“To take the voice of an animal would be the equivalent of taking a person’s voice or a person’s ability to communicate,” Brian Adams, spokesman for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), told Reuters.

Debarking — unless done as a medical necessity — will now carry a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. Almost 60 state representatives and senators cosponsored the bill.

The procedure leaves the dogs or cats with scar tissue in the throat that can make it difficult to breathe, leading to a lifetime of wheezing, coughing, and choking for some animals, Beth Birnbaum, a member of the Coalition to Protect Rescue Pets, the organization that originally filed the bill, told The Boston Globe.

The law is known as Logan’s Law, which got its name from an adopted dog who was debarked. “This is so remarkable, the passage of this legislation,’’ said Birnbaum. “Beacon Hill should be congratulated.’’

Opponents of the bill claim more animals will be taken to shelters or abandoned if the surgery is banned, but Adams, of the MSPCA, says that in 2009, not one dog or cat was surrendered because he or she was too noisy. Supporters of the new measure say it is important for pet owners to understand why their cat or dog is making noise and use behavioral techniques to quiet them down.

Inspired by the Massachusetts law, U.S. Congressman C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, D-MD, introduced a bill in May to support states that pass similar legislation to ban devocalization.

H.R. 5422 would authorize grants of up to $1 million for the prevention of cruelty to animals. It was referred to a House Agriculture subcommittee in June.

Halo users won’t be surprised to learn what his owner, Frank Pavich, touted as the diet that’s kept ChiChi strong for well over two decades — “he eats a food called Spot’s Stew, by a company named Halo, which is really healthy stuff, exclusively…”

Check out the story in yesterday’s New York Times:

And watch the Good Morning America video:

We’ve put a whole new twist on the soup wars. We compared the ingredients of Halo Spot’s Stew to the ingredients of a leading national brand of (human) chicken soup, and took our twisted ingredient challenge to the streets of LA. We showed random soup lovers both lists of ingredients and asked them to pick which they’d want to feed to their family. Which do you think they chose?

Click here to see video.

Stating “I already knew that ‘by-products’ was a big no-no in dog food, but I didn’t know too much about using ‘meal’ in a dog food” — the site provided numerous details about chicken meal and other rendered meats.

They concluded that Halo’s “commitment to the health and well being of our animals through wholesome, natural, quality pet products is unparalleled.”

The review is one of the most in-depth ever written about Halo products. We think you’ll enjoy reading it!

Here’s the final paragraph:

“You owe it to yourself and most importantly your dog to check out this company’s outstanding products. As for my dogs, they loved it and never left a morsel behind. Their stools were excellent as well. Happy pets and happy owners make for a happy company! Way to go Halo!”

Click over to our News page for the link to the full story.

During the flood Lesli Bills was trapped in her home with her dogs because at the time the shelter would not take her in with pets. Lesli’s house caught fire and her neighbor Bill Crousser came by and rescued her and her dogs on his Jet Ski just in the nick of time.

Lesli grasped dog food as she fled the burning house to insure that her dogs had something to eat. Ellen tells Lesli, “I care about animals as much as you do, and I believe they should eat healthy foods to keep them happy and healthy. So I have a pet food company called Halo, Purely for Pets; I’m going to give you a year’s supply for your doggies!

Watch the video to see the entire segment of the show:

Halo has also recently donated to a number of animal shelters and rescue organizations in Tennessee (in partnership with Mimi Ausland and Freekibble.com), including: Coffee County Animal Shelter in Manchester, McKamey Animal Center in Chattanooga, Nashville Humane Society in Nashville, Humane Society of Dickson City in Dickson City, FAMA in Blue Ridge, Memphis Humane Society in Memphis, Boston Rescue, E. Tennessee in Carterville, and Etowah Humane Society in Carterville.

On ABC 15 (Arizona) TV appearance: I had so much fun going on the local lifestyle show, Sonoran Living in Phoenix, when PETCO sent me there to help get out the message about better natural nutrition for pets and share the HALO Spot’s Stew recipe for pet lovers to make at home.

