Best Friends Animal Society, the nation’s largest animal sanctuary, wrote about our 43,000 can donation of Halo Spot’s Stew in its newsletter. We’re grateful for the acknowledgement, but were especially thankful for the comments of John Garcia, BFAS DogTown Manager and star of the National Geographic TV show “Dog Town.”

The article explains that, “Best Friends understands the importance of proper nutrition and a balanced diet. That’s why we were so excited about the very generous donation from Halo.”

Then Garcia commented, “Not only do our dogs love Halo Spot’s Stew, the quality of which is absolutely amazing, they find the Liv-a-Littles treats to be so irresistible that we can get them to do just about anything. Liv-a-Littles have made our trainers’ lives a lot easier!”

Thanks so much for the kind words, Best Friends. Most of all, keep up the extraordinary work for animals in need!

Q: Interesting article on digestive health! I have a Snowshoe Siamese X (10yrs) that just went through major abdominal surgery. Turned out she had gallstones which blocked her bile duct. She also had a pretty good bacterial infection that got into her liver. Her final diagnosis was Bacterial Cholangiohepatitis, including Actinomyces and Obstructive Cholelithiasis. She’s home now and on numerous meds including two different antibiotics. One is long term (8 months) and the other is for two months. What I can gather from the digestive health article is that the pre and probiotics would be a good addition for her. She is currently being tube fed 4 x daily with a Prescription gastro diet and supplemented with Halo Sensitive formula-Seafood Medley. I have just picked this up trying to encourage her to eat on her own. The more she eats on her the less tube feedings I need to do. She seems to be really enjoying the food. Is there any other supplements I could give to augment what she is getting in the food?
Thank you
Terri

A: Hi Terri, Thanks for sharing the story of your Snowshoe Siamese X. I am glad to hear she is recovering well from her extensive surgery and infection. The bacterial cholangiohepatitis often occurs due to movement of bacteria out of the intestine and into the liver. As such, I agree that a source of pre- and pro-biotics would be a good long term choice for her to keep a healthy balance of good intestinal bacteria. Halo cat foods contain the pre and probiotics only in the dry food–you will need to ask your veterinarian if it is okay that she eat dry food at this time. If not, you can supplement these additives in a paste form that your veterinarian can recommend. The other supplements I would recommend for a cat with this type of liver problem are ursodiol and SAMe–these nutraceuticals help make bile less toxic and improve overall function of the liver with anti-oxidant support. If she is not on these supplements, ask your veterinarian to consider adding them to her regimen. Hope this helps.

Good Luck and keep us posted on her progress.
Dr. Donna Spector

Some pets are just too cute for words. Well, they really all are. Writing “A picture of a healthy Halo pet dog is worth a thousand words, thanks for making such wonderful products,” Bonnie Catalano sent us this picture of her Pomeranian mix Tinker-Belle. We couldn’t resist sharing it. I think she’s answering the timeless holiday question and saying, “Treat, please!”

Mimi Ausland, the tween rescue star and founder of Freekibble.com wrote about the wonderful Halo-sponsored Kibble Krusader Kontest on Petco’s blog.

Get the Scoop here (you have to read 12-year-old Keith Webster’s winning entry, one of five to win $1,000 worth of Halo Dinner Party for their favorite animal shelter).

OK! Weekly magazine gives readers a glimpse into Life on the A-List, this time featuring Drew Barrymore. Drew’s secret to pampering her pooch? “She rewards her dog Flossie, a yellow Lab-chow mix,” with “all-natural Halo Liv-a-Littles. The dog treats have no chemicals or artificial flavors or preservatives.”

The inside scoop is that Halo co-owner Ellen DeGeneres sent Drew a personal note and some Halo Healthsome Treats to try. The rest is history!

Click over to our News page for a link to the full article.