Recall Update: Wednesday
Your Responses On Pet Food Recall Reimbursements:
Here are some excerpts from two of the emails we received. There are too many to post for one day, so we will continue to post excerpts from various emails throughout the week.
First, the good news from one reader:
I work for a Vet clinic. We only had one client on a food that was recalled and that was MD Dry. We submitted the receipts for the clients bloodwork, food etc. to Hills. Within just a couple of weeks we received a check for the full amount the client had spent on the bloodwork and food. We sent it on to the client and she was very pleased.
And here’s one not-so-great news:
Our lovely Himalayan, Kisses, died May 25. She, our wonderful vet and I fought the toxins in her system for two months — a battle we were unable to win. Although 14, she had been in amazing health, no diseases or chronic conditions. We’d started feeding her Iams Select Bites each evening in December 2006, in addition to the Iams dry food we continued to use in the mornings.
I just wanted help with my vet bills, and I stupidly thought Iams would live up to its reputation.
I thought this would be pretty simple, cut and dried, we could settle up and move on and hopefully Kisses would recover! Instead it took me three phone calls, an email and almost eight weeks just to get a claim rep on the phone with me.
Although the claim rep said on May 14 once she confirmed renal failure I would have a check, she did not call my vet, I learned on May 23 after my cat’s worst seizure.
We would have paid thousands to make Kisses well or even to create a decent quality of life where her pleasure was not so heavily outweighed by her suffering. Today, all I have are ashes and a lock of hair — and apparently a new claim rep. I’m not entirely certain what her role is, actually, since she won’t return any of my calls. Last week, claim rep #2’s voice suddenly appeared on the voicemail extension I’d previously used for claim rep #1. Kisses has been gone almost a month now with no word from either of them.
On a good day, I only cry twice.
Her full, unedited email is after the jump.
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MY STORY
Our lovely Himalayan, Kisses, died May 25. She, our wonderful vet and I fought the toxins in her system for two months — a battle we were unable to win. Although 14, she had been in amazing health, no diseases or chronic conditions. We’d started feeding her IAMS Select Bites each evening in December 2006, in addition to the IAMS dry food we continued to use in the mornings.
To sue or not to sue…it’s a personal decision. So far, I have not sued. So far, I have not asked for compensation for the weeks this freelance writer didn’t feel like writing or generating new business — an estimated loss of $1,000-$5,000 based on past earnings. So far, I have not asked for someone to compensate my husband for the vacation days he used to help me or manage his own grief. I just wanted help with my vet bills, and I stupidly thought IAMS would live up to its reputation.
So did my vet.
I still have a rotting, open packet of recalled food filed in a plastic bag. Thanks to the timing of the recall, trash pickup took all but two wrappers, the final packets from two variety pack boxes. The one beef packet remaining seemed ok though the numbers were smeared; the tuna packet was recalled; the other 3 flavors were already gone.
The extra water she’d been drinking made sense when the vet found an elevated BUN and spotted melamine crystals in her urine. He trained me to do some things at home where she was more comfortable which happened to reduce our cost, so our bills are just under $1,000. I thought this would be pretty simple, cut and dried, we could settle up and move on and hopefully Kisses would recover! Instead it took me three phone calls, an email and almost eight weeks just to get a claim rep on the phone with me. (The claim rep works for Risk Enterprise Management or REM, apparently hired to handle claims by Procter and Gamble, parent company for IAMS.)
Although the claim rep said on May 14 once she confirmed renal failure I would have a check, she did NOT call my vet, I learned on May 23 after my cat’s worst seizure. I called the claim rep immediately to say among other things ACT LIKE SHE (my cat) MATTERS. Finally, the claim rep called him that day, and spoke with him once more after Kisses was gone.
We would have paid thousands to make Kisses well or even to create a decent quality of life where her pleasure was not so heavily outweighed by her suffering. Today, all I have are ashes and a lock of hair — and apparently a NEW CLAIM REP. I’m not entirely certain what her role is, actually, since she won’t return any of my calls. Last week, claim rep #2’s voice suddenly appeared on the voicemail extension I’d previously used for claim rep #1. Kisses has been gone almost a month now with no word from either of them.
On a good day, I only cry twice. I’m working on projects again. And as I continue to leave unanswered voicemails, I consider what to do next if we are not reimbursed.
