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Volume 5, Number 4
Publisher: Guerrero Ink
Online: http://www.guerreroink.com
Copyright © 2007 Diana L. Guerrero. All rights reserved.
Content may not be reproduced without permission.
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April News & Tips
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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. Tales from the Trips (Latest News)
2. Question(s) for the Month
3. Critter Chronicles
4. Schedule of Upcoming Events & Appearances
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1. Tales from the Trips (Latest News)
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Well, today is the day! No April Fools joke—Blessing of the Animals: A Guide to Prayers & Ceremonies Celebrating Pets & Other Animals (ISBN 1402729677) has hit the shelves of booksellers across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom!

Things have been busy on my end with promotions and setting up events. I was able to do a live St Patrick’s Day blessing on a syndicated radio show from Dallas, Texas. The audio will be up shortly.

Those of you with pets have probably been really alarmed at the pet food recall issue. I’ll talk about this and more in this issue.

I hope to see you during my book tour or in the new pet classes in the mountains of San Bernardino, California. There are some other good things brewing but I can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet—stay tuned.

Have a great month and thanks for your continued support.
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2. Question(s) for the Month
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The pet food recall has killed many animals—and many of us suspect more than have been reported. Why are the numbers so low? Because unless the deaths can be substantiated, they cannot be definitely proven, and nobody is going to rush out and claim responsibility to large numbers of animal deaths.

The scientific view means things have to be proved conclusively. Common sense or anecdotal accounts are often dismissed because they have not been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt.

The tragedy is that Menu Foods allegedly knew about the problem before it surfaced AND allegedly knew that there was a problem when they tested the theory on live animals—who died.

Any food poses a risk. This is why food handling safety is so critical. Hazards arise whether you feed wet, dry, commercial, raw, or a combination of any of the above.
I suspect this latest tragedy will further push people over to US manufactured foods of smaller specialty companies. The cost factors might be more but aren’t your animals priceless?

Locally, many new customers have visited the pet stores—leaving the grocery stores and making the leap to the pet specialty market. One store here only carries one product with gluten because they decided to move away from counter-intuitive foods. Yes, dogs and cats are carnivores and they made the change when they bought the store a year ago.

My belief is that more and more people will tire of the big box stores, overseas contracts (slave labor hiring) and foreign manufacturing. People seem to be seeking out the personal service and quality that has been abandoned. We have become a throw away society and that does not serve the health of our families, pets, or the environment.

If you are concerned about the pet food recall I would suggest you visit the following information pages. I do have links up on the blog at www.arkanimals.com but since I have been so swamped have relied on fellow columnists who have devoted their time and resources to the issue. The team at the Pet Connection has done a fabulous job:

Pet Food Recall Links:
http://www.petconnection.com/recall_basics.php
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html
http://localhostr.com/files/4de1dee70dc78a2630e9.pdf
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/index.html

Report a Sick or Deceased Pet:
http://www.petconnection.com/recall/

Online Petition:
http://www.itchmo.com/petfoodpetition/

Have a question? Drop me a line for the next issue.

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3. Critter Chronicles
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This month is full of pet blessings, parades, and parties. If you have the time, on April 7th visit Olvera Street in Los Angeles for the Annual Blessing of the Animals. The festivities go on throughout the day but the main event is always after 2pm. It is a great time! I’ll be a guest of the merchants and will be there the whole day. I will probably be wearing my festive “Easter Safari Bonnet” so keep an eye out.

While down in Los Angeles I will also be heading over for the Haute Dog parade on Easter Sunday (April 8th). I talked briefly with Justin Rudd this week. Mostly I will be there to snap photos but really I want to meet the beautiful bulldog Rosie. That event will be at Livingston Park in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach.

Finally, I have not been able to attend the America’s Family Pet Show in Costa Mesa in a while but I am going to attempt to make it on Friday, April 13th. No guarantee that this will happen but it is one of the largest public animal events in southern California. The actual event will run for three days. Cesar Milan, Warren Eckstein and Fred Bergendorff are some of the human animals that will be on exhibit.

Join the fun!
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4. Schedule of Upcoming Events & Appearances
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April is exciting! Please check the website calendar for any changes if you are planning on traveling to any event. Group dog training, puppy preschool, kitty kindergarten, and pet parenting classes will begin in May. Please call (800) 818-7387 to make your reservations.

April 7, 2007
Blessing of the Animals
Olvera Street (All Day)
Los Angeles, CA

April 8, 2007
Haute Dogs Easter Parade
Livingston Park (11am-4pm)
Long Beach, CA

April 14, 2007
Author Signs, Blessing of the Animals
Edelweiss Books (1pm-4pm)
Big Bear Lake, CA
909-866-7734

April 15, 2007
Author Signs, Blessing of the Animals
Eastside Book Café (10am-3pm)
Big Bear City, CA
909-584-8910

April 21, 2007
Author Signs, Blessing of the Animals
Book & Bean (Noon-4pm)
Big Bear Lake, CA
909-878-4083

April 22, 2007
Author Signs, Blessing of the Animals
Bear Valley Pet & Animal Supply (Noon-4pm)
Big Bear Lake, CA
909-866-7429

April 25, 2007
Understanding Animal Behavior & Training
Prerequisite to Group Training Class (6pm)
Bear Valley Pet & Animal Supply
Big Bear Lake, CA

April 26, 2007
Puppy Club (6pm)
Bear Valley Pet & Animal Supply
Big Bear Lake, CA
April 28-29, 2007
Author Signs, Blessing of the Animals
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Los Angeles, CA

Thanks for your continued support and suggestions
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Have a great month and stay tuned!
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ARK ANIMAL TRACKS
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Copyright © 2007 by Diana L. Guerrero
PO Box 1989 PMB 215
40729 Village Drive Suite 8
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
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