Diamond Pet Food Recall May 9, 2012

My bullmastiff, Petunia, enjoying a home-prepared meal.

 

One of the most enjoyable ways that we have to interact with our pets is in feeding them and watching them enjoy their meals.  That’s also the reason why finding out that what we might be feeding them could be harmful is so upsetting.

Diamond Pet Foods has recalled several brands of dog food that were manufactured in their South Carolina plant due to potential Salmonella contamination.  If you feed any of the following foods, please check your bag and the link below to see if your food is affected by the recall: Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, Country Value, Diamond, Diamond Naturals, Premium Edge, Professional, 4Health, Taste of the Wild, Apex, Kirklnad Signature/Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain, or Canidae.

Diamond Pet Food Recall Website

 

The following excerpt is from the Center For Disease Control’s website about Salmonellosis:

Salmonellosis is an infection with bacteria called Salmonella. Salmonella germs have been known to cause illness for over 100 years. They were discovered by an American scientist named Salmon, for whom they are named.

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. In these patients, the Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

Dogs infected with Salmonella can exhibit similar gastrointestinal symptoms including anorexia.  If you or your pet are experiencing any of these symptoms please call your doctor or veterinarian today.

 

I usually get questions from my clients about home cooking after a pet food recall occurs.  My favorite book for providing clients with non-raw and easy-to-prepare home cooked diets has always been, Home-Prepared Dog & Cat Diets: The Healthful Alternative by Donald R. Strombeck, DVM, PhD.

This book is now available online and the following is one of the many easy recipes that Dr. Strombeck has developed.

Poultry Meat and Boiled Rice Diet

1/3 pound (weight before cooking) poultry meat (152 grams)
2 cups rice, long-grain, cooked (320 grams)
2 tablespoon sardines, canned, tomato sauce (38 grams)
1 tablespoons vegetable (canola) oil (14 grams)
1/4 teaspoon salt substitute-potassium chloride
1/10 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon bone meal powder (3 grams)
1 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

provides 879 kcalories, 43.1 g protein, 37.3 g fat
supports caloric needs of 29 to 30 pound dog
Omission of sardines reduces caloric content by 68 kcalories, protein by 6.2 g and fat by 4.6 g.

 

If you would like to discuss your pet’s diet and how you can change to a healthier and safer option, give me a call today at Marmalade & Mobile Vet to schedule an appointment – I’d love to help you help your pet.  (856) 375-1314

 

peace, love, and plenty of tail wags~

Dr. Forsyth

Cinco de Mayo Celebration May 2, 2012

My Chihuahua, Seaweed, in his favorite Mexico fútbol jacket getting ready to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

 

With Marmalade & Mobile Vet getting under way this week I thought it wouldn’t be complete without a celebration!

This Saturday we will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo!  And what kind of celebration would it be without some kind of sale???  So if you schedule an appointment for this Saturday May 5th, 2012 you will get cinco dólares ($5) applied to your bill!

 

It also wouldn’t be a celebration without food!

So open up a cold bottle of Corona, Modelo, or Dos Equis from D’Agostinis, my favorite local bodega, and get cooking.

***Drink Cerveza (beer) responsibly and don’t share it with your pets***

 

Cinco de Mayo Fish Tacos – para mis perros (for my dogs)

Ingredients

Marinade
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (approximately 1/2 lime)
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™
1 pound tilapia fillets, cut into chunks

Dressing
1 (8 ounce) container plain nonfat yogurt
1 tablespoons fresh lime juice (approximately 1/2 lime)
1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™

Toppings
1 (10 ounce) package whole wheat tortillas
3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small head cabbage, cored and shredded

Directions

To make the marinade, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, honey, garlic,  and seafood seasoning  in a bowl until blended. Place the tilapia in a shallow dish, and pour the marinade over the fish. Cover, and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours.
To make the dressing, combine the yogurt, lime juice, and seafood seasoning.  Cover, and refrigerate until needed.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Remove fish from marinade, drain off any excess and discard marinade. Bake fish in preheated oven (I use a glass pyrex pan) until it easily flakes with a fork, 11 to 15 minutes.
Assemble tacos by placing fish pieces in the center of tortillas with desired amounts of tomatoes, red bell pepper, and cabbage; drizzle with dressing. To serve, roll up tortillas around fillings, cut into 1 inch slices (to prevent choking), and serve to your favorite four-legged friend.

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

and as always …

peace, love, and plenty of tail wags~

Raw Goat’s Milk Ice Cream – for dogs April 17, 2012

Martin eating his Birthday Raw Goat's Milk Ice Cream - yummy!

 

Yesterday was Martin’s 1st birthday.  Martin is a Dogue de Bordeaux who was born in my family room.  Martin’s mother, Bailey, was taken to the Gloucester County Animal Shelter a week before she was due to have her puppies.  The shelter, not knowing Bailey was pregnant, contacted the Dogue de Bordeaux Society of America Rescue and they contacted me.  I had a friend who was interested in adopting a Dogue and she was all too excited to adopt Bailey.  And then we found out that she was pregnant with four puppies!  So I brought Bailey to my home so that she could have a loving and comfortable environment in which to have her puppies.  Maybe it was the stress of the situation, but Bailey rejected her puppies and myself and my husband, Tom, became “parents” to four newborns.

Martin at one week of age

 

I decided to raise my puppies naturally and chose to bottle feed them with what nature intended – raw milk.  I used raw goat’s milk from a company called Answers.  Their goat’s milk is amazing – all it contains is raw goat’s milk, bacterial cultures to help keep the milk safe, honey and organic cinnamon.