If I sue, I won’t care if I recover 7 cents and the rest goes to a team of attorneys. It will be about forcing a company to do what’s right. Whether they see her as a pet or as property, a product damaged her. If someone dies from eating tainted food, does it matter whether the victim is young or a grandmother? Injury is injury; bills are bills.
And promises are promises, whether a claim rep promises to pay someone when renal failure is confirmed, or whether an FAQ implies harmed customers can receive assistance (see Q9 about compensating pet owners).
IAMS seems to emphasize the “IAMS Promise,” too. IAMS: Your actions speak so loudly, your words are meaningless to me.
I know our pain is mirrored in so many other families, some who lost multiple pets and/or thousands of dollars. And it’s difficult for any pet owner out there wondering if selecting a commercial food is like playing Russian Roulette with Fifi or Fido. Although Kisses was hurt by “premium” pet food, buying even the cheapest pet food based on budget or preference
shouldn’t carry a death sentence.
Greed is dangerous, whether it’s capitalist or communist. Greed doesn’t care who it hurts or what happens. But I think one thing can control greed even better than regulation: INFORMATION. I researched daily for Kisses, looking for new and alternative methods of treatment. Along the way, I learned so much about food and nutrition thanks to sites like yours and books written in the 1980s and 1990s I wish I’d read so much earlier. I will continue to share these facts and ideas with everyone around me.
Words matter. Kisses mattered. Her life and her death made a difference, and I am forever changed.
The next lesson I need to learn is forgiveness, for me as the person who happened to select toxic food, as well as for IAMS. But forgiveness does not always include forgetfulness. Forgiveness and justice make excellent partners.
Pay me, IAMS. Pay me and the others who wait. Stop adding to our pain with your silence and feeding our anger with your delays. You may not have known what was in your food, but your behavior today is willful, deliberate, intentional, well-informed… Stand up and do the right thing.
————-
Itchmo, whether you find the information above or below useful for publication or not, thanks for the opportunity to send it to you and air my grief a bit. The email I sent to IAMS April 27 follows below. I heard nothing until the claim rep contacted me in mid-May.
I would word it differently now of course…
MY EMAIL TO IAMS, sent Friday, April 27:
——————-
I applaud you for being the first one to step forward with a recall (as announced in recent hearings). I applaud you for the professionalism of your call center. HOWEVER…
After nearly five weeks of waiting for a “specialist” to contact me “in a few days” and fulfill the promise (verbalized by your call center March 24) of assistance with growing vet bills… I am disappointed. Either I have fallen through the cracks despite having the call center rep recite my phone number back to me, or as I have been told in two subsequent calls, it is taking longer than expected to reach pet owners.
Why, why does it take more than a month to contact me… this is not about the $; we will pay what it takes to keep her comfortable with or without assistance. She IS FAMILY.
But the cheerful nature of your Web site and its attempts to build your brand during this delay only increase my pain. Because as you’ve probably heard from hundreds or thousands already, we’re not just waiting. I’m taking my cat to and from the vet — at first, multiple times a day. I’m hearing the vet tell me about odd crystals in her urine, then matching them to the recall. I’m giving her a sub-cut IV at home, 3x a week. I’m watching her BUN and creatinine decline at first, then stop at toxicities still far too high. I’m hearing the vet say things like “potentially permanent damage.” My husband and I are cleaning vomit off the floor, the sofa, the chairs. I’m spending hours each day researching ARF and CRF, creatinine and BUN, vet sites and blogs. I’m not just waiting.
I’m disappointed. I’m also surprised. Because the expense of hiring additional specialists to follow-up in a timely manner could build more goodwill and repair your brand in a way no Web site, newspaper ad or commercials ever can. Regardless of how long my cat lives, she can never eat IAMS food again. She is on a special diet. But I am still a customer.
SHE is your customer. I trust that you know this, and will get to her eventually.
June 20th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
PetSlave - I heard the same thing about NV’s plant. I also heard that not to be true. Their dry is made by M.I. Industries. The raw is made in house in Lincoln, Nebraska - an hour from me. Perhaps I should take a roadtrip. My husband is in the meat biz and knows the person that developed this food. It was developed by the Univ of Nebraska Ag Dept. If memory serves me correctly (LOL), the store owner where I buy it went to their plant and said it was ok.
