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Q: Are Karl Rove tactics terrorist tactics?
Under Rovian politics you do not argue with the political position of your opponent. Here is what you do (and this has played out in local elections time and time again): – you don’t defeat them – you destroy them, and you make them sorry they ever lived.

You sabotage their headquarters, flood their gatherings with homeless people, disconnect their phones, flood them with phony magazine subscriptions, destroy their credit, harass their children in school, set their cars on fire, put “For Sale” signs in their front lawns, photoshop them into photos with prostitutes, make their wives and children feel embarrassed that they ever knew him, run him out of town on rails, file phony suits against their businesses, break into their offices to take important stuff, and to plant even more important stuff, disconnect their cell phones, set off fire works in front of their houses at 3 o’clock in the morning, report them to the IRS, threaten or buy off their current employer, blackmail current employers into firing the candidate, send him emails with child pornography and then call the law on him, find the ex-wife and pay her lots of money to start making wild charges, steal their pet dog, plant drugs in their car, create phony and highly scandalous MySpace, Facebook, and other websites, bombard his computer with every known virus amd keyboard logger known, have his power disconnected, plant false entries into his credit record, mail bizarre and weird letters purportedly from him and on his letterhead to all sorts of members of the community, put their phone numbers on the walls of bathrooms at truck stops, steal the license plate of his car and put it on another car that is involved in crime.

Since Rove politics are not dead, does that make him a terrorist?

A: No – you need a dictionary.

edit: oh, and an increased lithium prescription.

Q: Why is NAACP equating Dogfighting with hunting?
They have set the black man back 50 years!
Dog fighters are often involved in the sale and possession of drugs, as well as illegal weapons. Dog fighters and spectators have a history of violent and criminal behavior towards people. 
Dog fighting is another entertainment activity for gangs. 
They train them on small dogs and cats to fight. Many times they steal them out of yards when people leave their pets out unattended all day. They end up as Pit Bull bait dogs. Also “free-to-good-home” animals can also end up for bait dogs. They’ll tape the bait dog’s mouth shut and just let the Pit kill them.
JAMES YOU SAID IT!

Where’s the “hunting” in dogfighting?
Brilliant-Thanks.

A: They are trying to vindicate Vick’s actions using the arguement, “Well (mainly white) people hunt and kill animals all the time for sport….But when a BLACK man kills (or, in this case, arranges for the killing of) animals for sport, The Media and “The Man”, throw The Book at him!”

There are SO many things wrong with this position.

Hunting, for starters, is hardly an exclusive white sport. Look at some of the folks icons on this sight. We have black hunters right here on answers! The U.S. , in all of her wonderous diversity, is ONLY 12% black. My statistic is old, and there may be a few percent difference currently, but my point will still show itself so bear with me. If you visited a well intergrated city that was 12% black, 60% white, the remainder being of all other ethnicities, you will see more white people walking down the street than black people. It’s just the math. Similarly, if you go out to the woods to see hunters, you will see mainly hunters who are white. But it gets even more complicated here. Demographically the U. S. isn’t thouroughly and evenly mixed by race in all areas. A large percentage of blacks live in urban areas. Rural areas tend to be of either mostly black or mostly white folks, but there are numerically more rural areas consisting of mainly white communities. If we visited the hunting woods in Louisana or Mississippi, we’d see more black hunters than white ones, for in some places, Black people are more predominate than Whites. I don’t know what percentage of the country hunts. I’d guess that it’s a solid 30%. Of that number, I’d hazzard to guess that it’s about 18% black, 75 %white the remainder being of other races. That means that a larger percentage of blacks hunt than the percentage of blacks in the population!
But the point is, just because if you could stand all the hunters in the country in one place and look at them you’d see mostly white faces, doesn’t mean that black people don’t hunt!

That being said, hunting is not a white man’s sport.
It belongs to us all, equally.

Hunters HUNT wild animals.
REAL HUNTERS know that they call it hunting, because there is no guarantee that on any given day you go hunting, that you will even catch sight of your prey. Wild animals have an excellent chance to elude any and all hunters. Think about it. We have limits and guidelines to ensure the animals we have reproduce and thrive will continue to do so in perpituity.
MOST wild animals never encounter a hunter. Even if they do, they still can and often do, successfully evade the hunter.
Many hunts end up with the score ” Home – 1 , Visitor – 0.”.

Dog fights don’t work that way.
Dogs are domesticated animals,
Bred to trust men.
There IS no HUNT.
There IS no evasion.
There’s ALWAYS a kill.
For the sake of witnessing violence.
And BETTING MONEY on it.
It’s not sport.
There’s no sport in forcing an animal to kill or be killed for gambling purposes.

Furthermore, Don’t assume dog fighting is a black activity,
While it may be gaining in popularity among gang types, it’s appeal has been mostly regional. Like Hunting, if you could see all the folks involved in dog fighting, you’d see MOSTLY whites. I’m pretty sure we started it. The free men of Rome were predominately white, and I believe dogfighting originated in this gladitorial enviornment.

There is no connection whatsoever between the sport of hunting and the crime of dogfighting.

Mr Vick was no arrested for any reason concerning race or hunting. He was arrested because he broke the law in a most inhumane manner, and,
…… when he gets off with less time than he deserves, it’s because he is RICH and FAMOUS, not because of civil rights concerns.

Q: VERY important religious and/or spiritual matters to attend to…?
Don’t hit kids.

No, seriously. They have guns now.

Do you like Ducks?

a) Only the yellow ones.
b) OOH!!! DUCKS! FLUFFFFFY!
c) Depends. Do they have cookies?
d) I had a pet duckie =) But I eated it =(
e) DUCKIE!? WHERE!? DOES IT KNOW HOW TO PLAY FETCH!?
f) I DIDN’T KILL THE OLD GUY!
g) Yes. Except the fundie Christian duckies =(
h) *darty eyes* Is this question some kinda code to throw off authorities for drug sales?
i) Can I get three grams?

A: I used to have two pet ducks. I bought them at the feed store when they were little fluffy baby ducklings. I used to take them to the park and put them down on the ground and they would follow me everywhere. Then my mom gave them away because they were pooping all over the house.
Now I live in an apartment complex that doesn’t allow pets (

Q: Has anyone ever heard of 1800petmeds or other reputable online pet med sites selling counterfit medicine?
Today I tried a new vet since moving back to NYC and they immediately started asking me what type of food am I feeling my dog and if she is on flea and tick preventative, To which i answered royal canin and yes she is on preventative meds. Then she was like do you get it from your vet or online. I said I get it online with a prescription. So she starts telling me that 1800ped meds sells counterfit drugs and they don’t guarantee their products and they(meaning the vet clinic) stand behind all the medicine they sell and if my dog had any reaction they would treat her for free, blah blah blah. I mean i’ve been using heartguard from my online store since she was a puppy and she’s never had a reaction. I was really turned off by them and don’t think I will use them again. I think they are just trying to boost their sales and are not really concerned with their patients or owners. But please let me know if I’m wrong.
Today I tried a new vet since moving back to NYC and they immediately started asking me what type of food am I feeling my dog and if she is on flea and tick preventative, To which i answered royal canin and yes she is on preventative meds. Then she was like do you get it from your vet or online. I said I get it online with a prescription. So she starts telling me that 1800ped meds sells counterfit drugs and they don’t guarantee their products and they(meaning the vet clinic) stand behind all the medicine they sell and if my dog had any reaction they would treat her for free, blah blah blah. I mean i’ve been using heartguard from my online store since she was a puppy and she’s never had a reaction. I was really turned off by them and don’t think I will use them again. I think they are just trying to boost their sales and are not really concerned with their patients or owners. But please let me know if I’m wrong.* I left out in the original post I use Lambert Vet suppy to get my meds

A: Yes, they DO sell counterfeit drugs.

Just ask a few of our clients who have been royally screwed over by 1-800-petmeds. One of the dogs tested heartworm positive while they were taking heartworm prevention (Heartgard) from Pet Meds. Yikes!

Our hospital REFUSES to deal with these *unlicensed* online pharmacies because we care about our patients!

ADD: 1-800-Petmeds gets an estimated 80% of their meds from 3rd world countries who do not have any organizations (like the FDA) to set standards and check on manufacturing procedures…. pretty scary.

