Author Topic: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.  (Read 7095 times)

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Offline Lola

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A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« on: January 03, 2012, 02:41:48 PM »
Don't see any responses that were sent to the newpaper being posted by the newspaper.   :-\

Response posted in full, with permission.  :D
(Bolding and underlining is mine.)

Quote
We were lucky enough to have the Times Colonist write a story about what we do here at Growlies on Dec 10, 2011 – http://www.timescolonist.com/business/This+deal+good/5839618/story.html (PDF). We could not have been happier with the article and the warm response to it. Just to clarify, a mistype in the article stated that we make raw food when, actually, we retail raw pet foods from a variety of Canadian manufacturers.

A few days later one of the people who run the plant at Buddies Natural Petfood contacted us to show us a letter to the editor that detracted from what we do. Here is a link to the letter written by Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria, B.C. that was published in the Time Colonist – http://www.timescolonist.com/health/food+without+risk/5858502/story.html (PDF)

Needless to say I was surprised by Dr. Collis’ fearful response to our happy little article given that there is a long term ongoing discussion about exactly this topic within his profession. Obviously Dr. Collis has never come by to ask about what we do even though his offices are very close to our store. Yet he presumes an awful lot about what we do without any investigation.

See, Dr. Collis says, and I quote “ All pet foods are made from the discarded waste of the human food industry, including those contaminated with salmonella, e.coli and campylobacter. Commercial diet “cooking” destroys the infectious diseases and additional testing ensures the freedom of foreign material, mould and chemical toxins.” While this is possibly true of the foods that Dr. Collis sells in his Veterinary practice it could not be further from the truth for the food we will allow in our store, to be sold to our community.

None of the foods we allow in our store have ever been considered discarded waste. All of the raw food products we sell are made from human grade ingredients. That means none of them were rejected as diseased, discarded and disgusting things our pets should never be exposed to let alone as a food source, cooked or not. We even carry a line of canned food that is kosher and safe for passover.

So my question to the Veterinarian Dr. Chris Collis is that if you know that all of the food you sell is discarded waste of the human food movement, why do you sell it? Why do you tell people it is healthy? That food does not sound to me like it is something I’d want to feed any of my family members, I don’t care how much you cook it.

If Salmonella is such a concern then he should be advocating the food safe handling of all pet foods, especially the high risk foods he advocates within his letter. We tell everyone that food safe rules apply to all of our products.

You can see how many pet food recalls are current in the US here http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/newpetfoodrecalls/ and in Canada here http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recalls-and-allergy-alerts/eng/1299076382077/1299076493846 in Canada the list is mixed in with human food recalls.

One of the things you will quickly notice that the list is primarily made up of kibble type products and occasionally a canned product and then rarely a raw food product, usually from the largest companies, because as you scale up you increase the risk of contamination. Quickly reviewing these two lists shows anyone interested in looking the risks involved in feeding the foods this Vet recommends. It also shows how few recalls there are for raw pet foods he warns against. Remember that song when you were a kid “One of these things is not like the other”.

We have been retailing raw pet foods for almost five years now and not one of the raw brands we carry have had a single recall. There was a recall for some raw pet food in BC in this time frame for a raw pet food product purchased direct from a meat packing plant in Surrey, BC. while in commercial kibble diets there have been hundreds possibly thousands of recalls in that same time frame.

I agree with Dr. Collis that if a dog or cat eats salmonella they may then shed salmonella. What this list of pet food recalls shows me and this vet fails to mention is that kibble is a far more likely cause of a pet shedding salmonella than any food you recognize when you open that package as simply meat, fat, bone and organ, but also it is reassuring that it is from the same food chain as the food you buy for your family, unlike the kibble ingredients which this Vet was kind enough to point out to us should not be fed to anything.

So please, when using all pet foods, do use all the common sense food safe rules that you were taught in the kitchen when handling all food. Also if you, like me, own a dog that is all jowly and loose faced you may even want to wash their face after eating all pet foods. But to me, unlike this vet, this is common sense everyone should follow for ALL pet foods.

I ask one thing of people. Question authority and make up your own mind. As long as all pet owners are trying to do their best by their pets, well that’s what counts. Just do not accept blanket statements from anyone and hopefully you will have a pet who thrives rather than just survives.

A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
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« Last Edit: January 03, 2012, 04:59:32 PM by Lola, Reason: Added full text »
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Offline Lola

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2012, 05:00:56 PM »
I received permission to post their response in full.  Very personable people.  
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Offline CarnivorousCritter

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2012, 05:04:14 PM »
 thumbsup1 thumbsup1 thumbsup1 thumbsup1 thumbsup1

Just got done writing to them myself!

Offline CarnivorousCritter

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2012, 05:54:51 PM »
Interesting, and typical as unfortunately it wasn't a mistype.

Quote
Just to clarify, a mistype in the article stated that we make raw food when, actually, we retail raw pet foods from a variety of Canadian manufacturers.