June 20th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Barb GSD MOM - sorry, try champion pet foods.com. As you can tell, I am a techno geezer. Cut and paste hasn’t sunk in yet. Trudy - your’e doing a great job at it. CONGRATS
June 20th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
I DO NOT work for Nature’s Variety. One of their dry products is Raw Instinct, yes it is dry. The dogs do not like. The cats love it. It is high in protein and grain free.
June 20th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
to kisses’ family…if considering suing…think about fraud or product liability…and be sure to go after everybody in your complaint…menu foods, iams, pg, the trucking companies, suppliers…everyone anyway connected to iams…you can drop defendents, but you can’t add them after the papers are filed with the court.
June 20th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Trudy:
I did it the easy way…..I copied down the email address (FSIS.RegulationsComments@USDA.gov) & went to my own email program & sent it from there. I don’t like OE, which is what comes up when I click on email addresses so I just go over to my own & paste in the address…..you have to learn how to copy & paste…..it comes in handy & saves lots of typing. I think it was you who said you didn’t know how to copy & paste….if not, nevermind…….
I know little about Natures Variety but I was in a holistic pet store on Sat & chatted with the owner. I’m using Canadae & my dog is doing just fine on it but I do like to switch every few months (but nothing like what I’ve had to do since 3/16!!!!!) so was asking about other premium foods. She gave me some samples of their dry & showed me their freeze dried raw I think it is. I asked her who made this stuff thinking it might be one of the biggies under a new name…..she said NV. It is on the pet food list so it’s been around for a while. The plant that makes the dry only makes it for two companies so it’s a small operation…..that’s usually a good sign. You can go to their website or to the pet food list for more info. I’ll have to do research before I decide whether or not to try it.
June 20th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Elliott - do you get your NV at the pet store in Rockbrook? Before Stefi started showing symptoms of CRF I went there and bought some of their raw frozen and the people working there said they fed the NV raw, so that’s a pretty good indicator of quality, IMO. Of course now my girl’s on a protein restricted diet and my boy won’t eat the raw - if you want what’s left of my bag (most of it since we only got to try it twice) you’re welcome to it since we’re both in Omaha. :) No, I do not feel that the NV in any way contributed to her illness in case anyone’s wondering… I think it was a combination of Natural Balance and possibly a genetic predisposition the more I’m learning about the disease and what may have been symptoms prior to the food recall.
June 20th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Thanks Elliott for the info–will check it out throughly. So far, Orijen is on the top of my “check it out list”. Chris–follow me down the road to finding the “safe” healthy dog food. I have GSD’s, so need the fat content to be 5th or more in ingredients. In the meantime…good ole Canidae is still in the household. :o)
Any input on Innova Evo dry? Not really sure about what people are saying on the pet food list. Hmmmm—-
June 20th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Barb,GSD MOM and Chris
here’s an interesting addy for you to check out-all kinds of info on it:
http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html#co-ops
I don’t have dogs, but I do have cats and they have been doing very well on Eagle Pack Holistic since I switched them to it a few years ago- and so far no problems
ww.eaglepack.com
June 20th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Petslave:
Thanks for info on Steves. I sure hate to put out that kind of money & have her not be able to eat it. It’s not that she’s fussy, it’s that she hurls a lot of what she eats (when I try something new……I do introduce it slowly but as I increase, she starts hurling). I have tried a lot of premium stuff but it didn’t work with her.
I may try a small bag of either Innova or Karma or maybe Natures Variety…..need to find at least one or two others so I can switch around. I like that NV has a bunch of different flavors.
Barb:
Have you tried any of Natura’s products or Canidae? My dog couldn’t tolerate CA Natural….with so few ingredients, I thought it’d be perfect but she threw it up as I started to increase it. Other people swear by Innova, Karma & the rest of the line. I like Canidae chicken…..haven’t tried the lamb one yet. There are so many foods out there, it makes your head swirl but just do your research & go from there. The pet food list & pet food tracker are two wonderful sites to help you out.
June 20th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Innova & Evo are two different brands (both by Natura Products). The only thing I can tell you is that Evo is very high in protein (around 42% where most pet foods are half that) & I don’t know enough about animal nutrition to know if that’s good or bad. I think the higher protein is probably good for cats but I’m not sure about dogs. A lot of people are using one or the other & I haven’t heard any bad reports that I remember.
Orijen (or whatever the name is) is not easy to get…..I went to their website a long time ago & nobody around me carries it. Don’t know too much about it.