Q: FDA Warning Letter to Merrick?
**Another recall. Just letting everyone know.**

Dear Mr. Merrick:

On December 2, 2009, FDA collected a sample of Merrick Beef Filet Squares manufactured by your Plainview, Texas facility and repackaged by your Hereford, Texas facility. Analysis of this dog chew revealed the product to be contaminated with Salmonella meleagridis. Representatives of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted inspections of your pet treat manufacturing facility located at 901 County Rd Y, Plainview, Texas 79073, on December 29-31, 2009, and your pet treat packaging facility located at 1977 E US Highway 60, Hereford, Texas 79045 on December 28-29,2009 and on January 13-14, 2010. These inspections confirmed that you offered pet treats for sale as food that were adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), 21 U.S.C. 342(a)(1) and 402(a)(4) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. 342(a)(4). You can find the Act and its associated regulations on the Internet through links on the FDA web page at www.fda.qov.

Pet treats bearing or containing Salmonella spp., including Salmonella meleagridis, a known animal and human pathogen posing an acute danger to human and or animal health, are considered adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. 342(a)(1). A food, including food for animals, is adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(4) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. 342(a)(4), if it has been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth or may have been rendered injurious to health. Our inspections revealed that the manufacturing processes used by your firm to manufacture pet treats are not controlled and that contamination of these products may occur through inadequate treatment or through recontamination of the treated products due to improper storage or handling after processing.

Specifically, your firm could not provide evidence that your manufacturing processes eliminate pathogens such as Salmonella during processing because your firm does not consistently monitor critical factors in the process such as time and temperature; nor could you provide evidence demonstrating that recontamination was not likely to occur post-processing. Further, your firm could not provide evidence supporting the adequacy of your in-house sampling and testing program, for example, explaining the location and number of samples collected for each lot of finished product.

We recognize that your firm initiated a voluntary recall of Merrick Beef Filet Squares by letter to your customers dated January 11, 2010. The recall was initiated following FDA sampling and your firm’s internal sampling, both of which revealed the presence of Salmonella. However, your recall strategy may be determined to be ineffective to the consumer level for the following reasons:

• Your firm delayed your public communication to alert consumers who may have the recalled product in their possession until after FDA issued an FDA Health Alert on January 14, 2010.

• Your recall communications to distributors, retailers, and consumers only included case lot coding 9323, which was different from the lot coding on some of the individual bags. Due to a labeling error, some of the affected bags were coded with the lot code 9333.

• Your recall letter did not identify the hazard involved. Your letter to wholesale and retail consignees indicated the product was recalled because it “may not have been processed properly.” Recalls can be less effective if the recall communication does not concisely explain the reason for recall and the hazard involved.

FDA acknowledges the written responses we have received following our inspections. Separate letters, both dated January 18, 2010, were received addressing the observations made during the inspections we conducted at your locations in Plainview and Hereford, Texas. Although your letters indicate that your firm has taken steps to address our observations, they did not contain enough detail for us to evaluate. For example, your response letters did not include a copy of your validation protocol. We recommend that your validation study, in addition to establishing a specific profile for each dryer, also account for process and product variation including fat content, initial product temperature, and product size and location. We also recommend validation of your rework process. The corrections your firm has implemented at both sites will be evaluated and verified during our next inspection. We also acknowledge your letter of January 29, 2010, discussing your views on the applicability of the Reportable Food Registry to this situation.

You should respond in writing within 15 working days from your receipt of this letter. Your response should outline the specific steps you are taking to correct these violations. You should include in your response, documentation and useful information t
that would assist us in evaluating your corrections. If you cannot complete all corrections before you respond, you should explain the reason for your delay and state when you will correct any remaining violations.

Your written reply should be directed to the Food and Drug Administration, 4040 North Central Expressway, Suite 300, Dallas, Texas 75204, Attention: Sherrie L. Krolczyk, Compliance Officer.

Sincerely,
/S/
Reynaldo R. Rodriguez, Jr.
Dallas District Director
**Before anyone insults me for posting this, PLEASE read the whole thing.. I’m only posting this because it’s better to be safe than sorry.**
lg – I know. I even feed raw. However, I said I’m posting this just incase.

A: Interesting…my dogs will eat their “puppy Plate” canned food on occasion. Thanks for sharing.

Q: Salmonella – has anyone’s dog ever actually got sick from it?
In light of yet another recall of dog products due to salmonella and always hearing warnings about how ‘dangerous’ raw meat and eggs are I got to wondering.

I know that there was recently a kibble recall after some owners fell ill but I’ve never heard of a dog actually getting ill from salmonella. I’m not talking about finding it in stool samples because nearly 40% of dogs will show salmonella when tested BUT actual full blown illness.

FDA Health Alert for Certain Pet Treats Made by Pet Carousel

For Immediate Release: Nov. 5, 2009
Products may be contaminated with Salmonella

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing this health alert to warn consumers not to use Pig Ears and Beef Hooves pet treats manufactured by Pet Carousel because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

The products were distributed nationwide in both bulk and retail packaging for sale in pet food and retail chain stores. Pet Carousel is based in Sanger, Calif.

So my question is – has your dog ever been ill with salmonella and was the origin of the pathogen traced back to anything in particular?
Or have you personally ever had it? what from?

A: Fantastic Debate – I love this one! Always interesting with loads of controversy.

Everyone freaks out about salmonella. It is actually rarer then you might think.

There will be problems and disagreements with feeding, as long as dogs have mouths and stomachs and require nutrition to survive!! Not everyone will agree… ever!

For every chipped tooth because of a raw bone – there will be the argument of tartar and rotten teeth falling out from commercial food.

For every bowel impaction from a bone, there is bloat from feeding dry etc and so on. (I won’t even bother to mention the negatives on cooked bones).

For every anti raw feeder there will be an anti commercial feeder. There are no doubt pros and cons for each. It never ends. I won’t go into the debate on feeding veggies or not either – I will leave that for another time!

The trick is deciding what YOU as an individual would prefer to choose. Each to their own!!

My dogs have eaten raw meat and bones for nearly 4 decades as well as dry food in the past too. And yes back many many years ago, they even used to get to horrible old raw meat that my mum found in the back of the fridge and deemed unsuitable for human consumption (yikes). I think decades ago we were all less aware and concerned. And no. I never saw a dog sick from it (there may have been the odd upset tummy that I was unaware of, but that’s all). I am much more conscientious then my parents were about meat quality for my dogs (in the 70’s I think my families dogs were considered part garbage disposals – lol). And no we have never had a bowel impaction, perforation, vet visit or even a chipped tooth from feeding raw meat or bones! This is not to say it couldn’t happen. But I think things just get blown out of proportion.

These days my dogs eat chicken, turkey, brisket, lamb, fish, offal etc etc… All raw. All high quality. No ill effects.

Dogs have a very different digestive system to humans and can’t be compared to us really as people often try to do. They CAN cope with salmonella better then we can.

Petstores sell puppy mill pets – I got a bit confused reading your post? Sorry! This is not meant as a criticism or to be condesending. I would just like some clarification.
You said that your dog got sick from cooked commercial food. But then you said that raw is bad.
Are you against commercial and raw?
Did I misunderstand?
Which do you feed then?

Also – Chimpanzees most definitely eat meat as well as plant matter. A true omnivore. They can be incredibly vicious and brutal hunters and will even eat other monkeys and often hunt in packs like other meat eaters, they have even been known to perform cannibalistic acts on rivalling groups. They eat everything and anything just like us. However, as similar as we may be to them… we no doubt would be dead from salmonella if we ate their same diet, with raw meat etc. I am not exactly sure what you were trying to explain there. Although theoretically we eat many similar things too (meat, fruits etc). But again, I have no doubt our digestive systems etc are adapted very differently now. Theirs like a dog, can obviously handle more bacteria then ours.

And as genetically different as you say dogs may be to wolves… we are talking SPECIFICALLY digestive systems here. And I am not sure there is research for that specifically, DNA or otherwise? I would go as far to say, that dogs and wolves digestive systems are probably closer than the digestive systems of humans and chimps. Does that make sense? After all we would die from salmonella if we ate animal carcasses and offal like a chimp, or starve to death if we tried to live off leaves, yet chimps can digest them. But dogs can eat a “wolfs” diet and live healthily.

