Control - Salmonella enterica ATCC 14028  Comparison of Enteric Gram Negative Rods in the Stool Of Healthy Canine Pets Fed Dry Food Diet and Commercial Raw Diet C.F.Clemente dos Santos 1, C.M.Scholpp 1, M.M.Dean1, V.Grant 2 , L. Komina 2, C. Riedel 2 1 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb IL 60115 cclementedossantos@niu.edu 2 Autumn Green Animal Hospital , Geneva IL 60134 Discussion:: It was expected that the group of dogs fed commercial raw diet would have an increase of enteric pathogenic bacteria present in their stool, however results showed that the dogs from both groups had similar enteric flora distribution with E. coli being present in 100% of the samples, Proteus mirabilis in 30% of the samples and Citrobacter freundii in 20% . Pseudomonas aeruginosa was recovered in 10% (n=1) from the raw group and Salmonella spp. and Vibrio parahaemolyticus were unexpected recovered from 10% (n=1) of the stool samples in the dry group. Conclusion: Overall, this preliminary study concluded that both groups showed E. coli and Proteus spp. as predominant strains in the canine pet’s stool, with the dogs in the raw group not having an increase in pathogenic bacteria as Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. as previously predicted.   Introduction: Dogs are part of the modern society, they provide companionship, work as service dogs, therapy dogs, police force and in many additional functions. The safety of commercial pet food is now been addressed by the FDA and it has been questioned by many veterinarians professionals lately. It is a concern that contaminated pet food by enteric gram negative bacilli as Salmonella spp. could result in potential harm to the animals and their owners through cross contamination during product handling 4,5. Results: Materials and Methods: Stool samples from twenty healthy canine pets, ten fed the traditional dry diet and ten feed commercial raw diet, were collected by the Autumn Green Veterinary clinic after the owners signed consent forms that were approved by the Northern Illinois University IACUC and IBC committee.  The samples were brought to the NIU Medical Laboratory Science program laboratory and plated on different types of selective media.  Stool samples were collected in a clean sterile cup by the animal’s owners and plated in BAP, MAC,HEK, XLD, HardyCHROM Salmonella, HardyCHROM SS. The plates with either saliva or stool samples were then incubated at 35-37oC. Non-lactose fermenter isolates were re-isolated and identified using API 20E manual method by Biomerieux. Oxidase and Indole tests were also performed in the isolates suspected to be enteric pathogenic organisms.   Positive Salmonella Sample L49 – Dry food group Aim: The aim of this project was to compare the presence of enteric gram negative flora in the stool of dogs fed dry food diet and commercial raw diet. Since commercial raw diet intended for canine use is processed using freezing methods or freezing drying that does not involve heat, it is not clear that the process would kill enteric pathogenic gram negative rods as Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 that could possibly cause infection to their infection to their owners through cross contamination 1. Control - Salmonella enterica ATCC 14028 References: 1 Broughton, Ashley, Verger, C., Goffin, E. Pets-Related Peritonitis in Peritoneal Dialysis: Companion Animals or Trojan Horses?. Seminars in Dialysis, vol 23(3): 306-316, 2010. 2 Finley,R., Pearl, Reid-Smith, R.J., Weese, J.S. Human Health of Salmonella-Contaminated Natural Pet Treats and Raw Pet Food. Clinical Infection Disease, 42: 686-691, 2006. 3 Joffe, D.J., Schlesinger, D.P. Preliminary assessment of the risk of Salmonella infection in dogs fed raw chicken diets. Canadian Veterinary Journal, vol 43, 441-442, June 2002. 4 Leonard, E.K., Pearl, D.L., Janecko. N. , Peregrine, A.S., Reid-Smith, R.J., Weese, J.S. Evaluation of Pet-Related Management Factors and Risk of Salmonella spp. Carriage in Pet Dogs from Volunteer Households in Ontario (2005-2006). Zoonoses Public Health, 58: 140-149, 2011. 5 Schlesinger, D.P. Joffe, D.J. Raw food diets in companion animals: A Critical review Canadian Veterinary Journal, vol 52, 50-54, January 2011. Acknowledgments: Undergraduate Research and Artistry Grant received from NIU A special thanks to Autumn Green Veterinary Clinic in Geneva, Illinois and their staff for the assistant and support of this project.