All I know is that for my dog I am keeping away from any manufacturing plant that has had recalls PERIOD. So I need to know where the food is made before I’ll even think of feeding it to my little girl. I don’t used canned so my only concern is the dry food.
June 20th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Stella–thanks for the info-will check it out asap.
Puk–great info. We feed Canidae–been for years, it’s time for a change. My dogs hate the stuff…I have to add half home cooked to get them to eat it. lol
Thanks everyone–on a mission…
Ok–my time is up—I’m outta this office–have a great night everyone.
thanks for your help! Will get to the bottom line on Innova..not feeling to good about it–bad vibes.
June 20th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
The Happenings at Duane-o’s Domain:
Still no Press Release found anywhere re: Texas expert and ExperTox findings of acetaminophen, but news has been added:
http://www.petfoodinstitute.org/
“The National Pet Food Commission has held two in-person meetings, one in May and one in June.”
Gosh, still no word from the Texas expert about being able to use quotes in press release?
The link for “more” goes to the PetFoodReport.com:
http://www.petfoodreport.com/
The interactive pet food labels have disappeared–”Nancy’s Nuggets” (Which Nancy may very well be in as a by-product…. ;-)) are off the site. All of the links for ingredients, labels, regulations and proper nutrition which WERE functional a couple of days ago, have reverted back to this:
Not Found
The requested URL was not found on this server.
Apache Server at petfoodreport.com
The site is worthless from a PF buyers’ standpoint–no information available. It sure represents PFI members in a positive light to customers. It sure keeps those checks coming to Smith-Bucklin so Duane-o can wear his PFI hat and channel Elvis, though. ;-)
June 20th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Evo Dry (natura) is grain free but very high in protein and phosphorus so anyone with a cat who is in renal failure should avoid this food. I had hoped to use it with my five, but since CJ has had ARF, we can’t do it. They are on California Natural Chicken and Rice which is still a bit higher in phosphorus than I’d like, but the other options are the yukky prescription diets. It’s tough to find the right food!
June 20th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Barb, Pukenuba & Elliott,
Thanks for the info. Propac is out….on to the next one.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
I also will avoid any company who has had any recalls. Even if it’s only canned and the dry is made at another place.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Chris:
I agree 150%. This is the reason I had to keep switching food. Nothing I fed Hannah was recalled but other stuff was & that was enough for me to switch to another company. So she has had more than her fair share of foods since March.
menusux:
You are just too funny. I’m still laughing about Nancy’s Nuggets…..knowing what we know now, chances are it is made up of Nancy, whoever she is, bless her pea-pickin heart!
June 20th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Pukanuba, thanks , I haven’t been on too much tonight. Headache. do I dare take a pill? Not really.
magesticats.worldpress.com
June 20th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I’m trying to make a blog page, but not having much luck. guess i’ll go take a shower and start again tomorrow.
magesticats
June 20th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
I sent an email to the petfood report that is on their top page and was sent back. I must say it was a good one.
June 20th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
http://www.carefreepet.com/pro.....p;cat1=dog
Ok…here is a new one! Never heard of it before. Makes one wonder:
Is it NEW?
Has it been around awhile?
Is it an off brand of another?
June 20th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Chris:
It’s got that dreaded menadione (Vit K) in it so I looked no further. I never heard of it but it is on the pet food list so it was around shortly after the recall. It’s the new ones that I’d suspect might be from the big guys. The pet food list & pet food tracker are the places to go to do your research…..also watch out for that menadione sodium bisulfate or whatever the whole name is.
June 20th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
elliot–please do check out the NV raw food plant, that would be great to know. One person on one of the forums several months ago said they lived near it & it was really dirty. Our specialty pet food store here also carries it & really thinks its good, but my concern was the meat wasn’t human grade.
Maybe I have this wrong if anyone can clarify. All NV says on their website is that their meats come from a USDA inspected plant, but my thought was, so what, the scraps that aren’t good enough for human food also come out of that same plant, right? Or do I have that wrong?
When I was feeding raw to the dogs, I used Farmore dog food–they do say all human grade for everything, even wash the veggies, plus no 3 dozen extra fancy ingredients like in NV raw. Plus I liked the buffalo option–no records of BSE in them. I think they do use beef heart in that formula, but it seems less a risk with most of the meat from buffalo.
Barb–there’s a thread or two on the forums about Orijen if you’re interested–lots of comments & opinions about the food, occasionally quite strong.
