Doggone It

Okay, first they poison my peanut butter. Now they try to kill my dog. "They" are beginning to tick me off. No pun intended. I'm not in a jolly enough mood for puns.

Like nearlu every person in the nation, lately, I am developing a phobia about my pantry shelves. I don't know what thing I pull out next might be the very thing that a murderer planted to finish me off. Worst thing, the "murderer" is always a faceless corporation, who has observed the problem (after months of being told and denying), who are recalling it in the interest of safety (but imply they're only being overly cautious), and who will be "looking into it." Once again, we will not hear precisely how the poison was administered; it will be the fault of something vaguely referred to as the "apparent source"; no one person or process will be found to be the cause; and it will quietly go away without any satisfactory statements----except----it has been taken care of and we can confidently proceed with our lives.

As I said, confidence is not a word I would use about edibles. There has been a lot of agitation over the indigestible things landing in our pets' food. It's been thought to be just a fanatic's excessively active concern. But as we see, not so excessive at all, it proves to be a problem addressed too late for some.

There used to be a model for killing off everyone, called nuclear proliferation. But so far no bang, just this whimpering poisoning continually occurring in some new form. It would seem to be every bit as effective, just takes longer.

We were told by vets, and by manufacturers especially, that if we bought the high quality foods, we would be safer and healthier---and poorer. Well the latter part is true, the rest is hardly dependable. This recall hit the pet owner who cared enough to buy the best, as well as the one who figured feeding their companion for more than a pittance was ridiculous. And just as aside, did you notice that most of the foods on the shelf seem to have come from one plant in Canada, no matter what brand name they sold under?

I have had it. All brands of canned dog food are off my shopping list. I quit feeding my friend the dry food ages ago and make his kibble myself. That way I know what's in it. I had continued to provide the occasional treat of wet food, because Declan Dog thinks it's the best thing humans have thought of. Poor guy won't understand, but no more treats from a can---unless I feed him some of the canned stews and soups that are currently eroding my health. At least that way we'll die together.