Diamond Pet Foods Detects Salmonella, Expands Recall

No cases of canine illness have been reported -- yet -- but Diamond Pet Foods expanded a voluntary recall last week to include one production run and four production codes of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Adult Light formula dry dog food. According to a company press release dated April 26, "One bag of the product has tested positive for Salmonella, and the recall of the four production codes is being conducted as a precautionary measure."

Packaging for the recalled food.

The recall includes:

 Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food, 35-lb. bags, production codes CLF0102B31XCW (best-by date: 27/1/13); CLF0102B31XCW (best-by date: 28/1/13); and CLF0102B32XWR (best-by date: 28/1/13).

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food, 6-lb. bags, production code CLF0102B3XALW (best-by date: 28/1/13)

The recalled food was produced by Diamond Pet Foods and then distributed in Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. Retailers in those states might then have distributed the product to other states. 

The press release, which is now being circulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, advises consumers who have purchased Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food with this specific production/lot code and best-before date to discard the product. 

This recall is an expansion of an April 6 voluntary recall involving the following Diamond products: 

 Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice, 6lb, DLR0101D3XALW Best Before 04 Jan 2013  

 Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice, 20lb, DLR0101C31XAG Best Before 03 Jan 2013  

 Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice, 40lb, DLR0101C31XMF Best Before 03 Jan 2013  

 Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice, 40lb, DLR0101C31XAG Best Before 03 Jan 2013

 Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice, 40lb, DLR0101D32XMS Best Before 04 Jan 2013

In its press release, Diamond Pet Foods apologizes "for any potential issues this may have caused pet owners and their dogs."

Dog croquettes by Shutterstock.com

Animals infected with salmonella might have decreased appetite, fever, and abdominal pain. If left untreated, they might become lethargic and develop diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals as well as humans, according to the press release:

"Individuals handling dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. According to the Centers for Disease Control, people who are more likely to be affected by Salmonella include infants, children younger than 5 years old, organ transplant patients, people with HIV/AIDS and people receiving treatment for cancer."

Pet owners with concerns can contact Diamond Pet Foods at 800-442-0402.

See our previous coverage of Diamond Pet Foods' recalls here.

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Let's Talk: Should the Government Order All Dogs to Have Microchips?

A law making microchips mandatory for all dogs is expected to pass handily within the next few days in Britain. If it does, all dogs would be microchipped as puppies in an effort to track owners of dangerous dogs.

Some are applauding the measure, but many are condemning it as ill-planned and ineffective. They doubt that people who breed backyard fighters will be arriving at the vet's with armloads of puppies to microchip.

“If we’re not careful, we’re going to make things more difficult for legitimate dog owners, and not solve the real problem of dangerous dogs,” said Neil Parish, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on animal welfare.

Others have complained that it's just too much government. Some owners who would never dream of not having these rice-size identification pellets injected under their own dog's neck skin are balking at the compulsory nature of the law.

"It feels a bit Orwellian," says Benjamin Chase, whose dogs are both microchipped. "Doing it because you want to is one thing. Being told by the government to do it is quite another."

Of course, microchips are essential tools in helping reunite lost dogs with their owners. If the lawmakers' reason for mandating microchips had been to help people find their lost dogs and keep down the number of strays at shelters, that may have been easier to stomach.

"I might not mind it were for the welfare of the pets," says Chase, "but forcing all owners to comply in order to track down a small percentage of dangerous dogs reminds me of school, when the whole class would be punished because of one kid."

What do you think? Is mandatory microchipping a good idea, regardless of the reason for the law? Is it long overdue, or does it get under your skin -- literally! -- as too much government interference? If it's mandatory, should owners bear the cost, or should government kick in? Is it really that much different from mandatory rabies vaccines? Let's talk!

Sources: The Guardian, The Daily Mail, BBC, original interview

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Does your dog love water from the garden hose? Be careful, there may be dangers lurking there.

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Canine Hero of the Day: Police Dog Thwarts Would-Be Bomber

How a police dog helped SWAT team members descend upon a bomber in Kansas after a three-hour standoff.

If you're going to threaten to blow stuff up, be forewarned: That dog over there, who is trained to thwart any and all such threats, can't understand a word you say.

A police dog bravely ended a three-hour standoff Tuesday night after a man barricaded himself in a Wichita, Kansas gas station claiming that his backpack was full of explosives, which he intended to ignite.

The suspect entered a Shell station at around 10 p.m. Tuesday and confronted employee Sazzad Kahandaker. As seen on a KWCH News video, Kahandaker described this encounter:

"I ask him, 'How can I help you?' He said, 'Lock the door.' He has a backpack and he opens that," indicating that it contained explosives.

A police dog and a SWAT team prepare to enter the convenience store. Photo courtesy KWCH

As reported by KFDI News, the suspect held Kahandaker and some customers captive for half an hour. When the suspect finally let them leave, Kahandaker covertly pressed the secret alarm button, alerting police. 

Officers arrived and made contact with the suspect from outside the station's shop. "He advised that he had some C-4 and was gonna blow everybody up," said Wichita Police Captain Jeff Easter on the KWCH video.

C-4 is a type of plastic explosive used extensively during the Vietnam war and by al-Qaeda terrorists in the 1996 bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen. This stuff can cause serious damage. When the suspect refused to surrender or budge, Wichita police set up a 1,000-foot perimeter around the station, evacuated 15 nearby homes, and stopped traffic in the area. At that point, the suspect cut off all communication.

SWAT team members surrounded the station, accompanied by human and robot members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal bomb squad. But what finally ended the standoff at about 1:30 a.m.?

