Bo Obama is a black-and-white 6-month-old Portuguese water dog got his name from the First Daughters according to the Washington Post,

The girls named it Bo — and let it be noted that you learned that here first. Malia and Sasha chose the name, because their cousins have a cat named Bo and because first lady Michelle Obama’s father was nicknamed Diddley, a source said. (Get it? Bo . . . Diddley?)

Controversy swirled wildly whether or not the First Puppy would come from a breeder or a shelter.  Dog lovers were drawing their lines in the sand and lobbying why a shelter dog would be more appropriate than a dog from a breeder. Guess who won? Neither, Bo Obama was a gift from one of the best lobbyist ever lived, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. Senator Ted Kennedy, who is a Portuguese Water Dog lover himself with two of them, gave Bo to the Obama daughters as a gift. Both sides of the shelter and breeder debate will also be pleased to know that Bo is considered a “second-chance” puppy since his previous owner returned him to the breeder.

President Obama said at election acceptance speech in November 2008, the First Daughters had earned their new puppy, and ever since, buzz about the new dog has been dog gone crazy!

Gifts for the First Puppy began rolling in soon after the announcement. T.V. Host, Ellen gave Michelle Obama and the girls a dog house designed like the White House along with a dog sweater with the Presidential seal on back, to name a few. Bo Obama is expected to arrive at his new home, The White House, on Tuesday April 14, 2009!
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Hotel For Dogs is a comedy adventure starring Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Kyla Pratt, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon,  and Don Cheadle. Two orphaned kids cannot keep their dog with them and set out to find him a home, but a home not just for him. Take a sneak peek at the Hotel For Dogs trailer.

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To get your Rock Star on the road to fame at the IFC site, take a snap shot of your little star in their favorite costume and upload it to the site. There has to be a guitar hero or a music maker inside your pet family somewhere. Prizes for the runners up is $500 each and the grand prize winner earns a cool $5000. If you are the highest rated photo each week, you can win a $50 iTunes gift certificate. You can enter one photo each day, so start putting that Rock Star garb together, head on over to the IFC Dress Your Kid/Pet Like A Rock Star site, and let your little pet star shine!

Take a look below at some of the competition .

 

  Go have some fun! Here are just a few of the Pet Rockers at the IFC Dress Your Kid/Pet Like A Rock Star contest.

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The Menu Foods pet food recall settlement is a result of hundreds of pets being sickened or killed in 2007 due to their contaminated pet food sold in stores in the U.S. The Ontario, Canada company is one of the largest pet food manufacturers with some of the most notable brands that we buy for our pets. A brief list of the recalled pet food is here.

As a recap here are some particulars of the Menu Foods Settlement Agreement;

The Settlement Agreement would resolve more than 100 class action lawsuits filed in U.S. and Canadian courts relating to the recall of pet food and would be binding on all members of the Settlement Class, except for those individuals who have validly opted out of the settlement.

As previously disclosed, the Settlement Agreement creates a Settlement Fund of US$24 million that will allow a potential recovery of up to 100% of all economic damages incurred by pet owners, subject to certain limitations. The Settlement Fund, administered by a neutral claims administrator, will be available to persons in the United States and Canada who purchased or obtained, or whose pets used or consumed, recalled pet food.

If you think that you may have a claim against Menu Foods,
there are certain limitations and requirements in order to be fully compensated by the Settlement Fund. Menu Foods is requesting that if you fall under the qualification as a claimant, do not contact them directly, but use the information below to contact the Claims Administrator.

In re Pet Food Products Liability Litigation
Claims Administrator
c/o Heffler, Radetich & Saitta LLP
P.O. Box 890
Philadelphia, PA 19105-0890
1-800-392-7785
www.petfoodsettlement.com

Check back with us as we check up on the motion hearing in the Canadian Courts of November 3, 2008! For more information on the pet food recall path, click on the related articles below. Hopefully, soon, some pet owners can receive compensation for the loss of their pet family members, as well others who can receive a little help on those vet bills whose pet family member was harmed by the poisonous pet food recalled in 2007.
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Mars Petcare US of Frankilin, Tn. who makes this brand of Pedigree Dog Food, stated that a component used to make the dog food which tested positive, was accidentally shipped to a Pedigree facility in Tracy, Ca. Supposedly, only about 100 bags of the Pedigree Complete Nutrition Small Crunchy Bites contained the suspected salmonella contaminant and limited to Southern California Albertson’s stores and Costco Stores statewide. According to the California Department of Public Health, be on the lookout for the following Pedigree bags;

sold in Albertsons in Southern California in 20-pound bags with Lot Code No. 830BFCAT02 and Best By Date of 07/2009 and at Costco stores in Northern California in 52-pound bags with Lot Code Nos. 831BFCAT02 and 830DFCAT02 and Best By Date of 07/2009. The lot code is located on the back of the bag

Check your Pedigree bags for the Best By Date of 07/2009 and the lot numbers.

