Salmonella. What is it and will it hurt my dog?

Dear Darcy, I’m curious (not so much worried, since I find it more cost effective to just buy whole raw chickens for my dogs) as to why the salmonella fears in the frozen raw product? It was my understanding that most all raw poultry–including that sold in grocery stores for human consumption–runs a possible risk for salmonella contamination, hence the warnings to wash hands thoroughly when handling raw meats, etc. And that dogs who are accustomed to eating raw meals – and who have the shorter digestive tract to boot – would not suffer the same consequences as their human counterparts should they encounter the salmonella bacteria in their raw foods. So why, in ten years of feeding raw poultry, would neither my dogs nor I have ever contracted salmonella poisoning?  I find it hard to believe that – over ten years and various suppliers – nothing I bought could have ever had the salmonella bacteria. Especially considering I am not exactly the neatest food preparer and not a fanatic (bleach, etc.) about clean-up. Can you shed any light on this?  I have to admit, the recent warning that some of the NV raw medallions could have the salmonella bacteria didn’t really set off any of my alarm bells.  Should I have been more worried? thanks, Kathy B.

Dear Kathy,

According to the medical profession, Salmonella is the genus name for over 2500 types of bacteria, each identifiable by its specific protein coating. These bacteria can cause everything from mild upset tummy to death in humans. If my research is accurate, Salmonella was first found in pigs by Theobald Smith in 1885. It’s been around a long, long time. Salmonella is known to cause disease in humans, animals, and birds (especially poultry). Symptoms in humans and dogs include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. One member of my human family fought and won a fight last summer with the Salmonella bacteria that causes Typhoid. Even as bad as that got, almost to death, he recovered. He had gone swimming in Mexico and ingested the bacteria, he’s quite the adventurer. Will he quit traveling? Of course not, he lives his life. According to the medical profession, there are about 14 cases a year per each 100,000 people. In 2005, about 36,000 cases were reported from public health labs. You’ll remember in 2009 the big peanut butter recalls, that was Salmonella, too. It didn’t scare me away from peanut butter, that’s good stuff.

According to the medical profession, Salmonella is the most reported and most common cause of bacterial foodborne illness, symptoms are intestinal upset. If you’ve ever felt ill after eating out and especially at a salad bar, chances are, that’s what happened to you. For me it was a Mushroom Burger at Runza years and years ago. It didn’t kill me, I threw up a lot and was in the bathroom a lot but it all moved through and I was fine. People are affected daily. Those who eat fast food and salad bars often don’t understand that could be what’s happening to them, they think it’s a normal thing for them.

Disease: ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense [lack of ease; inconvenience] ): from Old French desaise ‘lack of ease,’ from des- (expressing reversal) + aise ‘ease.’

I’m like you. I’ve never been the perfectly neat and bleaching of raw food preparation site type either. I’ve never even had a tummy ache after making my dog’s food. Or eating over easy eggs. Or cooking fried or baked chicken for my family, and we did a lot of that when I was growing up and when my kids were growing up.

And I’ve never had a problem with handling Nature’s Variety raw food either. I designed this food over 8 years ago and although the recipes have changed somewhat, I wouldn’t have worked with the company if I hadn’t had complete trust in them. My only regret is that I did it for free out of my love for dogs and my customers. If you remember, SitStay used to ship this raw frozen food. It’s such a headache in summertime.

It’s already been medically proven that dogs naturally have salmonella in their much shorter intestinal tracts and it doesn’t affect them like it would affect a person. My dogs over the years have eaten some pretty horrific stuff that they’ve found outside which they promptly threw back up or pooped out without any harm. If a dog is seriously ill or has been eating a poor quality dog food, it’s possible that salmonella in enough quantity could hurt them. I don’t worry at all about my dogs, they have cast iron stomachs because they eat raw food. When we feed the way Mother Nature intends for dogs to eat, we’ve done all we can to protect them and their immune system.

I do so much traveling most years and that means I eat out a lot or at least eat what someone else has prepared. If I let myself get worried about everything I put into my mouth or my dog’s mouth, I will cease to enjoy life. I refuse to let food or germs and bacteria change the adventure path of my life.

