Brazil safe meat and other questions.

Dear Darcy, Is meat like bully sticks from Brazil okay? Is chicken from China safe? Does PetSmart support puppy millers? We have trusted you and your choices for our dogs and the store for over 14 years, you have never failed us, and we know we’ll trust you for the next 14. What do you think? Can you update us on the changes we’re seeing in the world? Thanks…a few of your Readers who got together and sent this email. Hugs right back at cha!

Dear Readers, Here are the answers.

I do like meat from Brazil, they have stricter regulations than the US does. I love the free range meat grown without antibiotics and hormones which is hard to find in the US. Some US growers don’t use antibiotics and hormones but there aren’t enough of them yet to meet the demand for this type of meat. Brazil, and even Argentina, have more open pasture so it’s easier for them to produce the free range kind of meat we like. The majority of the US meat growers use feedlots to fatten their cattle and there’s nothing wrong with that but they sometimes have to use antibiotics to ward off disease in crowded conditions. We carry their bully sticks, too. I do like US raised beef, I’m from Nebraska, it’s known as God’s Own Cow Country. We’ve had the Brazil raised Free Ranger bully sticks for a long time at SitStay. No problems and we knew there wouldn’t be. We test and try everything after we research it completely. It doesn’t get into our store if it doesn’t meet our high standards. The SitStay Dogs love all the Free Rangers, Bully Sticks, and Macho Sticks in the Store.

Chicken raised in China in US owned facilities is as safe as chicken raised in the United States, the labor and food for them is just cheaper there. The food they are fed is tested so they aren’t eating anything bad for the chickens or our dogs. We get the promise for all of our meats and poultry from our trusted suppliers and we’ll share that with you.

Every batch of chicken treats that comes from China that SitStay carries for you has been tested and is US approved. I’d guess the chicken question comes from the Chicken Wraps treat that we carry, it’s the only meat or poultry we have  that comes from China right now. Yes, the maker has just changed where they get some of their chicken. The US chicken growers couldn’t keep up with the demands of the treat makers and, as I understand it, the US’s demand for chicken is growing and much of the chicken for our dinner tables is coming from US owned plants in China for own dinner plates as well.

Would I buy chicken from China from any other than a US owned and operated facility? No, I would not. Although I’m extremely choosy and demand to know that the chicken is safe and I’ll only buy from US operated China plants, I have to say that not all China growers and businesses are bad any more than all US growers or businesses are good. I’ll stay safe, safe, safe than sorry, though, so we will only do business with makers who own their own or operate their facilities and who test each batch of treats and chews for safety before we put it into the Store.

So why did the makers start growing their chicken in China? The US can’t or won’t produce enough chicken for our nation so some businesses have decided to build and run facilities in China. I understand that from a business stand point. Although as an American I’d rather everything be grown and made in the good old USA, business owners can’t afford to keep their chicken growing facilities going in the US. US employees demand so much money for this kind of work that it makes the end product cost too much for the consumer. Labor is simply too expensive in the US to raise enough chicken and make any money at all. Am I happy about that? No, I’m not. I’d rather all of our meat and poultry was raised in the US with US workers making a decent wage and tested safety. A decent wage for someone to make a living in the US raises the cost of the end product really high when you’re talking about chickens.

I find myself stepping back a step or two to look and see what’s happening as a whole in the world. I see that the US grown meats and poultry are having recalls, there are problems and recalls even in our own country. So what are we to do as a nation? Raise all of our own meat, poultry and vegetables at our own house? That would be nice, my family did it when I was a kid and I’ve done that as an adult too, but it’s not practical for most people. So we continue to demand the promise of the safest foods possible. I’ll continue to demand testing of each batch of treats and I’ll get it or I won’t carry them at SitStay.com. I’m a real stickler for doing things right.

Do be careful where you shop, though, online or local. Some stores will list the USA as the country of origin but the treats and chews may have been rotting, deteriorating before they were turned into treats. That’s no secret in the industry. Lots of, in my opinion, junk and garbage is used for dog treats and dog food. I write about it all the time. I’ve talked to several guys who work on the back side of the plants where treats are made. One guy who worked for a slaughter house told me that he was the guy on the line who cut off the penis of the bull and steer, he’d toss them into a barrel. These barrels weren’t kept cold because the slaughter house owner didn’t want to pay to take time to care for them. He said that every so often somebody from a bully stick making plant would come and get the many barrels full of raw material. He said that the barrels stunk pretty badly by that time with the raw material rotting in it. One of the guys told me that he was a manager in one of the plants, he had to quit, he couldn’t stand what they were doing. Both of these guys told me the names of the treat makers and of the stores who carry the treats, it doesn’t surprise me. Other stores can make their money how they wish, I won’t compromise a dog’s health or your happiness to make money.