California State Public Health issued the recall, but some stores may insist that their Pedigree Complete Nutrition Small Crunchy Bites are safe for dog consumption. To protect yourself and your dog, you must stay vigilant and CHECK the BEST by DATE and the lot numbers to be extra careful if you have to purchase this brand for your favorite pet family members because some stores will insist that their Pedigree is free of the Salmonella contamination.

Salmonella can make your pet sick, but it’s affect on humans handlers of the dog food can have a worse outcome. California Department of Health issued the following safety and health information;

This product should be properly discarded in a secure container. Consumers can return the product to the store where purchased for a full refund.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some pets will exhibit decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Animals can be carriers with no visible symptoms and can potentially infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

Pet owners should be extra cautious when handling their pet’s food at all times, especially since the widespread pet-food-recall of April 2007! For more safe pet food handling tips check out the FDA’s pet food handling safety tips. Remember to check back for any pet food recall alerts!
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On May 30, 2008, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey gave the green light to Menu Foods to settle pet food recall lawsuits with a preliminary approval of the settlement agreement. The approval of the agreement in this stage allows the appointment of a claims administrator who is responsible for receiving and processing of the claims filed by pet owners who purchased or obtained recalled pet food, or whose pet consumed or used the tainted Menu Foods Pet Food of the massive April 2007 pet food recall. The Menu Foods Settlement Agreement has a Settlement Fund of US$24 million that may allow recovery of up to 100% of all economic damages incurred by pet owners,subject to certain limitations, and is expected to settle over 100 class action lawsuits filed in U.S. and Canadian courts. Specifically, these claims are “made available to persons in the United States and Canada who purchased or obtained, or whose pets used or consumed, recalled pet food.”

As an update to the Menu Foods Pet Food Recall Settlement Agreement, a Claims Administrator has been appointed and listed as follows,

In re Pet Food Products Liability Litigation
Claims Administrator
c/o Heffler, Radetich & Saitta LLP
P.O. Box 890
Philadelphia, PA 19105-0890
1-800-392-7785
www.petfoodsettlement.com

Menu Foods requests that all claims be made to the Administrator listed above, and Not to Contact them directly regarding claims. At the time of writing, the website www.petfoodsettlement.com is currently under construction, but plans to be up no later than June 16, 2008.

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According to Menu Foods,

The Settlement Agreement will create a Settlement Fund of US$24 million that will
allow a potential recovery of up to 100% of all economic damages related to the pet food
recall that were incurred by pet owners and persons who purchased recalled pet food in
the United States and in Canada, subject to several limitations. The Settlement Fund will
be administered by a neutral third party claims administrator appointed by the court.

A hearing is scheduled for the U.S. on May 30, 2008 in Camden, New Jersey to approve the preliminary settlement agreement. Menu Foods is asking pet owners to read their website for the claims process instead of contacting them directly since the administration of the claims will be conducted by a neutral third party.

Not so fast, there are many different types of limitations and other restrictions on the Menu Foods settlement of claims and you need to know exactly how to proceed with your specific claims to be sure not to lose out again! So stay on top of the process and start assembling your data and evidence. For more information on the recalled pet food claims process, visit Consumer Affairs site, even though it is from the onset of lawsuits for the contaminated pet food, there is important information that may assist in filing a valid claim for damages or death to your pet. There are more links to the recalled pet foods here in our pet links page.

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A recently released study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), of American dogs and cats revealed that some of the same chemical pollutants found in people are also present in in our pet family members. According to the study, pets typically had higher concentrations of the chemical tested than those of humans. Out of the 70 chemicals tested, pets showed evidence of 48 of them, including mercury, heavy metals and fire retardants. Many of the chemicals used in the test are often the same ones monitored in people by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

How can this happen? Just as with small children in the home, domesticated dogs and cats often sniff and eat off of the floors, carpets and grass where contaminants tend to reside in abundance. Our pets usually drink tap water from the faucet which may contain contaminants from the municipal water supplies. There is also pet food that may contain high levels of mercury that we feed our cats and dogs on a daily basis. More importantly, the findings in this Environmental Working Group (EWG) study, may also show people who have pets, that their present environment may be more toxic than they know, if they have pets who get cancer and other diseases, sort of an early warning signal, sad to say.

The study is inconclusive as to the health risks that dogs and cats face from these chemicals, but the same chemicals have been found to cause health problems in people.