All animals adapt slightly differently. A horse and cow – are both herbivores and domesticated farm animals that both eat and digest very efficiently, the same diet of grass, grains and hay. However, many things a cow can tolerate will kill a horse very quickly. Cows can eat very old mouldy or musty hay; the same will kill a horse in a horrifically painful death known as colic. A common horse killer. This is because of the vastly different digestive system, between two animals that actually have an identical diet! Go figure!?

Digestive systems need to be addressed individually and not compared to other species. Dogs and humans simply cannot be compared. Chimps and human either. Dogs and wolves… well I believe many of us prove every day, that they can eat and survive off a similar diet. Well at least mine does!

My dogs also love eating my horses and cows poo… That’s right they LOVE IT!
Filled with salmonella, no doubt. They eat rabbit and fox crap too – Yes dogs are gross!
No ill effects.
Again, I am sure some dog owners may have had a dog that got sick. But I can’t believe it would be common.

EDIT (Yep, this bit is meant to be a little condesending):
One last thing… I normally NEVER bother with the debate about how feeding our dogs raw can be a problem for our own health via contamination etc, even though it has been brought up again and again, this is because it seems such a silly one. So the following will be a first for me…

I eat meat too. Not just my dog. So do many people I know. In fact I have only one friend who doesn’t. I have never been sick from something I cooked with meat in it (although I once nearly ended up in hospital from eating toadstools that I SWORE were field mushrooms. They looked almost identical – and I can now tell the difference!!).

When I buy my meat it is raw prior to cooking. So I prepare it. Sometimes thats just a case of slapping it in a fry pan, sometimes there is more to it (dicing, chopping etc). I feel stupid to even be writing this, but I feel I have to point these rediculous things out.

After I am done, I wash up. I wash my hands and If I used a chopping board or a knife. I wash those too. Thoroughly. With hot soapy water. I disinfect all my benches after doing the dishes too, as I know it could make me sick otherwise. I eat meat of some discription almost every day. I do not chop veggies on the same side as my meat. I flip the board first or use a clean board. I was taught to handle meat this way by my mother, when I was a child. It had nothing to do with dog food. Meat is meat. Be hygenic.

I don’t want to keep reading about how feeding our dogs raw can make US sick. Do your dishes! Whether you feed raw or not!! I dont eat my dogs raw meat or eat out of their bowls and have no intention of doing so in the future. Their bowls never touch my kitchen bench. They are washed in the laundry. Again, my mother taught me this, even though back then we fed dry and tinned food!!! I am not sure how handling my dogs meat differs in handling my own. But I hope these tips have helped some of you learn how to prepare meat – yours and your pets!!

Cats and dogs also lick their butt and the butts of others, then their fur sometimes. So wash your hands before you eat, after patting them – Even if you only feed them dry food!! Yep – my mum taught me that too! (She was a wealth of knowledge when it came to hygine).

ps – For those of you that didn’t have wonderful mothers like mine to teach you. You are also supposed to wash your hands after you go to the toilet too!! You will be most likely to get salmonella poisoning that way, if you don’t.

pps – Prehaps someone should tell poor Robert Backus this. Maybe he didn’t have a mum like mine!

Q: What to do about animal cruelty at a Vet?
I recently worked for an animal hospital and I had to quit because of the malpractice I saw going on. I need to report this guy somehow. I do not want to go to the police because, for 1. police never seem to care about much of anything, 2. This would be a continuing issue for me to deal with day in and day out until a trial. I have a job, school, and a family to take care of, so I’m afraid I won’t have the time to get that done.
However, this man needs to have a 3rd party, at least, come and take his practice away. I’ve already called PETA and have not heard back from them.
Just a few examples of what goes on here:

- Assistants forced to bathe animals immediately after surgery. My only guess is so that the “wounds” will become infected and the client will have to take their animal back for more drugs that he can charge them for.
- Some days the animals are not allowed out of their kennels more than once (usually for a minute or two).
- The Dr. is incredibly careless and when drawing blood from animals, he does not withdraw the needle carefully and it ends up causing a hematoma. He will then lie to his clients and ramble on about how this is a common thing that happens when dogs get their blood taken.
- There are several expired drugs in his cabinets, possibly being used for animals. I have never witnessed him directly giving them to an animal, however, they are in the front of the cabinet in the surgery room….that’s like having your milk in the front of your refrigerator and never using it. I have pictures of expiration dates reading “2005″, “2003″, “1993″, and…brace yourself, “1979″!! Pet food and treats up in the waiting room, which are for sale, also have expired in the past 10 years.
- Clients are being charged for services that we have not performed. For instance, a dog was in for a hematoma which needed to be removed from his ear. I watched this surgery and we took the dog out of the kennel and placed him on the surgery table. The doctor doused his ear in iodine (most likely expired) and sliced it open. However, when we gave the client her bill we were forced to charge her for general anesthesia! The dog was never given any sort of anesthetic! He was wide awake and conscious to what was going on. He was even squiggling and whimpering the whole time!!

These are just a few of the examples of how this doctor mistreats his clients, patients and employees!
To add a note:
He also has a handgun laying around in the office, while the door is wide open, so anyone has access to this. He even had a friend come in with her two children (ages 3, 6). These children were playing around his desk with their coloring books while the handgun was a mere 5 or 6 inches away.
He changes in and out of his scrubs throughout the day and never closes the office door while doing so. Mind you, he has a staff of all females.

A: You report ALL of this to the State Veterinarian Board in your state.

Do it NOW!

Q: Who’s your daddy? Answer’s at the drugstore (What Do you Think?? About That. )?
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Who’s your daddy? Answer’s at the drugstore
Pharmacy chain markets DNA paternity tests in 30 states nationwide

Pierre-philippe Marcou / AFP – Getty Images file
New at-home DNA paternity tests require samples of cells swabbed from the cheeks of the child, the alleged father and, ideally, the mother.
View related photos

Video

Who’s your daddy? DIY paternity test debuts
March 27: A new type of at-home medical test can reveal a child’s paternity. But is it a good idea? NBC’s Michelle Kosinski reports.
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By JoNel Aleccia
Health writer
MSNBC
updated 8:36 a.m. ET, Thurs., March. 27, 2008

JoNel Aleccia
Health writer

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• E-mail

After two decades, Sean Reid of Surrey, British Columbia, discovered that he had a son. Fred Turley of Des Plaines, Ill., learned he didn’t have a daughter. And Wendy Lieb of Lewis Center, Ohio, made certain she wasn’t going to be a grandmother quite yet.

In all three situations, crucial genetic information altered the lives of the people involved. And in each case, it came not from a doctor or other medical source, but from a $29.99 kit on a drugstore shelf.

Reid, Turley and Lieb are among more than 800 customers who responded to the first wave of marketing for do-it-yourself DNA paternity tests sold as Identigene by Sorenson Genomics of Salt Lake City.

Story continues below ↓
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Sales in three western states — Washington, Oregon and California — were so brisk last fall that Rite Aid Corp. expanded the product this week to some 4,300 stores in 30 states across the country.

“The running joke is that we’re the Maury Povich family,” said Reid, 37, who confirmed years of speculation about a former girlfriend’s son with a kit purchased at a Bellingham, Wash., store. “But why not do it privately? We did this as discreetly, as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible.”

For users like Reid, the tests provide easier answers to one of life’s crucial questions — Who’s your daddy? — said Douglas Fogg, chief operating officer of Identigene.

“Everyone is purchasing the tests because they’re curious,” said Fogg, who expects to sell at least 52,000 tests this year. “They’re looking to establish questions about their own child or their own paternity.”

But for genetics experts, drugstore marketing of DNA testing raises questions of accuracy and ethics.

“From our perspective, direct-to-consumer genetic tests raise all the same issues for lax government oversight, potentially misleading or false advertising and the potential for making profound medical decisions on the basis of poorly interpreted or understood results,” said Rick Borchelt, a spokesman for the Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University.

At the very least, the kits have the potential to complicate the lives of the people who use them, legal experts cautioned.

“We all need to take a step back and realize that this is different than many tests that you take,” said R. Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “This is a life-changing moment.”

