Posted on 01/06/2006 9:58:51 PM PST by crushelits
At least 100 dogs in the United States have been killed in recent weeks by toxic pet food despite a recall of the products, scientists said today.
Some 19 brands of Diamond, Country Value and Professional dog foods have been recalled. But many pet owners are not aware of the recall, researchers at Cornell University said Friday.
Dogs have refused to eat the food and, in some cases, their owners have enticed them with gravy and other lures without knowing they were killing the animals.
"Entire kennels have been wiped out, and because of the holiday these past few weeks, the dispersal of recall information was disrupted," said Sharon Center, a professor of veterinary medicine who specializes in liver function and disease at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell.
The dog food is tainted with deadly aflatoxins that waste the liver away. The bad food could be present in a dozen other countries, too, the researchers say. About two-thirds of dogs that show symptoms from the toxin have died.
The dogs seemed to know their food was deadly.
"Some dogs were stealing food from the kitchen counter," Center said. "Others just stopped eating the food and begged for treats. Unfortunately, some owners used gravy and other mixers to entice their dogs to consume what they thought was safe, quality dog food."
Only about two dozen deaths have been firmly linked to the tainted pet food. But Center and her colleagues know the toll is far higher.
"Every day, we're hearing reports from veterinarians in the East and Southeast who have treated dogs that have died from liver damage this past month or so," Center said. "We're also concerned about the long-term health of dogs that survive as well as dogs that have eaten the tainted food but show no clinical signs."
Surviving dogs may develop chronic liver disease or liver cancer, she said.
"Despite our understanding of this complex toxin, we have no direct antidote," Center said.
Symptoms arise over days or weeks. Early signs include lethargy, loss of appetite and vomiting. Later, look for orange-colored urine and jaundice, which is a yellowing of the eyes and gums. Severely affected dogs produce a blood-tinged vomit and bloody or blackened stools.
More information is available at a Cornell web site. The details of the FDA recall are here.
Also here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1549635/posts
OK - New thread.
If your dog isn't going to eat it's food so bad that you have to intice it with gravy, then you know something is wrong. WTF is wrong with these people?
Poor babies.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
I agree. Those people are too evil for words.
I wouldn't classify Purina or Whiskas as 'the best'. They are as corn-based as any of the grocery store brands... The key is whether your animals seem to thrive on them. This could happen to any commercial food.
It's not evil... They aren't trying to kill their pet. They obviously didn't realize there was something wrong with the food.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
And if your animal seems off it's feed or the food doesn't look or smell right, don't feed any more of it.
This is just awful, but maybe some of the pet ownwners just didn't know any better. We all know how some parents cajole their picky kids to eat. I can't imagine they would have done it knowing the consequences. Just so sad! :(
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
I have no results to report, as of yet...but my husband just purchase some of this food for our 6 month old puppy. First ingredient is chicken; second corn; and third is another meat. She seems to like it!
http://www.propacpetfood.com/
with the quote marks in the right place. You'll find plenty.
Some brands even at Costco.
Yes, there are lots of meat based foods out there that contain little or no corn. But they aren't found in grocery stores. I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with corn (though some animals become allergic) the problem is it's just cheap filler, and there isn't a digestive system in the world that can digest it, except maybe cattle ;~D. It just goes right through them, relatively unchanged, and makes for more poop.
Of the grocery store brands, the best is probably Purina One. But the better, more expensive foods are found either in pet stores, farm supply stores, or vet clinics.
I buy chicken and rice cat and dog foods that are packaged locally for the farm and feed supply in my area. I read the labels and the ingredients and compared the labels and it's comparable in protein and fat to the premium foods like Iams and Nutro. If one of the first three items on the list of ingredients are corn, it's just a filler food.
The first ingredient, IMHO, should be meat. And it should be the named meat in the flavor, such as "chicken, beef or lamb." And in my house, nothing is allowed that says "animal" or "animal" byproducts. Here's the hint. If the type of meat is named, that's what it is. If it just says "animal" it's horse, waste products from slaughterhouses, the remains of euthanized and dead animals brought to rendering plants, and whatever else they end up needing to grind up. I am philosophically opposed to horse slaughter, so I don't buy any of that. Most of the grocery store brands contain lots of unnamed "animal" byproducts. It's cheap.
Good pet food will cost over a buck a pound, not $10 for a 40 pound bag. I don't recommend a particular label, others do. Some of the best stuff is local, I'd go to your local feed and farm supply and read labels.
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