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
You know I was wondering about that. We feed our two dogs dry dog food - the same kind all the time (Iams). Occasionally, I'll mix some canned Alpo with it because they love it. I agree with you totally. If one day my dogs both refused to eat that food, I'd know for sure something was up. Their sense of smell is so much superior to the human ability. It's so tragic but I can't believe people didn't sense something was up.
A co-worker had to put his dog down last week as a result of this dog food. He plans to submit all medical bills to Diamond Foods but is heart broken over losing his 'best friend'.
I have two dogs and neither have ever eaten "dog food." Whatever the family is having for dinner is what the dogs eat...leftover meat, veggies, bread, beer. Also, during deer season, we toss the carcasses to the dogs after trimming off the tenderloin. They gnaw on it for days.
Re: Royal Canin Siamese 38 food. I feed it to my Tonkinese. He loves it, and he's fit and his coat is shiny. Commercial food leaves his coat dull, plus he eats a lot more of it so I find there's little cost savings between buying the cheaper commercial food and the more expensive Royal Canin.
(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.")
The Bush Administration must be investigated for this!
"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. "
THANK YOU for stating that. So many people have such a nonchalant attitude it's nice to hear a voice of reason.
You're welcome, glad you agree :~D
I feed chicken and rice too... for both cats and dogs...
I haven't liked lamb and rice, I tried it for awhile, but I decided it smells bad.
How come you're watering down her food?
Due th our product my boss and I check the FDA warning page every day. This warning has been out for some time.
That's too bad. I'd be heartbroken too.
The number of people in this country who NEVER watch or read news is frightening! You get a big 'huh?' when you mention things you think are common knowledge.
I met people, here in New Orleans, who didn't know Katrina was coming on that Saturday!
I used to have Shelties. One wouldn't eat any dry food at all, the other was omnivorous. I ended up cooking chicken and rice and beef and rice for them.
Now I have an 8 month old Maltepoo. He started out eating any-and everything( edible or not), but I fed him puppy Science Diet with baby food meats mixed in. Now he'll only touch fresh chicken and boiled rice-maybe a bit of scrambled egg now and then.
At 7 lbs he doesn't each much and, some days, won't eat till very late at nite. Vet said toy breeds are notoriously finicky and not to worry-he won't starve. Amazing how different breeds are about food. My sister's cocker spaniel would eat ANYTHING, incuding old corn cobs and baby diapers!
My lab ate a baby diaper once. I was so grossed out I wanted to kill him rather than look at him.
But he had this stupid, innocent look on his face that said "Oh - was that ~wrong?"
He passed remarkable things in his lifetime, lots of bits of trash and aluminum foil - went right through him. There were a few items that needed veterinary assistance.
He ate Eukanuba all his life. People don't like that brand as much as they used to, but he sure thrived on it.
Nothing like a baby diaper snack then a big, sloppy kiss ! That'll ruin your appetite for awhile!
Had a Papillion who loved to snack on the foil icicles you hang on the Christmas tree. Went right through him- and I had the prettiest, glittering poop-piles in the backyard!
Ow wow! I would have ever guessed Catahoula Leopard! Our neighbors (avid hunters!) have one and it has a really distinctive black and grey coat (almost like a Dalmation only without the white.) I didn't know they had tan/brown coats as well. They strike me as really cool dogs, very smart, and good natured -- and ultra high-energy!
Actually, I watch feeding caribou & moose scraps; that has to be cooked down. I think the the freezing process must have something to do with the salmon?
But the Indians have fed raw fish since time began. They use to stake their dogs along river so they would learn to catch their own salmon, or starve. They then didn't have to even think about their dogs from June until October and ended up not keeping dumb dogs. Thanks for the link.
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