Should Pets be more than Property?

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

Many people are aware that the Menu food company, maker of dog and cat food for hundreds of brands, has been producing pet food which has killed animals. Menu Foods claims that about 15 animals have died and many have gotten sick, but a vet did a survey and he estimated that the number may already be over 250 dead pets.

As it stands now, a pet is only considered a piece of property. If someone steals or kills your pet, it is the same thing as stealing a radio or TV from you. If the pet cost $100, you can only sue for $100.

Obviously if someone killed your child, you could sue for millions (though no amount would be enough to erase your pain).

Do you think that family pets should be treated differently under the law than a piece of property?

[wavydaby 1]

Only if I can claim their support on taxes.

Seriously.

If I can claim all the vet trips I have had to take the dog in for in the last week alone on my taxes, sure why not.

[marjon9 6]

In this situation I don't think $100 should be enough to cover it, but I'm not sure you can make pets the same as kids in that way. Maybe there is another way, like $100 compensatory damages, and a million in punitive damages, something like that.

But to me the thing that is strangest of all about this pet food situation is to learn that one company made all the pet food for all the stores from Walmart Reject Emporium all the way up to Pampered Pets Plush Boutique. They made everything from the pet food they sell at 125 cans for a dollar type of pet food all the way up to the $125 a can type of pet food. Isn't that weird? Do you think it's the same stuff? I've always given my pets the "good" stuff. But am I just stupid? Is it all the same?

[synicalchick 0]

That's what got me man. I only feed my girls Iams Multi-cat Dry. They get nothing else. Iams is.. I THOUGHT a brand I could trust.. I thought they had their own f'in lab and made their own damn food. I will continue to feed them the dry iams because when you read the ingredients the ash content is low etc etc. Maybe it's only the one type of food that they have another company make for them.. Maybe menu foods makes for all the different company but has a different recipe for the different company and different ingredients. They think it's coming down to the wheat gluten.

Is a $100 per pet enough? Hell f'in no. Should you get the same $ compensation as a human child.. well, no I don't think so but to pay them off as if they were property is an insult. Our cats are our kids and I would be HOLY HELL PISSED if my babies died because I FED them food from a company I thought I could trust. I mean crap, Kidney failure is not the nice way to go.

I think a few owners probably view their pets as property, however, I think there is a larger majority that view their pets, regardless of species, as part of the family.

This also brings to my mind, the idiots out there that neglect and abuse animals and get of with a stinkin' baby fine a day or two in jail and a slap on the a$$. Pets, like children, are innocent and depend on us to take care of them.

I'm a huge supporter of the ASPCA and I wonder if they had any deaths because of this.

T

In this situation I don't think $100 should be enough to cover it, but I'm not sure you can make pets the same as kids in that way. Maybe there is another way, like $100 compensatory damages, and a million in punitive damages, something like that.

But to me the thing that is strangest of all about this pet food situation is to learn that one company made all the pet food for all the stores from Walmart Reject Emporium all the way up to Pampered Pets Plush Boutique. They made everything from the pet food they sell at 125 cans for a dollar type of pet food all the way up to the $125 a can type of pet food. Isn't that weird? Do you think it's the same stuff? I've always given my pets the "good" stuff. But am I just stupid? Is it all the same?

[Archermom 0]

In this situation I don't think $100 should be enough to cover it, but I'm not sure you can make pets the same as kids in that way. Maybe there is another way, like $100 compensatory damages, and a million in punitive damages, something like that.

But to me the thing that is strangest of all about this pet food situation is to learn that one company made all the pet food for all the stores from Walmart Reject Emporium all the way up to Pampered Pets Plush Boutique. They made everything from the pet food they sell at 125 cans for a dollar type of pet food all the way up to the $125 a can type of pet food. Isn't that weird? Do you think it's the same stuff? I've always given my pets the "good" stuff. But am I just stupid? Is it all the same?

Hi Marjon9;

No, you are not stupid in giving your pets the good stuff.

With Menu foods it's that way: they get the list on ingredients from the companies like IAMS, Eucanuba, and so on, and they only mix the different ingredients for every company together. That's why cheap dogfood will be made for Walmart, Kroeger, etc because they have a simple receipe and more high quality food is made for higher end pet food.

The problem is that if one of the ingredients, like wheat gluten, is not good, but is in the receipe for more then one pet food - all the foods that have that ingredient are affected- no matter if they are low or high end foods.