I really liked the Innova Evo dry foods when I was using them for both the cats & dogs. I started using the cat formula first for my diabetic cat as a substitute for the vet diet–it had just come out when he was diagnosed & my vet did NOT approve of the substitution. I was able to taper off his pills by switching him & he shows no sign of it now.
I’m just feeding canned Felidae now that my smallest cat was diagnosed with CRF last month, but I’m going to get my ex-diabetic cat back on EVO this week as I think he does better with high protein. It’s probably OK for younger cats, but maybe a toss up with older ones–some may be needing the higher protein (diabetes prone), some less (kidney issues).
I’m not as familiar with old dog health issues & high protein diets, but my little dog does much better without grains (asthma). EVO does put on the weight for both cats & dogs if you feed the same amounts you did with the grain formulas, so be prepared to cut back some on that.
June 20th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Pukanuba,
Thanks for that info! This is really difficult trying to find a good kibble. I’m at a loss here. Do you have any suggestions? At this point I think I’m going to buy a BIG ROAST and cook the heck out of it to make it into kibbles!
June 20th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
“At this point I think I’m going to buy a BIG ROAST and cook the heck out of it to make it into kibbles!”
Or
you could cut it in big chunks and feed appropriate amount raw . It’s a lot easier for you and I bet your dog would LUV it more than dried.
Just a thought from a lazy pet parent. Who feeds raw.
Lorna
June 20th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Lorna,
I have thought about that but I’m not quite there on the raw yet. The E-Coli thing bothers me a bit.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
chris you might try looking at the dog food project’s website–lots of good info on what to look for in quality dog foods:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main
Check out the forums for food recommendations, but dry foods most people have been doing OK with are Natura’s line (Innova, Evo, California Natural & Karma, which is organic), Canidae, Orijin, Kumpi for some people. Nature’s Variety dry foods are made in their own plant & also seem to be safe so far, but I haven’t seen many people here feeding their line.
Regarding that roast–I’ve been home feeding my dogs for 2 months now & they look great & have lots of energy. I do cook the meats lightly–although I was feeding a raw commercial before, I feel better handling cooked meat on a daily basis. It’s quite a bit more work for me & more expensive than dry, but they’re doing so well on it, I’m not in a big hurry to go back to dry.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
the forums I mentioned are the Itchmo forums at top of page (not the dog food project)
June 20th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Amy - Hello. That is nice of you to offer the food. You know how to e-mail me, right? Hope your kitty is doing well. I do get the food at Rockbrook. There is one other store in town that carries it. I have gotten to know the owner in Rockbrook quite well. He has done alot of research in food to carry in his store and does have a limited selection. PETSLAVE would like me to check out the plant in Lincoln that makes the NV raw. Maybe Amy and I could do a roadtrip (LOL). I miss the “drinking” days here. That would be the only positive I can see to an FDA press release.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:12 am
A pet food retailer PROUDLY told my wife that INNOVA uses Menu Foods facilities.
After checking out your current new brands websites that tell you that they are the best, scruntize the websites to see if they list ingredients, origin of ingredients, formulators, and inspection standards.
We emailed to most of the newer used, non-commercially advertised brands to ask those same questions. None replied except for Canidae saying it was proprietary information.
So what are these pet food companies hiding?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:25 am
O, Chuck. Are you the same Chuck “the Life’s Abundance distributor” that has been here before?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:30 am
Speaking of Life’s Abundance - their dry product does not seem bad. Their canned is made by Menu. They have an “Amway” approach to selling their product which IMO is a turnoff.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:34 am
No offense to Amway.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:38 am
Chuck - why don’t you take out a PAID advertising?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:51 am
Elliot, you miss the melamargaritas here at Itchmo on Fridays nites? :-D
I miss that gang! :-P
Where are Helen and Martin?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:59 am
YaYa - maybe the lite weights are still recovering from their hangovers!
June 21st, 2007 at 1:06 am
Looks like it’s me and you this Friday. That’s OK - just more for us. Betcha Amy will join in.
June 21st, 2007 at 1:55 am
LOL Elliot, it’s a Deal :-D
June 21st, 2007 at 2:13 am
You now, these “Professionals”, the ones in PFI, FDA, Menu’s Henderson, the Board Room Gangs etc, those types; don’t Realize that We don’t Want throw away Pets. Or pets that do not live Not their True life expectances. That’s Not what a Pet is about, they are part of a Relationship of Years- Long Years.
