How safe is Fido’s rubber ball?

As the Christmas season soon approaches we are still reminded almost each week about product recalls. This year has been marked with many recalls – mostly by products originating from foreign lands. These products are much cheaper to mass produce in another country other than North America; salaries are the biggest complaint from manufacturers today.

The pet food recall was a huge deal this year – tainted food being produced for our cherished four-legged companions. Being a pet owner myself, I would not have wanted any of these foods being presented to our Persian cat, Pacha, who is as much a part of the family as another human would be. He greets us at the door when we arrive from our long day at work – he wakes us in the morning, and amuses us all evening long, just by being cute and doing cutesy things that would probably annoy the heck out of a non-pet owner.

Our Pacha, king of his castle, was introduced to IAMS as a kitten and then was switched over to Persian 30, a product manufactured by Royal Canin. Pricey, yes, but he is worth every dollar spent on his food. He’s healthy, has a shinny coat, and the shape of the nugget is made especially for his odd-shaped face; a specialty food, for a special cat.

Now with all this fuss about lead-based paint on children’s toys is beginning to annoy me – how much paint would a child have to suck back or how many paint chips would they have to ingest before becoming an alarming level for health reasons?

With this said, why is nobody not checking the lead-based paint levels in pet toys? These precious creatures are as much a family figure as a child to many. If it’s that dangerous for children – it must have the same effect on pets. A pet is more apt to lie on the floor and nibble at a toy than a child is going to suck on Barbie’s hand all day long.

Come on people, let’s start investigating the toys that our pets are loyal to – they must be made with the same lead-based paints – after all, how many pet toys are not massed produced in a foreign country these days?

It’s time to take back these manufacturing jobs – and get North America back working again. If I’m willing to pay more for a brand-name food product for my pampered feline – maybe it’s time that today’s parent pay more for a brand-name toy that would be manufactured by their friends, neighbours, or even relatives right here in North America, and be safer for their child at the same time.

Let’s take back jobs, and be more safety-conscious about it as well.