Hog Wash

Although this event took place almost two weeks ago, I am just finding time to blog about it because of my busy social schedule.

The date was March 20, and Mom and I were on our way to work. Although our favorite station is XPN, member-supported radio from the University of Pennsylvania, we normally tune into The River (97.3), which provides traffic and weather updates four times an hour.

Naturally, one of the traffic alerts peaked my interest because it involved one of our routes to work. A section of Interstate 81 was closed because approximately 38,000 pounds of pig lungs had spilled onto the highway beyond exit 29 in Southampton Township when the operator of the tractor trailer stated that he “blacked out,” according to state police.

Being the curious K-9 that I am, I asked Mom, "What in the world would someone do with 19 tons of pig lungs?" Not knowing the answer, Mom set out on a path to find the answer by contacting her old buddy Mr. Jeff, a Penn State Dickinson alumnus who works as General Counsel for Hatfield Quality Meats.

Mr. Jeff informed Mom that the lungs would be ground up into a slurry and mixed with grains to make pet food. At first, Mom thought that Mr. Jeff was just trying to pull the wool over her eyes, so she did a little bit of research herself. Sure enough pig, cow, and sheep lungs along with a lot of other bi-products are used in some pet foods - even premium quality food like RedBarn.

I guess Otto von Bismarck's statement, "Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made" applies to dog food, too!