Hope this helps.

Carola

[enterprise01 0]

I might be mistaken, but I think the state of California created a new legal classification for companion animals a couple of years ago. Pets are in their own category somewhere between human beings and property. Can any Californians confirm this? I remember reading about it in the news but don't remember the specifics.

I think that's a great idea to create a new classification for companion animals. People should be able to sue for intentional harm inflicted on their pets or for wrongful death through gross negligence. Of course, the downside is that veterinarians would need malpractice insurance and the cost of vet care would become outrageous, and in the end, more animals would suffer because people wouldn't be able to afford medical care. And let's not even get into health insurance for pets. I've already checked it out, and it's not affordable if you have more than 1 pet. And they don't cover senior pets (over age 7), which are the ones that need the most medical care. Perhaps vets should be made exempt from any civil suits for wrongful death if such a classification ever became widespread.

[Carlene 12]

I feed my dogs Bil Jac. It is expensive, but my psycho Shih Tzu, Lucy, will eat nothing else. And I do mean NOTHING - not chicken, hamburger, doggy treats, or prime rib. If their kibble were the cause of my dogs' demise and they offered me $100 each in "compensation", I would not be happy. They are purebred dogs, worth a lot more than $100, even if you consider them nothing more than property. I could not buy another Shih Tzu and Mini-Schnauzer for $200. But legally, the categorization is proper. You can buy and sell dogs and cats. That pretty much defines them as property. In my heart, though, they are children with fur.

[Wheetsin 714]

This is hard because by legal definition they are property (Carlene is spot on) but most people with pets consider them family members and have much deeper and stronger emotional ties to their pets than they do, say, their couch. We have no kids. Our dog is our baby. He goes out with us, sleeps in our bed with us, etc. If he died, we would mourn for a very long time. If my couch were destroyed, bummer - go buy another.

[bitteroldhag 0]

While there may be legal problems in treating pets as more than property, I have to admit that all 7 of my animals are my kids. I don't have human kids, but I have had lots of animal kids. I am highly irate that my kids would be threatened by some corporation's quality control failure. Luckily, I feed my kids Purina Dog and Cat Chow, but I was feeding the puppies Iams dry food to try to fatten up Sergeant. I also was giving Ozzie Mighty Dog wet food to hide his pills, but it wasn't the gravy kind. I had better not wake up and find that the non-gravy kind of Mighty Dog is tainted. That will really make me mad. I suspect pesticides and did so right off the bat. I read to today that the scientists are going to check for those. As we know from the human slaughter at Bhopal, India, back in the 70s (?), pesticides are highly dangerous and their use needs to be closely controlled. If it's a pesticide, maybe the scientists can come up with an antidote. But I'm seeing big lawsuits for the pet food company.

[Kat817 19]

I had to have my old cat put down last week because he suddenly was so sick. Now keep in mind he was 16 years old. But I took all of his food to the shelter the day after I buried him....now I just wonder. I fed him a variety of canned foods, some of which would have been on the list. I have no idea whether he died of complications with old age, and an ear infection he had, which I thought the infection had spread. I know he drank like a fiend the last day...then he was totally disoriented, and got lost in the yard. He was staggering and crying---and I felt cruel making him suffer. So I called and had him put down. I brought him home and buried him on the hill behind my house (our property). Then 3 days later, the vets office called and begin asking me questions. I have no idea---he fit the description, but she said the disorientation could have been caused by the ear issues he had combined with age, and general illness. Guess I'll never know. I do know I miss him. His name was Bailey, and he was beautiful, big, long haired black and white, with the most horrible temperment!!! He was not nice and loving until the last few months. He never liked anyone but me, and my 16 yr old niece I babysit for for years, they grew up together!

I always figured I have a bad attitude and they let me stick around, my folks kept me....so I kept him bad attitude and all!!! I still miss him!

Kat

[Carlene 12]

He was not nice and loving until the last few months. He never liked anyone but me, and my 16 yr old niece I babysit for for years, they grew up together!

I always figured I have a bad attitude and they let me stick around, my folks kept me....so I kept him bad attitude and all!!! I still miss him!

Kat

I so understand! Lucy, my dog, (DH calls her "that little ball of hate") dislikes everyone except me. I can do anything to her, but if anyone else even reaches out a hand to pet her, she snaps at them.

