How long will your pet live?

Written by Dawn Jenness


The pet food industry, a billion-dollar, unregulated operation, feeds onrepparttar garbage that otherwise would wind up in landfills or be transformed into fertilizer. The hidden ingredients in a can of commercial pet food may include road kill andrepparttar 116330 rendered remains of cats and dogs. The pet food industry claims that its products constitute a "complete and balanced diet" but, in reality, commercial pet food is unfit for human or animal consumption.

"Vegetable protein",repparttar 116331 mainstay of dry dog foods, includes ground yellow corn, wheat shorts and middlings, soybean meal, rice husks, peanut meal and peanut shells (identified as "cellulose" on pet food labels). These often are little more thanrepparttar 116332 sweepings from milling room floors. Stripped of their oil, germ and bran, these "proteins" are deficient in essential fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants. "Animal protein" in commercial pet foods can include diseased meat, road kill, contaminated material from slaughterhouses, fecal matter, rendered cats and dogs and poultry feathers. The major source of animal protein comes from dead-stock removal operations that supply so-called "4-D" animals-dead, diseased, dying or disabled-to "receiving plants" for hide, fat and meat removal. The meat (after being doused with charcoal and marked "unfit for human consumption") may then be sold for pet food.

Rendering plants process decomposing animal carcasses, large road kill and euthanized dogs and cats into a dry protein product that is sold torepparttar 116333 pet food industry. One small plant in Quebec, Ontario, renders 10 tons (22,000 pounds) of dogs and cats per week. The Quebec Ministry of Agriculture states that "the fur is not removed from dogs and cats" and that "dead animals are cooked together with viscera, bones and fat at 115° C (235° F) for 20 minutes".

The US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is aware ofrepparttar 116334 use of rendered dogs and cats in pet foods, but has stated: "CVM has not acted to specifically prohibitrepparttar 116335 rendering of pets. However, that is not to say thatrepparttar 116336 practice of using this material in pet food is condoned byrepparttar 116337 CVM."

In bothrepparttar 116338 US and Canada,repparttar 116339 pet food industry is virtually self-regulated. Inrepparttar 116340 US,repparttar 116341 Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) sets guidelines and definitions for animal feed, including pet foods. In Canada,repparttar 116342 most prominent control isrepparttar 116343 "Labeling Act", simply requiring product labels to staterepparttar 116344 name and address ofrepparttar 116345 manufacturer,repparttar 116346 weight ofrepparttar 116347 product and whether it is dog or cat food. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) andrepparttar 116348 Pet Food Association of Canada (PFAC) are voluntary organizations that, forrepparttar 116349 most part, rely onrepparttar 116350 integrity ofrepparttar 116351 companies they certify to assure that product ingredients do not fall below minimum standards.