I'm old enough to remember when there were Journalists, people whose job it was to gather all the facts on a subject before "running" with it, half arsed.  Now it's just a matter of 'reporting' some of a story, selecting whatever is perceived by the 'writer' to be most eye-catching. To heck with the details. There is no room for 'detail' in what passes for "journalism" today...  both are extinct! 


Offline Growlies

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2012, 06:37:42 PM »
Wow guys this is great!

Can't believe people are actually discussing what came out of a little article about our pet food store.

FYI we're the only kibble free pet food store on Vancouver Island.

I just want to thank you all for your fantastic support as I read through the forums.

Offline CarnivorousCritter

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2012, 06:56:44 PM »
OMG your youtubes are priceless!

This one --


Our prayer has been for a veterinarian for doggies, with resources & information like Dr. Pierson ... fnes.org  & their feline-specific contemporaries have. So many questions regarding (for example)  Diabetes in canines on forums and we can't cite Dr. Pierson because cats are a little different, obligate...

Offline Growlies

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2012, 06:57:46 PM »
I just got a letter from CARPFM - Canadian Association of Raw Pet Food Manufacturers and they will be writing a response to our local paper about the Vets letter to the editor.

When I get a copy I will link it here.

:)

Offline Lola

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2012, 08:25:12 PM »
I just got a letter from CARPFM - Canadian Association of Raw Pet Food Manufacturers and they will be writing a response to our local paper about the Vets letter to the editor.

When I get a copy I will link it here.

:)

Wonder if THAT response will see the light of day. 
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Offline Lola

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2012, 08:27:09 PM »

FYI we're the only kibble free pet food store on Vancouver Island.


Kinda on the same wavelength...I don't think Weruva foods are perfect, but I realllllly like that they don't mfg. ANY kibble. 
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Offline Shadow

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2012, 03:33:57 AM »
I just got a letter from CARPFM - Canadian Association of Raw Pet Food Manufacturers and they will be writing a response to our local paper about the Vets letter to the editor.

When I get a copy I will link it here.

:)
That is great  thumbsup1
"Education is the key" to make informed decisions about the health of our pets

Offline CarnivorousCritter

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #10 on: January 04, 2012, 10:51:45 AM »
Wonder if THAT response will see the light of day. 
(from CARPFM - Canadian Association of Raw Pet Food Manufacturers)

If they've got the $$$ & send something just casually inquiring about advertising rates, that (as most papers these days) will probably offer to print anything they have to say, even if if it's about suspecting there are cows grazing on grass on the Moon...

Offline Shadow

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #11 on: January 04, 2012, 12:49:10 PM »
Apparently my own thread has been locked  :-\  so I will write this here.
When a situation similar to this comes up again for anyone that feeds a raw diet.  Here are some tips on how you can help others understand. I know some people think that raw feeders are "cultish", yes we have been tagged that over at "catsfur"  bangshead
http://feline-nutrition.org/membership/messaging-how-to-talk-about-feline-nutrition
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Offline Pookie

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #12 on: January 04, 2012, 01:03:39 PM »
Growlies, your reply to the vet's letter was WONDERFUL!   :-* DrLisaPiersonWorthy happydance1 yaygif woohoogif


Our prayer has been for a veterinarian for doggies, with resources & information like Dr. Pierson ... fnes.org  & their feline-specific contemporaries have. So many questions regarding (for example)  Diabetes in canines on forums and we can't cite Dr. Pierson because cats are a little different, obligate...

CC, regarding dogs w/diabetes, I don't see why Dr. Pierson's information wouldn't be relevant.  Dogs are also carnivores, maybe not as strict as cats, but I think the physiology is similar enough that the information would also be valuable to dog parents.  Just my 2 cents.   2cents
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Offline CarnivorousCritter

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #13 on: January 04, 2012, 02:09:43 PM »
I so agree, Pookie  :)    It's the people who can't be convinced either way because the Doctors we cite only refer to cats.  Some argue that dogs are not even carnivores simply because they're not as strict as cats.   :(       

For example, there is a popular Dog Diabetes Yahoo group that is always recommended on other forums (never a dog vet, like Dr Pierson is w/ cats) and even they mentioned "prescription" foods when I went through their site a while back  :(


Offline Shadow

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Re: A response to Dr. Chris Collis a Veterinarian in Victoria B.C.
« Reply #14 on: January 04, 2012, 07:45:23 PM »
Another reply to our Dr. Collis from another Vet  :)
http://www.peterdobias.com/community/2012/01/2664/
He is also having a "webinar" this Saturday at 5pm (Pacific time) if you would like to listen to it, here is the link.
All about feeding raw and debate. I hope some of you can listen. I have to work!! darn!!
http://www.peterdobias.com/community/webinars/
« Last Edit: January 04, 2012, 08:13:04 PM by Shadow »
"Education is the key" to make informed decisions about the health of our pets