Watch the TV Spot!

Tracie Hotchner, author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible, guest blogs here every Thursday on healthy, natural choices for pets.

The Trooper’s GPS was frozen and not working; so the dog ran out, found the Trooper at the intersection, and guided him to the blazing house.

The entire event was recorded by the video camera inside the State Trooper’s patrol car.

Ellen said “We’re going to send Buddy a case of these Liv-a-Littles that dogs loves. He deservers these!” Watch the clip from the show:

Tracie,

WOW! Words just can not express our appreciation of the blessings you, Cat Chat®, on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112 / XM157, and your sponsors have poured over our shelter and the animals who come to stay while waiting for a new start…even if their new life is a lifetime of love from Friends of Michigan Animals Rescue (FMAR).

Our heartfelt thanks to Precious Cat for their generous donation of a load of CAT ATTRACT cat litter. We can’t wait to try it and we will be sure to let everyone know about the litter box progress of our incontinent kitties. We also appreciate your note about the risks and possible consequences of declawing your cats.

Watch the video from the show:

Just to recap our success with your sponsor’s donations:

Halo canned food was instrumental in getting a couple of our puppies with Parvo disease back on the road to recovery. Halo food was the only food we could get them to eat which was vital to getting them hydrated and back on their feet…

It takes more resources than most can imagine to run a non-profit organization. The money and dedication to run a great shelter is only made possible through people like Tracie Hotchner and her sponsors. Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112 / XM157 sponsors have made it possible for our shelter animals to get the nutrition and care they need to become and stay healthy. We appreciate the kindness of everyone including Kenn Sheats for keeping in touch with Tracie through Cat Chat® and setting up her visit through Petco.

We appreciate all of you!
Friends of Michigan Animals Rescue.

Click here to read more!

Tracie Hotchner, author of The Dog Bible and the Cat Bible, guest blogs here every Thursday on healthy, natural choices for pets.

“Cue TV Announcer Voice: But Wait! There’s More! Friday, February 5, 2010, is Freekibblekat HI-5 Day! If you play the game on the 5th, 50 kibble bits will be donated. Halo, Purely for Pets, is sponsoring this event, to help meet the needs of shelter cats and dogs.”

Thanks, Franny!

Click over to our News page for the whole story.

Even though we won for top dog treat – many of our reviews come from cat families, who know that felines can get ferociously addicted to Halo Liv-a-Littles!

As Bettina from Roy, Utah’s Buzzillions review states, “Five stars. Great for either cats or dogs. We purchased these treats for our two Pomeranian’s. It was very interesting to see our very aloof cat come running when we called “chicken” after he got a taste of the treat. It is always fun to see which one of our little ones will get to the kitchen first. ”

Susan D from Illinois explained, “We have three cats who absolutely love this product. It is the only treat our 13-year old diabetic boy can have since it doesn’t contain additives, preservatives or anything else that will raise his blood glucose. He doesn’t mind having his blood sugar tested, he knows his favorite treat will follow.”

That reflects my own experience at home, where our cat Sterling runs to the kitchen when our dog Bert gets his injections – so then they each enjoy a treat.

All Halo treats are made with the highest quality ingredients. Spot’s Stew Dry Dog Food is part of Halo’s Natural Dry Dog Food that is highly digestible, high in protein and quality ingredients, low in carbs and always created with your pet’s entire well-being in mind. Halo never uses chicken meal or other rendered meats.

“This recognition for our pet food is especially important to all of us at Halo because it comes straight from the consumer,” said Steve Marton, CEO of Halo. “Halo wins awards like this only because consumers are demanding great ingredients. Every Halo ingredient is a real, natural ingredient that consumers recognize and understand. Every meat we use can also be sent to make human food products. That’s what consumers are demanding, and that’s what Halo has delivered for over 20 years.”

Click over to our News page to see the Buzzillions reviews and our press release.