BUSINESS
Denver voters overturn 31 year-old pitbull ban in favor of ‘breed-restricted permitting process’
Denver residents voted to repeal the “restricted breed ban” on November 3, 2020. They voted, instead, for a new permit process, to be administered by Denver Animal Protection. Denver residents will now need to obtain a Breed-Restricted Permit. “This means that Denver residents may not own or keep any pit bull within the City and […]
Amazon informs customers by email that they’ve been getting fake pet meds
Fake meds disable at least one dog, TCR has learned–and Amazon declines to say how many more….On September 25, Amazon emailed Janay Rittgers of El Paso, Texas with alarming news. The over-the-counter ear solution she had been buying from the e-commerce giant for at least the past six months to help treat her ten-year-old bull terrier Zoe’s now acutely infected ears was counterfeit.
Amazon was selling fake pet meds, manufacturer says
Much more reporting to follow–Pet King Brands, which makes ZYMOX, a popular over-the-counter hydrocortisone ear solution for pets, announced late last week that it had discovered counterfeit “Zymox” products on Amazon. Pet King Brands says it was “able to detect the counterfeit products through its quality and safety enforcement program.”
NBC News Publishes High Traffic Pet Food Puffery
On Friday morning, NBC News posted an article to its website about premium dog food upstarts that soon became one of the most viewed articles about dogs on the Internet that day and through the weekend. The story, which discloses at the outset that NBC receives a fee each time any person clicks on any of the products mentioned in the story, offers no evaluations from veterinarians, except for the first paragraph, in which one vet is quoted saying that dog foods should be “complete and balanced.” There is no direct link from the quote to any of the companies discussed in the story; in fact, the quote itself is from a prior report. Next, a veterinarian is quoted as saying that it’s important for foods to meet AAFCO standards, which is more or less the same statement the companies, themselves, subsequently make.
What is not provided to readers is the fact that there are three possible AAFCO statements a pet food label can make, including a statement that is considered by many veterinarians to be a key indicator and gold standard for pet food, which is that the food has been through AAFCO feeding trials. None of this is explained, including, most important, the fact that none of the foods in NBC’s article have undergone the high standard of AAFCO feeding trials, as TCR has independently confirmed.
Major U.S. Pet Food Seller Expands Recall Due To Excessive Levels of Mold
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine announced today that Alabama-based Sunshine Mills, Inc. — whose products are sold nationwide by big box retailers such as Walmart, Target, Petco; online retailers such as Chewy.com and Amazon — has expanded its September dog food recalls due to excessive levels of alfatoxin (toxic mold). Ingestion of alfatoxin-contaminated foods at excessive quantities by dogs can cause severe liver damage.
“Health and Wellness Co. for Pets” Petco removes electronic collars from inventory, offers up phony “Petco Certified Dog Trainers”
In an attempt to brand itself as “the health and wellness company for pets,” Petco announced on Tuesday that it had removed “shock collars” from its inventory. “Electricity may be critical to powering your microwave,” Petco CEO Ron Coughlin wrote in a press release, “but it has no role for the average pet parent training […]
Rising sales of robotic dogs during COVID-19 pandemic
In an age marked by increased social isolation, especially among the elderly, more vulnerable to COVID-19, sales of robotic pets have surged in the United States.
Nationally sold ‘raw kangaroo’ dog food recalled for possible salmonella
The Real Pet Food Company of Phoenix, Arizona has recalled Billy+Margot Wild Kangaroo and Superfoods Recipe Dog Food because of possible salmonella contamination. The recall announcement was issued on Tuesday and posted to the FDA’s website. Billy+Margot products are sold throughout the country by Petsmart and available online at Amazon, Chewy, and other major retailers. […]
