o canada...or melamine: it's not just for pet food anymore...

When melamine turned up in a slew of pet food in 2007, the revelation provoked the ire of pet owners and North American consumers...and with the same nasty chemical turning up in dairy products and poisoning Chinese children, the cynic in me says that Chinese authorities might well take a different approach to 'investigating.'

I don't even dislike melamine -- other than as a food stuff. I'm pretty sure I own fondue plates (vintage 70s in that mustard yellow that was all the rage the first time fonduing was in vogue). I think I saw melanime on the countertops at Graceland where -- might I say -- it was charming (with appliances I remember seeing on Let's Make a Deal).

Remember, when it was pet food, the 'inspectors' said there wasn't any proof that the addition really had occurred in China...there were middlemen don't you know. Just to be clear, that was the same polite deflection offered a decade before when Haitian children were poisoned by the addition of glycol -- basic antifreeze -- to a cough medicine. Feel free to plumb the 60 Minutes archives for confirmation. The World Health Organization (WHO) took up the cause on behalf of those children but found the factory alleged to have produced the concoction was gone -- just like the car Flounder borrowed from his brother Fred in Animal House....

If you think this about chest thumping and point fingers east, think again.

While Menu Foods took the brunt of the public flogging, a lot of 'premium' name foods got caught in that net. The same folks who offer you smiling vets suggesting they have a better idea what to feed pets are owned by a consortium that produces -- toothpaste (although not the kind you use for Fido and Fluffy).

Mercifully, the collies and cat colony here weren't eating any of the contaiminated lines.
That having been said, when I tried to track down the producers to whom I have funnelled a bucketload of cash over many, many years, it proved a tricky proposition. The bigger the name, the bigger the smoke screen. (Note to file: never let your MBAs create your public face...you'll end up lookin' like Tammy Faye Baker after a rainstorm - God rest her soul)

I like to think consumers aren't stupid...even the crazy ones -- like me -- who dote on their pets.

I won't slash the stinkers who didn't reply (some of their MBAs are nasty lawyers, I suspect...)
I will admit that I have cats on their prescription food which concerns me a little..
Better still, I have found a little digging gets you to companies who are domestic...some close to home...who are only to happy to answer questions...

One firm -- while very responsive -- couldn't confirm the source of their ingredients.

The folks at Nutram (produced in beautiful downtown Beamsville, Ontario) were only too happy to provide detailed lists of ingredients when I asked. They invited us to drop in too (which is a fine excuse to go visit some very nice local wineries...) They're pretty close to having a formula for everyone (I say this as the not-entirely-proud human companion of a cat with irritable bowel whose delicate digestive system is serious business...) http://www.nutram.com/

The collies and most of our cats gnosh Nutram kibble...but like all siblings, they refuse to embrace consensus. As luck would have it, our pals at Ryan's pets often have sample bags...send me your furry, your particular...your unbelievably finicky....and we stumbled on a new option -- Orijen http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/about/. Bless 'em, they have sample bags...and when we busted 'em open the black and whites (Memphis, Mizzu and Clemson) and their tabby ringleader (Furio Beans) thought we were offering treats. The sample bags are great -- you can try them without having to make a fifty dollar commitment. Better still, mixing them with existing options doesn't involve something akin to training for an ironman competition.

We've actually had retailers point out that Canadian brands are a little more expensive. While we love our vet (she's a goddess...make no mistake), five bucks a bag versus days in vet ICU (which means the goddess and her kind staff are on extra duty they don't charge enough for) is an economic proposition Keynes himself would question. I trust too, that if anything at my local producers goes doolally (as the Irish cousins say), Stephen Harper, Stephane Dion, Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Elizabeth May won't be covering up the bodies. Call me an optimist....

We stumbled on another hilarious -- and seriously popular -- treat after our first visit to Bark and Fitz. It's a chi-chi kind of place (which creeps us us out a little...) but they have good stuff (the little pink coats and boots notwithstanding).

They turned us on to Barking Mad liver treats. Foster (the Marrobone addict) isn't sold but Amber and Shadow drool when they hear the bag. These guys aren't just great producers, they have a brilliant web site -- and I'm waiting for t-shirts. http://www.barkingmadlife.com/

Foster is our fussy (and slightly off beat) associate. He's the bellweather -- much as Mikey was in the Life commercial. He will eat the liver cookies from Bark and Fitz -- and most of our park pals go bonkers for these. Word of warning: they're rich...and too many resulting in something akin to greased lightning.

Fozzie's other great delight -- and an unexpected one at that -- Shrimp and Grits biscuits that I found in Norcross, Georgia, at Precious Pets. I figured the old boy would turn up his nose but he
was delighted http://www.preciouspetsga.com/ Word of warning: you need the Georgia bit in there or you'll get pet jewels...a pet cemetary (apologies to Stephen King) and a boarding facility. As a bonus, the little strip mall where you'll find this (20 minutes out of Atlanta) is a treasure trove: a fabulous Italian restaurant...a British store (with great tea and Coronation Street collectables) AND a little cafe that serves Sweet Tea and fried green tomatoes (have them together). Norcross is a historic junction that was key in the Civil War so you'll find lots of great plaques and information while you're there...(but Fozzie says the cookies are the high point)...

So while the Georgia imports aren't quite local, they're local to the point of sale...and they're from a small firm that uses stuff like grits...and shrimp...where the proprietors will put you on their email list and remember you when you make return visits...

Hey wait...that's commerce like Grandma and Grandpa knew it...hmm...and they recycled too....