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Dear Meredith Vieira

My open letter to the TV personality Meredith Vieira – hoping she’ll stop feeding her dog Jasper ‘as seen on TV’ treats.

My open letter to the TV personality Meredith Vieira – hoping she’ll stop feeding her dog Jasper ‘as seen on TV’ treats.

Dear Meredith Vieira,

I admit it, I’m a fan. I love your humor – your consistent effort to make us laugh. But…I think we need to talk about the treats that you give your dog. There’s nothing funny about what you are feeding Jasper.

I heard you say it on a recent show – that Jasper loves Pup-Peroni. Have you ever wondered what is in that treat?

Here are the ingredients from the original Beef Flavor Pup-Peroni…

Beef, Meat By-products, Soy Grits, Sugar, Liver, Salt, Propylene Glycol, Garlic Powder, Caramel Color, Natural Smoke Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (Used as a Preservative), Sodium Nitrite (for Color Retention), Red 40, BHA (Used as a Preservative), Onion Extract.

Let’s look at a few of the ingredients…

Beef and Meat by-products: Meats in pet foods or treats come in two categories; human grade or pet grade. While pet grade might sound acceptable, please know that the FDA allows diseased animal tissues or meat sourced from non-slaughtered animals (such as died in the field processed days later animals) to become ‘pet grade’ meat. Big Heart Brands (maker of Pup-Peroni) states their meats are pet grade. This is no guarantee the beef and meat by-products are sourced from diseased animal tissue – but you should be aware it could be.

Propylene Glycol: This is a controversial ingredient that is used to keep the semi-moist form of the Pup-Peroni treat – components of this ingredient are linked to cancer. The ingredient can be deadly to cats.

Red 40: The Center for Science in the Public Interest stated this food dye “may accelerate the appearance of immune-system tumors in mice. Red 40 should be excluded from foods unless and until new tests clearly demonstrate its safety.”

BHA: This ingredient is used to preserve the treat – but it comes with risks. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies BHA as a possible carcinogen.

As an alternative, how about giving Jasper cooked green beans or dried meat (human grade not pet grade) as a treat? Or perhaps search for a treat that is made with human edible ingredients (there are lots of options made with quality ingredients). I promise, he’ll love it just as much as his current treat and you won’t be left with the worry of the possible risks.

Please keep making us laugh, but also please give Jasper real food – not pet grade food or treats.

Sincerely,

Susan Thixton

 

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food

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9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Peg

    December 8, 2014 at 4:04 pm

    Dear Meredith Viera,

    Susan Thixton really knows what she’s talking about despite not having letters after her last name.
    Read all about Susan on truthaboutpetfood.com
    Susan is the BEST at helping all of us to keep out pets well fed with good, healthy food.

    Sincerely,
    Peg

  2. Lill Marks

    December 8, 2014 at 4:10 pm

    I cringe every time I see her feed that treat her her dog. Yuck. Hopefully she will get your message and change to a better – MUCH BETTER – treat.

  3. Susan

    December 8, 2014 at 4:46 pm

    I would love to hear/read her response

  4. Pingback: Dear Meredith Vieira | dogosearch.com

  5. Ellie

    December 8, 2014 at 5:03 pm

    I am just amazed at how trained most Americans are NOT to look at ingredient lists. Maybe they do from time to time read the ingredient lists and it makes no sense to them so they just assume that someone in government is watching out for them. That would be their second mistake.
    In this day of internet technology it is easy enough to do a short bit of research on those ingredients that do not resemble any plant or animal known to nature and make a sound decision before consuming or having a pet consume something unidentifiable.

  6. Lindsey Wolko

    December 8, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    Remember Susan, celebrities get paid to promote products. This product placement was not by accident…..the manufacturer likely paid big bucks for that endorsement. It doesn’t excuse the bad choice – but it’s the reality of the world we live in.

    Cheers to you! Can’t wait to hear more about your test results. Let’s schedule a call soon.

    Lindsey Wolko
    Founder, Center for Pet Safety

  7. Nancy

    December 8, 2014 at 7:10 pm

    I love Mishka the talking Huskey and her sidekick Leika,( rip Moki) I cringed when I recently saw her on a Purina commercial. Please write to him and tell him to give his beloved dogs better food and stop compromising their health for money.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jg0umprf18

  8. Tattie

    December 9, 2014 at 5:25 am

    Well, her response to this will be very telling. Initially, she will probably be offended but she’s such a smart woman. I think she’ll do her due diligence AND if we are lucky, she may become one of us!!! I shop at Walmart a lot because I buy for a non-profit and every time I see carts filled with all those huge bags of dog food I have to restrain myself.

    In time, everything in good time.

  9. Kim

    December 12, 2014 at 9:03 pm

    Like Susan said you can make your own. Chicken gizzards and hearts are great for this. Boil them, cool, then slice in half, and dry. You know exactly what is in it. But if you lack time Orijen for one has wonderful freeze dried treats.

    If you want your dog around as long as you can start learning from Susan and feed your dog a whole food diet, and quality treats. Join us on our quest to educate everyone. You are in a good position to do that. And by all means please do not just endorse something until you have researched it. We want the best for you and your dog and would love for you to join us.

    Kim

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Human Grade & Feed Grade
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