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So will your neighbors also allow their dogs to eat chocolate or peanut butter found in your front yard?

If it's that simple, why is the infection so widespread?

Because most people practice really poor hygiene.

Cats, unlike dogs or pigs, lick themselves all over, including their little cat bottoms

Dogs also lick their buttholes. Google dog licking it's ass and you'll be treated to a real "treat". And as I noted, many eat their own or other dog's shit. I remember at a pet store years ago, there were two cute little terrier pups in a cage. People were oooh'ing, and aww'ing the little guys, when one gets ready to take a dump, and the other one scaps that tootsie roll up as it's coming out - the turd never hit the floor. Oooh turned to Ewwww! quickly.

Anyhow take it up with these guys http://www.petmd.com/dog/condi...

Toxoplasma gondii is outrageously common, can be avoided by simple hygiene, and if you have an indoor cat, you are seriously unlikely to catch a dose. And this bit of FUD is really ancient as well. When my wife and I had a child 34 years ago, we were told about the dangers of Toxoplasmosis. The advice was to not have her clean out the litter is we had a cat that goes outside, and for hand washing hygiene.

Its not like a truck full of cows shows up at the typical pet food factory. Pet food tends to be made from human food byproducts.

"The raw ingredients used in rendering are generally just leftovers of the meat, poultry and fishing industries."
- http://www.petmd.com/dog/nutri...

There is no additional impact from cow farts by using animal already raised for human consumption to begin with. If the study got the manufacturing of the food this wrong, how badly was the rest botched?

Safer alternative:

http://www.petmd.com/dog/care/...

Dog Benadryl. Will make the dog sleepy with no other side effects. Just have to start small with the dosage, and up it slowly until it's right.

Just use it when the dog is being especially annoying.

but the fact of the matter is that most animals simply don't get cavities. Seriously! I mean, their teeth are very capable of getting cavities, but haven't you wondered why humans have teeth that "go bad" without regular maintenance? Have you ever known a dog to floss?

Have you ever actually owned a dog or a cat? Every one I've ever had eventually developed problems with their teeth as they aged, usually ending with the tooth in question needing to be pulled. You don't even need my personal anecdote, it's right here at the top of a Google search: While dental caries is not common in the domestic pet, it does occur and should be watched for.

The idea that all calories are equal is a tempting one

I didn't claim that all calories are equal, I said that exercise and flossing are more effective ways to improve health than obsessing about sugar intake.

And for the record, I eat like a pig, am overweight, etc (though I'm working on it now that I have time).

Now that you have time?! Thank you for proving my point that most people just can't be bothered. It's your bloody life we're talking about and your excuse for being a fat ass is "I didn't have the time?" You couldn't find three hours a week to go for a fucking walk? That's only 25 minutes a day. I really hate that weak ass excuse. Blame your proclivity for eating, I'm a foodie, I'd understand that, eating is one of the best pleasures of the flesh.

The time excuse is bogus. I have friends that manage to work full time, raise kids, and train for marathons, a commitment that requires running 15 to 40 miles a week. We've had several athletic presidents, including complete fitness nuts, all of whom found the time to maintain their health despite the office. I highly doubt that your obligations are more time consuming than those of the President of the United States.

Thank you. Not sure how that meshes with people drinking wheat grass juice -- having seen it grown, when the shoots are young, they look exactly like wild grass.

This WebMD page suggests a few reasons, including "One published study reports on a miniature poodle that ate grass and then vomited every day for seven years. Three days after putting the dog on a high-fiber diet, the owner reported that the dog stopped eating grass entirely."

This WebMD page says that "dogs today seek out plants as an alternative food source. Most commonly the plant is grass". It goes on to say: "A dog will seek out a natural remedy for a gassy or upset stomach, and grass, it seems, may do the trick. When ingested, the grass blade tickles the throat and stomach lining; this sensation, in turn, may cause the dog to vomit, especially if the grass is gulped down rather than chewed."

"Although dogs don't typically graze on large amounts of grass like a cow, they may nibble on grass, chew on it for a while, and not throw up (an unwell dog will tend to gulp the grass down in big bites and then throw up).

This seems much more like why my dog eats (or bites at) grass.

"Whatever the reason may be, most experts see no danger in letting your dog eat grass. In fact, grass contains essential nutrients that a dog might crave, especially if they're on a commercial diet."

It seems to me that humans don't know why dogs do it. But that it is good for dogs. And no, I've never seen my dogs "drunk" from grass eating.

I don't think King Snakes have rattlers....They are known for imitation but I think instead it is visual. http://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/coral_snake_0.gif

Human influenza can pass between ferrets and humans. http://www.petmd.com/ferret/conditions/respiratory/c_ft_human_influenza_virus