TOTAL RECALL

Once again Yours Truly has had to deny her inner Rocky Balboa by not pummeling the twenty-something twit who stood in front of me at the grocery store to within an inch of her life.  I have to let it be known that I am a pacifist; I believe in working out problems by talking with my mouth and not my hands, but this woman nearly had my hands wrapped around her throat.  What was it about this woman that made me want to react so viciously?  It was a simple statement formulated in her extremely simple mind that she unleashed on an aisle full of concerned pet owners.

Pet owners throughout North America, myself included, have been worried sick about the well being of our animals.  Menu Foods, the company that produces IAMS, Eukenuba and President's Choice Pet Foods among many others orchestrated a massive recall of sixty million cans of wet dog and cat food, because it found that a substance used in rat poison had been added to over ninety brands of food.  Every day the newspaper reports stories of animals in excruciating pain, and families in mourning because they have had to put their pets down, and every single day I have been worried that I might have put the lives of my own pets in danger.  Thankfully, my little ones are healthy; unfortunately sixteen dogs and cats weren't so lucky.  Sixteen is the number of confirmed deaths from kidney failure, but I believe that to be on the low side.  Sixteen families have been devastated by this senseless loss, and I am sure they are asking the same questions that so many of us are: How could this happen and who is to blame?

The owners of my local grocery store have been doing everything they can to help by having their employees stationed in the pet food aisle to assist their customers.  There is actually a booth set up where shoppers can go to get the latest information on the recall, and believe me, it helps that the employees are well educated in the products the store is selling.  It was next to that very booth that I had to restrain myself from throttling the peroxided toothpick in front of me.  

"I don't see what the big deal is." She said, as she and her friend strutted past the booth.  They're just animals."

She's lucky she was moving quickly or a ten pound container of cat litter would have landed squarely on her head.  I was so angry at her lack of compassion that I literally had to force myself to calm down.  How can a person be so callous?  How can the painful deaths of so many defenseless beings not affect her?  In the last week I have seen both men and women choke up at the mere mention of harm being done to these animals, so how can this woman be so scarily emotionless?  What bothers me even more is the fact that this thought is also shared by the people at Menu Foods; they have not issued apologies to the families who have lost their loved one, and it seems that one is not coming in the near future.  These families have rightfully struck back with class action lawsuits and I'm sure that many more will join them, but it will not take away the pain and guilt that they must feel.  

I am so grateful that my cats are healthy and not in any danger; they are my kids, my family, and I can't imagine my life without them.  They are living breathing examples of unconditional love and I feel so lucky that I get to share this life with them.  It almost makes me feel sorry for the toothpick and her friend; they will never understand the kind of love an animal can provide, but not sorry enough to give up wishing that they get locked in a room with those families for five minutes. Five minutes might just change their perspectives a little.