A SWAT officer escorts the suspect from the station. Photo courtesy KWCH.

Four legs, sleek fur, steely eyes, expert training, a keen mind, and extremely strong jaws.

"We deployed one of our dogs inside of the building," Easter explained. The video shows heavily uniformed cops ushering an alert German shepherd dog into the station. 

Once inside, the dog backed the suspect into a corner, at which point "SWAT was able to go in and apprehend him," Easter said. "He has a few injuries from the dog, but no major injuries."

Nearby roads remained closed throughout the wee hours as the bomb squad investigated the suspect's backpack. No explosives were found in it. The suspect's motives remain a mystery, Easter said.

What isn't a mystery is that age-old fact: Canines can outrun us. They can outbite us. Aren't you glad bad guys know this?

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Dog Vomit Containing Rat Bait Poisons Vet Staff in Three States

Dog barf is already bad news. What could be worse? Bad news about dog barf.

Veterinary hospital staff in three states have fallen sick after inhaling the fumes from dogs that have eaten a common rodent poison, according to the US Centers for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Gopher; photo by Chuck Abbe. Zinc phosphide is an inorganic chemical compound commonly added to pellets meant to kill gophers and moles. On contact with stomach acid and water -- that is, once swallowed -- zinc phosphide produces the highly toxic gas phosphine. After ingesting rodent bait containing zinc phosphide, dogs usually vomit, releasing phosphine into the air, which can poison humans. There is no known antidote.

The CDC reports phosphine poisonings at four veterinary hospitals: two in Michigan, one in Iowa, and one in Washington state. Each of these hospitals had treated a dog that had ingested rodent bait. Eight hospital workers have been poisoned thus far. According to the CDC, all experienced "transient symptoms" related to phosphine inhalation -- including chest tightness, shortness of breath, headache, and nausea.

In one of these cases, "a female Dachshund, weight unknown, was playing outdoors when she vomited behind some bushes and collapsed. Her owners rushed the limp dog to a Washington veterinary hospital. She was unresponsive and had diarrhea, a weak pulse, pinpoint pupils, and a temperature of 107F," reads the CDC's report. "Subsequently, the semicomatose dog vomited onto paper towels. ... A female veterinary technician, aged 34 years, who sniffed the dog's vomitus on the paper towels to determine whether it smelled like food immediately developed abdominal pain and nausea. ... Suspecting [zinc phosphide] toxicity, the veterinarian ... retrieved the vomitus about 20 minutes after it was put in the trash, placed it in a plastic bag, sealed it, froze it, and sent it to the Washington State Department of Health.

Dachshund by Shutterstock.com

The State Department of Labor and Industries' Industrial Hygiene laboratory analyzed the barf and discovered phosphorus and zinc in it.

In one of the Michigan cases, a 70-pound dog was brought into a veterinary hospital after consuming rodent pellets. "Vomiting was induced in the examination room using hydrogen peroxide, and two hospital workers were poisoned." Each of them experienced multiple symptoms. "The state poison control center advised both victims to ventilate the room and move to fresh air. No other medical care was received. Both recovered completely.

"Four other exposed staff members experienced only one symptom each. ... All six workers had been exposed by entering the examination room or a nearby area. Decontamination was conducted by disposing of the vomitus in an outdoor trash container and ventilating the room. All symptoms abated as soon as fresh air was circulated in the examination room and other areas of the veterinary hospital," reads the CDC's report.  

All four dogs involved in these poisoning cases recovered fully, according to the report. All's well that ends well, but the less barf the better.

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Dog on the Roof: A 100-Pound Pup Helps Thatch Rooftops in England

And you thought a fiddler on the roof was unusual... (Image: BBC)

Axel the dog is high on life. Thirty or 40 feet high, in fact.

He spends most days perched on beautiful thatch rooftops as his owner fixes old roofs or installs new thatch roofs in Norfolk, England.

The 5-year-old Newfie-Lab-Rottie mix hasn't missed a day of work since owner Richard Haughton found him as a homeless 6-week-old pup.

"We were sitting eating a packed lunch. Axel was on one side of the scaffolding, we were up over the ridge on the other and he managed to come up the ladder," Haughton told the BBC. "We saw him up on the ridge -- basically he thought he was going to get some food -- and he's been up with us all the time ever since."

These days Haughton often carries the nearly 100-pound dog up the ladder. 

"He sits on the ridge and moves along it as we're working," says Haughton.

Charlie Tedder, who works with Haughton, says he loves having Axel on the team. "He's a lovely guy to have around, such a good dog. He keeps an eye on us -- he's like a site manager."

"He'll let you know when he wants to come down -- he'll come to the top of your ladder and look at you, wag his tail -- so we'll pick him up and bring him down," says Tedder.

Awww! I love Axel! If I had the money, I'd buy a house in Norfolk with a thatch roof badly in need of repairs and I would feast my eyes upon his royal high-ness.

(Check out a sweet BBC video of Axel here. All above images are from the BBC.)

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We Want to Know: What Have You Learned From Your Pet?

We here at Dogster already know the invaluable lessons our pets teach us in their quiet, unassuming ways, but SoulPancake's taken it to the next level, staking out a spot at a park to ask people what their pets have taught them.

Class is in session!

So if you've got a moment and a box of tissues, check out this uplifting little video featuring pets and the people whose lives they've changed.

Obviously these Bulldogs taught their human a sense of style!

Wait, what? No, we're not crying ... we just got something in our eye! It's just our ... allergies! Yeah, that's it! ... sniffle.

Who's training who?

What sort of lessons have your pets taught you?

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