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I am the editor of the Cascade Bouvier
des Flandres Club newsletter. I am posting this information
concerning the death of my Bouvier, Tristan, for general information
concerning the raw diet.
Tristan died of
Mycobacteriosis on September 4th [2001].
 Until his death we
thought he might have a cancer, but as the following article by our
veterinarian, which I am going to put into our November newsletter, states
it turned out to be a food borne pathogen. This was the last thing I
expected, and indeed this condition is rare, mostly seen in farm dogs
fed raw scraps according to my vet.
This is an alert to those who are feeding the raw diet. Information
that I have gotten from the internet leads me to believe that our chicken
farming practices which crowd so many chickens into a small area and lack
of through cleaning of chicken houses promotes this and other pathogens. I
fed according to the
Billinghurst diet and got my chicken wings from Costco and from a bay
area supplier of ground necks and backs that had been frozen to 30 below.
This pathogen is communicable to
humans, although after a TB test I have been cleared. I was always
very careful about washing my hands and using separate utensils for the
preparation of raw chicken. I fed the raw diet for 5 years successfully
and have been an advocate of it, but can no longer promote it. I will
either cook or feed high quality kibble to any future dogs I own. Those of
you who might want to contact me privately concerning this matter can do
so. I am posting this information as a way of "doing right" by my beloved
companion.
Marilyn Depew
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When I attended Veterinary School in 1970, we were told that half of what
we learned might not be true, but we just didnıt know which half. I have
spent over thirty years searching for the truth and have to say that I
still have more questions than answers.
All of us pet owners, dog breeders and veterinarians alike have our
preferences as to what we feed our dogs. Each of us has our own "religion"
and itıs very difficult for any of us to change. Some consider it a "Holy
War" based on faith, ready to take on anyone who doesnıt believe as they
do.
What we believe and the assumptions upon which we base it may be flawed.
We felt many of the major "High Quality" cat foods were complete and
balanced and yet found out they were deficient in Taurine. Since that
discovery, I see many fewer cats with Cardiomyopathy now than a few years
ago.
From time to time we get scares from the media such as the E.Coli scare.
We stop eating hamburger for awhile until we forget about it and then
return to Jack in the Box for more.
I was not trained as a meat inspector, but I do know some about food borne
pathogens. Because most of my patients eat commercial dog food, I donıt
see many cases of food poisoning. Most of the ones I do see are dogs fed
from the table or fed people food. I call that "Garbagitis." Because most
get well within days, I very rarely check for food poisoning.
Why do I recommend commercial food?
Over the past thirty years, I have found that pet owners donıt have the
background to be able to formulate diets that are balanced and tend to end
up feeding too much meat. Long ago we used to see Secondary
Hyperparathyroidism (Rickets) from dogs eating "Alpo" all meat diet. Dogs
eating commercial foods today donıt get that, but dogs eating strictly
human food do. I truly feel that the reason dogs live longer today
is because they eat balanced diets free of food borne pathogens.
I recently lost a patient that was eating a "BARF" raw meat diet and that
is why I am writing this article. This patient was a six year old Bouvier
and had a soft tissue mass in the intestine which was diagnosed by
ultrasound. We assumed it was a tumor and tried to remove it
surgically. The patient died unexpectedly during surgery, but we were able
to send in biopsies of the tissue. Both the intestines and the mesenteric
lymph nodes came back with pyogranulomatous lesions suggestive of
mycobacterium or Histoplasmosis.
Since we donıt have Histoplasmosis
in the area then we thought it must be Mycobacterium. Special stains,
however, showed no bacteria. As I began to put things together, I began to
think tuberculosis lesions look like tumors grossly and are contagious to
humans. This patient was eating a raw meat diet and dogs that get
tuberculosis tend to be those that on farms eat the leftovers from
butchering.
With Brucellosis and Tuberculosis testing by veterinarians in the field
and veterinarians providing food inspection in slaughterhouses, we are
protected from many food borne diseases that we saw earlier in the 1900ıs.
Its like the vaccinations that protect us from Diphtheria, Whooping Cough,
Tetanus, Distemper (dogs and cats) and Hepatitis (dogs). Since we donıt
see them much today, we have more people coming out saying we donıt need
the vaccines in
either kids or dogs.
Since that case, I have gone back and done research on food borne
pathogens and am again convinced that raw meat diets not only expose our
pets to food borne pathogens, but since we are preparing the food, we are
exposed as well. For those interested, the Food and Drug Administration
has a website called the "Bad Bug Book." (www.cfsan.fda.gov/-mow/intro.html).
They have no association with the dog food manufacturers and have no axe
to
grind. Of particular concern are Salmonella, Campylobacteria, Clostridium,
Shigella and E.coli (particularly strain O157:H7 enterohemmorhagic). They
donıt even mention Mycobacterium.
For owners that want to make their own diets, I recommend buying Home
Prepared Dog and Cat Diets: The Healthy Alternative by Donald Strombeck.
He gives recipes for balanced diets as well as giving good background on
nutrition. All the foods are cooked. Every dog breeder or veterinarian
should read it. It can be purchased at www.isupress.edu or at
1-800862-6657.
If you have a diet recipe that you
would like analyzed, there is a website called www.petdiets.com. They will
evaluate your diet. They can also help you formulate a complete and
balanced homemade diet using the food your pet likes to eat.
As I promised, I donıt have all the answers. I hope I have brought up some
questions that everyone will try to answer in their own way. I donıt have
any stock in pet food companies or natural diet companies. I just want my
patients to live long healthy lives. |
Food & Toys