 

To commemorate Martin’s Birthday, I made him some raw goat’s milk ice cream using Answer’s milk that he was raised on.

 

 

This recipe makes 2 quarts, or so.

5-1/2 cups Answer’s raw goat milk
6 egg yolks from pastured, naturally raised chickens – important!
1/2 cup of honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 avocado, peeled and sliced

Blend all ingredients until smooth in blender or Vitamix wet container. Chill thoroughly. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

Serve immediately to your favorite furry friends!

 

Please consider joining me today in celebrating Martin’s Birthday by making a donation to your local animal shelter.

 

peace, love, and plenty of tail wags~

Irish Puptato Dog Treats March 18, 2012

 

Muffin, enjoying her Irish Puptato Treat at Street Tails Animal Rescue.

 

I decided to adapt the popular Irish Potato Candy recipe into a dog treat to help celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day at Street Tails Animal Rescue (STAR).  Today was a junior volunteer day at STAR and the kids had a blast chasing down clues that would help lead them to the pot of gold that a leprechaun had hidden late last night.

 

Irish Puptato Dog Treats

The Street Tails Animal Rescue's Junior Volunteers following clues to find the pot of gold.

• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1 cup plain not fat yogurt that was strained overnight
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour

Directions

In a medium bowl, beat the coconut oil and yogurt together until smooth. Add the vanilla and honey; beat until smooth. Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. Roll into balls or potato shapes.  Mix the cinnamon and coconut flour together and roll the balls in the cinnamon flour mixture. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set.

Substitutions: Butter can be used instead of coconut oil, low fat cream cheese can be used instead or yogurt, any type of flour can be used instead of coconut flour.

 

Please consider making a donation to STAR, volunteering to help walk or foster the rescue dogs, or best of all – adopt

 

This is absolutely adorable Spencer! He's a 2 month old terrier mix currently residing at Street Tails Animal Rescue.

Peace, love, and plenty of tail wags~

Valentine’s Day Devil’s Food Pupcakes February 12, 2012

Valentine's Day Devil's Food Pupcakes

 

Love is in the air – Valentine’s Day is only two days away. And I want to pamper my pooches with one of their favorite things … Food!  So today I’m making Valentine’s Day Devil’s Food Pupcakes.  Normally Valentine’s Day revolves around chocolate and Devil’s Food Cake is made with cocoa powder.  But chocolate is toxic to dogs, so I substituted the cocoa powder for dog friendly ingredient – carob powder.

 

 

Ingredients for 18 Pupcakes

 

1/2 cup organic carob powder

1/2 cup hot water

2 1/4 cups organic spelt or whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4  teaspoon aluminum free baking powder

3/4 teaspoons pink Himalayan sea salt

1 cup (2 sticks) organic unsalted butter

1 cup organic honey

3 large organic eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup organic sour cream, room temperature

Organic Yogurt Frosting *

Organic strawberries, for decorating (optional)

 

*For yogurt frosting, I strain one 32 ounce container of organic plain nonfat yogurt through a very fine sieve or cheese cloth overnight. If you don’t have time or forget, you can use room temperature cream cheese.

 

 

 

Petunia enjoying her pupcake

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together carob powder and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

 

Melt butter with honey in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then carob mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.

 

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

 

To finish, decorate the pupcakes with yogurt frosting.

Margaux says "Bonne Saint Valentin"

How to bake a healthy dog birthday cake February 2, 2012

Margaux's Adoption Day Celebration (1 year)

A year ago today I met Margaux.  I was called by the Dogue de Bordeaux Society of America rescue about a dog that was at the Gloucester County Animal Shelter.  They wanted a veterinarian to evaluate her as far a health and temperament.  She was picked up by Animal Control after the police were called because she was trying to escape the winter’s cold by attempting to enter an apartment building.  When I met her she was shy but so sweet – my husband and I fell in love.  She needed a bath, eye surgery, and more importantly a warm loving home.  So today I am celebrating Margaux’s adoption day by baking her a birthday cake.

Ingredients

Ingredients for a natural dog birthday cake

* 3 cups organic spelt flour
* 1 Tbl aluminum free baking powder
* 1/2 cup unsalted organic butter, softened
* 6 organic free-range eggs, beaten
* 1/2 cup organic coconut oil
* 2 jars organic turkey baby food
* 2 cups finely shredded organic carrots
* 2 32 ounce containers organic plain nonfat yogurt (strained overnight through cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer)

Notes about ingredients: I used spelt flour instead of wheat flour because it is a healthier choice, but you could use white flour or whole wheat flour.  I used melted coconut oil instead of canola oil to make this recipe healthier, but feel free to substitute oils if desired.  If you forget, or don’t have time to strain yogurt, you can use cream cheese, but I like getting the probiotic benefit from the yogurt.

Generously grease and flour two 8″ round cake pans; set aside. Combine flour and baking powder; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat softened butter until smooth. Add eggs and coconut oil; mix well. Add baby food and shredded carrots and mix until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into the 2 prepared 8″ cake pans. Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

Healthy Organic Dog Birthday Cake

Place one layer on a serving plate and spread yogurt over top. Place second layer on top, then spread yogurt on top and sides of entire cake.  Use Plato Thinker sticks for candles.

I’m donating $100 in honor of Margaux today, please consider joining me in making a donation to the Dogue de Bordeaux rescue.

 

 

 

Just in case you are wondering the star cookies are from Wet Noses and the round cookies are from Barkwheats.