Since receiving a donation of 100 cases of Spot’s Stew for cats and 15 cases for dogs, St. Francis Society Animal Rescue was judicious in deciding which volunteer foster moms and dads got the Halo food.

“We distributed it to people who might have animals in their care who had health issues,” says the Tampa, Florida-based rescue’s president Sharon Espinola, “because we believe the product is much higher quality than what we are able to buy.”

Many of the dogs and cats who enter the rescue are in bad shape and need the proper nutrition found in Spot’s Stew. “It’s a good, pure food, it boosts their immune systems,” says Avril Stern, treasurer of St. Francis and a former Halo sales manager. “They need to get nutrition right away. I know the Halo product and I recommend it constantly.”

Currently, St. Francis has 140 cats and kittens and 10 dogs in foster homes. Two of the dogs who lapped up their Spot’s Stew are brother who were “horribly neglected,” says Espinola. “They were put in a garage to starve,” she says. Now, Chance, the seven-year-old Chocolate lab, and Deke, a pit-bull mix (they had different moms) are thriving.

Most of the rescued dogs and cats come in with some sort of a skin condition. To help, St. Francis buys at wholesale Halo’s Dream Coat for the dogs and Herbal Earwash for the cats. For animals in really bad shape, the rescue’s volunteers use Halo’s X-tra C.

Stern feeds her two house cats Spot’s Stew, which solved a nasty issue. “One of my cats had continuous diarrhea and she doesn’t have diarrhea as long as she eats Spot’s Stew. I believe in the product.”

Halo is initiating a new even-greater-discount program for animal shelters (in addition to our donation program). Please contact ckeller@halopets.com for details or call us at 1-800-426-4256.

Join host Jeff Marginean and Halo’s own Dr. Donna Spector on the My Buddy Butch Radio Show on Thursday May 21, 2009 at 7:40pm ET. Dr. Spector will give listeners helpful summer travel tips to make vacation more enjoyable for all two and four-legged members of the family!

Click here to tune in tonight!

Each year, 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs and one in five dog bites results in more serious injuries that require medical attention. Children are particularly at high risk for being bitten.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is again teaming up with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Postal Service to sponsor the 15th annual National Dog Bite Prevention Week.

Visit the AVMA website to learn more about how best to prevent dog bites. The Center for Disease Control also has great information about staying safe around dogs and provides parents excellent tips for child safety.

Here are a few quick tips:

• Start training puppies early about proper social behavior. The best age for socialization is up to 14 weeks. Don’t punish bad behavior at this age–praise the good or desired behavior and it will stick!
• Don’t allow play biting from your puppy
• Adult dogs that are not socialized properly as puppies are more likely to be aggressive or fearful around strangers.

We especially love when consumers are the judges, which is the case for the Zootoo.com Pet Lover Choice Awards. We’re proud that Halo Spot’s Stew for cats was named “the best of the best in the pet world as chosen by hundreds of thousands of pet lovers in the Zootoo.com community.”

Halo’s won a number of awards recently, and I’ve been slow to fill y’all in on them. But more soon, I promise! Meanwhile, here’s where you can learn more about our holistic, natural cat food.

Q: My 9 year old Jack Russell Terrier who is very active has been coughing after resting and occasionally throwing up yellow. My Vet believes he is starting to have congestive heart failure. Beau is currently eating Halo Spot’s Stew and it is recommended for dogs in his condition to have low sodium diets. Is Spot’s Stew low enough sodium for his condition?

A: There are many important points I would like to make about congestive heart failure (CHF) as well as the proper dietary management of heart failure.

• The early signs of CHF can be easily confused with lung conditions. Coughing can signify things other than CHF and x-rays must be taken to determine if a dog has lung disease (like allergic or chronic bronchitis) or is indeed having problems with heart failure before starting any medications.
• Severe sodium (salt) restriction is not recommended–except in very advanced cases of CHF.
• It is more important to keep salt intake consistent and stable so the body can adapt to a particular salt load. High-salt foods, which cause sudden spikes in sodium, should be avoided. See below for a list of foods to avoid.
• For dogs with evidence of heart disease (like a murmur) but no evidence of CHF, normal salt or only mildly salt restricted diets are recommended. When CHF becomes mild or moderate, a little more salt restriction is recommended. Halo dry dog foods are acceptable for both of these stages of heart disease. Only when CHF becomes severe should a dog be placed on a therapeutic (veterinary-prescribed) salt restricted diet.
• The following foods and treats should be avoided in all dogs with heart disease and CHF: baby food, pickled foods, bread, pizza, condiments (like ketchup, soy sauce), lunch meat/cold cuts, cheese, processed foods (like rice mixes, macaroni and cheese, etc), canned vegetables (with added salt), potato chips and other snack foods, soups (with added salt) and most commercially available pet treats.
• It is critical to get your dog with heart disease or CHF to lose weight if they are overweight or obese. Even a little excess weight adversely affects heart function by increasing heart rate and blood pressure which may accelerate heart failure progression.
• Fatty acid supplements that contain fish oil have been proven to decrease inflammation and some of the abnormal hormonal signals that occur during advancing CHF. In general it can help your pet feel stronger with an improved appetite. Try Halo’s Dream Coat which supplies 5 other beneficial oils in addition to fish oil.
• If pets with CHF are on diuretics (aka “water pills”) they are likely to have additional vitamin B requirements. The diuretics cause them to lose excess B vitamins in their urine which can have a direct negative effect on muscle strength and immune function. Try a vitamin B supplement such as Halo Vita-Mineral Mix to insure adequate levels.
• There are additional supplements that may benefit your pet. You should ask your veterinarian for advice on their usage. These include taurine, carnitine, coenzyme Q10, and antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E.

Good Luck with Beau! Keep us posted on his condition.