Pet Owners Attribute 361 Dog, Cat Deaths To Chinese Jerky TreatsSeptember 17, 2012 Pet owners have reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2,200 cases of pet illnesses, including 360 canine deaths and one feline death, from consumption of jerky treats imported from China. But the agency has not confirmed a link between the deaths and illnesses and the treats. Most of the complaints involve chicken jerky, including treats, tenders and strips, but others include duck, sweet potato and treats where chicken or duck jerky is wrapped around dried fruits, sweet potatoes or yams, the FDA reported. The issue dates to 2007, when the FDA began receiving reports of pets becoming ill after consuming the treats. The number of complaints dropped in 2009, but rose again two years later. The FDA posted a Frequently Asked Questions document earlier this year and added information, including the number of deaths reported, in a document published Friday. The FDA has been gathering and testing the treats since 2007 at FDA laboratories, the Veterinary Laboratory Response Network and other animal health diagnostic laboratories for chemical and microbiological contaminants, but none of the results have revealed an association between a causative agent and the reported …
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Excuse My French: A Fake Story Of My LifeSeptember 17, 2012Here is the fake story of my life. Please don't analyze or overanalyze this blog; this little exercise is merely designed to show you that you know much more French words than you think. When I met Marie, definitely a brunette, not a blonde, she was an au pair, and she lived at a chateau owned by a baron. Not a nouveau riche: it was an old family of bourgeois, with a long history of princes. The chateau was filled with original paintings from Matisse, Monet and Manet. Marie worked at a boutique during the day, and she was a ballet dancer at night, so she knew everything there is to know about chassé, développé and pirouette. Her brother was the attaché to the consulate. When he saw me coming out of my Citroen, he said "en garde, do you think you have carte blanche with my sister?" I thought he was clairvoyant. He thought I was debonair or nonchalant. I know French boxing, so I punched him in the nose and said "touché." He looked grotesque. During our first rendezvous, Marie was very unique, not femme fatale or déjà vu. She was a Parisian par excellence, the crème de …
Bayer To Buy Teva Animal Health For $145 MillionSeptember 14, 2012 Bayer HealthCare LLC of Shawnee, Kan., plans to acquire the animal health business of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. of Jerusalem, for up to $145 million, the companies reported Thursday. The companies signed an agreement through which Bayer will acquire Teva’s animal health business for an upfront payment of $60 million plus $85 million in milestone payments linked to manufacturing and sales targets. Bayer will acquire Teva’s portfolio of animal health products, including the DVM Pharmaceuticals brand of veterinary dermatology products, a line of companion animal nutraceuticals and several food animal products, including anti-infectives, parasiticides, anti-inflammatories and reproductive hormones. Bayer will also obtain Teva’s manufacturing site in St. Joseph, Mo., which employees about 300 people. “Bayer’s acquisition of Teva Animal Health will further strengthen and broaden our U.S. range of animal care solutions so that, together with our customers, we can continue to protect, cure and care for animals across America,” said Ian Spinks, president and general manager of Bayer Healthcare Animal Health North America. “The businesses are a great strategic fit, and Teva’s animal health portfolio adds new depth for us across both the companion and food animal areas.” …
Some Recalled Breeder's Choice Food May Have Been SoldSeptember 14, 2012Some Recalled Breeder's Choice Dog Food May Have Been Solddog food, dog food recall, AvoDerm recall, Breeder's Choice pet foodBreeder's Choice Pet Foods of Irwindale, Calif., backtracked Friday, admitting that an undetermined amount of recalled AvoDerm Natural Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Adult Dog Formula in 26-pound bags may have been sold to pet owners.The company earlier this week reported that virtually all of the recalled food had been seized before delivery. newsline, recallSome Recalled Breeder's Choice Food May Have Been SoldPosted: Sept. 14, 2012, 6:15 p.m. EDT Breeder's Choice Pet Foods of Irwindale, Calif., backtracked Friday, admitting that an undetermined amount of recalled AvoDerm Natural Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Adult Dog Formula in 26-pound bags may have been sold to pet owners. An undetermined amount of recalled AvoDerm Natural Lamb Meal & Brown Rice dog food may have been sold to pet owners. The company earlier this week reported that virtually all of the recalled food had been seized before delivery. A "couple of cases" may have gotten to stores but were returned, the company stated at the time. "As we dug deeper and deeper, we found some packages …
Perrigo To Buy Sergeant’s For $285 MillionSeptember 14, 2012 Sergeant’s Pet Care Products Inc. of Omaha, Neb., is being sold to Perrigo Company in an all-cash transaction valued at $285 million, the companies reported Thursday. Allegan, Mich.-based Perrigo develops, manufactures and distributes over-the-counter and generic prescription drugs, infant formulas, nutritional products, dietary supplements and pharmaceutical ingredients for the human market. “This acquisition allows us to penetrate the pet care category by offering numerous flea and tick, health and well-being, and consumable products to pet owners at affordable prices,” Perrigo chairman and CEO Joseph Papa said. “Sergeant’s has a proven record of innovation, high-quality manufacturing with great customer service. We welcome Sergeant’s 200-plus employees and over 1,000 SKUs to the Perrigo family.” Privately held Sergeant’s produces such products as Fiproguard Max and Pronyl OTC Max Flea and Tick Control, Vetscription Cat Hairball Remedy, the Geisler line of food and treats for birds and small animals, and the Atlantis line of fish food. Sergeant’s anticipates more than $140 million in sales this fiscal year. The sale of Sergeant’s includes virtually all its assets, Perrigo reported. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013. Sergeant’s was founded in 1868 in Richmond, …