DNA tests join other diagnostic tools
The paternity kits have taken their place on store shelves next to other diagnostic tests that don’t rely on DNA, including those for pregnancy, HIV and blood sugar, said Michael S. Watson, executive director of the American College of Medical Genetics.

Unlike genetic tests for health conditions, tests that use DNA to determine paternity are fairly simple to provide and fairly easy to interpret, said Watson. They’re subject to limited oversight, however, with no review required by the Food and Drug Administration and no certification required under the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, or CLIA.

The Identigene kit includes swabs for collecting cell samples from the inside of the cheeks of the child and the alleged father. Collection of the mother’s cells is optional, but strongly recommended to strengthen the results. The swabs are packaged and mailed to the Sorenson laboratory in Salt Lake City where they’re analyzed.

Cast your vote
Are at-home DNA paternity tests a good idea?

The Sorenson lab is accredited by the AABB, the agency formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks.

Results are reported online, by phone or by mail in three to five business days. They come back as a probability figure that verifies paternity with 98 percent to 99 percent accuracy, Watson said.

Total cost is about $150, including the price of the kit and a $119 laboratory processing fee. For another $200, users can purchase validated tests that meet legal requirements for determining paternity, Fogg said.

Court use questionable
But Susan Crockin, a lawyer who specializes in reproductive technology, said consumers shouldn’t count on the tests standing up in court.

Video

Who’s your daddy? DIY paternity test debuts
March 27: A new type of at-home medical test can reveal a child’s paternity. But is it a good idea? NBC’s Michelle Kosinski reports.
Today show

“The jury’s still very much out on these tests in terms of reliability and establishing a chain of custody,” said Crockin, a consultant for the Johns Hopkins public policy center.

Most of the users who have been buying the kits — which have gone on sale for as low as $17.99 — don’t plan to use the results to resolve legal issues, Fogg acknowledged. Instead, most are looking to answer social questions. And that’s where the complexity comes in.

Because the cell samples are taken in private, there’s the potential for fraud and deception, noted Charo, the ethics expert.

“I can imagine rather peculiar circumstances in which somebody has a swab taken without their knowledge,” she said. “It raises questions about informed consent.”

Even when people do consent, the results can be unsettling. Watson estimates that between 5 percent and 10 percent of genetic tests he’s conducted show a child is not related to the presumed father.

“It could break up families,” Watson said. “Some will be broken because that was the goal. Others will be broken up and that wasn’t the goal.”

But people who’ve used the at-home tests swear by the ease, the accuracy — and the results.

After 20 years, a mystery solved
For Reid, the paternity test opened the door to a new extended family. He’d always wondered whether the baby born to a former girlfriend was his, even though she insisted the child was fathered by another man. When the girlfriend contacted Reid on Facebook last summer, the pictures she sent of her oldest son raised the question anew.

“My wife, said ‘Oh my, that’s you,’” said Reid, a nurse.

Internet research pointed Reid to the Identigene test, which was cheaper and more convenient than other options. With cooperation from his former girlfriend and her son, they all took the tests, with results that altered everyone’s lives.

“Our newest son has a family he never knew he had including grandparents, aunts, and three younger brothers who are all very excited to meet him,” Reid said.

For Fred Turley, 55, the DNA test confirmed what his companion had told him: the 4-year-old girl he helped care for was not his. The news was disappointing, but clear, he said.

“The bottom line is, I don’t have to live with the uncertainty about her being my daughter and wind up in a fight just to find out,” Turley said. “This won’t change how I feel about the girl. It will just remove what had become a major concern.”

For Wendy Lieb, 41, the DNA test restored her 20-year-old son’s future. He’d already quit college, taken a job and assumed the responsibilities of pending parenthood after a girl he had sex with at a party claimed she was pregnant with his child.

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‘He just didn’t look like my son at all.’
Lieb said she was proud of her son’s response, but perplexed after the baby, a boy, was born.

“He just didn’t look like my son at all,” Lieb said. “And we have fairly strong genes.”

A trip to the drugstore and 10 days later, the answer was clear: her son was not the father.

“I thought it would have required thousands of dollars and a trip to the doctor,” she said.

Lieb is relieved for her own child, of course, but also for everyone involved. As difficult as the situation has been, she said, it will be easier for them to adjust now, rather than years later. The test may raise ethical questions, she said, but it also provides the peace of mind that comes with answers.

“I think it’s a lot more ethical for you to find out the truth,” she said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23814032?GT1=43001

A: i was just telling my sister about the home D.N.A. she didn’t believe they were being sold in stores. i think they are a great idea. now all those lil girls /women can stop making a fool of them selves on Maury because it looks so ignorant and disrespectful. and it’s cheaper than going to a lab or the court system.

Q: Mum and Dad want to get a new cat. Am I being selfish?
I have five cats, and our oldest one has become really ill and are on prescribed drugs to get better. The other day he was litterly half dead, coz he wasn’t moving, and was being sick in he’s sleep. Anyway, my Dad went out while Mum and me were going to get school stuff, and when we come home Dad said he nearly done a Homer Simpson by going out on he’s own and buying a new cat. I said I won’t talk to them if they did get a new cat, in the state that my ill cat is. Then he sent my two brothers out to get the kitten from the store, but thankfully it wasn’t for sale because it was constipated. Anyway, Mum told them to phone other pet stores to see what tabby kittens they had. Our oldest cat is g etting better, but I told them I don’t want another cat until this one has gone, and I won’t want another for a long time after he has gone.
I don’t know if I’m just being selfish or if I’m being moody again.

A: You are not selfish. You are sensible. Having said if you live at your parents home, I guess they have a right to do so. How about you persuade them to rescue a cat?

Q: Californias: Are you aware of a bill which will make selling pets for profit, illegal to sell?
There is a Bill in the California State Assembly called
( AB 2862 ) that will make criminnal acts BY ANYONE THAT SELLS ANIMALS FOR PROFIT! This is really seriouse! If it passes anybody from a little girl selling her kittens in her front yard to the farmers selling their sheep, steers & hogs. This will put ALL ANIMAL SALES UNDER THE SAME SCRUTINY AS DRUG DEALERS, WIFE BEATERS & OTHER COMMON CRIMINALS.

Go to this website to see the entire bill -http://amazonreptile.com

And write your representative and tell them that selling pets is not a criminal act!! Even if you don’t live in CA. write your representative. If this passes in California, other states will pass suit.

Thank you,
Jennifer
This bill will elimate all farms, pet stores, feed stores, FFA & 4-H will not be able to sell their animals for fair. If this passes, the need for supplies will stop! This means no food for animals, toys, and other supplies!!
If you care for animals at all please stop this bill!
I don’t sell puppies or kittens in our pet store! No respectable pet store in Ca. will sell a dog or cat!! Don’t trust a pet store that does!

A: Selling pets IS criminal, if they were controlled as in certified breeders, there will be less abandoned animals. Not anyone should be able to sell living creatures. If someone want a pet so they go adopt one trough www.aspca.com

I just realized you are one of those bastards selling animals. Pet supplies have nothing to do with this. Who do u think you are fooling?

Q: POLL:Which of these things have you done?
Graduated High School.
Kissed someone.M
Smoked cigarettes.
Got so drunk you passed out.
Rode every ride at an amusement park.M
Collected something really stupid.
Gone to a rock concert.
Helped someone.M
Gone fishing.
Watched four movies in one night.M
Gone long periods of time with out sleep.M
Lied to someone.M
Been dumped.M
Snorted cocaine.
Failed a class.M
Smoked weed.
Dealt drugs.
Taken a college level course.
Been in a car accident.
Been in a tornado.
Done hard drugs (i.e. ecstasy, heroin, crack, meth, acid).
Watched someone die.M
Been to a funeral.M
Burned yourself. (accidentally)M
Ran a marathon.
Your parents got divorced.
Cried yourself to sleep.M
Spent over $200 in one day.M
Flown on a plane.
Cheated on someone.M
Been cheated on.M
Written a 10 page letter.
Gone skiing.
Been sailing.
Cut yourself. (accidentally)M
Had a best friend.M
Lost someone you loved.M
Shoplifted something.
Been to jail.
Had detention.M
Skipped school.M
Got in trouble for something you didn’t do.M
Stolen books from the library.
Gone to a different country.
Dropped out of school.
Been in a mental hospital.
Watched the “Harry Potter” movies.M
Had an online diary.M
Fired a gun.
Gambled in a casino.
Had a yard sale.
And a lemonade stand.
Actually made money at the lemonade stand.
Been in a school play.M
Been fired from a job.
Taken a lie detector test.
Swam with dolphins.
Gone to sea world.
Attempted suicide.
Voted for American/Australian Idol.
Written poetry.M
Read more than 20 books a year.M
Gone to Europe.
Loved someone you couldn’t have.M
Wondered about your sexuality.M
Used a coloring book over age 12.M
Had surgery.
Had stitches.
Taken a taxi.M
Seen the Washington Monument.
Had more than 5 IM’s/online conversations going at once.
Overdosed.
Had a drug or alcohol problem.
Been in a fist fight.M
Suffered any form of abuse.M
Had a hamster.
Petted a wild animal.M
Used a credit card.
Gone surfing in California.
Did “spirit day” at school.
Dyed your hair.
Got a tattoo.
Had something pierced.
Got straight A’s.
Been on the Honor Roll.
Known someone with HIV or AIDS.M
Taken pictures with a webcam.M
Started a fire.M
Had a party while your parents weren’t home.
Gotten caught having a party while they were gone

Put a big M next to the ones you’ve done copy and paste.

