Day 63 of our Green Year: Greening Up The Pet Food

For Layla and I, our pets our like our children and we only want the best for them, and the environment in which they inhabit. Currently, we have two dogs (Niko and Lucy), three birds (Augy, Zed and Honey), two cats (Palu and Sparty) and one dog we are babysitting for our friend, Darcee, this month, Buckwheat.

So, we want to make sure what they eat is as good as what we eat. Why allow our animals to eat byproducts when we eat organic food? Therefore, for Day 63, we are getting rid of animal byproduct and unhealthy pet food. Most of the pet food you buy at the store is filled with reconstituted animal byproducts, which are just low-grade wastes from the poultry and beef industries. These are things we would never eat, yet we let our companions munch away on it.

A delightful insight into byproducts comes from the fact that the animals that are used in pet food are called 4-D. What does that mean? It means that the dead, dying, diseased and disabled. Unless it actually says so on the can that the ingredients are food-grade meat, you can be assured what they are eating is no good for human, or pet, consumption.

This is why Layla and I are going with Natural and Organic pet foods instead. One place we have tried for pet food is right here in our town. It is called Mountain Mutt Bakery and our dogs love their all natural food. You can also find a wide variety of other organic and natural pet foods in certain stores (Like Tails Pet Store where we are) and online.

All the organic and natural pet foods come from animals that are raised in a humane way, and not pumped full of drugs and hormones, and are preserved with vitamins C and E. That is much better than the 'byproducts' that are in pet food.

So, before we leave you today, what is in some byproducts (albeit not all)? Here is just a short list:

• Cow brains
• Sheep guts
• Chicken heads
• Road kill
• Rancid grain

After seeing animals die from tainted grain last year, Layla and I are no longer taking the chance for the good of our environment, and our pets.

Do you have a photo of you with your pets enjoying an eco-friendly activity or food? Let us know!

Day 40 of our Green Year: Greeny Kitty Litter

As we go forward in Our Green Year, we will do several blogs on how to green things up when you have pets. Layla and I have several pets, two dogs, two cats and a bird. Plus we are taking care of another dog during the month of June.
One of the worst things for the environment, is something every cat owner has and it is kitty litter.
Most people do not think about the kitty litter when they throw it away, but while many people use the clumping kind to easily get rid of waste, it has a big impact on the environment.
First, when it gets wet, it solidifies, and this turns it into large gooey messes that do not bio-degrade and slowly seep into the ground. In total, two million tons of cat litter is thrown in the land fill, each year in the United States. That is a lot of gooey messes seeping into the ground.

As well, the clay and silica types of litter, which are the most common kinds, are made through heavily destructive methods of strip-mining that get clay and silica, but destroy the environment around the mines.

Therefore, Layla and I will only be buying natural cat litter, which can come from a variety of natural materials. Two of the most common types of natural cat litters are made from corn and sawdust, and are wonderful for your cats and even better for the environment. Layla and I are now proud to have 100 percent environmentally friendly cat litter, that will not harm the environment when it is taken out of the ground, or put back into it.

Remember, send us your photos of you and your family doing green things like we have in our blog, and we will put them up!