feed your dog a balanced, raw, species-appropriate, homemade diet. It’s really the only way to exercise complete control over what your pup eats.

If you’re tired of worrying about the next pet food recall and sick of trying to understand confusing pet food labels, maybe it’s time to consider making your dog’s meals from scratch right in your own kitchen. If so, I’ve co-authored a cookbook you should find useful,Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats.

This book explains how to buy and prepare fresh foods in quantity, and it also contains recipes – both raw and cooked – so you can fix worry-free, ultra-healthy meals for your favorite four-legged family member.

…………….

Readers: The banter’s been good. Keep it comin’….

PEACE OUT

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

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