But I think the’ve got the Mentality of folks more like the scum in the Dog Fighting “businesses”; tear em Up, put em down, buy a new one.
That’s hat I think their thought processes are for “Pets”.
The Suits will make Changes, for the Future. And probably change Laws too.
I think the Pet Food Makers and their crowd should change their “philosphy”. That’s If they want to be around in the Pet Food Biz in the Future.
They’re on a Sinking Ship.
They ought ta Save Lives or Kiss it Goodbye.
June 21st, 2007 at 4:10 am
[…] Responses On Pet Food Recall Reimbursements:(Continued from Wednesday) Read more reimbursement reports. I had to have my cat tested twice because of recalled food. First because he was eating the Nutro […]
June 21st, 2007 at 5:12 am
Thanks Pukanuba, that looks like a good place to start :-)
Trudy, you might want to try blogger.com if you’re not having any luck with wordpress. I don’t know either of them very well but I know they’re 2 of the biggest blog providers. I think blogger is owned by google too, so I would think it will be pretty easy to use.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:20 am
YaYa:
I noticed Helen & Martin haven’t been around in a while. A couple of people posted that they were highly offended by the joking & all the talk about tequila……I was one of them who used to kid about drinking as each new recall was announced! Matter of fact, there were times I started it. I see nothing wrong with a little humor so I was offended (I’m a real clown & find it difficult not to use a bit of humor) & stopped coming here for a while. I bet Helen & Martin felt the same way & went somewhere else.
I understand how serious this is…..I have a dog that I love with all my heart & I was one step ahead of the recalls so I was as scared as anyone else. I even paid out money I didn’t have to get her tested. I never used anything recalled but it seemed like I kept picking the next company to recall, although not the same product. So I had to switch many times. And I still enjoyed the kidding around because there was little else to smile about. Ally (who hasn’t been around for a while now either), Kim & Helen used to kid around about passing around the tequila. Then Martin joined in……I know Kim hasn’t been feeling well, which is why she hasn’t been posting, but I don’t know where the rest of them went. Kim, hope you’re feeling better soon & come back to post.
Maybe I’m wrong but that’s my assumption.
What is Chuck trying to sell??????
June 21st, 2007 at 10:23 am
YaYa:
Forgot to mention that I recently “adopted” this new name. Somebody coined it a few weeks ago (I think during one of those Friday night fun-fests) & I kept chuckling about it so decided to use it. I was posting under JanC while all the joking was going on.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:46 am
I think the stress of this worry for pets during the first days of the recall was sooooo terrific, that we needed to inject some humor to stay sane! It may have seemed silly to some, but we need to not be so thin skinned about this.
June 21st, 2007 at 11:35 am
Pukanuba, Sometimes humor can ease the stress and sadness of life. It’s natural for many folks to used it to cope.
When it’s so much worry all the times and the ugliness of dealing with cruel hard organizations and people, you might hit a point, were the release is laughter and smiles. Or more anger. More tears. More bad feelings.
None is wrong.
I’ve found laughter and laughter shared moves many from sadness.
There are plenty of photos and threads here to get Really down about. Cat’s with arrows in their necks.
Dolphins shot. Tortured animals. I don’t like to read them.
There are cutezy stories, hilarious stories here too.
Then there is the Recalls that go on and on. And that mixes it ALL up. Because it’s so Outragous.
Every time someone mentions “Duane-o” in saying something serious I crack-up cause then I Imagine Duane-o READING IT! :-D
I don’t know, even Itchmo adopted “melachicken” :-)
What “right or wrong”?
I don’t know if I can say, or if there Is a right or wrong in all of this.
Some can become or are very depressed over this. Hopefully if they see a Mix of feelings here they might feel good about things faster.
I Can say, we NEED OUR NUMBERS in This!
This is a mix here, and I guess we should be Tolerate of each of us. That would probably work.
Itchmo has it’s standards pretty well printed. So there’s the guidelines.
I just know, I can’t be sad or serious or angry All the time in this.
Kim I hope you feel better and come back Soon!
And the rest of you whom feel possibly alienated, Please come back, Post and Help in All of this Please.
We want to know how you are Doing too.{but don’t come back if you are on Vacation, wait till you’re Finished with it! :-D}
We Miss you!
Just my opinion and I’m stickin’ to it.
