Some times you just have to stand up and cheer for camera phones. This is one of those times. It is also a good time to thank God you are not a Box Turtle. Dude looked happy though. He was in the ZONE! Brian thought they should be disturbed. I guess he was jealous. Trojan convinced him that when I tell him to do something, it isn't a request... One thing to remember, when you are looking at a Box Turtle, the big ones with red eyes are the boys!

Poor Brian, he gets disciplined by his elders allot. He is just so goofy. Most creatures could probably figure out that while a sleeping 160 pound pregnant Mastiff is awful tempting, you just can't step on her head. If you do, she is liable to jump up and bite you on the ass three times. To his credit, he takes his beatings like a man and just bows his head and takes it. He knows he screwed up, and accepts his punishment.

I burned about 4 acres yesterday. I did find one of our turtle's relatives lightly roasted. The poor dear didn't make it. I felt bad for her but by finding the other two today, I guess the cosmos are telling me not to beat myself up to much.

James proves that you can take the wrestler out of the wrestling room but he will still find someone to pick up! James had his Senior Prom last night. His date is definitely prettier than he deserves! James will graduate soon and wrestle for Darton College next year.

It looks like we are not alone on the problems with Nutro:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

I must admit, I am pretty upset. I thought it was just our dogs that was having the problem, but apparently not. Here is a copy of the letter Nutro sent me:

From: Nutro Products
To: JAMESGILBERTBENNETT@YAHOO.COM
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 5:28:14 PM
Subject: False Claims Against Nutro

To view this email as a web page, go here.

NUTRO® FDA Investigation Claims by ConsumerAffairs.com

Statement
April 23, 2009

On April 20, ConsumerAffairs.com posted a story claiming that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has an ongoing investigation into NUTRO® pet food. This is not true. We have confirmed with the FDA's division responsible for regulating pet food, the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), that there is no current or ongoing investigation of Nutro Products, Inc.

We want to assure you and all those who feed NUTRO® products to their pets that our products are safe and conform to the standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S Department of Agriculture and the Association of American Feed Control Officials. All NUTRO® products undergo rigorous quality assurance testing beginning with raw ingredients and ending with testing finished products. This includes testing to confirm that no melamine, mold toxins, or pathogenic bacteria are detected in any NUTRO® pet foods.

While consumer concerns about NUTRO® product quality are rare, we take every complaint seriously. When we learn of an issue, we work with consumers to obtain information and request that samples of any product in question be submitted for testing at an independent facility. An in-depth review is performed to determine if an issue does exist. Consumers with questions or concerns about NUTRO® products are encouraged to contact our Consumer Services Department at 1-800-833-5330.

Nutro Products, Inc. remains committed to the quality, safety and performance of all our pet food brands. As we have for over 80 years, we strive to deliver the finest natural products to our customers and their pets.

This email was sent to: JAMESGILBERTBENNETT@YAHOO.COM

This email was sent by: Avala Marketing Group
1078 Headquarters Park Drive Fenton, MO 63026 USA

And here is my response:

I used Nutro exclusively for years and recommended it to all my new owners. I even had links to your webpage on my websites so that new owners would know what I recommended for them to feed, but in the recent past, you must have changed the formulas because my dogs suddenly started developing problems. Not just the dogs in my kennel but dozens of unhappy mastiff owners started calling me telling me they had skin and diarrhea problems. We left Nutro en masse because the quality of the product OBVIOUSLY dropped. We have moved on. BUT, whether Nutro admits it or not, something absolutely did happen and it hurt my dogs. So, whether you are being investigated or not doesn't matter. As far as I am concerned, your brand and any brand made by Mars is not going to be ingested by my animals.

Sincerely.

Jim Bennett
Veal, GA, USA I may have exaggerated on the 'dozens' part but I was trying to make a point and several of us have talked and it was a real problem.

4-18-2009 Susie and Gabriel

I realize the quality sucks but the content is just so compelling!

Trojan has seemed to become more and more surly over the last several months. Waking up aggressive. Not doing what he is told. What gives? Well, yesterday he was looking for me in the woods. I was about 100 feet away from him and yelling at him but it was obvious he couldn't hear me. Mystery solved. He isn't intentionally disobeying, he just can't tell what we want. He isn't completely deaf just really hard of hearing. Maybe his ears need cleaning...

Best of Breed and Major at 15 months over three specials.
JUDGE: Mr Joe Lobb HANDLER: Mr Norlee Reece

This is the best show picture of a mastiff that I have ever seen. Seriously. I love this picture. Look at him. Look at Norlee's pants! The conditions were abysmal. We were standing in two inches of water UNDER the tent. The wind was blowing twenty miles an hour. Filthy, wet and completely comfortable. This is a working dog. This is what we breed. This is a dog you can count on to be stable whatever the circumstance. I can't wait for him to grow up!

We took Lexus to the vet today for a check up. Her wrist has been tender but it is okay. We got a refill on Cephalexin for her chest and they saw at least one baby on the ultrasound. She is pregnant. Live baby live!