If you are like me, there are those nights when you come home after a long day of work and open the fridge to find nothing to eat. Too tired or too cold to go back out, what can you do? While there may be nothing for me to eat, there is never a shortage of dog food. I just grab some of theirs and I have a meal. If the thought of eating your pet’s food repulses you, then you might want to reconsider what you feed your pet. Last night my dogs ate grilled sardines, chicken, and beef (Tasmanian, of course-no BSE). This was topped with boiled sweet potatoes, cabbage and a dollop of yogurt. Delicious.

In March of 2007 there was a massive pet food recall in the US. This prompted many people to question what exactly is in their pet’s food. The answer might surprise you. In her book, Food Pets Die For, Ann Martin investigated the pet food industry and what she found is truly shocking. As she says in her introduction, she, “learned that there are many deplorable ingredients that can legally be used in pet foods as a source of protein- in particular, euthanized cats and dogs, diseased cattle and horses, roadkill, dead zoo animals, and meat not fit for human consumption.” Probably one of the most shocking aspects of the book is her investigation into how euthanized pets end up in pet food. As a child, I remember mom taking the dog to the vet because it was “time.” We never gave any thought to what happened to the euthanzied dog. Did the body of my beloved childhood Labrador become part of the meat meal for someone’s puppy? Quite possibly, yes.

The book is a fascinating read and an important one for any pet lover. Food Pets Die For is available in both English and Japanese from Amazon Japan.