She tolerates her groomer pretty well (none of the others we've tried....just the one). I made DH promise that if anything happens to me, he will take Lucy to Susan's. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure she'd be headed for the city pound.

My logic is similar to yours. I kept my kids, and their attitudes pretty much sucked - especially my daughter, from ages 14-17. The "little ball of hate" was nothing compared to that!

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

I had to have my old cat put down last week because he suddenly was so sick. Now keep in mind he was 16 years old. But I took all of his food to the shelter the day after I buried him....now I just wonder. I fed him a variety of canned foods, some of which would have been on the list. I have no idea whether he died of complications with old age, and an ear infection he had, which I thought the infection had spread. I know he drank like a fiend the last day...then he was totally disoriented, and got lost in the yard. He was staggering and crying---and I felt cruel making him suffer. So I called and had him put down. I brought him home and buried him on the hill behind my house (our property). Then 3 days later, the vets office called and begin asking me questions. I have no idea---he fit the description, but she said the disorientation could have been caused by the ear issues he had combined with age, and general illness. Guess I'll never know. I do know I miss him. His name was Bailey, and he was beautiful, big, long haired black and white, with the most horrible temperment!!! He was not nice and loving until the last few months. He never liked anyone but me, and my 16 yr old niece I babysit for for years, they grew up together!

I always figured I have a bad attitude and they let me stick around, my folks kept me....so I kept him bad attitude and all!!! I still miss him!

Kat

Your poor cat may have been one of the many uncounted victims of this "Menu Foods" fiasco.

Few things in life are more hurtful than losing a Pet, especially when it is taken away prematurely. Of course love ones come first. Love humans, I should have said, for our pets are truly also our loved ones.

[synicalchick 0]

OH MY FUCKING GOSH. Well,, here is the reason hundreds of pets where killed...

Rat Poison Cited In Pet food Recall

Wheat From China Contaminated, Lab Says

POSTED: 9:52 am CDT March 23, 2007

E-mail this story | Print this story

A spokeswoman for the New York state Department of Agriculture and Markets said Friday that rodent poison was found in tainted pet food that killed several animals and sparked a nationwide recall.

It is believed that the chemical aminopterin was on wheat imported from China, ABC News reported.

Various online medical sources indicate that aminopterin is also used in trials to treat leukemia.

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By the way.. the only food it affected was the meat in Gravy kind in both pouches and cans.

[synicalchick 0]

I thought I would share this with you..

March 22, 2007

We want to provide an update on the recent recall of "wet" pet foods produced by Menu Foods, Inc.

We are deeply saddened by this situation. We know it has caused a lot of concern and has touched pet lovers throughout North America, including our own employees. We've received a lot of questions, so we want to give you the latest information.

First, we want to assure you that this recall affects only a small portion of our "wet" pet food products manufactured at the Menu Foods plant in Emporia, Kansas. We have a variety of canned wet food products that are currently available on store shelves that are not affected in any way by this recall.

We also want to assure you that our Iams and Eukanuba dry foods are not affected by the recall, and are readily available in stores. These foods are not part of the recall – there are no concerns at all about dry food. P&G manufactures Iams and Eukanuba dry foods at our own plants, not at Menu Foods.

You may wonder why some "wet" food was produced at Menu Foods. In fact, virtually every pet food company commonly uses outside partners for special or small volume items. Nonetheless, the different branded products made by Menu are not "the same". Our Iams and Eukanuba pet foods have unique recipes and important ingredient differences that distinguish them from other pet food brands.

Because of our concern for pets and their well-being, we took immediate action to voluntarily participate in Menu Foods' "wet" food product recall and to work with retailers to get the small portion of our "wet" products affected by the recall off all store shelves in the U.S. and Canada.

Until the root cause of this pet health issue is found, we will not produce any more of these products at the Emporia plant. We'll keep you updated when we have more information.

Pets are an important part of all of our families. P&G Pet Care employees share your concerns and are firmly committed to you and the health of your pet. We are working hard to respond to your questions, and provide the information and help you need.

We value your trust and confidence during this extremely difficult time.

P&G Pet Care

[maudeispam 2]

Our Basset is our son; because we don't have any human children...yet. He believes he is human and he gets treated better than alot of human children. He is so spoiled. I just wish we could get a tax credit for his vet bills, and his "needs".