Animals Unfolded

Food is one of those most important topics that is discussed in the focus of my work, and it’s not surprising.  I use it as a positive reinforcement tool when I’m performing care duties for a pet, and I teach families how they can, too. It’s used as part of enrichment strategies that are appropriate to a pet’s telos, physical ability and emotional needs.  Food is sustenance.  It brings joy to families when they’re feeding their pet and it’s well-received, since it signals that the pet is feeling good about things and that they are doing at least reasonably well.  Pets need food to survive, at least until they are approaching the stage of animal hospice-supported natural death, where food becomes more of a burden than a support, but that is a topic best reserved for a post all on its own. I’m often asked about what I think in terms of what food or foods are best for a pet. As a seasoned Certified Animal Hospice Practitioner (CAHP), I am qualified to speak to whether i...

What's in the food that our families eat is undoubtedly something that more of us are conscious of these days, and it's not limited to the bipeds in the tribe: what goes into the mouths of our furry and feathered friends is of concern, too. There are more choices on the market when it comes to pet food and I know all too well that there is much contention (and plenty of people willing to offer their unsolicited opinions!) about which type of food is best. Walk into any pet store and you can really see the proverbial fur fly; when I'm browsing the aisles, I usually hear at least one patron or employee soliciting unfounded, cringeworthy advice about why one brand or type is better than the other. Despite the number of recalls of all kinds that are posted on the Food and Drug Administration's website in a given month, the acerbic banter about how evil the most well-known pet food companies are is fed like a coal furnace with the help of the pet food recalls that are ...