Should we be concerned about giving it to our dogs? 

I must admit I’ve never been all that concerned about our drinking water, I guess we all just take it for granted it’s safe here in the UK. 
But just recently I’ve really questioned our drinking water supply issues that have been unfolding and to further my concerns, whilst I write this blog there has been the awful outbreak of contamination in South Devon (UK) with the lethal Cryptosporidium, a water born parasite. 

This is a parasite that is present in human and other animal’s poo

The Symptoms are…..

• Watery diarrhoea
• Dehydration
• Stomach pain and cramps
• Lack of appetite
• Loss of weight
• Fatigue
• Low-grade fever
• Nausea
• Vomiting

I’ve been digging deeper, researching for my health. Looking into what I’m actually consuming and what I could improve on and need to improve. I found you don’t need to dig all that deep to reveal the worrying finds.

Bottled water to me has always seemed to be a clever marketing thing and something personally I’ve never bought into but since my findings, I am leaning more towards it or at least filtering it myself. 

What does this have to do with dogs I hear you say,.

Over the last few years, I’ve noted more & more dog folk using water purifiers or filter jugs for not only themselves but also sharing with their pets too. I must admit I always thought this to be a bit “woo woo” and over the top. Since my findings, it’s gone off like a light bulb in my head, that what we’ve trusted for decades in our UK drinking water, maybe we shouldn’t always believe what is fed to us. 

I recently read an article regarding Poly and Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances, PAFS for short, these are toxic chemicals that we come into contact within our everyday living, what’s shocking is where they hide.  But most worryingly we consume them in vast quantities within our drinking water, something we do every day without a second thought.  They have been given the nickname “the forever chemicals” because they never break down, they are persistent. They not only survive for a very long time before breaking, they have the worrying ability to accumulate in living organisms, meaning that even at low levels of exposure they can gradually build up over time to a point where they become harmful.

So, what are they?
They’re a large group of synthetic chemical compounds with grease- and water-repelling properties. Around the world, companies use PFAS to manufacture a range of consumer products. These include non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, dental floss, carpets and food packaging. They’re also used to make industrial products such as firefighting foams (Zanolli). They were first made in the 1940’s

Are they harmful?

This is global

Cambridgeshire Water admits it had to turn off a water supply when it found the aquifer had 4 times the legal maximum limits of a PFAS chemical. Worryingly, it did not inform residents at the time of their exposure. Nor did the utility tell them how long the exposure lasted.
In England and Wales they are only required to risk assess for 2 and in Scotland it’s only 1. 
Concerningly these risk assessments do not happen routinely. 

The UK governing body (The drinking water inspectorate) sets a limit of 10 nanograms per 1 Litre of water, but remember they are only permitted to test for 2 PFAS and there are up to 8,000 different ones. 

We also need to be aware of other contaminants

• Heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic. 
• Pollutants such as pesticides, and herbicides.
• Nitrates runoff from farmland. 
• Microorganisms, Bactria, viruses and parasites 

Time to make that switch

Using a water filtration jug can lessen these contaminates. The filter systems that use activated carbon filters. They absorb many contaminants and can be extremely effective. Always make sure to replace these filters regularly.

The next form is something called reversed osmosis 
With the reverse osmosis proccess, water is forced at a high pressure through a semi-permeable membrane. The membrane consists of minuscule-sized pores and, whilst PFAS can vary in size, they are almost always far larger than these membrane pores, which stops them in their tracks

Since scratching the surface with my little bit of research, I’ve invested in my first-ever filter jug for myself to use &  to give & share with my dogs.

And yes I understand water filtration won’t remove all of it but it will undoubtedly remove some and that’s got to be better than not using one. It can remove up to 90%.

I have chosen the filter jug developed by a company called Phox.

They use a coconut shell-activated carbon filter. I love this company for its ethics and innovation.

Contaminants, skin & gut issues