A: Graduated High School.M
Kissed someone.M
Smoked cigarettes.
Got so drunk you passed out.
Rode every ride at an amusement park.
Collected something really stupid.M
Gone to a rock concert.M
Helped someone.M
Gone fishing.M
Watched four movies in one night.M
Gone long periods of time with out sleep.M
Lied to someone.M
Been dumped.
Snorted cocaine.
Failed a class.
Smoked weed.
Dealt drugs.
Taken a college level course.M
Been in a car accident.M
Been in a tornado.M
Done hard drugs (i.e. ecstasy, heroin, crack, meth, acid).
Watched someone die.
Been to a funeral.M
Burned yourself. (accidentally)M
Ran a marathon.
Your parents got divorced.
Cried yourself to sleep.M
Spent over $200 in one day.M
Flown on a plane.M
Cheated on someone.
Been cheated on.
Written a 10 page letter.
Gone skiing.M
Been sailing.
Cut yourself. (accidentally)M
Had a best friend.M
Lost someone you loved.M
Shoplifted something.
Been to jail.
Had detention.
Skipped school.M
Got in trouble for something you didn’t do.M
Stolen books from the library.
Gone to a different country.
Dropped out of school.
Been in a mental hospital.
Watched the “Harry Potter” movies.M
Had an online diary.
Fired a gun.
Gambled in a casino.
Had a yard sale.M
And a lemonade stand.M
Actually made money at the lemonade stand.
Been in a school play.
Been fired from a job.
Taken a lie detector test.
Swam with dolphins.
Gone to sea world.
Attempted suicide.
Voted for American/Australian Idol.
Written poetry.M
Read more than 20 books a year.M
Gone to Europe.
Loved someone you couldn’t have.M
Wondered about your sexuality.
Used a coloring book over age 12.M
Had surgery.M
Had stitches.
Taken a taxi.M
Seen the Washington Monument.M
Had more than 5 IM’s/online conversations going at once.M
Overdosed.
Had a drug or alcohol problem.
Been in a fist fight.
Suffered any form of abuse.
Had a hamster.
Petted a wild animal.
Used a credit card.
Gone surfing in California.
Did “spirit day” at school.M
Dyed your hair.
Got a tattoo.
Had something pierced.M
Got straight A’s.M
Been on the Honor Roll.M
Known someone with HIV or AIDS.
Taken pictures with a webcam.
Started a fire.
Had a party while your parents weren’t home.
Gotten caught having a party while they were gone

Q: have you surveyyyyyyyyyy?
Graduated High School. not yet im in grade 11

Kissed someone. of coursee

Smoked cigarettes. couple times

Got so drunk you passed out. lmao yea

Rode every ride at an amusement park. nope

Collected something really stupid. yes

Gone to a rock concert. nope

Helped someone. who hasn’t

Gone fishing. nope

Spun turn tables. i wish

Watched four movies in one night. can’t stand even to sit for one

Gone long periods of time with out sleep. not going to happen

Lied to someone. i lie toooo much

Been dumped. mhmmm

Snorted cocaine. nopee

Failed a class. yup

Smoked weed. fooo shooooo (y), last time was tuesday

Dealt drugs. no

Taken a college level course. yes..?

Been in a car accident. almost

Been in a tornado. scary $hit

Done hard drugs (i.e. ecstasy, heroin, crack, meth, acid). not yet

Watched someone die. nooo

Been to a funeral. course

Burned yourself. (accidentally) yuppp

Ran a marathon. i wanted to, im a good runner

Lost your virginity. not yet

Your parents got divorced. nope

Cried yourself to sleep. too many times

Spent over $200 in one day. i think

Flown on a plane. nope

Cheated on someone. hmm, no

Been cheated on. yupp

Written a 10 page letter. nooo

Gone skiing. nope

Been sailing. nope

Cut yourself. by accident

Had a best friend. of course

Lost someone you loved. yup

Shoplifted something. ahahha :$

Been to jail. nope

Had detention. of course

Skipped school. mhmmm

Got in trouble for something you didn’t do. yes sir

Stolen books from the library. why would i do that?

Gone to a different country. nope

Dropped out of school. noooooo

Been in a mental hospital. nope

Watched the “Harry Potter” movies. some of them, don’t really like them

Had an online diary. no

Fired a gun. i think

Gambled in a casino. nope

Had a yard sale. yupp

And a lemonade stand. lmao no

Actually made money at the lemonade stand. no

Been in a school play. yup

Been fired from a job. nope

Taken a lie detector test. nope

Swam with dolphins. i wishhhh

Gone to sea world. nope

Attempted suicide. nope

Voted for American/Australian Idol. noo

Written poetry. i hate poetry

Read more than 20 books a year. lmao nooooo way

Gone to Europe. nope

Loved someone you couldn’t have. not loved

Wondered about your sexuality. no

Used a coloring book over age 12. i still do, im 16

Had surgery. yuppp

Had stitches. yea

Taken a taxi. nooo

Seen the Washington Monument. nope

Had more than 5 IM’s/online conversations going at once. yeea…

Overdosed. nope

Had a drug or alcohol problem. not yet

Been in a fist fight. almost, effing skeet was lucky

Suffered any form of abuse. nope

Had a hamster. awww no

Petted a wild animal. yea

Used a credit card. nope

Gone surfing in California. nope

Did “spirit day” at school. yea

Dyed your hair. lol oh yeaa

Got a tattoo. not yet

Had something pierced. of course

Got straight A’s. noooooo

Been on the Honor Roll. ahahhah

Your parents sent you to a shrink. no

Been handcuffed. fake

Known someone with HIV or AIDS. yup

Taken pictures with a webcam. yea

Started a fire. lmao yeaa

Had a party while your parents weren’t home. not at my house

Gotten caught having a party while they were gone. nope

A: Wow this is long, but what the heck, I’m bored.

