An interesting sidelight of the recent pet food poisoning catastrophe has been the common manufacturing source of many of America’s favorite dog and cat foods. Our hearts go out to those whose pets have been lost or made ill by this terrible event.

One reporter, who happened to also be a pet owner, asked a veterinarian, “If one company makes Old Roy, Mighty Dog and Iams Eukanuba foods, why should we pay premium prices for pet food if it’s all coming from the same plant?”

A valid question, but one quickly put to rest by the interviewed doctor, who explained that the one company makes foods to order, in the quality level requested by the manufacturer’s company.

For example, one of the cheapest, lowest-quality foods available in America is manufactured by Menu Foods. The stuff is garbage, and it is priced accordingly. Millions of tons of it are purchased by American pet owners, and they get exactly what they pay for, and their pets suffer dermatologic, immune system and gastrointestinal ailments because of it.

But Menu Foods also makes foods for Iams, a company known for the very high quality of its foods. And, conversely, the people who buy Iams for their pets reap the health benefits conferred by good nutrition.

My choice of pet food has always been Hill’s Science Diet/Prescription Diet, but I would never hesitate to feed my pet an Iams food if Hill’s foods were unavailable to me.

Kudos to the doctor for making the distinction clear to all the United States.

Here’s an analogy that may clear things up for you. I once took a fishing trip to Choke Canyon Reservoir near Three Rivers, Texas. There’s a huge oil refinery in Three Rivers, and I saw trucks from Chevron, Shell, Diamond Shamrock and other major brands filling their tanker trucks.

But that doesn’t mean there was the same gas in every truck. The Chevron trucks were loaded with either regular, mid-grade or premium. And the Chevron trucks’ fuel had Techron, a trademarked Chevron additive, that no other companies’ trucks got. Likewise, Shell gasolines come in three grades and have a different fuel system cleaner integrated into the formulas.

The Diamond Shamrock trucks rolled out with fuel custom-ordered for their stations, and most of the time their fuel is going to be cheaper than either Chevron or Shell.

But just because it came out of the same refinery doesn’t mean it’s all the same.

As consumers, you get to choose both price and ingredients in your pets’ foods, as well.

I’ve said it in previous columns about pet food quality: It’s one place you truly do get what you pay for. Your pet’s doctor can answer any specific questions you may have about the nutrition you give your pet.