Recalled Breeder's Choice Pet Food Removed Before SaleSeptember 14, 2012Recalled Breeder's Choice Food Removed Before SaleRecalled Breeder's Choice Pet Food Removed Before Salerecall, pet food recall, dog food recall, cat food recallBreeder's Choice Pet Foods of Irwindale, Calif., has recalled a small amount of AvoDerm Natural Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Adult Dog Formula in 26-pound bags, but a company spokesman said none of the food reached pet owners.The recall was issued because of possible Salmonella contamination, the company reported in a statement on its website.newsline, recallPosted: Sept. 12, 2012, 4:15 p.m. EDTBreeder's Choice Pet Foods of Irwindale, Calif., has recalled a small amount of AvoDerm Natural Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Adult Dog Formula in 26-pound bags, but a company spokesman said none of the food reached pet owners. The recall was issued because of possible Salmonella contamination, the company reported in a statement on its website. Virtually all the recalled product was seized at distribution centers or on trucks, spokesman Mark Newberg said today. A "couple of cases" may have been delivered to a store but were returned before any could be sold, he added. The possible contamination was discovered during quality testing and was identified in a "singular, isolated manufacturing batch," …
Science Diet Gets OverhaulSeptember 12, 2012Science Diet Pet Food Gets OverhaulScience Diet, Hill's pet food, pet food, dog food, cat foodHill's Pet Nutrition on Tuesday announced the reformulation of its Science Diet dry food for dogs and cats along with redesigned packaging.Hill's Pet Nutrition has reformulated its Science Diet dry food for dogs and cats as well as redesigned the packaging.newslineScience Diet Gets OverhaulPosted: Sept. 11, 2012, 7:45 p.m. EDT Hill's Pet Nutrition on Tuesday announced the reformulation of its Science Diet dry food for dogs and cats along with redesigned packaging. The new canine recipes are scheduled to roll out in December, with the feline diets expected in late January or early February. Science Diet canned foods are not affected. The reason for the reformulation, the company reported, was because "some consumers were making product choices based primarily on set criteria for ingredients rather than the overall promise of superior nutrition backed by clinical research." The new formulas fall into three categories identified by color: Life Style (silver), Life Stage (white) and Life Care (gold). Each will contain a protein such as chicken, fish meal or lamb meal as the first ingredient and will be free of chicken byproducts as well as artificial colors …
VPI To Open Voting For Most Unusual Pet Insurance Claim Of 2012September 7, 2012 A drug-riddled pot belly pig and a turtle-sniffing golden retriever are among the 12 most unusual claims nominated for Veterinary Pet Insurance’s 2012 Hambone Award. The award, named for a dog that ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while stuck in a refrigerator, will be determined by a public vote at www.VPIHamboneAward.com from Sept. 12 through Sept. 25, 2012. Previous winners include Ellie, a Labrador retriever that ate a beehive filled with bees; Lulu, a bulldog that swallowed 15 baby pacifiers, a bottle cap and a piece of a basketball; and Harley, a pug that ate and subsequently passed more than 100 rocks. Nominees for the pet insurance company's 2012 award include: Ginger, a golden retriever from Rocky Hill, Conn., that was bitten on the nose by a snapping turtle; Gavee, a Havanese from Pompton Plains, N.J., that was run over by a vacuum cleaner; Kei, a shiba inu from Wadsworth, Ill., that got a paw caught in escalator grates; Peanut, a dachshund-terrier mix from Sicklerville, N.J., that was buried alive following a run-in with a skunk; Baxter, a domestic longhair cat from Seattle, that …
Report: 350,000 In U.K. Contract Toxoplasmosis Each YearSeptember 6, 2012 Toxoplasmosis infects 350,000 people per year in the United Kingdom, according to a report published this week by the U.K. Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food. Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Cats are the definitive host of the parasite, but the disease affects humans and many other species of animals and birds, as well. The disease can be spread to humans who carelessly handle cat litter or eat infected raw or undercooked meat, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Mothers can also pass the disease to their offspring and it can be passed through blood transfusions or solid organ transplants. The report stemmed from a 2007 request from the U.K. government’s Food Standards Agency requesting advice from the advisory committee on whether toxoplasmosis represents a food safety issue that should be addressed. An ad hoc group of the committee met seven times over the following 28 months before publishing its report this week. According to the report, the disease annually infects about 350,000 people in the U.K., of which between 10 and 20 percent display symptoms. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 22.5 percent …
AAHA Denounces Raw Food Diets For PetsSeptember 5, 2012EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated on Sept. 18, 2012, to include comments from the American Animal Hospital Association. The American Animal Hospital Association has joined the American Veterinary Medical Association in taking a stand against raw food diets for pets. AAHA published a position statement on its website that reported the association “does not advocate or endorse feeding pets any raw or dehydrated nonsterilized foods, including treats that are of animal origin.” The association based its decision on “overwhelming scientific evidence” and cited 50 sources to support its decision. This includes raw commercial diets, said AAHA executive director Michael Cavanaugh, DVM, Dipl. ABVP. “We’re not aware of accepted processes that a commercial diet could go through that could ensure there aren’t going to be pathogens present,” said Dr. Cavanaugh. “If that were to change – if the government came out and said this is an accepted process, this is the procedure – then it would certainly be time to change our statement.” Up to 30 percent of dogs fed homemade or raw food diets may shed pathogenic organisms in their stool, according to the AAHA statement. The