Graduated High School. Yes
Kissed someone. Yes
Smoked cigarettes. No
Got so drunk you passed out. No
Rode every ride at an amusement park. No
Collected something really stupid. Yes
Gone to a rock concert. Yes
Helped someone. Yes
Gone fishing. Yes
Spun turn tables. No
Watched four movies in one night. No
Gone long periods of time with out sleep. Yes
Lied to someone. Yes
Been dumped. Yes
Snorted cocaine. No
Failed a class. No
Smoked weed. No
Dealt drugs. no
Taken a college level course. Yes
Been in a car accident. No
Been in a tornado. No
Done hard drugs. No
Watched someone die. No
Been to a funeral. Yes
Burned yourself. Accidentally
Ran a marathon. No
Lost your virginity. Yes
Your parents got divorced. No
Cried yourself to sleep. No
Spent over $200 in one day. Yes
Flown on a plane. No
Cheated on someone. No
Been cheated on. No
Written a 10 page letter. No
Gone skiing. No
Been sailing. No
Cut yourself. Accidentally
Had a best friend. Yes
Lost someone you loved. Yes
Shoplifted something. Yes
Been to jail. No
Had detention. No
Skipped school. No
Got in trouble for something you didn’t do. Yes
Stolen books from the library. No
Gone to a different country. Yes
Dropped out of school. No
Been in a mental hospital. No
Watched the “Harry Potter” movies. No
Had an online diary. No
Fired a gun. Yes
Gambled in a casino. No
Had a yard sale. Yes
And a lemonade stand. No
Actually made money at the lemonade stand. No
Been in a school play. Yes
Been fired from a job. No
Taken a lie detector test. No
Swam with dolphins. No
Gone to sea world. No
Attempted suicide. No
Voted for American/Australian Idol. No
Written poetry. No
Read more than 20 books a year. Yes
Gone to Europe. No
Loved someone you couldn’t have. Yes
Wondered about your sexuality. No
Used a coloring book over age 12. Yes
Had surgery. Yes
Had stitches. No
Taken a taxi. Yes
Seen the Washington Monument. No
Had more than 5 IM’s/online conversations going at once. Ni
Overdosed. No
Had a drug or alcohol problem. No
Been in a fist fight. No
Suffered any form of abuse. No
Had a hamster. No
Petted a wild animal. No
Used a credit card. Yes
Gone surfing in California. No
Did “spirit day” at school. No
Dyed your hair. No
Got a tattoo. No
Had something pierced. No
Got straight A’s. Yes
Been on the Honor Roll. Yes
Your parents sent you to a shrink. No
Been handcuffed. Yes, many times, but never by cops.
Known someone with HIV or AIDS. No
Taken pictures with a webcam. No
Started a fire. Yes
Had a party while your parents weren’t home. No
Gotten caught having a party while they were gone. No

Q: POLL:Which of these things have you done? Mark the ones you have done with a big M?
POLL:Which of these things have you done?
Graduated High School.
Kissed someone.M
Smoked cigarettes.
Got so drunk you passed out.
Rode every ride at an amusement park.M
Collected something really stupid.
Gone to a rock concert.
Helped someone.M
Gone fishing.
Watched four movies in one night.M
Gone long periods of time with out sleep.M
Lied to someone.M
Been dumped.M
Snorted cocaine.
Failed a class.M
Smoked weed.
Dealt drugs.
Taken a college level course.
Been in a car accident.
Been in a tornado.
Done hard drugs (i.e. ecstasy, heroin, crack, meth, acid).
Watched someone die.M
Been to a funeral.M
Burned yourself. (accidentally)M
Ran a marathon.
Your parents got divorced.
Cried yourself to sleep.M
Spent over $200 in one day.M
Flown on a plane.
Cheated on someone.M
Been cheated on.M
Written a 10 page letter.
Gone skiing.
Been sailing.
Cut yourself. (accidentally)M
Had a best friend.M
Lost someone you loved.M
Shoplifted something.
Been to jail.
Had detention.M
Skipped school.M
Got in trouble for something you didn’t do.M
Stolen books from the library.
Gone to a different country.
Dropped out of school.
Been in a mental hospital.
Watched the “Harry Potter” movies.M
Had an online diary.M
Fired a gun.
Gambled in a casino.
Had a yard sale.
And a lemonade stand.
Actually made money at the lemonade stand.
Been in a school play.M
Been fired from a job.
Taken a lie detector test.
Swam with dolphins.
Gone to sea world.
Attempted suicide.
Voted for American/Australian Idol.
Written poetry.M
Read more than 20 books a year.M
Gone to Europe.
Loved someone you couldn’t have.M
Wondered about your sexuality.M
Used a coloring book over age 12.M
Had surgery.
Had stitches.
Taken a taxi.M
Seen the Washington Monument.
Had more than 5 IM’s/online conversations going at once.
Overdosed.
Had a drug or alcohol problem.
Been in a fist fight.M
Suffered any form of abuse.M
Had a hamster.
Petted a wild animal.M
Used a credit card.
Gone surfing in California.
Did “spirit day” at school.
Dyed your hair.
Got a tattoo.
Had something pierced.
Got straight A’s.
Been on the Honor Roll.
Known someone with HIV or AIDS.M
Taken pictures with a webcam.M
Started a fire.M
Had a party while your parents weren’t home.
Gotten caught having a party while they were gone

Put a big M next to the ones you’ve done copy and paste.

A: This is fun to do, but I’d imagine very boring to read! I’m 14, if that affects my answers.

POLL:Which of these things have you done?

Graduated High School.
Kissed someone.
Smoked cigarettes.
Got so drunk you passed out.
Rode every ride at an amusement park. (not enough time, but I would have)
Collected something really stupid.
Gone to a rock concert.
Helped someone.M
Gone fishing. M
Watched four movies in one night.
Gone long periods of time with out sleep.
Lied to someone.M
Been dumped.
Snorted cocaine.
Failed a class.
Smoked weed.
Dealt drugs.
Taken a college level course.
Been in a car accident.
Been in a tornado.
Done hard drugs (i.e. ecstasy, heroin, crack, meth, acid).
Watched someone die.
Been to a funeral.
Burned yourself. (accidentally, and not badly)M
Ran a marathon.
Your parents got divorced.
Cried yourself to sleep.
Spent over $200 in one day.M
Flown on a plane. M
Cheated on someone.
Been cheated on.
Written a 10 page letter.
Gone skiing. (we went skiing when I was little, but I didn’t actually ski)
Been sailing.
Cut yourself. (accidentally)M
Had a best friend.M
Lost someone you loved.
Shoplifted something.
Been to jail.
Had detention. (strangely, not yet)
Skipped school. (only for like…family things. I don’t wag)
Got in trouble for something you didn’t do.M (kind of.)
Stolen books from the library. (accidentally took one I thought my friend had borrowed. We returned it discreetly though)
Gone to a different country. M
Dropped out of school.
Been in a mental hospital.
Watched the “Harry Potter” movies. M (millions and millions of times)
Had an online diary.
Fired a gun.
Gambled in a casino.
Had a yard sale. (I want to!)
And a lemonade stand.
Actually made money at the lemonade stand.
Been in a school play. M
Been fired from a job.
Taken a lie detector test.
Swam with dolphins.
Gone to sea world. M
Attempted suicide.
Voted for American/Australian Idol.
Written poetry.M (not professionally, but like, for school and “fun”)
Read more than 20 books a year. M (definitely)
Gone to Europe. (I will some day)
Loved someone you couldn’t have. M (celebrities )
Wondered about your sexuality.
Used a coloring book over age 12.
Had surgery.
Had stitches.
Taken a taxi. M
Seen the Washington Monument.
Had more than 5 IM’s/online conversations going at once. M (but not very often, I don’t like too many)
Overdosed.
Had a drug or alcohol problem.
Been in a fist fight.
Suffered any form of abuse.
Had a hamster
Petted a wild animal. (except at zoos, but they’re kind of not wild)
Used a credit card.
Gone surfing in California.
Did “spirit day” at school.
Dyed your hair. (a tiny bit of highlights)
Got a tattoo.
Had something pierced. M (ears only)
Got straight A’s. (if you only count core subjects, exclude cooking, physical education and instrument, I did)
Been on the Honor Roll. (we don’t have one)
Known someone with HIV or AIDS.
Taken pictures with a webcam. M (my webcam is fuzzy, but I used to)
Started a fire.
Had a party while your parents weren’t home.
Gotten caught having a party while they were gone

Q: What should their names be?
I’m writing a story and need help with names.

