Saturday, August 23, 2008

Pet Ownership Hits a New Low at MudBay

I got a unsolicited catalog in the mail today from Mud Bay. Mud Bay is a pet supply company with about 14 locations in The Puget Sound area. I personally don't keep pets, but when I did, Purina Dog or Cat Chow seemed to keep them healthy for a reasonable price. It contained grains, meat by-products, vitamins and minerals--pretty basic stuff. Today I thumbed through a catalog that, first of all, made me angry, and then as I read more, ashamed.


"Mud Bay offers more than 500 varieties of healthy foods for dogs and cats." And, they are PROUD to say so right on the cover!

See the first "article"? Remember that this is Seattle and I live in one of the poorest neighborhoods. Mud Bay thinks I will need a Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat for my DOG, when I take it out on my BOAT! The price of $49.95-$69.95 is right in the range of what I spend on groceries at the local Canned Food Outlet. Let me see....food or dog life preserver??? The US Government sent US Service Men to Iraq with out of date body armor but one of my low-income neighbors is going to buy a 1680-denier BALLISTIC nylon doggy boating outfit???? THIS IS SO WRONG!

CBS did a series on a product called Plumpynut, basically a nutritious food bar made of peanut butter, designed to feed starving children. Since the introduction of the product in 2007, thousands of children have been rescued from the edge of death, but guess what? The price of peanut butter is on the rise--39 to 100% in worldwide markets. That means that Plumpynut is only going to be available to about half as many children next year. The good news is Mud Bay has plenty of peanut butter snacks for our PETS. Mud Bay customers must be rolling in assets though, Presto Peanut Butter Twinkles start at $7.99 for 8 ounces! ($7.99 would feed 8 children for 2 days. ) If an 8 ounce jar of peanut butter was $7.99 at the grocery store, America would be outraged! THIS IS SO WRONG!

Whats for dinner? How about Organic Beef, & Organic Vegetables with Cold Pressed Unrefined Safflower Oil? Sound like the best meal many of us will see all year, but this is for DOGS! If a Mud Bay customer feeds their pet Organic petfood and then I cook their pet for Sunday dinner, is that considered Organic & Cagefree Meat? THIS IS SO WRONG!

The ingredients listed in the PETFOODS sold by this company are amazing, and these are not listed as "By-Product". How many things on this list do you buy regularly? How many things on this list would your pet eat if it wasn't processed?
  • Duck
  • Beef & Organic Beef
  • Turkey & Organic Turkey
  • Shrimp
  • Crab
  • Herring
  • Salmon
  • Chicken
  • Venison
  • Lamb
  • Tilipia
  • Tuna
  • Rainbow Trout
  • Rabbit
  • Maki Rolls
  • Artichoke
  • Avocado
  • Garlic
  • Potato
  • Cucumber
  • Carrots
  • Apples
  • Sweet Potato
  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries
  • Papaya
  • Figs
  • Cranberries
  • Oats
  • Rice
  • Brown Rice
  • Flaxseed

We all know how much dogs love to hike and Mud Bay has the prefect take along dehydrated foods just for dogs! It comes in 4 flavors made from either Venison or Brushtail. And don't forget the $15 Folding Water Bowl...don't want Fido drinking out of a mountain stream--Heaven forbid!! After EXTENSIVE research. I finally found out what "Brushtail" is. Wiki says "Brushtailed possums are also very intelligent creatures, with brainpower comparable to a dog. This makes hand reared possums ideal to teach tricks. Common tricks can include "sit" and "hiss" but they can also be trained to "fetch" with enough time. It is important to remember when training brushtailed possums to be firm with the instruction and always give a reward such as fruit or vegetables." So, Americans grind up animals as smart as dogs to feed to dogs. I guess it's the Brushtail's fault for not being smart enough to get their own Kennel Club. THIS IS SO WRONG!

Cat litter is a problem for most cat owners in the city, but thankfully Mud Bay has them covered with a wide array of cat-pee absorbents that have no resemblance to the owners favorite pillow. First offender, the Lavender scented clumping litter ..."some people mix it with unscented litter for a subtler effect" In other word this stuff is strong and unless you want to be greeted at the front door by a WALL OF LAVENDER SCENTED CAT PEE, you might want to cut it a little. Second offender, Swheat Scoop, made from WHEAT(that stuff we need to get a decent Artisan Loaf of Bread) and it "smells like healthy breakfast cereal". If wheat prices go much higher we may be buying this product in the 40 pound bag....call it "high fiber bread!" The third offender is "World's Best Cat Litter". I want the President of Mud Bay to fly to Mexico City and face the crowds rioting over the price of corn tortillas. Let that person tell those hungry poor people that the price has gone up, not just due to bio-fuel but because Americans need corn for cat-litter! That's right this product is made out of corn. THIS IS SO WRONG!

For $13.95, you can buy a purse that clips to your dogs collar so they can carry their own poo to the garbage can...so much cooler for you than walking around with a bag of sh*t for a half hour!

In a world of food riots and starvation around the world, this company offers pet food made from blueberries, organic beef, duck, buffalo, shrimp, salmon, artichokes, avocados, and lamb??? No wonder the price of groceries is so high--rich people have so damn much money that they are feeding the good stuff to their pets.

In a word, Mud Bay is ridiculous. And, since this company has no sense of shame, then I will be ashamed for them. American pets are treated and fed better than half of the children in the world. SHAME!


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Junk mail eats up 100 Million Trees a year, so the very action of printing and mailing out 10,000 of them to my zipcode is a huge waste. I see a future, when junk mail will finally be outlawed!

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