June 21st, 2007 at 11:57 am
Jan! LMBO! I knew the “flavor” but could not place the Name! ahahaha
Elaine you’re right there. I can’t be Down All the time or I Will become Depressed. I’ve been bad-mouthed personally but they can bite me {bow-wow}. It takes a ‘City’ to do this action we’re involved in. Or maybe that a way of them volunteering to do it ALL themselves? :-P
Certainly would make shy/shy-er folks stay away. Laughter makes folks feel more comortable in many way IMHO.
Fact is, the numbers posting and joining In have dwendled since that time frame. Sad really sad. Reminds me of tactics a Pet Food troll would use to split/ push away and apart, folks too :-P
The had strange handles too {wink}.
I know New folks might come in at any time. Some of Us can be pretty Angry here. That might scare sme too.
{and some of the technical stuff if I had walked in the middle of would throw me here too :-) }
Laugh, spit or cry.
We’re here.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:02 pm
YaYa:
You seem to speak your mind…..be sure you go over to the FSIS website & send an email regarding the FDA’s decision to release melameats into the food supply. I think they need to hear EXACTLY how the public feels about the FDA & their lousy decisions. I’m sure you saw my email yesterday……I’m still angry & you can certainly tell by what I said. The FDA & Duane-o are a sad lot.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Ya Ya says “I Can say, we NEED OUR NUMBERS in This!
This is a mix here, and I guess we should be Tolerate of each of us. That would probably work.
Itchmo has it’s standards pretty well printed. So there’s the guidelines.
I just know, I can’t be sad or serious or angry All the time in this.
Kim I hope you feel better and come back Soon!
And the rest of you whom feel possibly alienated, Please come back, Post and Help in All of this Please.”
When I first came to these websites, and when I first posted, I did feel that I was ignored. At first the talk was focused on what to feed pets now? I felt frustrated at the time because my thought was, and still is, we need to DO something about this!
Confusion, Alarm, Sadness, then gradually Anger, and positive moving forward. We have educated ourselves and are determined to change the situation.
Like you, Ya Ya, I sense, and celebrate the mix of people that are working together on this. Right away I could see that we are from both ends of the political spectrum, but the more we dig into this problem with FDA and it’s cozy relationship with big business, the more we are together on this.
We have a good mix of well educated people from all walks of life, and that has been a great help in researching this mess. I am still hoping some of the lawyers will file a freedom of information request for documents, and interagency memos from FDA. Can you just imagine the panicked emails flying back and forth between FDA and PFI and others because of the info folks on this site and petconnection dug up?
We need that uncovered since the FDA quit doing the press conferences.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Elaine:
Some of the stuff that menusux has uncovered is unreal…..other folks have also uncovered more info that is unreal. I can picture many of the dishonest suits out there reading some of the stuff here & breaking out in a sweat…..talk about emails flying back & forth.
I haven’t been that good at researching but I sure have spent hours researching food so I have a pretty good grip on what’s good & what’s not. I also know a ton about ingredients that I knew absolutely nothing about before. This terrible situation pushed all of us out of complacency & forced us to start learning EXACTLY what was in our pet’s food. I don’t like what I found out.
I had never read a blog or posted anything in all my years on a computer but I sure learned fast enough when all this crap started. I’ve met some wonderful people & won’t ever stop coming here.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Pukanuba, something is wrong with the server at my ISP gobigwest. I need to call them and see why I’m not getting personal Email In. I seem to get organizational stuff like digg.com etc, but no ‘personal type’. I would think the filters or what ever would spit back or dump the other!
Actually I have a luv hate thing with puters and such anyway. :-P
I think you posted the link in a thread tho. so I’ll check it out.
June 21st, 2007 at 1:12 pm
YaYa:
You should call your ISP……maybe the filter is screwing up & blocking your personal emails.
If you can’t find the link for FSIS (I think it’s on here earlier in the day), I’ll repost.
You may have a point because once those people lashed out at us & our humor, I can’t remember seeing them much after that. However, they forced some of the good people out. Maybe the fun guys will read this & rejoin us on Fri.
I found Itchmo & PC shortly after the recall but don’t have a clue how I ever managed to find them. I started out posting as Jan until someone else started using that name so I added the C & then about a week ago changed again. So I’ve been around since the very beginning. However, I was reading because I knew nothing about posting & then one day decided to try it…..& I’ve been on here ever since……except for a brief period after those people lashed out about the humor. I was hurt & angry so I stayed away for a while. Perhaps that’s why the others left.