* For dogs, blood and urine samples were contaminated with 35 chemicals altogether, including 11 carcinogens, 31 chemicals toxic to the reproductive system, and 24 neurotoxins. The carcinogens are of particular concern, since dogs have much higher rates of many kinds of cancer than do people, including 35 times more skin cancer, 4 times more breast tumors, 8 times more bone cancer, and twice the incidence of leukemia, according to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Center (2008). Between 20 and 25 percent of dogs die of cancer, making it the second leading cause of death in dogs (Purdue University Department of Veterinary Pathobiology 2000).

* Cat samples contained 46 chemicals altogether, including 9 carcinogens, 40 chemicals toxic to the reproductive system, 34 neurotoxins, and 15 chemicals toxic to the endocrine system. Endocrine (hormone) system toxins raise particular concerns for cats, since they include the thyroid toxins and fire retardants called PBDEs. Thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism) is a leading cause of illness in older cats (Gunn-Moore 2005). The growing use of PBDEs in consumer products over the past 30 years has paralleled the rising incidence of feline hyperthyroidism, and a preliminary study suggests that PBDEs are found at higher levels in cats stricken with this disease (Dye 2007). Studies also show a high correlation between eating canned food and developing hyperthyroidism later in life for cats (Edinboro 2004; Kass 1999, Martin 2000). In addition to PBDEs, hyperthyroidism in cats could be linked to the plastics chemical and potent endocrine disruptor BPA that is known to leach from the pop-top cat food can lining into food (Edinboro 2004; Kang 2002).

To read the entire report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), click here.

In the meantime to try and minimize the chemical exposure to cats and dogs, wipe your feet or take off your shoes when coming in from outdoors; check the chew toys for harmful plastics and other contaminants; watch out for recalled pet foods, and materials used for pet beds and accessories. We may not be able to prevent chemical exposure to our dogs, cats and even ourselves, but we can try to limit the exposure as much as we can!  These are just a few suggestions and if you can think of others, leave a comment about it below.
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Now almost a year later, Menu Foods, of Ontario, Canada, one of the largest pet food suppliers have agreed in principle to settlement of claims over their contaminated pet food in the pet food recall disaster of 2007. According to the agreement of the settlement, Menu Foods is awaiting for more conditions to be met before accepting claims from consumers whose pets were affected by their toxic pet food. The estimated settlement amount is around 55 million Canadian Dollars when the terms of the settlement are expected to be finalized and approved after a hearing on May 14, 2008. After, approval of a claims process for consumers, notifications will go out to consumers on how, when and where to file their claims for recalled pet food.

Menu Foods recalled millions of cans and packages of dog and cat food during the FDA investigations of poisonous pet food. Since they are one of the largest pet food supplier, they had a large inventory of dog and cat food to recall. If you bought Menu Foods contaminated pet food products, check back for information on your Menu Foods claims for your pet family members who may have been injured or killed from eating their contaminated dog or cat food and hope that it never happens again!

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At these foreclosure rates, we may know of someone who is going through this weary process and their pet family members are also going through tense times. One of the worst casualties in the foreclosure process is when a homeowner loses their home in foreclosure and have to relocate when the lender gains possession and they abandon their pets. In some of the most inhumane and disgusting cases people are vacating their homes and leaving their pets to starve, either too embarrassed to admit they are in foreclosure, or figuring the animals will be found and taken care of. In these cases, the scenario has turned tragic for dogs, cats, birds, horses and other animals. Pet abandonment is a high occurrence when a family loses their home in foreclosure and may have to move into accommodations that do not accept pets. Many pets are left alone in the empty houses with little or no food for periods of time until someone in the neighborhood discover that they are there or a home inspection can reveal a pet on the brink of starvation and other health afflictions.

There is something we can do to help these pets before and after they have been abandoned. We must become as neighbors and reach out to help a struggling family facing the dreadful foreclosure process. Armed with information, we may be able to help them with placing their pets in a safer place, than left alone in vacant properties.

Here are some pet help tips for the family facing foreclosure and their families and friends.

• Check with family, friends and neighbors to see if they can take care of your pets until pet-friendly accommodations can be found.
• Contact local shelters, veterinarians and local humane society for foster homes or boarding homes for your pets in your area or area you may relocate to.
• Ask real estate agents and rental agencies about neighborhoods and housing that are pet-friendly before moving out of your home.
• Look for housing in the classified ads, internet and other sources for pet-friendly accommodations.
• If you cannot take your pet with you, contact the local animal shelter or animal control agency and tell them that you need food and shelter for your pets until you can settle down and reunite with them.

These are just a few tips to help the pet family members in foreclosure, and hope that they will not be abandoned and left alone to starve and perish in vacant homes. For more tips and information on saving pets in foreclosure check with the Humane Society of The United States.

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