Apparantly, not only how much we spend on our pets, but pets in general, have become big news in the United States. So much so, that USA Today has a complete section dedicated to news and information concerning man's best friends.

The section is called Paw Print Posts. The articles range from interesting "fluff" stories to articles of great concern among pet owners such as health & nutrition, the contravery surrounding euthanasia for pets and the costs of owning a pet today.

As you can see from the chart below, Americans spend quite a bit of their household income on their pets. It is also interesting to note that if you compare the items that cost the most for pets to what costs the most for the rest of the family, you will see it is the same.

Health care and medications top both lists for the greatest expenditures for the American family.

Paws 4 Health would like to do its part in helping our families to spend less on health care and medications for us all. Eating healthy and exercising is an important part of our overall health as well as the overall health of our pets.

Check out our recipes and ideas for better living for the whole family.

I know we would all like to live longer and healthier lives and spend less of our money on doctors and medications and more money on enjoying each other!!

Black cats have long been a topic for superstition. Even though, in some countries, black cats are held in high esteem, most of the world sees them as BAD LUCK!

Unfortunantly, it has NEVER been a human that a suffered bad luck from a black cat - it is the cat who has had ALL the bad luck.

A superstition begun in the Middle Ages focusing on witch hunts, associated the black cat with a witch. Possibly because it roamed at night and they usually have yellow glowing eyes in the dark, these poor creatures were slaughtered to the point that not only were black cats sacraficed, other cats as well fell victim to the same fate. So much so that this gave way to Black Death.

A pandemic in Europe between 1348 and 1350. This was brought on by the lack of cats available to control the rat population which in turn allowed the fleas from the rats to infect thousands of people.

Even today - in the United States, there are far too many reported cases of black cats meeting unfortunate and even cruel deaths. Many shelters will not even adopt out a black cat during the month of October.

If you see or know of ANY abuse to a black cat or ANY other animal - please report it to your local law enforcement agency and/or rescue organization.

There is NO room for this type of ingorance and cruelty in our society today. We have all been taught not to judge an individual based on their color - why does this not apply to animals as well?!

A new federal program to report, track and monitor cases of pet food contamination and health-related incidents could help states and federal agencies better coordinate in their knowledge and responses to these occurrences.

Up until now, the process of reporting pet food contamination has been on a very individual basis, says Lynn White-Shim, DVM, Assistant Director in the Scientific Activities Division of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

The new online program, dubbed PETNet, or the Pet Event Tracking Network, will change that and will "enhance the process of coordinating across states," says White-Shim. PETNet developed following the widespread melamine pet food recalls in 2007, when the FDA and its state partners struggled with timely sharing of information.

For pet owners, that could lead to faster and more conclusive information on pet food-related incidents.

"Right now pet owners can really just act on a scenario to scenario basis," explained White-Shim. "If their pet gets sick and they think it could be a result of the pet food they are feeding their pet, they can contact their veterinarian or they can contact the manufacturer of the food."

"Or if the vet locates a trend that he or she thinks is the result of pet food, they can also talk with federal authorities or a manufacturer and that can help take a step to get things resolved."

PETNet members can then track the emergence of relevant data and trends and evaluate the need for further action. In the case of the need for a public alert, all consumers would then be notified through "appropriate public channels," like recall notices, according to Laura Avery, of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF PETNet? HAS YOUR PET BEEN EFFECTED BY CONTAMINATED PET FOOD. Email me and let me know what you think!

Vickie@Paws4Health.com

With the recent leaps and bounds in human medicine, it's opened up doors and options for people that we wouldn't have ever thought possible 30 years ago. Well, veterinary medicine is no different. The advancement of various medicines and prosthetics now allow us to offer our beloved pets every chance possible for a full and healthy life. The Post Chronicale (http://www.postchronicle.com) did a story that perfectly exemplifies these wonderful advancements. Click here to read about Naki'o, a dog who was fit with prosthetic paws.

In previous generations, the most important FAMILY activity was meal time.

There were no phones, no ipods, no television. Dinner was served at a scheduled time and all member of the family were expected to be there.

The benefits of this activity was numerous. Benefits not only for each individual but for the family as a unit.

Our lifestyles do not allow us to have this perfect scenario all the time, but Paws 4 Health is helping to remind all of us that meal time is a bonding time. A time when all family members come together, enjoy each other's company and share small talk.

Don't Forget!! Your pet is part of the family too. He would benefit greatly from a family time when all is peaceful. Everyone, including he, eat in a relaxed environment sharing wholesome, healthy foods.

Is this a dream? It might be - but it should not be a dream we give up on!

We only get ONE family!! ENJOY THEM!!

BARF is an acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. In an effort to promote healthier eating habits for their dogs, many owners have adopted the BARF diet. This consists of feeding your dog only raw meats, raw bones, raw eggs, raw vegetables, and sometimes kibble.

The reasoning behind this diet is that when dogs were living in the wild, they only ate raw meats. Those who agree with this type of diet say that dogs are descendents of wolves and they need to be fed like wolves; however, none of these claims have been scientifically substantiated. There have been no scientific studies to back-up claims that this diet is of any benefit to your dog.

Paws 4 Health is very much AGAINST the BARF diet for numerous reasons that have been scientifically substantiated. The BARF diet has the potential to be fatal. Why? First of all, any bone rather, raw or ground, has the potential to perforate the gastrointestional tract causing peritonitis and severe infection. Also, these diets are full of bacteria (mostly salmonella). Even if your dog builds a resistance to this bacteria over time, they "shed" salmonella which means that your whole family is at risk of ingesting this bacteria. Finally, even though your dog may be a descendent of wolves, dogs have been domesticated for over 30,000 years and have adapted a completely different diet.

There may be some dogs that do just fine on this diet, but any diet that can be potentially dangerous to your pet and/or your family should be avoided.