Shayna’s Dog Wellness & Truth Campaign

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Download a printable version of this document here.

Overview

Shayna’s Dog Wellness & Truth Campaign (“The Campaign”) is a concept I’m developing for an activist group whose mission will be to help advance the health and longevity of companion dogs, by arming their parents with the facts necessary to make informed decisions regarding their food and treats.

The Campaign will pursue this mission by engaging in three activities:

1. Publicizing basic information about proper dog nutrition and safe, healthful treats.
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2. Publicly exposing edible dog products that veterinary specialists know or strongly suspect cause health problems, yet which are packaged and promoted in ways that lead unsuspecting dog parents to believe they are healthy (or, at least, not harmful).
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3. Publicly presenting senior executives of the retailers who sell these products with evidence of their harmfulness, and requesting that after reviewing this evidence, they decide whether they are going to continue selling them.

Through aggressive investigations, compelling public education materials, and innovative outreach and grassroots support mechanisms, the Campaign will hopefully:

• Create sufficient market forces to elevate the quality of dog food and treats, and compel more truthful, clearer product labels.

• Draw a clear, public dividing line between those retailers who are truly unaware of the evidence concerning the products they are selling – and those who have made the conscious decision to continue profiting by selling them.

Learn the details of why I am creating the Campaign, and why it’s named to honor Shayna, in “Background,” below.

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How you can help

Here’s what I need to get Shayna’s Dog Wellness & Truth Campaign off the ground:

• Financial donations to help me research and develop the business plan. I know from experience that building a business plan for a traditional organization can be very complex and time-consuming.  I can only anticipate that building one for an activist group that will be taking on some of the most powerful corporations in America, which have a vested interest in perpetuating the status quo, will be extremely challenging.  I seek donations to enable me to devote the time to research and develop the Campaign’s business plan.  Please donate securely through PayPal here.

• Insights from veterinarians and dog food industry insiders. To tell the real story of how the situation got to this point – how so many deceptively-labeled dog foods and treats could get onto our market shelves, and stay there – I need the information and insights that only you possess.  You can remain anonymous.  Email me.  Let’s talk.

• Documentation and stories from other dog parents.  Proof is the name of the game here.  While a causal connection cannot always be proven between a specific product and an illness that affected your best friend, there is little doubt that the use of certain edible dog products will, over time, cause health problems. If you or your vet can provide some hard data (see this photo-essay for an example) of a product you have used, or are aware of, that you’re convinced caused a serious health problem, email me.

If you think there are other ways you could help develop the Campaign, please email me.

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Background: My discovery of how a dog’s trust can be betrayed – accidentally, or by conscious deception

A dog who knows that her human parent really loves her, trusts that whatever food items come out of their hands is either healthy for them, or is at least is not harmful.  And most dog parents would never knowingly feed their best friend anything that they know causes them health problems.

Unfortunately, as I describe in my book (particularly in Section III(9) and Life Lesson 8), I didn’t become aware of the fact that many edible dog products that are being sold by major retailers, and promoted as being “natural” and “healthy,” are not – until after my beloved Shayna developed a kidney disorder, then liver cancer, then heart cancer. (Learn more about Shayna’s specific medical issues and status here.)

As I also describe in my book, in the course of discussions with our holistic veterinarian and Shayna’s surgeon, I discovered that many of these products contain ingredients that (a) dogs’ kidneys and livers are not designed to filter, (b) are known or strongly suspected to cause serious health problems.  (Read a sample photo-essay I wrote about these issues here.)  And the more I looked into this issue, I discovered that most dog parents don’t become aware of these things until after their dog becomes sick, or worse.

Enter “Shayna’s Dog Wellness & Truth Campaign”

I cannot go back in time, and prevent Shayna from eating all the things I gave her, which I now believe either caused or aggravated her health problems.

What I can do, however, is use my various creative, marketing and advocacy skills to create an organization – in Shayna’s name – that will be help other dog parents to avoid the tragedy and soul-wrenching remorse that I and many others have experienced, as a result of our usage of such products.

To fulfill this mission, I will be creating Shayna’s Dog Wellness & Truth Campaign.  And in Shayna’s name, I will be helping to put an end to any existing plausible deniability that retailers currently enjoy – their claim that they had no idea that what they’re selling is harmful to dogs.

“Heaven help any retailer that my Daddy publicly exposes for consciously deciding to sell dog foods and treats that are known or strongly suspected to cause health problems in my friends, yet which are labeled as being ‘healthy’ for them.” – Shayna Angele Sutz

Written by: Jon on March 27, 2013.