A Message to the Media

I HAVE to say something to the media, because I am REALLY SICK of hearing about Jon and Kate!

I hope you take this into consideration.

Funny, and Not So Funny

For some reason, mom thought it was REALLY funny how I ate my breakfast yesterday. I had been laying on my side with my feet up against the side of my crate, and realized that I could eat breakfast without moving my feet!
Personally, I don't see what the big deal is.
Here I am napping with Daddy a few days ago. Mom sneaked this picture.
And now for something sad...
We hate to share sad news, but we feel that it's important to remind dog owners, especially Husky owners, how important it is to make sure that your dogs are walked on very secure collars and harnesses that they cannot escape from. Two days ago, one of Harnessed to Hope's adopted dogs died. Gidget was going to the dog park with her dog walker, and she managed to escape from her nylon collar. She ran into the street and was hit by a truck. The dog walker called her mom who came running. An animal ambulance took them to a vet hospital, where staff did CPR and worked on Gidget for 45 minutes, but she did not survive. Gidget's owners have created a memorial site for her. If you could stop by and leave some kind words, it would mean a lot to them. Stay safe everyone.

Slideshow of Harnessed to Hope's Adopted Dogs

My mom got bored while she was home sick with bron-kite-iss, so she made this cool slideshow of some of the dogs that Harnessed to Hope has adopted out over the past few years
It's so great to see all of these dogs so happy in their new homes! Adopters, if your dog isn't included, please send a photo to Harnessed to Hope!
Mom said tomorrow we might make homemade banana-peanut butter biscuits if she is feeling up to it - cross your paws for me pups!

I'm at School!

My mom has not been feeling good this week. Yesterday she went to the doctor again and came home with a bunch of medicine. Turns out she has something called "bron-kite-iss". Maybe that's why she's been coughing so much. So yesterday evening Grandma came and picked me up, and I stayed at their house last night. I had so much fun running in the yard and playing with Amber!

Then this morning, Grandma put my leash on and took me in the car with her. She said she was taking me to school. I wasn't so sure, but then we were getting closer and closer to my school! I got very excited and started talking. Then Grandma took me inside and I got to play with all of my friends! You can watch us here.

My mom also found a new canned food for me. I eat a small breakfast, and I need to have probiotics and digestive enzymes with each meal, so she needs to give me some canned food to mix those in with. Wellness makes some good limited ingredient canned foods like beef, duck and potato, venison...yum!
I hope all of my friends are having a good weekend!

Evanger's Blog Writer Denies License Suspension by FDA

I got this comment on my blog today form someone named "lillypants". Their Blogger profile leads to the Evanger's blog. Lillypants said:

I don't know where this information came from but their license has not been suspended. Evanger's complies with FDA standards and it continues to make quality dog food. If there is any concern, please call the FDA or Evanger's directly to make sure you get truthful information, instead of relying on internet speculation.

Well lillypants - this information came directly from the FDA web site. I had that link in my previous post too, but I guess you missed it somehow. So, the FDA DID announce yesterday that it is suspending Evanger's temporary license, and it also states:

deviated from the prescribed process, equipment, product shipment, and recordkeeping requirements in the production of the company's thermally processed low acid canned food (LACF) products. The deviations in their processes and documentation could result in under-processed pet foods, which can allow the survival and growth of Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), a bacterium that causes botulism in some animals as well as in humans.
In April 2008, Evanger’s was issued an “Order of Need for Emergency Permit” after the agency determined that the company had failed to meet the regulatory requirements to process a product that does not present a health risk. In June, 2008, FDA issued Evanger’s a temporary Emergency Permit. During inspections conducted between March 2009 and April 2009, FDA determined Evanger’s was not operating in compliance with the mandatory requirements and conditions of the Temporary Emergency Permit.
“The FDA is stopping Evanger's ability to ship pet food in interstate commerce,” said Dr. Bernadette Dunham. “Today’s enforcement action sends a strong message to manufacturers of pet food that we will take whatever action necessary to keep unsafe products from reaching consumers.”
In order for Evanger's to resume shipping in interstate commerce, the company must document that corrective actions and processing procedures have been implemented to ensure that the finished product will not present a health hazard.

So, there you go. It came directly from the FDA, so it is NOT "internet speculation". And as far as suggesting that I call Evanger's to get the truth? The fact that you completely ignored the link to the FDA announcement completely ruined your credibility, and hurt Evanger's credibility, and I'm not going to take their word for it that none of this is true and everything is hunky dory. If you think this information is untrue, you need to take it up with the FDA, since they made the announcement. Everything I posted here was true.
I have fed my dog Evanger's for the past three years, but am now looking for an alternative.

