This was a great post -- very thought provoking. But it seems to me that most of the examples were in urban areas. Does this model also work in rural areas? I'm not so sure it does.

I live a rural area in Tennessee whose county population is 96,472. The largest city has around 38,000 people. The municipal shelter, which is run by the city and county, kills 7000 animals a year -- an 88% kill rate. (The animal is put down if no adopted within 3 days.) Many, many pet owners here don't believe in neutering their animals. The few no-kill shelters we have send a lot of their dogs North to be adopted because they can't find homes for them here.

I think people living in rural areas need to devise a marketing & PR program (educational program) to help pet owners see the need for neutering their animals and for having a no-kill shelter. That would be a tough sell here, though. But only then will the people running the city and county support a no-kill municipal shelter.

Does anyone know of any successful marketing & PR or educational campaigns that have been successful in rural areas?

Initially, I was put off by Gomas' propaganda about his "years of donations of money, food and other articles to no kill animal shelters" -- which has nothing at all to do with preventing a batch of his pet food from becoming tainted. But as I read on, I began to have second thoughts and now will reserve judgment.

I can see the inspectors screwing up sometimes. But I also can see a pet food company that has a good reputation screwing up sometimes as well. (After all, Merrick has a good reputation and look what's been happening with their Beef Filet Squares.) And in this controversy, both sides have a vested interest in being right.

Personally, I think the best way to avoid Salmonella in your dog or cat's meal of raw meat is to make it yourself using locally raised and humanely slaughtered meat. But who has the time for that?

This is really a thought-provoking post. Thanks, Mary.

Our next door neighbor had a rescued pit bull. The man who bred it wanted to make the dog into a fighting dog, but the dog had too gentle a nature. So the guy was going to shoot it.

Our neighbor's friend found out about the dog and bought him from the man for $100. When the friend had to move, he gave the dog to our neighbor, who had him for years.

As I said, the dog was both sweet and gentle -- but HUGE. The only time he ever growled happened when he thought my neighbor's wife was being threatened.

The dog died a few months ago from heart failure. Our neighbors were devastated.

Unfortunately, no one thought to bring charges against the man who bred the dog.

I like Merrick and serve the canned food to my dogs Faith and Mac. And I must say I'm disillusioned with their actions about the Beef Fillet Recall. If they keep doing actions like this, they'll hurt their brand -- and break the trust between them and the people like me who buy their products.

But an even more serious issue is all the pet food recalls lately: five within the past month! Does this indicate that something's wrong with the way our pet food is manufactured? Or with the way it's inspected?

Is this the beginning of a worrisome trend? I hope not.

The idea that pets are part of the family is indeed going global. One good example of this is taking place in China, which currently is experiencing a backlash against restaurants that serve dog because more and more people there are seeing dogs (and cats) as pets-- not food.

The post seems to imply that the invasion of the European pet markets by American big-box pet chains such as PETCO is a good thing in terms of convenience. But "convenience" doesn't necessarily translate into spreading the idea of pets as family. That idea can be spread just as easily in the countries whose people value local family- owned pet stores.

Locally owned pet shops -- both here and abroad -- offer expert advice, unique products, and exceptional customer service that the big-box chains can't match. For example, the owners of local pet shops know their products thoroughly because they're the ones who buy them and those shops also carry products not found in the big box pet chains. And because they know their products, they can give you the pros and cons if you're not sure which to buy.

When you buy from your local pet shop, you're also supporting your community. Here in the US, $68 out of every $100 you spend locally stays in the community while if you spend $100 at a chain store only $43 stays in the community. Also, the owners of local pet shops, being members of their communities, are more interested in supporting the communities than are the folks who run the chains at corporate headquarters off in some other state.

I suspect that the people in countries such as France that are trying to keep the big-box pet chains out realize how devastating those stores will be to both their local family stores and to their communities. Personally, I hope the big-box pet chains have a difficult time breaking into those markets.

You can read more about the importance of local pet shops in my blog post at http://dogtidbits.com/general/local-pet-stores-wh...