Family #1

Mother- Very kind and caring. She loves her 3 kids and works very hard at her job as a veterinarian in the rural town 20 miles away from the family’s home. She has a soft heart and brings home helpless animals sometimes. She is obedient to her husband.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/8693054/2/istockphoto_8693054-veterinarian.jpg

Father- He is very stubborn and believes his word is law . He loves his family but doesn’t show it very often. He owns a small business and is grumpy when sales are down. He often brings his work to home frustrating the kids.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/7749602/2/istockphoto_7749602-mature-man-portrait.jpg

13 Year old girl- She is very independent and shy. She loves spending time with her mother and feels a little scared of her father. She is an amazing math student and is in 2 years advanced in it. She tries to be happy and smiles a lot. Her best friend is the 12 year old from the second family. She wants to be an astronaut.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/4123700/2/istockphoto_4123700-speed-reader.jpg

7 year old boy- He is a video game addict who would love to skip school to play video games all day. He doesn’t show much emotion but will cry when his games are taken away. He loves cats and will pet them. He has trouble making friends and would want to become a web designer.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/2611359/2/istockphoto_2611359-gaming-mad-two.jpg

3 year old girl- She is a little bundle of joy who loves animals. She smiles all of the time and laughs constantly. She goes with her mother to work and plays with the animals. Everyone who meets her loves her.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/3159149/2/istockphoto_3159149-girl-and-dog.jpg

Family #2
Mother- She is a cheerleader coach who spends all of her time with her students. Her kids don’t really know her because she is never with them. Everyone assumes she does drugs and considers her an outsider.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/6807869/2/istockphoto_6807869-go-team.jpg

16 year old girl- She is the mother of the household. She cooks and cleans and cares for the 6 year old. She has good grades and could go to an Ivy League college. She is mature and would like to become a biologist.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/10385952/2/istockphoto_10385952-student.jpg

14 year old boy- A true boy who spends all of his time skateboarding and playing sports. He is lonely when he’s with his family but feels close to his little sisters. He has average grades and is tutored by his older sister. He is amazing at sports and loves to play them.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/4981516/2/istockphoto_4981516-smiling-teenager.jpg

12 year old girl- She is very quiet and would love to fit in with everyone else. She feels she needs to spend time with her mother but doesn’t want to because she is scared. The mother from #1 treats her like a daughter. She is very good at volleyball and would like to go to the Olympics. http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/7375685/2/istockphoto_7375685-young-girl-isolated-on-white.jpg

6 year old girl- She is treated like a baby. Her oldest sister is like her mother and she hates her real mom. She likes to do crafts and is very creative. She wants to become famous artist and and writer. http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/8161193/2/istockphoto_8161193-laughing-girl-with-book.jpg

Thanks in advance!

A: FAMILY #1
Mother- Lucy Marie
Father- Daniel Gregory
13 year old daughter- Lydia Rose
7 year old boy- Charles Alexander (Charlie)
3 year old daughter- Josephine Isabelle (Josie)

FAMILY #2
Mother- Deborah Fae (Debbie)
16 year old daughter- Katherine Dawn (Katie or Kate)
14 year old boy- Joseph Connor (Joe) or Connor Joseph
12 year old girl- Amanda Katrina
6 year old- Jessica Lily or Lily Annabelle

Q: With all the recalls I thought I would share:?
this is an actual research page I found when working for a home vet and she loved it so much that she put it on her page..read it with an open mind…and think…here is her page also if you are interested..http://www.carinrennings.com