Collecting Elephants Is Big

Written by Michael Knapik


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EverythingElephants.com

Introduction to Collecting Elephants There are many facets to collecting anything, and elephants are no exception. For example, there are some interesting myths and stories related to collecting. The most common is that one should only collect elephants with their trunk up - I don't personally believe it, and some collectors actually dorepparttar opposite. A myth borne ofrepparttar 116329 Feng Shui craze is placing elephants nearrepparttar 116330 entry of you home, facing in certain directions. The lore and myths of elephants and some aspects of collecting elephant-related things are captured in: "An Enchantment of Elephants" by Emily Gwathmey, and: "elephant ancient and modern" by F. C. Sillar and R. M. Meyler. Why collect elephants inrepparttar 116331 first place? Well, for me, they are cool looking animals, their historical/ancestral forms are fascinating,(e.g., anacus, mastodon, woolly mammoth etc.), and they have been put on more things than any other animal I believe. So there is a huge variety of things to collect. Just look at allrepparttar 116332 categories in Section 3; most people can find more than one category that interests them - independent ofrepparttar 116333 elephant motif. So if you combinerepparttar 116334 interests - you can find years of enjoyment indulging those interests. Also, a good reason to announce your interest in elephants is, when people know you collect elephants, you start getting them as gifts! The Spousal Acceptance Factor - managing your significant other. Whether you are married or have a significant other, one thing is almost inevitable: conflict over your ever-burgeoning collection. Either in terms of size, amount of space taken inrepparttar 116335 home, orrepparttar 116336 financial angle,repparttar 116337 spousal acceptance factor plays a part in your attempt to collect every cool elephant you see. As your collection grows fromrepparttar 116338 tens torepparttar 116339 hundreds and then torepparttar 116340 thousands for some, you have to have somewhere to put them. Depending onrepparttar 116341 size of your home, you first start out using available/existing space: inrepparttar 116342 curio withrepparttar 116343 dinner plates, on bookshelves along with Twain and Tolkien, and on what was, ostensibly, plant shelves. Then you need a dedicated space - because scattering them all over is messy and some are lonely etc. So you either rearrange things to put them all on one set of shelves or in one curio, or you go out and buy or make dedicated curios or shelving. Thenrepparttar 116344 ultimate - you convert a room of your house, then your whole house, then buy or rent a building to displayrepparttar 116345 elephants. That is exactly what some people do - as Mitch Brown did when she opened The Elephant Castle and Museum in Las Vegas (now closed and looking for another building).This scenario is fine if your significant other accepts or better yet - joins you in your obsession. But if your relationship is not on solid ground, yielding ever-more space and funds to your hobby could make them become resentful and angry. If they are not on board and amused and accepting of your hobby, NEVER buy them an elephant gift for their birthday or holiday! They will know for whom you really bought it! How internet is changing collecting. Let's face it,repparttar 116346 Internet has changed just about everything, and collecting is no exception. For me, I reached an elephant collector's epiphany of sorts, when I first logged onto eBay and searched onrepparttar 116347 word: "elephant". About 3,000 elephants came up for sale for one week! Now,repparttar 116348 number is about 10,000 per week - some being repeats of course. The point being, a great variety of elephant collectibles is available to collectors in an open market. It would take merepparttar 116349 rest of my life - if then - to travel to allrepparttar 116350 places and shops, lets alone individuals, to see all those elephants for sale. But on eBay they are all in one place. And that is just eBay; there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of other sites that have a goodly amount of elephanteria to look at. What to collect - specialization If you have collected elephants for long, you probably realize that there are a lot of them out there!! Tens, if not hundreds of examples/instances in each ofrepparttar 116351 categories that are listed here. (There are certainly some categories I did not include.) So that means thousands of different basic types of elephants. That does not even considerrepparttar 116352 lower-level variations in , for example, color or size of a particular model. There are so many elephants, it is doubtful that anyone could collect every one, even with unlimited funds; no one can get every manufacturer or artist, every material, in every color and variety and size. So what do you do? Specialize! Some have decided that only elephant figurines are elephant collectibles - and there are plenty of those to go around! Some may like tobacco-related items and so combine that with a love of elephant things, and collect elephant ashtrays, humidors, dispensers, matchboxes, etc. You can also divert an existing mainstream hobby like numismatics or philately, torepparttar 116353 elephant world, as there are plenty of examples of elephants coins and stamps. Another option is to collect elephants made on your birthday, or made during a certain era (e.g., Art Deco), or by a particular manufacturer or from a specific material. Or, be a "type" collector, wherein you try and get at least one excellent example of an elephant in each category. Another neat way to specialize is to collect 1 pachy from each place you visit. Or focus on elephants fromrepparttar 116354 place you grew up. For me - that would be Cleveland, Ohio, so whenever there is an ellie that relates to Cleveland (orrepparttar 116355 greater metro area), or Ohio, I try to pounce on it! Condition In all areas of collecting, not just elephant collecting, one factor is of utmost importance - condition! It cuts across all categories of elephants -repparttar 116356 betterrepparttar 116357 condition,repparttar 116358 rarer it is (as compared to used and damaged versions ofrepparttar 116359 same thing), andrepparttar 116360 more it will appreciate, because other instances will become used/damaged over time. Therefore, ultimately, ifrepparttar 116361 elephant is inrepparttar 116362 best possible condition,repparttar 116363 more you will pay for it. So, if you can afford it, buy mint or near mint items with little damage. That is, unless you find an unusual item or one so rare that affordability in any kind of future time frame would be out ofrepparttar 116364 question. Not only does buying undamaged elephants pay off in case you ever sell, but your peace of mind is important too. I mean, you don't what to look through your collection and be reminded of that crack or chip or tear every time, right?! Now, that being said, there is nothing wrong with some normal wear (as opposed to 'tear'). For example, if you buy a bronze that has been painted and is, say a true antique (~100+ years old or so), it is safe to say it is OK for there to be some minor paint problems - either small flakes or chips, or a rubbing/dulling of gloss. But not too much!! Or, if you buy an old magazine advertisement that has a minor margin tear that will 'mat out'; that seems OK too. Especially if you feel you will not get an opportunity to see/buy that exact item again, and it really appeals to you otherwise.Of course you could take a purist stance and only look for perfect specimens. This is fine too, but keep in mind that it will take a lot longer to find specimens in that shape, and will cost more, likely much more for certain items. However, if you specialize in elephant bronzes torepparttar 116365 exclusion of all else, since your focus is narrowed, you can afford to be picky. Your time and money is focused and you want to getrepparttar 116366 finest possible examples within a particular category of elephants.

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