Friday Ark #136 has started boarding and will continue doing so throughout the weekend.  Visit often!

The latest edition of Good Planets offers the normal bevy of beautiful photos celebrating our tiny world.  Go enjoy the scenery.

Although told with a bit of dark humor, this is a rather disturbing look at a few creatures we pushed to extinction.  Pay special attention to the amount of time it shows for us to discover and eviscerate each species.  Horrifying…

I will reiterate once again that the pet food recall has continued to grow.  There are new developments almost daily, and new brands and products are added to the list almost as often—if not several times in a single day.  The FDA’s page on the topic has blossomed into a menagerie of announcements, findings, and recalls.  And remember it now includes human food in several states.

As for the investigation, it too has grown.  At least three different toxins have been found in the adulterated products.  The most frightening aspect of that stems from this fact: those chemicals don’t explain the symptoms and deaths.  That could mean it’s the interplay between them (although that’s in doubt), but it could also mean there’s more to be discovered in this mess.

And updated numbers on the total animal deaths have yet to be disclosed.  Veterinarians across the country are reporting significant impact in all states.  I believe we’ll see something in the tens of thousands—at minimum—once the numbers are compiled and confirmed.  The number of dogs and cats made sick will be much higher than that.