(Don’t read if you have a weak stomach)
What’s Really for Dinner?
The Truth About Commercial Pet Food, by Tina Perry
Cow brains. Sheep guts. Chicken heads. Road kill. Rancid grain. These are a few of the so-called nutritionally balanced ingredients found in the commercial pet food served to companion animals every day.
More than 95 percent of US companion animals derive their nutritional needs from a single source: processed pet food. When people think of pet food, many envision whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains, and all the nutrition that a dog or cat may ever need — images that pet food manufacturers promote in their advertisements. What these companies do not reveal is that instead of whole chickens they have substituted chicken heads, feet, and intestines. Those choice cuts of beef are really cow brains, tongues, esophagi, fetal tissue dangerously high in hormones, and possibly diseased and even cancerous meat. Those whole grains have had the starch removed for corn starch powder and the oil extracted for corn oil, or they are hulls and other remnants from the milling process. Grains used that are truly whole have usually been deemed unfit for human consumption because of mold, contaminants, poor quality, or poor handling practices. Pet food is one of the world’s most synthetic edible products, containing virtually no whole ingredients.
Pet food manufacturers have become masters at inducing companion animals to eat things cat and dogs would normally spurn. Pet food scientists have learned that it’s possible to take a mixture of inedible scraps, fortify it with artificial vitamins and minerals, preserve it so that it can sit on the shelf for more than a year, add dyes to make it attractive, and then extrude it into whimsical shapes that appeal to the human consumer. For this, pet food companies can expect to earn $9 billion in sales in 1996.
Scraps and Byproducts For years, many care givers have tried to avoid feeding their companion animals people food leftovers, having been warned by veterinarians about the heath problems they can cause. Yet much scrap material from the human food industry is ending up in dogs and cat’s dinner bowls. What the consumer purchases and what the manufacturer advertises are often two entirely different products, and this difference threatens the animals healthy, especially as they age. Learning to read ingredient labels and taking the time to read them carefully is crucial to making an educated choice when purchasing pet food. Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight (heaviest first) under standards established by the Center for Veterinary Medicine for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The name of the product (in most states) is dictated by the regulations of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). The trouble is, AAFCO standards can lead to deceptive product names due to the weight and volume variations between wet and dry ingredients. Also, the average consumer has no idea what the definitions for the listed ingredients mean. Preservatives, vitamins, minerals, flavorings, and cereal make up most of what the companion animal eats.
It is not happenstance that four of the top five major pet food companies in the United States are subsidiaries of major multinational food production companies: Colgate Palmolive (which produces Hills Science Diet), Heinz, Nestle, and Mars )see The Corporate Connection). From a business standpoint, multi-national food companies owning pet food manufacturers is an ideal relationship. The multinationals have captive market in which to dump their waste products, and the pet food manufacturers have a direct source of bulk materials. Both make a profit from selling scraps that originate from places far worse than the dinner table. In his 1986 book Pet Allergies veterinarian Al Plechner sums up what goes into companion animals food: Condemned parts and animals rejected for human consumption are routinely rerouted for commercial pet foods. A similar fate applies to so-called 4-D animals. These are food animals picked up dead, or that are dying, diseased, or disabled, and do not meet human-food qualifications. They are processed straightaway for companion animal consumption. Little goes to waste. Says Plechner, Food processing refuse of all sorts winds up in your animals dinner bowls. Moldy grains. Rancid foods. Meat meal. The latter is ground-up slaughterhouse discards often containing disease-ridden tissue and high levels of hormones and pesticides, the very things that may have contributed to the death of the steer or hog. A decade later, his words still apply. When cattle, swine, chickens, lambs, or other animals meet their ends at a slaughterhouse, the choice cuts — lean muscle tissue and organs prized by humans — are trimmed away from the carcass for human consumption. Whatever remains of the carcass (bones, blood, pus, intestines, ligaments, subcutaneous fat, hooves, horns, beaks, and
any other parts not normally consumed by humans) is, according to the pet food industry, perfectly fit as a protein source for cat and dog food.
The Pet Food Institute, the trade association of pet food manufacturers, acknowledges in its 1994 Fact Sheet the importance of using byproducts in pet foods as additional income for processors and farmers. The purchase and use of these ingredients by the pet food industry not only provides nutritional foods for pets at reasonable costs, but provides an important source of income to American farmers and processors of meat, poultry, and seafood products for human consumption. Many of these remnants are indigestible and provide a questionable source of nutrition. The amount of nutrition provided by meat byproducts, meals, and digests varies from vat to vat of this animal protein soup. A vat filled with chicken feet, beaks, and viscera is going to make available a lower amount of protein than a vat of breast meat. James Morris and Quinton Rogers, professors with Department of Molecular Biosciences at the University of California at Davis Veterinary School of Medicine, assert that there is virtually no information on the bio-availability of nutrients for companion animals in many of the common dietary ingredients used in pet foods. These ingredients are generally byproducts of the meat, poultry and fishing industries, with the potential for wide variation in nutrient composition. Claims of nutritional adequacy of pet foods based on the current AAFCO nutrient allowances (profiles) do not give assurances of nutritional adequacy and will not until ingredients are analyzed and bioavailability values are incorporated. Meat byproducts, the catch-all term of the pet food industry, is a misnomer because these byproducts contain little if any meat. Byproducts contain little if any meat. Byproduct are animal parts leftover after the meat has been stripped from the bone. Chicken byproducts include heads, feet, entrails, lungs, spleens, kidneys, brains, livers, stomachs, noses, blood, and intestines free of their contents. What the pet food manufactures fail to mention is that most byproducts, digests and meals are also filled with other substances, such as cancerous tissue cut from the carcass, plastic foam packaging containing spoiled meat from supermarkets, ear tags, spoiled slaughterhouse meat, road kill, and pieces of downer animals.
Canned Cannibalism Another source of meat that isn’t mentioned on pet food labels is pet byproducts, the bodies of dogs and cats. In 1990 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that euthanized companion animals were found in pet foods. Although pet food company executives and the National Renderers Association vehemently denied the report, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the FDA confirmed the story. The pets serve a viable purpose by providing foodstuff for the animal feed chain, said Lea McGovern, chief of the FDA’s animal feed safety branch. Because of the sheer volume of animals rendered and the similarity in protein content between poultry byproducts and processed dogs and cats, rendering plant workers say it would be impossible for purchasers to know the exact contents of what they buy. In fact, Sacramento Rendering cited by inspectors five times in the past two years for product-labeling violations.
Grease and Grain
The most nutritious dry pet food is no better than the worst if animals will not eat it. Pet food scientists have discovered that spraying the kibble or pellets with a combination of refined animal fat, lard, kitchen grease, and other oils too rancid or deemed inedible for humans makes an otherwise bland or distasteful product palatable. Animal fat is mainly packing house waste or supermarket trimmings from the packaging of meats. Animals love the taste of this sprayed fat, which also acts as a binding agent to which manufacturers may add other flavor enhancers. The pungent odor wafting from an open bag of pet food is created by this concoction. Restaurant grease has become a major component of feed-grade animal fat over the last 15 years. Often held in 50-gallon drums for weeks or months in extreme temperatures, this grease is usually kelp outside with no regard for its safety or further use. The rancid grease is then picked up by fat blenders who mix the animal and vegetable fats together, stabilize them with powerful antioxidants to prevent further spoilage, and then sell the blended products to pet food companies. Rancid, heavily preserved fats are extremely difficult to digest and can lead to a host of animal health problems, including digestive upsets, diarrhea, gas, and bad breath. Once considered filler by the pet food industry, the amount of grain products included in pet food has risen over the last decade as the American population has focused its attention away from consuming beef and toward a healthier diet of grains and vegetables. Commonly two of the top three pet food ingredients are some form of grain products. For instance, Alpo’s Beef Flavored Dinner lists ground yellow corn, soybean meal, and poultry byproduct meal as its top three ingredients. 9 Lives Crunchy Meals lists ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, and poultry byproduct meal as its top three ingredients. Of the top four ingredients of Purina’s O.N.E. Dog Formula — chicken, ground yellow corn, ground wheat, and corn gluten meal — two are corn-based products from the same source. This is an industry practice known as splitting. When components of the same whole ingredient are listed separately (ground yellow corn and corn gluten meal) it appears that
there is less corn than chicken, even when the whole ingredient may weigh more than the chicken. Soy is another common ingredient in many pet foods. It is used by the manufacturers to boost the claimed protein content and add bulk so that when animals eat a product containing soy they will fell more sated. Tofu is suitable for humans, but most forms of soybean do not agree with a dog or cat’s digestive system. Like many other pet food ingredients, soy is virtually unusable by an animal’s body. Being obligate carnivores, cats have little ability to digest any nutrients from soy. The problem is worse for dogs because they lack the essential amino acid to digest soy products. Soy has also been linked to bloat and gas in many dogs.
Additives and Processing
Pet food industry critics note that many of the ingredients (such as corn syrup and corn gluten meal) used as humectants to prevent oxidation also bind water molecules in such a way that the food actually sticks to the animal’s colon and may cause blockage. Blockage of the colon may cause an increased risk of cancer of the colon or rectum. Two-thirds of the pet food manufactured in the United States contains synthetic preservatives added by the manufacturer. Of the remaining third, 90 percent includes ingredients already stabilized by synthetic preservatives. Because most pet food contains large percentages of added fat, a stabilizer is needed to maintain the quality of the food. Sodium nitrite, often used as a coloring agent, fixative, and preservative, has the ability to combine with natural stomach and food chemicals (secondary amends) to create nitrosamines, powerful cancer-causing agents, according to A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives.
Many pet foods advertised as preservative-free do not contain preservatives. Almost all rendered meats have synthetic preservatives added as stabilizer, but manufacturers aren’t required to list preservatives they themselves haven’t added. Premixed vitamin additives can also contain preservatives. In the 1003 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, veterinarian Philip Roudebush reported finding low concentrations of synthetic antioxidant preservatives in all analyzed samples of products labeled as chemical free or all-natural. Other types of additives depend on whether the pet food is semi-moist, dry or canned. Because semi-moist food contains 25-50 percent water, antimicrobial preservatives must be used. Propylene glycol was frequently used in cat food until it was pulled in 1992 for causing a variety of health problems. Processing greatly alters the nutritional value of the food ingredients. Veterinarian R. L. Wysong states in Rationale for Animal Nutrition: Processing is the wild card in nutritional value that is, by and large, simply ignored. Heating, freezing, dehydrating, canning, extruding, pelleting, baking and so forth, are so commonplace that they are simply thought of as synonymous with food itself. Because the ingredients that pet food companies use are not wholesome, and harsh manufacturing practices destroy what little nutritional value the food may have had in the first place, the final product must be fortified with vitamins and minerals.
Questionable Nutrition
How, then, can any pet food be guaranteed to be 100 percent complete or nutritionally adequate? As long as it meets the AAFCO minimum standards, such a guarantee can be on the label. Yet in 1994, feed tests conducted by the New York State Agriculture Department showed 7 percent of all pet foods analyzed failed chemical analyses for guaranteed nutrients. Other states report similar findings, with failure of analyzed feed ranging from to 12 percent. Even if a pet food meets AAFCO standards, certain nutritional requirements (for example, lysine) can vary between species by as much as seven-fold. Although manufacturers clam that millions of companion animals can thrive on a diet consisting of nothing by commercial pet food, research and an increasing number of veterinarians implicate processed pet food as a source of disease or as an exacerbating agent for a number of degenerative diseases. For example, kidney disease is on of the top three killers of companion animals. According to Plechner, the extra protein and harsh ingredients of many pet foods place an overload on the kidneys. Left untreated, the toxic buildup leads to vomiting, loss of appetite, uremic poisoning, and death. Wysong adds, In the last few years, large statistical studies have shown the link between the diet (of processed foods) and a variety of degenerative diseases, including cancer, heart disease, allergies, arthritis, obesity, dental disease, etc. After extensive research, the Animal Protection Institute (API) published a Pet Food Investigative Report to educate companion animal care givers about pet food ingredients, ingredient definitions, labeling, and dietary ailments resulting from processed commercial pet food, including the most commonly know brands. Yet, whether such food is purchased at the supermarket, pet store, or from a veterinarian, it makes little difference in terms of the quality — only in the cost. Since the report was published earlier this year, API has conducted more research on holistic pet care and pet food alternatives, but still claims that the vast majority of pet foods available on the market today provide less that optimum nutrition for companion animals.
It is sad to think that the food provided by animal care givers to their four-legged friends could be hazardous to the animals’; health and longevity. Care givers should assume responsibility for providing as healthful a diet as possible for the animals in the care. Consumers should be informed: speak with a holistic practitioner or herbalist, or consult your veterinarian (but be aware that a veterinarian’s knowledge of nutrition may be limited to the two weeks of nutrition he or she had veterinary school 20 years ago). Although the ideal solution would be for companion animals to be fed only wholesome homemade and/or vegetarian diets, this is not an optician for everyone — the cost and time commitment is sometimes prohibitive. By taking more moderate steps, however, care givers can still greatly improve companion animals’ diet and quality of life.
EDIT: On Carin Rennings page she lists recommended diets… she really researched them and its really helpful….go check it out..smile
EDIT EDIT: sorry but it is still happening to the person that said its not… when I did my research I asked around and found out that the people that picked up the dead pets from the vets offices that did not want a private creamation actually had a company come in and pick the bodies up…really sick…valley protien I think was the name of the company…
I am not just trying to “SCARE” people …here is more proof….read this article JUST WRITTEN!! and see for yourself whats in your pet foods!!

http://www.petfoodreport.com/aboutpetfood.htm#ingredients
Edit: as far as ill timing and such… I think its just the right time!! people need to open their eyes…so sorry you 2 feel that way…smile

http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

A: Thanks for the research and letting others see it. Those who are new pet owners should know about it, if they don’t already.

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