How cool is this, Olympian Michael Phelps kicking back and hanging out with Herman, his British Bull Dog. I sure dig it being a pampered pooch myself. You can see Herman here.

After several articles appeared on Herman and all the cash Michael stands to gain from endorsements, it seems folks got their tails out of joint over Herman. They said he is ugly. I say beauty is in the “eyes of the beholder.” Personally, I have never seen an ugly dog but people; we might want to chat about that.

As you might expect, books, movie deals and dog-food makers are keen to grab hold of Michael and Herman. Now, I do not have cash to offer Herman but I think I have something better, joining me as a Doggone Green Crusader and saving the earth.

I want Herman to be on guard as regards a possible dog-food endorsement cause when “Big Herman” yaps, pets ‘n their people will pay attention. It is an attitude, if it’s good enough for Herman, its good enough for me.

I’m a Chesapeake Bay retriever and bigger than Herman. I weigh 79 lbs.; British Bull Dogs tend to be 45 to 55 lbs. That means I consume more food daily. That’s important when you consider quality because “we are what we eat.” I always tell pets, “You can save hundreds of dollars on vet bills by spending a few extra bucks on high quality pet food and have a quality life?

Use This Stuff for Bio-Fuels

As I said in Doggone Green, the pet food industry is dreadful. It’s a place for slaughterhouse waste and by-products. It is no accident-recycled grease and fry oil is sprayed on pet food for taste. I say, use recycled grease for bio-fuel not in pet food.

Too many 2-leggeds expect us to not only eat the garbage they pay money for but also love it. Put your noggin’ around this: if you begin with by-products (i.e. left-over animal parts after the meat is gone from the bones which could be anything rejected by the slaughterhouse and unfit for human consumption) how is it that you can make that “crap” flavorful, appealing and nutritious for dogs and cats? Not possible I say. If you don’t start with first class ingredients, you sure aren’t going to get a quality pet food. I say stick with human-grade ingredients, organic or free-range. If your pet parent won’t eat it neither should you.

Cheap food is easy to find; grocery store isles, pet discount stores and even dollar stores. I say shop at your locally owned pet store because you are more likely to find a higher quality food. Don’t assume canned food is any better than dry kibble.

There are no short cuts; become skilled at reading the labels. If pet food makers spent billions on the contents, dogs and cats would be a lot healthier and less obese. Instead, they squander it on packaging and advertising to make it sound healthy. Keep in mind we rely on you, our pet parents to decide what is best for us. We don’t care how they wrap it or what they call it; we care that it is nutritious. You should too.

Dogs and cats thrive on high protein meals of meat and poultry. Think about it the way I do. If you knew the food you were eating was full of artificial preservatives (BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin), antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, by-products, dyes, flavorings and fillers, would you eat it? Learn to look for these items on the ingredient label. If you see them listed, buy a better food.

You need to know that by-products, digests and meals can be full of cancerous tissue cuts, plastic foam wrappings that may contain spoiled meat from stores, road kill, pieces of downer animals and grains considered unfit for our two-leggeds. I tell you this stuff is ugly.

My bud Eddie, with Pets for the Environment (located in Washington, DC) is on a mission for safer food and is “digging up” the facts. Read his pet food blog.

As for Herman, call me; we need to yap. Our times call for a country full of Doggone Green Crusaders. I need you and the planet needs you!

Tail Waggin’ Love,

Cedar Dog

cedar@petsgonegreen.com