We’ll still carry as much meat and poultry that is properly handed from US makers and growers because that feels good and right to me. I like supporting my own country.

SitStay won’t carry any treat or chews that aren’t handled properly from slaughter to end product. Some of the other stores will give you limited amounts of information and some of that isn’t totally true, it’s misleading. Talk to them and force them to verify their info. If you ever have a question about anything in my store, send us an email and we’ll answer it. We are transparent. I know that you need to know. I run my store like the store I want to shop with for my dogs. That means the best fresh and wholesome foods, treats and chews.

SitStay lists all ingredients for you and we tell you where our products come from so you can make your best choice for your dog. I promise never to carry anything we don’t research, test and try first. Our dogs eat, chew and treat on everything in the SitStay store. I love my dogs and I wouldn’t hurt a hair on their little heads.

Does PetSmart support puppy millers? I’m not the first to say yes to that question but do they directly support puppy millers and do they know it? I don’t know the answer to whether they know it or not. In some manner, I think they have to. Many dogs who wind up in rescue are bred by puppy millers. (Backyard breeders trying to make money is often the same thing, the same poor conditions, so I’d guess you’d have to say that PetSmart supports them, too.) Think about it for a minute before you get mad at PetSmart, though. Where did the rescues come from?

A pet store buys puppies and dogs from puppy miller. Customer buys a dog at the pet store. Dog is sick, can’t be house broken because it was raised with emotional issues in a cage with a mother who has emotional issues, or has temperament and aggression issues. Customer tries to return puppy to pet store to get their money back. Pet store won’t take it back or refund the money. Now what? Turn the dog over to rescue, right? Right.

I’ve heard it directly from a puppy miller that puppy millers are setting up as “rescues” inside PetSmart and some of the other pet supply stores. Does PetSmart know that they are directly supporting puppy millers and these aren’t really rescues? God, I hope not. So far every manager I’ve asked, “Do you research the rescues to make sure they’re not a puppy miller pretending to be a rescue?” and  so far they’ve replied, “No comment.” Maybe they don’t know. Maybe they are coached to say “no comment”. Maybe they don’t want to get involved in the discussion.

If you adopt a dog at a PetSmart or any other store and it’s the puppy miller running the cash bag, you have just supported a puppy miller who is going to go home, breed more puppies, and sell them as “adopted rescues” at PetSmart. If they can’t sell their dogs for the $200 and up amounts that they usually get, starting at around an $150 “adoption fee” is a pretty lucrative business for what they consider to be a throw away dog. Like selling dogs on the street corner only surrounded by pet supplies and what is apparently an honorable establishment. What a nasty trick to the buyer and the dog.

One puppy miller I talked to said that she did rent the space from PetSmart to set up and sell her puppy mill puppies and so what was I going to do about it? I have no idea if that’s true or not or if selling space for adoptions is PetSmart’s policy. She was already being unethical by being a puppy miller and selling her puppy mill dogs as rescue adoptions. I can’t trust her word. The other puppy millers I’ve asked have answered with the classic, “No comment.”

Does PetSmart do a good service by allowing real rescues to be adopted out at their stores? Of course they do. In a perfect world though, the dogs will be temperament tested and checked by a vet. It should be clearly explained to the person adopting what the limitations of the pup or the dog might be so they can know if they can care for that dog. It can takes deep pockets to rescue a dog with emotional, temperament, and illness issues. If the pockets aren’t deep enough and the training education isn’t good enough, the dog will wind right back up in rescue…no matter how cute he is.

If you rescue from your local rescue where you can walk in and see how they care for the dogs, you’ll be happier with your dog and you’ll more than likely get the dog who will work best for you. Ask if they have expert behaviorists temperament testing and if the dogs have been checked out by a vet. You’ll have a much better experience with your dog and he more than likely won’t wind up back in rescue to be sold again if you rescue close to home. If you rescue a dog far from your local area, do your best to make sure that they are being honest and straight with you. Rescuing a dog with problems is a real eye opener. It’s an education I wouldn’t wish on everybody.

Any time you have a question about anything, send it to Ask Darcy. It’s been said to my face that I’m too honest to be in this business of dog supplies because there are so many bad things out there on the market. But I’ll tell you what. I love this business of dogs and I will do it my way. I’ll choose products I test, try and trust and I’ll do it right for you and the dogs. I won’t be quiet about the problems in the world. I won’t hide anything. If we don’t talk about it, how do we make it better. Ask your questions. I’ll give you everything I know and as always, my own opinion.

Did you see www.sitstay.com today? The Oliver movie is there. Oliver is a rescue, his story is here at The Dish. I was traveling with him when he was about 8 months old when this video was taken. This happened in the middle of the night. I’m running the camera and trying not to laugh too loud. Very funny LOL!

Thanks. – Darcy