I also found several complaints from dog owners about their dogs becoming seriously ill after eating Evangers dog food on Consumer Affairs. It seems many of these people sent food out for testing and contacted the FDA, which may be what launched the FDA's investigation. The sad thing is that all of the dog owners report either a lack of response, or very dismissive responses from Evanger's when they contacted them about their experiences.

There is another post on Pet Connection about Evanger's license being suspended by the FDA. Note the many denials of any license suspension by Evanger's staff in the comments, even though the FDA has the announcement on their web site. Not that smartest way to handle bad publicity, Evangers folks.

Evanger's Dog Food - License Suspended by FDA

IMPORTANT! If you or anyone you know feeds Evanger's dog food, the FDA announced today that it is suspending Evanger's license.
Here is the link, although this story may move down on the page as new ones are added.

FDA Suspends Temporary Emergency Permit of Pet Food Maker

June 12, 2009

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today it was suspending the temporary Emergency Permit issued to Evanger's Dog & Cat Food Co., Inc.

Evanger's, operating in Wheeling, Illinois, deviated from the prescribed process, equipment, product shipment, and recordkeeping requirements in the production of the company's thermally processed low acid canned food (LACF) products. The deviations in their processes and documentation could result in under-processed pet foods, which can allow the survival and growth of Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), a bacterium that causes botulism in some animals as well as in humans.

In April 2008, Evanger’s was issued an “Order of Need for Emergency Permit” after the agency determined that the company had failed to meet the regulatory requirements to process a product that does not present a health risk. In June, 2008, FDA issued Evanger’s a temporary Emergency Permit. During inspections conducted between March 2009 and April 2009, FDA determined Evanger’s was not operating in compliance with the mandatory requirements and conditions of the Temporary Emergency Permit.

“The FDA is stopping Evanger's ability to ship pet food in interstate commerce,” said Dr. Bernadette Dunham. “Today’s enforcement action sends a strong message to manufacturers of pet food that we will take whatever action necessary to keep unsafe products from reaching consumers.”

In order for Evanger's to resume shipping in interstate commerce, the company must document that corrective actions and processing procedures have been implemented to ensure that the finished product will not present a health hazard.

Botulism is a powerful toxin that affects the nervous system and can be fatal. The disease has been documented in dogs and cats. Signs of botulism in animals are progressive muscle paralysis, disturbed vision, difficulty in chewing and swallowing, and progressive weakness to the body. Death is usually due to paralysis of the heart or the muscles used in breathing.

While FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is responsible for regulating all human and animal LACF processing, FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine has authority over animal feed and foods. The two centers are collaborating on this enforcement action.

Please feel free to share this information!

My Busy Weekend

My humans and I had a very busy weekend! On Saturday, my humans got up early, drank a lot of coffee, and dropped my off at my grandma's house so I could play with Amber while they took Adak and Brody to Gettysburg where they would get in a van and go the rest of the way to their foster homes.
Then my humans came to pick me up. My grandparents had a party to go to, so Amber came to our house to sleep over! We were both tired from running around all day, so we pretty much just slept.
Then on Sunday my humans and I went to meet Loki, a 12 month old male Siberian Husky. He's staying at a kennel in Rockville. His previous owner in Baltimore lives in an apartment, and didn't realize that if you live in an apartment with a Husky, you really have to work hard to make sure they get enough exercise. Loki lives with two cats and ferrets. Here are some photos of him:

Here is a video of my dad doing a little eval with Loki. We spent about 30 minutes with him, but it's hard to film all of that.

Oh, that little tiny dog that is wandering around in the background - he peed on my mom's purse! She put it down because Loki kept jumping up on her. She had had a ziploc bag of chicken treats in it, and she though that's why the little dog was sniffing her purse. Then he lifted his leg, and mom yelled "Hey. Hey! HEY!" The little dog just peed, and the lady from the kennel that brought Loki out said "Oh, he's deaf and mostly blind." Mom ran over and grabbed her purse, but by then it had already been peed on. She rinsed it off in the tub and sprayed it with Nature's Miracle, then hung it up to dry.
I thought Loki was really hyper and annoying. For some reason my parents kept laughing about that and saying "Gee, Indy found a hyper young Husky annoying! Who ever thought that would happen?"

I'm at Day Care Today!

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted much lately. My humans have been working too much, but they are trying to cut back on that! First of all, I'm at day care today!
Here I am with my buddy Kanyon taking a break.
Also, my mom made a cool little movie about one of the Harnessed to Hope foster dogs!

I'll try to make my humans let me post more regularly!