This is what happens to the animals who were euthanized in shelters.

[gaddylovesdogs]

Yes, and many pets euthanized in vet clinics are used in pet foods, along with road kill and animals that die in the field.

[gaddylovesdogs]

p. 25:
Pets in pet food? No, you say Be assured that this is happening. Rendered companion animals are just another source of protein used in both pet food and livestock feed.

When I began investigating the ingredients used in commercial pet food, a veterinarian in the United States advised me that the use of pets in pet food was routine practice. Rendering is a cheap viable means of disposal for euthanized pets. Pets are mixed with the other material from slaughterhouse facilities that have been condemned for human consumption, such as rotten meat from supermarket shelves, restaurant grease and garbage, "4-D" (dead, diseased, dying and disabled) animals, roadkill, and even zoo animals.

John Eckhouse, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote a two-part exposé on the rendering of companion animals in California. He described how pet food companies vehemently deny that this is happening, yet a rendering industry employee confided that "it was common practice for his company to process dead pets into products sold to pet food manufacturers."

In early 1992, I decided to find out what was happening to the euthanized pets in the city where I live and in the surrounding area. [p. 27] My next step was to contact the
rendering plant... The first question I asked was: "Are cats and dogs rendered with other material such as livestock, roadkill, etc.?" The owner's reply was "Yes." I went on to ask: "Do pet food companies purchase this rendered material?" Again his reply was, "Yes."

p. 27:
In later investigation sin both the United States and Canada, I was to learn that the collars, tags, flea collars, and even the plastic bags in which the pets are wrapped are
not removed before they were shoved into the rendering pit.

p. 30:
The Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA/CVM)responded to my query regarding the disposal of pets: "In recognizing the need for
disposal for a large number of unwanted pets in this country, CVM has not acted to specifically prohibit the rendering of pets."

p. 30-31:
Finding companion pets eating dead cats and dogs objectionable is more than just aesthetics. Safety is at stake. Sodium pentobarbitol, a barbiturate, used to euthanize companion animals and in some cases, livestock and horses, should not be used on animals intended for food.

In a study conducted at the University of Minnesota, it was noted that the barbiturate sodium pentobarbitol "survived rendering without undergoing degradation." To date there is no way to determine what effect this drug might have on pets ingesting foods contaminated with sodium pentobarbitol.

Excerpt from "Food Pets Die For" by Ann Martin

[FurSuccess]

Ewww...okay, because I work at a shelter, I feel I must say something. We do not do render or sell any euthanized animals to anyone...the one that we put to sleep are cremated all together, with the pets that are surrendered and sent to us dying or dead...
This makes for a lot of cremations (especially with so many euthanizations...arrrggghh read my post in the News forum) but its the right thing to do, and also we are very worried about our public image because we do not recieve any government funds or grants at all...so its the public who supports us.

[SalemWitchChild]

I always thought that vet tech schools would get at least some cadavers of cats/dogs/horses.. ect.. How else for them to learn about them if not from cadavers?

[Pippinislove]

I am standing here with FurSuccess... I volunteer at the shelter, and was taken on a tour to my shelter's crematorium (sp?).. all the animals are cremated at our shelter, as well. We don't sell them for anything. :\

[FurSuccess]

The vet tech schools usually are teaching clinics...which means that they have PLENTY of cadavers. Also, the vet techs do "clinic experience" which means that they go to different animals clinics several times a week for the whole day to learn...they get experience there.
If we did get an unusual illness or animal, though, we might phone the university (a couple hours away) to see if its something they'd like to see...but I couldn't see it happening more than once in a blue moon.

[Pippinislove]

Originally Posted by SalemWitchChild

I always thought that vet tech schools would get at least some cadavers of cats/dogs/horses.. ect.. How else for them to learn about them if not from cadavers?

I'm not sure about cadavers, but I do know that the skeletons of dogs they use to learn anatomy and what-not are often from dogs euthanized at shelters.

[MazieDog]

Um... *bites his tongue* <<censored>>

Eww!!!