Commercial pet food quality has taken yet another hit with the news alert this morning that a popular canned dog food sold in 15 states contained a euthanasia drug. The pet food manufacturer of Evanger’s Hunk of Beef Canned Dog Food has recalled five lots because they contain the euthanasia drug Pentobarbital.

The website www.Petful.com reports that “Pentobarbital can affect animals that ingest it, and possibly cause side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance or nausea, or in extreme cases, possibly death.”

Petful.com website not only reports food recalls but also provides a comprehensive manufacturer list for investigation. What's more, it offers a research tool to perform a check on the recall history of commercial dog food brands to ascertain how many times, if any, your brand of dog food has been subject to recall.

Some may claim that recalls are, in certain cases, exaggerated due to an overabundance of caution, but they would be wrong in practically all circumstances. Recalls are in place when a pet food is contaminated for one of many dangerous ingredients such as Listeria, Salmonella, Pentobarbital, plastic, mold, and so on, but also for inadequate and essential vitamin supplementation such as Thiamine for cats. If a dog owner touches a pet food contaminated with Listeria and does not wash up immediately, they can become affected. Any internet search will tell you that fever, muscle aches, nausea or diarrhea can result but if it spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as a headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions can occur -- not benign in my book.

However, let's get back to the most recent recall -- Pentobarbital tainted dog food! Nearly all of you may express surprise as to why Pentobarbital, a euthanasia drug that is used to euthanize pets and humans alike has been found in commercial dog food. But not me as sadly, I am desensitized to the heinous ingredients contained in many of today's modern dog food brands. Take a long minute to contemplate how this toxic element entered into this company's dog food meat source. Many readers already are aware having read my website that a primary focus of mine is on nutrition having begun approximately two decades past where I researched dog food ingredients and was horrified. One website that I had turned to was www.WholeDogJournal.com which provided vital information on nutrition, origins of pet food ingredients such as manufacturers using chalk to mimic and in place of the more expensive and necessary calcium element, but also sage advice on supplementation and so forth.

Today there seem to be numerous other websites providing information on commercial dog foods, such as this investigative blog, TruthAboutPetFood.com. After quickly perusing their site I found the following to be absorbing, "The VERY Private and VERY Different Ingredients of Pet Food" that details the difference between homonyms -- words we use on a daily basis that have different meanings and that which dog food companies take great liberties with while developing a processed pet meal. Take a brief moment to read it -- for those who are uninitiated with the industry the topic should be engrossing.

"Did you know that almost every single ingredient in your pet’s food has an alternate meaning very different than the same ingredient in human food? And did you know those alternate meanings are privately owned…not public information?"

This article is relatively benign to the many others I have read over the years revealing the truth about ingredients and their origins in commercial pet food. Start doing your research and for the sake of your beloved companion, start feeding them as you would yourself. It is not difficult nor as time consuming as you believe. The dog food manufacturers just want to make you think it is.