Concerned Pet Care Awareness

Pet Care Tips 2 min read

There’s been a lot of press and hype about poisonous dog food in the last few years and for some very good reasons. Many of these headlines have centered around toxic jerky treats imported from China, resulting in over 1,000 pet deaths and almost 5,000 reported cases of illnesses for both dogs and cats. So far, the FDA has been unable to pinpoint exactly why so many pets have developed kidney disease and other complications resulting from consuming these toxic treats.

Deceptive Dog Food Dilemma

While we all shop for the best bargains, buying pet food can be both expensive and deceptive. We can read labels, but often they don’t list ingredients that can sneak into food without the manufacturer’s knowledge. For example, pet foods that contain plenty of grains could be contaminated with mycotoxins, a poisonous mold that can also be found in corn, the main ingredient in some cheaper products.

Other inexpensive brands of dog food can also contain poultry by-products, preservatives, and other unhealthy ingredients. So what are poultry byproducts exactly? They’re ingredients that are not fit for human consumption, like eggshells, intestines, feet, leg scales, other non-food items, inedible materials, and even waste. They are denatured and rendered to turn an otherwise inedible ingredient into food for animals in many pet products.

Misleading Meats

Read the labels on pet foods carefully and avoid those who don’t list realistic ingredients high on the list.

Another conundrum for buying animal food comes from the generic term for meat or protein when listed as an ingredient. Unless it specifically states something like beef, for example, using the name of meat could legally mean it could come from almost any mammal. There have been concerns that some pet food producers could be using:

Euthanized animals
Roadkill
Diseased farm animals
Deceased zoo animals

Read the labels on your dog food carefully and avoid those who don’t list realistic ingredients high on the list. Like human foods, animal food manufacturers must list their ingredients in descending order according to their pre-processed weight.

Consumer Awareness

In light of these facts, consumers really need to be more aware of what they’re purchasing for themselves as well as their four-legged friends. Since some companies aren’t holding themselves to a higher standard, it’s our job to find those that do.

Caru®dog food is a “human grade” standard, one of the only two pet food providers to receive this high rating from the FDA. It contains no grains, gluten, preservatives, or GMO ingredients. It also has:

Antibiotic & hormone-free meat and poultry
No ingredients made in China
A 24-month shelf life with no preservatives
Native origin made here in the USA in small batches by a family-owned company

So it just makes more sense to spend a little more on our pet food today to avoid expensive veterinary bills down the road, not to mention some possible deadly consequences. Since we love our pets like children, we certainly wouldn’t feed our kids chicken feet and eggshells for breakfast, so why would we want to give this to our dogs and cats?

If you have any questions regarding your pet’s health and diet, feel free to reach out to us. We are always happy to help!

Thank you to Amber Kingsley, guest-contributor and pet enthusiast, for writing this blog.

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