In determining who should be awarded custody, the court may want to consider which party has paid attention to the animal's basic daily needs (food, shelter, physical care, exercise, grooming, flea control); who takes the animal to the veterinarian; who provides for social interactions (in the case of
dogs) with
other dogs and /
or with
people; who maintains appropriate supervision to assure that state and local regulations are complied with (licensing, not allowing the
dog to run free and protecting
against circumstances that would endanger her life
or health); and who has the greatest ability to financially support the animal.
Homemade diets and commercial BARF diets are often demonstrable unbalanced and have severe nutritional deficiencies
or excesses.16 - 18
Dogs have been shown to acquire and shed parasitic organisms and potentially lethal infectious diseases associated with raw meat, including pathogenic strains of E. coli and Salmonella.25 - 27 Many other pathogens have been identified in raw diets or raw meat ingredients, and these represent a risk not only to the dogs fed these diets but to their owners, particularly children and people with compromised immune systems.29 - 30 The bones often included in such diets can cause fractured teeth and gastrointestinal diseases, including obstructed or perforated intestines, and the FDA recently warned pet owners against feeding bones to their canine compani
Dogs have been shown to acquire and shed parasitic organisms and potentially lethal infectious diseases associated with raw meat, including pathogenic strains of E. coli and Salmonella.25 - 27 Many
other pathogens have been identified in raw diets
or raw meat ingredients, and these represent a risk not only to the
dogs fed these diets but to their owners, particularly children and people with compromised immune systems.29 - 30 The bones often included in such diets can cause fractured teeth and gastrointestinal diseases, including obstructed or perforated intestines, and the FDA recently warned pet owners against feeding bones to their canine compani
dogs fed these diets but to their owners, particularly children and
people with compromised immune systems.29 - 30 The bones often included in such diets can cause fractured teeth and gastrointestinal diseases, including obstructed
or perforated intestines, and the FDA recently warned pet owners
against feeding bones to their canine companions.
It provides crucial safeguards
against the introduction of
dogs carrying infectious and zoonotic diseases and parasites, which hurt consumers who buy
or adopt them and can spread to
other animals and
people.