Did you know that our hands have millions and millions of bacteria that could easily kill us? That the left hand and right hand have different bacteria, both good and bad, growing there? And that we have what is often referred to as “bad” guy bacteria that could kill us living in our bodies right now? So why don’t we die? Because we also have millions and millions of “good” guy bacteria on our hands and in our bodies that keep us in balance with the “bad” guys. Why do we have good and bad? Because we’re made that way. Life is a balance. If we wash our hands too much and use antibiotic soaps, germ and bacteria killing gels, and use antibiotics when we feel ill, we have a much higher risk of being hurt, feeling diseased “lack of ease”, or dying. I wash my hands with regular soap for the length of a birthday song when I cut up chicken. Well, I don’t always get through the whole song….but regular soap doesn’t kill our good bacteria, it just washes away the extra bacteria on our hands.

I grew up outside on ranches with animals all around me. I was a rough and tumble kid and I was dirty all the time. It was a beautiful way to grow up. My brothers and sisters and I were rarely sick. As an adult, my immune system was thrown off one time and it was awful, it happened when I took antibiotics prescribed by my doctor for what he said was maybe a sinus infection. That antibiotic killed the good bacteria in my body and I was major sick for a long time. I won’t be doing that again. I see parents who insist that their children stay clean and wash their hands constantly with antibacterial soap and give them antibiotics with every sniffle, sneeze and ear problem, those are the kids that wind up in emergency rooms. It’s the same with dogs. If our dogs never get to experience life as dogs, their systems can be compromised, too. Kids and dogs eat, lick, touch…it’s Mother Nature tending to their immune system.

I had to chuckle once when a woman told me that her children couldn’t go visit a farm because of the “nasty, disgusting germs and bacteria” they could pick up. She was taking them to the mall for shopping and then a movie instead. Did you know that escalators are one of the biggest culprits of bacteria? Lots of people hands are touching. Where were they last? Give me the country and Mother Nature any time.

So, why am I not worried so much about germs and bacteria like Salmonella? Because these are normally occurring in nature. Because our bodies have the innate ability to protect themselves. If we care for our bodies and don’t kill our good guy bacteria which protects us from the “bad” guy bacteria, we’re more likely to stay well. It’s the same for our dogs. If Tilli and I ingest Salmonella today, we might both vomit and have some diarrhea, maybe she won’t even be affected. Her digestive system is much shorter than mine, mine has more time to be affected. She’ll think it’s a normal activity because dogs just live in the moment and they don’t worry. I’ll be put out for a few days, but we’ll both get over it.

Should we wash our hands and our cutting boards after handling raw foods? Sure. Should we buy the foods that we know are being watched, tested and cared for as best humans can? Sure. Should we be worried about everything we put into our mouth or stop frequenting our favorite restaurants, butchers, grocery stores, and trusted dog food companies. I say no. Let’s don’t live scared. I refuse to lose sleep over what I eat and what I feed my dogs. I make the best choices that I can and that’s all I can do. Life is too short, let’s keep living in the happy place. It’s how it’s supposed to be.

I’ve just had an email from my good friend and rep at Nature’s Variety. Here it is:

“Darcy, I saw your notes on The Dish, thank you for your support.  I want to assure you that we have always used pathogenic testing protocols, this product did not present any positives before shipment.  We have used testing that is consistent with human food safety standards.  Now we are going to apply additional hold times, and additional testing that is outside the normal food safety procedures. The package that tested positive was a single bag of medallions on display in a retail store in Texas.  This product had been out of our control for  over two months when that test was made. Thank you again Darcy.  If you have any other questions or you just want to chat, call or come see me. Sheri at Nature’s Variety”

Dear Readers, if you have any questions, I will take them directly to Nature’s Variety for you. My mind is at ease. I like how they handled this.

Maybe I have a different outlook on life than some do. I am not afraid of death for me, my human family and friends, or my dogs. I’m not ready to die yet, I really like this earthly life, and I don’t like it when my humans and dogs pass on before me, but life and death are part of of our world. I believe in the spirit and that continues living even when our physical bodies quit. When my darling Dancer died a natural death last year, I was so hurt but it wasn’t because she died, it was because I couldn’t touch her any more. When my beloved young son died thirty years ago, the pain was from not being able to touch him and hold him and kiss his little fingers any more, I wouldn’t hear him call me “Mama” any more, not because I worried that he was somewhere lost from me. We are all going to die from something. Old age, illness, accident, something. Something is going to eventually take us from people who love us. When it’s our time, we’ll go. I believe it. So let’s live worry free while we can and when that time comes, I’ll try to get back to ghost write one more Dish. I’m sure it will go something like this:

“Wow, you will not believe how beautiful it is on the is side of life! No pain, no worries, no Salmonella. Oh, I see my little boy and all of our dogs coming for me! Gotta go now. Can’t wait until you get here! This is amazing.” – Darcy with a new body of light and energy

Have a happy day. – Darcy