Ken-L Ration

Ken-L Ration was a brand of canned and dry dog food. Ken-L Ration was owned by Quaker Oats, but the brand was sold to H. J. Heinz Co. in 1995. The brand's name was a play on the World War II-era K-ration, and featured a yellow dog named Fido on its labels. The trademark for Ken-L Ration is now owned by Retrobrands USA LLC.
The dog food's original main ingredient was U.S. Government Inspected horse meat, advertised as "lean, red meat".
History.
In the 1950s, Ken-L-Ration was the major sponsor of a local TV show in New York City called, "We Love Dogs". Each week a dog or puppy was featured as the prize in a contest. Viewers were invited to write and send letters to explain why they should win the dog. The next week, the winning letter was read and the winner appeared on the show and was given the dog.
The brand is most notable for a popular advertising jingle from the 1960s. The jingle was based on the song "My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog" written by Tom Paxton. The advertisement consisted of three children singing:
<poem>
My dog's faster than your dog,
My dog's bigger than yours.
My dog's better 'cause he gets Ken-L Ration,
My dog's better than yours.
Ken-L Ration has lean red beef,
And lots of other good things,
When my mom goes to the store,
She buys a zillion cans or more.
</poem>
Until 1968, Ken-L Ration was the sponsor of the pet kennel at Disneyland, known as Ken-L Land.
Like several other dog food brands, Ken-L Ration issued a yearly award to brave or heroic dogs, titled the "Ken-L Ration Dog Hero of the Year Award". The last known year this was issued was 1996.
In 2020, the Ken-L Ration brand was purchased by Gespa Brands, a subsidiary of Grupo Pilar S.A.