Scout's Paw Tracks

Monday, April 16, 2007

International Dog Show

2007 Purina Summer Sieger, Gray Summit, MO - June 23 & 24

See IABCA Web Site for details.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Blade Best of Breed #7 at the Grove

Blade had Best of Breed #7 today, congratulations to Blade and Patti.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Dog Food Recalls Current Facts

Current information from the FDA about recalled pet foods.

On April 5, 2007, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided an update on the recall on pet foods from Menu Foods. The Agency reported its latest findings in the ongoing investigation into the recent outbreak of cat and dog illness and death associated with pet food manufactured with contaminated wheat gluten.

HIGHLIGHTS
FDA launched an investigation within 24 hours after being notified by Menu Foods of a recall and investigators arrived at the company’s plant and searched for possible sources of contamination.

The same day, FDA consumer complaint coordinators nationwide began taking calls from consumers and veterinarians who reported illnesses potentially associated with the contaminated pet food. FDA has received over 12,000 reports in the last three weeks—more than twice the number of complaints typically received in a year by the consumer complaint coordinators.

In an effort to trace all of the contaminated product, the Agency conducted numerous inspections of manufacturers and warehouses identified as recipients of the suspect product. FDA has also been working with the affected firms to assist them with their product recall efforts.

FDA’s investigation identified the distributor of the contaminated wheat gluten as ChemNutra, of Las Vegas, Nevada. FDA worked with the firm to trace the suspect product, and identified its Chinese source.

FDA has asked the Chinese government to help us with the investigation which continues to determine how the melamine may have gotten into the wheat gluten.

FDA is currently sampling 100 percent of all Chinese wheat gluten being offered for import;

FDA Field laboratories confirmed the presence of melamine in shipments of wheat gluten received from a source from China. This was done through testing of samples of finished product and raw materials. Melamine is a product used as a fertilizer with other industrial and commercial uses.

FDA laboratories have conducted over 400 sample analyses, and to date have found 21 samples that were positive for melamine

To date, voluntary recalls of pet food products have been conducted by Del Monte Pet Products, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Menu Foods, Nestle Purina PetCare Company, P&G Pet Care, and Sunshine Mills. On April 5, Sunshine Mills, Inc., of Red Bay, Alabama, voluntarily recalled a portion of its branded dog biscuits made at its Red Bay, Alabama biscuit plant during part of March 2007. In addition, Menu Foods, Inc., voluntarily expanded its pet food recall for selected “cuts and gravy” pet food products, manufactured back to November 8, 2006. Both firms issued press releases which are accessible on the FDA website.

OTHER FACTS

This is an ongoing investigation.

FDA is conducting recall audit follow-ups to ensure an effective recall.

FDA continues to work with federal, state, and local partners, veterinarians, and members of the public as part of this investigation.

At this time there is no evidence that any wheat gluten contaminated with melamine has entered the human food supply;

Understanding the role of melamine in each of the dog and cat illnesses will require an extensive analysis of the information, assistance from outside sources, and perhaps further research;

FDA’s priority now is to assure that all contaminated product is identified and removed from store shelves. All the contaminated wheat gluten has been traced, and all the pet food manufacturers who have received contaminated ingredients have been identified and have initiated recalls;

Following the removal of all suspect products from retailers, there remains an ample supply of safe cat and dog food available at stores throughout the U.S.

The FDA has a dedicated pet food recall page on its website which has all of the current information including all press releases issued, frequently asked questions, as well as contact information for FDA consumer complaint coordinators. FDA urges members of the media and public to visit this page at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html. 

Dog Food Recall Update

Menu Foods
Dog Food Recalls
Cat Food Recalls
All Menu Foods Pet Food with ChemNutra Wheat Gluten Voluntarily Recalled (April 5, 2007)
Menu Foods Initiates Market Withdrawal of All Varieties of Recalled Wet Pet Food to Ensure Consumer Protection (March 24, 2007)
All Menu Foods Recall Information
Del Monte Pet Products
Del Monte Pet Products Modifies Voluntary Recall List (April 6, 2007)
Del Monte Pet Products Voluntarily Withdraws Specific Product Codes of Pet Treats and Wet Dog Food Products (March 31, 2007)
Hills Pet Nutrition
Prescription Diet m/d Feline Dry Food (FDA Press Release, March 30, 2007)
Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Select Science Diet Savory Cuts Cat Food (March 17, 2007)
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company
Alpo® Brand Prime Cuts In Gravy Canned Dog Food (March 30, 2007)
Mighty Dog® 5.3 Ounce Pouch Products (March 16, 2007)
Sunshine Mills, Inc.
Sunshine Mills, Inc. Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Certain Branded and Private Label Branded Dog Biscuits (April 5, 2007)

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Blade take best of Breed on Saturday

Blade takes Best of Breed #6 on Saturday in Tennessee.

Friday, April 06, 2007

New Conformation Point Schedule Published

The Americian Kennel Association (AKC) has published the new 2007 point schedule for all Divisions.  We have updated the numbers and linked to the AKC official pdfs - Conformation Points.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Comments In The Top 100 GSP Webs Turned Off

This e-mail notice went out tonight to all Users of the Top 100 GSP Web users.

------------------------------------------

I wanted to send a note to notify all the Top 100 GSP Site members that I have disabled comments.  I have discovered an issue with the tool we use that allows someone to spam comments on Scout’s Paw Tracks Top 100 GSP Webs at our website.  It does not change the way the sites are ranked nor does it change how the voting buttons work or the ability for someone to rank your site.

Originally I saw this as a great tool to allow visitors to your site to give you feedback on how their experiance was at your website or with your kennel.  It is regretable that others saw it as a way to promote their own webistes with content unrelated to GSPs. 

With the high level of success we have had with the website and large volume of traffic it sometimes attracts spammers looking for ways to promote their own websites. 

I am sorry to say we had to take this action but I am concerned that someone could add comments each of us might feel inappropriate.  I know I do not want Scout’s Paw Tracks to be associate with such sites and I am sure you feel the same way.

In our efforts to be a valued source of GSP information I have taken the action to remove all the current comments and turn off the ability to add future comments.  I have spoken with the developers at evoTopsites and have asked them to resolve this issue or remove the comments feature completely.

Overall this is the only change you will notice is the removal of comments.  I want to thank everyone for being a part of this community and understanding the reason for this change in policy.

Regards,
Jim Brown
President and CEO
Scout’s Paw Tracks