Second Chance Ranch 'Research' Page

Second Chance Ranch Raw Meat Page Research Links

This is what one dedicated raw feeder and breeder had to say about the 'research section' on the Second Chance Ranch website. These 'research' links have since been removed from the site and replaced with a variety of links to various anti-raw websites and articles.

"All those links are dead, they don't go anywhere. How can anyone verify or refute this "research" when it's just NOT THERE? She doesn't even give full citations, or even author names or dates or where it was published, to facilitate searching, or even identify the abstract in question if it IS found.

I cannot believe I actually wasted the time to go into Medline and see if I could find these abstracts. I must be some kind of masochist. But I did and here it is:

1. A case of canine salmonellosis due to Salmonella infantis. Sato Y, Kuwamoto R. Ueda Livestock Hygiene Service Center, Nagano, Japan. J Vet Med Sci. 1999 Jan;61(1):71-2. PMID: 10027169

Nothing was mentioned here about raw meat or bones at all. They were looking at evidence of salmonella in GARDEN SOIL.

2. Abortion in foxhounds and a ewe flock associated with Salmonella montevideo infection. Caldow GL, Graham MM. Scottish Agricultural College Veterinary Services, Roxburghshire.Vet Rec. 1998 Feb 7;142(6):138-9. PMID: 9507647

This one is at least relatively on point. Some dogs got access to a pit where ewes and lambs who had died of salmonella montevideo infection had been buried, and subsequently started having miscarriages (abortions in science lingo) as a result. I have a hard time really seeing how this applies to how we feed our dogs, but yes, it was a Bad Thing attributable to eating raw (diseased and rotting) sheep carcasses. I'd like to take this opportunity to caution all of you to bury your diseased ewes and lambs deep enough that your dogs can't dig them up!

3. Bacterial culture of blood from critically ill dogs and cats: 100 cases (1985-1987). Dow SW, Curtis CR, Jones RL, Wingfield WE. Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1989 Jul 1;195(1):113-7. PMID: 2759883

To say this is irrelevant is an understatement. There is NOTHING here about salmonella or any other food borne illness, nor diet raw or not, nor bones. It's just a statistical look at 100 blood cultures.

4. Chronic carriage of multidrug resistant Salmonella typhimurium in a cat. Wall PG, Davis S, Threlfall EJ, Ward LR, Ewbank AJ. PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, London. J Small Anim Pract. 1995 Jun;36(6):279-81. PMID: 7650927

Abstract does not mention raw meat or bones at all. It's a 12 week old kitten.

5. Clinical features of salmonellosis in cats 1981-1986. Dow SW, Jones RL, Henik RA, Husted PW. Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1989 May 15;194(10):1464-6. PMID: 2722644

The name of this one alone should have shown it to be irrelevant, as it's about just what it says it is: the SYMPTOMS (clinical features) of salmonellosis in 3 cats. No mention of diet, raw, bones, or anything even vaguely supportive of her position.

6. Enterotoxigenicity of Salmonellae isolated from dogs in Nigeria. Chah KF, Oboegbulem SI. Department of Veterinary Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Res Vet Sci. 1999 Aug;67(1):99-101.
PMID: 10425248

Again, the title alone would have shown this to be irrelevant, but I know you'll all be glad to know that "Enterotoxigenic activity, measured as mean dilatation index (DI) was determined for WCC and CFF of each isolate. Both WCC and unheated CFF of all the serotypes induced considerable fluid accumulation in the loops. The mean DI produced by WCC and unheated CFF varied significantly among the three serotypes." I know I'll sleep better now.

7. Flies and their bacterial loads in greyhound dog kennels in Kansas. Urban JE, Broce A. Division of Biology, Ackert Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. Curr Microbiol. 1998 Mar;36(3):164-70. PMID: 9516545

Don't let flies cluster all over the meat you feed nursing mothers and their puppies, because they spread disease and the dogs may die. I'm going to guess (call me nuts) that this would be true of cooked meat too, no? I mean, just a wild speculation. But I'll give her points, this one does actually mention raw meat!

8. Immunogenicity of chi4127 phoP- Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in dogs. McVey DS, Chengappa MM, Mosier DE, Stone GG, Oberst RD, Sylte MJ, Gabbert NM, Kelly-Aehle SM, Curtiss R. Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. Vaccine. 2002 Feb 22;20(11-12):1618-23.

This one is a vaccine study and says nothing about raw feeding or bones in any way, shape, or form.

9. Necropsy results from captive red wolves variety of causes of death, including perforation

This one sounded like it would be on topic, and the title sure is provocative. But no matter how I searched, I got no returns for this one. Can't comment on a non-existent abstract.

10. Outbreaks of multidrug-resistant Salmonella typhimurium associated with veterinary facilities--Idaho, Minnesota, and Washington, 1999. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2001 Aug 24;50(33):701-4.

This one doesn't mention raw meat, bones, or diet, but it does warn vets and vet staff not to eat dog poop. (Would I lie to you? "This report summarizes clinical and epidemiologic data about these outbreaks and reviews methods of reducing the likelihood of Salmonella transmission in veterinary settings by avoiding fecal-oral contact.")

11. Preliminary assessment of the risk of Salmonella infection in dogs fed raw chicken diets. Can Vet J. 2002 Jun;43(6):441-2. PMID: 12058569

OK, sit down. I know this is going to shock you. Yes, it's true... raw chicken can contaminate the environment with salmonella! No mention of any illness, human OR canine, from this terrifying but true fact. (But don't let that stop you from using it to terrify people.) And again, points to her for actually including a relevant citation. Well, she didn't actually GIVE the citation. So let's say a half point.

12. Salmonella virchow infection in an infant transmitted by household dogs. J Vet Med Sci. 2000 Jul;62(7):767-9. PMID: 10945298

No mention of raw meat, bones, or diet at all. This was a baby who kept getting sick from salmonella virchow, and then later it was found that the presumably healthy and asymptomatic dogs in the household were cultured and it was found.

13. Infections which humans in the household transmit to dogs and cats. Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg [B]. 1989 Apr;187(4-6):508-26. Review. German. PMID: 2500809

Can't say what this one is about because there was no abstract, just the full citation. Sounds like WE can transmit diseases to our pets. What this has to do with raw diets, I can't imagine.

13. Oral and Dental Conditions in Adult African Wild Dog Skulls

This one is not a Medline link, and wherever it goes, the link is dead. So I googled the title. I found it, and this is the single citation I found that actually made me think:

ORAL AND DENTAL CONDITIONS IN ADULT AFRICAN WILD DOG SKULLS: A
PRELIMINARY REPORT
G Steenkamp,CGorrel
J Vet Dent 16(2); 65-68,1999.

"Skulls of 29 adult African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) originating from museum collections were examined for evidence of oral pathology. A wide variety of conditions similar to those seen in the domestic dog were detected. Although other reports suggest that captive African wild dogs suffer more extensively from dental disease than those in the wild, we conclude that these wild carnivores suffer from the same oral diseases as their domestic relatives, suggesting that a natural diet does not protect against these diseases. As the African wild dog is threatened by extinction, further investigation of the incidence and development of oral and dental disease in this species may be of value. Preventive measures could be instituted leading to improved health for those held in captivity."

I have a lot of veterinary citations that support the exact opposite contention, and this is one I'd like to know a lot more about. However, it certainly doesn't say anything about the dangers of raw meat and bones in a dog's diet."

Christie Keith
Caber Feidh Scottish Deerhounds
Holistic Husbandry since 1986
http://www.caberfeidh.com