So much going on in the world … so why do I feel like writing about the most controversial subject imaginable, one guaranteed to earn me new and even more determined enemies? I’m talking about dog food.

There’s an enormous recall on dog food in the United States, due to fears of some kind of toxicity in over 60 million containers containing food from a particular manufacturer; one which supplies food for dozens of different brands, mind you. This story from a local TV news organization is typical:

“I thought she got into some antifreeze or something,” says Bill Painter. “She was regurgitating a black bile like fluid, had rectal bleeding and was vomiting blood as well.”

Painter realized this weekend he was feeding Ginger food that’s part of a nationwide recall.

Local vets say they are treating dogs with kidney failure that have symptoms just like Ginger did.

“It does break your heart,” says Dr. Lynn Svoboda. “These people are buying this premium dog food and when they notice their animals stop eating, they try to make them eat more. The animals end up with kidney damage and it can be fatal.”

Painter isn’t positive the dog food killed his best friend, but is now just trying to say goodbye.

“I lost my best friend, my companion of more than 10 years. It’s too quiet out here without her,” says Painter.

People naturally think that when they’re buying a dog food with a premium name like “Eukanuba” or “Iams” that they’re getting a unique product manufactured by that company. It ain’t necessarily so, as the Gershwins would say; the same food involved in this recall was also in such unglamorous brands as “Price Chopper” and “Save-A-Lot.” The current list of brands affected is being provided by the original manufacturer at this link.

As a dog owner, I know people get sensitive when you start talking about the food you give to your canine companion. Naturally everyone considers that they’re making the best choice for their pet, although there are so many different choices and so many different and strongly-held opinions as to what actually is best. It’s clearly a matter of practicality too: if you own a big dog, or several dogs, feeding them a processed dog food that you can purchase in some bulk may be the only realistic option. I consider myself fortunate to own a fifteen-pound mutt for whom it is very easy and inexpensive to supply a home-made diet. Aside from some obligatory canine treats and a doggie vitamin, she eats nothing that hasn’t been certified as fit for human consumption by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The standards for what goes into dog food are rather different, and the current mass recall is evidence that a fancy label is no guarantee of a substantially distinct product. There’s all kinds of different varieties now: special food for puppies, for middle-aged dogs, for menopausal pooches and for canine senior citizens. What is all that, really, except a few gerry-mandered minerals and vitamins in the same stinking concoction? The premium dog food makers go to such lengths to make their offerings sound healthy and delicious, with all that “chunky cuts of lamb in savory gravy, mouthwatering carrots, rice, black truffles,” and so on. It’s ironic that — on the one hand — dog food companies tell you that you have to give your animal a scientifically balanced diet made specifically for dogs, and yet — on the other hand — their marketing strategy is aimed at making the food sound tasty to you. Of-course, I can’t be the only one to wonder why food that is described as having such wholesome and appealing ingredients always looks and smells so bad.

I guess I’ll continue to refuse to be impressed until I see a C.E.O. swallowing two or three tablespoonfuls of the stuff himself. Now, that would be an attention-getting commercial.

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