First, a funny story.  Howard and I rode from the airport to Talliquah, OK. After he checked in we asked for a restaurant recommendation from the desk. For the next few lines I am writing how the words sounded to me, not how they are truly spelled. The clerk replied, “many folks like Salmonellas.” “What,” we asked? “Salmonellas, down town a ways down …street.” “Say that again, please, is it really called that?” Well, it turned out to be a great restaurant named after the owners, Sam and Ella. It was well decorated with chickens, and eggs, and eggs, and chickens. Across the street (now closed) they opened a second restaurant – Ernie Coli!!

In a June 1, 2012 newspaper column, a writer reports their dog was hospitalized with diarrhea from a dry dog food recalled because of salmonella. (the dog lived) She said their veterinarian said a lot of people had salmonella as well.  The article went on to describe that meat handling and pet food handling safety is the key to not getting infected as a person. Most dogs have so much acid in their stomach that they do not become ill unless the amount of salmonella is very high.

This underlines that the best food is raised by yourself or your local farmer who eats it herself and feeds it to their dogs and cats.

Most companies are pulling the foods when there is even a hint of a problem, often when no illnesses have been reports and are much more careful about ingredient sourcing. Still, making it yourself or really researching the company increases the chance for safety. Look for the smaller, family owned companies over the Colgate palmolive dog food companies.