If you are a dog or cat owner, these are scary times. Nearly every day, it seems we hear about another pet food that is being recalled for dangerous contamination.

If you are Scott Hild, retired K-9 officer from Lyndhurst, it is a good time to be selling an alternative pet food. Hild’s K-9 HP company (www.k9hp.com) distributes raw dog food to pet stores across the state.

We caught up with Scott at Mike’s Feed Farm (www.mikesfeedfarm.com) in Riverdale, where he was giving out free sample patties to the pooches (and owners) who happened by.

How can you not like a company with the slogan All Natural, Less Crap?

It has a double meaning. Scott says he designed the food so dogs who go raw do their business fewer times a day, in, shall we say, a more contained manner. What dog owner could resist? Especially on those mornings when you just can’t get out of bed!

Mike’s Feed sells raw pet food from Scott and several other producers. There is a huge freezer full of raw bones, raw beef and poultry. For humans, the sight of so many body parts may be a bit unsettling. Our Lab would do cartwheels.

Why should you consider switching to raw pet food? A vet we know says it’s just better for your animals, regardless of the dry food contamination. As for fears about e-coli, or salmonella, the vet points out that dogs eat their own…hey, let’s not go there again.

Suffice to say your pet’s stomach can handle raw food. The question is, can you?

Ever hear of www.meetup.com? It’s for people who want to join groups that share their interests or passions.

You’ll find Meetup pet owner groups that are devoted, well organized and creative. But the Northern New Jersey Pug owners group (www.pug.meetup.com/571/) takes the cake. They literally take the cake to a doggie playground where they gather to celebrate pooch birthdays, holidays, and any reason for pugs to party!

We crashed last Saturday’s Pugs and Kisses Valentine’s Day gathering at Best Friends Pet Resort in Spring Valley (www.bestfriendspetcare.com). Dozens of pugs, some in costume, romped in a chaotic indoor pet playground. Owners bragged, and snapped photos. Pug pride was pervasive.

There were pugs in a blanket, pugs in pink, pugs in leather, pugs in sequins. Coco, magnificent in her pink sweater, nipped at any who dared come near her beloved owner. Atticus, eight months old, was timid but occasionally dipped a paw in the action.

We learned pugs all look alike only to the uninitiated. They actually have different coats: silvery fawn, apricot fawn --subtle but significant distinctions to the pug community.

The Meetup members sang Happy Birthday to two pugs, and voted for their favorite costumes. Cake was consumed (by the dogs) and goodies distributed.

“You see, what people are looking for is just a connection, any way they can find it,” said one proud pug parent.

On this Saturday morning, the pugs were the drawing card, but the people -- animal lovers all -- bonded too, drawn together by their funny little dogs, and the camaraderie they create.