Very sorry to hear about your loss. Dogs can be like a part of the family.
posted by jshriver at 08:27 A.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
I was very nervous when I initially heard about the story. Was very relieved when I heard that it only affected "wet"/canned pet foods - we only purchase "dry" food for our dog. I still monitor the recalls occasionally, just to be absolutely certain that no dry foods have been added to the list.
Sorry to hear about your loss. I have not yet heard of anyone else in this area who has experienced a problem. Surely others must have though - I can't imagine yours is an isolated local case.
posted by mom2 at 08:45 A.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
My dog that I grew up with (she's now 15) that lives with my parents was affected. For 2-3 weeks she refused to eat, lost weight, and didn't move much. My parents took her to the vet, and they ran some blood work. Kidney function tests were all bad (3X normal), so they diagnosed her with renal failure possibly stemming from a tumor somewhere. About a week after the vet visit all this news broke. My parents quit feeding her the food (which fortunately she had refused to eat for the previous two weeks) and switched her to some safe food. A week after the switch they took her back to the vet for more tests and her kidney function was back to near normal.
posted by HeyHey at 09:53 A.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
I've read that the culprit is likely "wheat gluten" and that it may also be present in pet foods other than the wet variety. Some dry doggie treats were recently recalled and the FDA is now urging consumers to check all dog foods for "wheat gluten"
Pi314C -- Sorry for your loss. Dogs and cats are family members.
posted by corky at 10:18 A.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
I too believe that yours is probably not an isolated local incident Pi314C. I would be interested to learn numbers. Unfortunately Ohio hasn't been tracking the cases. A survey of Michigan vets tallied over 140 pets sickened in that state alone. http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1175872568114680.xml&coll=8
I am so extremely sorry for your loss. It is heartbreaking to lose a pet under any circumstance, but having lost one due to this recall must be particularly painful.
And HeyHey, I'm glad to hear that your family's dog was able to recover.
We took our dog OFF of one of the recalled brands last October, approximately one month before the toxic foods started being produced (supposedly). I consider this accidental good luck -- it was a food our dog had eaten his whole life.
If you are interested in learning about getting vet expenses reimbursed, class action lawsuits, or just news updates related to the recall, a good starting point is the page at http://www.howl911.com/. In addition to providing news updates, it features links to other good sources of information.
Again, my deepest sympathies.
posted by jmleong at 10:58 A.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
Pi314c - How devastating. As an owner of four dogs, each with person hood status in the family, I sympathise.
posted by holland at 12:35 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
Yeah, I was surprised when I heard that there were only a dozen "confirmed" cases because that seemed really low.
My mother has a friend who's pets had to be put down as well...
posted by lloyd at 12:46 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
So sorry to hear. :(
One of our cats had a few cans of the tainted food. He needed some teeth extractions, so we moved him onto soft food and put him on medicine the same night. He got terribly sick the next day and started vibrating badly. We thought it was the medicine, but later found out that the contamination caused those same symptoms.
Luckily, we had a happy ending; he only had a few cans, and his tests two weeks ago came back clean for kidney function. But my heart sure goes out to everyone who wasn't so lucky. :(
posted by joshw at 01:48 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
Oh my heart just goes out to you. I am so sorry. My dog had been off his food also. I guess now I know why.
Senator Durbin is going to hold hearings on this - and I am glad to hear it.
Here is the fda list of recalled products. There is 'some' dry food that has been recalled - biscuits and canned/pouch foods.
This sounds stupid I'm sure - or maybe an overreaction - but I'm making my dog's food after this. I learned how to here.
posted by katie82640 at 03:27 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
I've read that the culprit is likely "wheat gluten" and that it may also be present in pet foods other than the wet variety.
It wasn't the wheat gluten per se that caused it (wheat gluten is any every wheat product and is completely safe), but it was contamination in the wheat gluten supply. At first they thought rat poison had gotten in the wheat gluten supply, but they've since determined it is some sort of plastic chemical called melamine. So you can still buy food with gluten, you just need to make sure it's not the contaminated gluten supply.
posted by HeyHey at 08:14 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
HeyHey A spokes person for The American Veterinary Medical Association on CNN yesterday morning reccommended that any pet food containing wheat gluten, dry or wet, from any manufacturer should be discarded. All pet food products containing wheat gluten should be avoided entirely. The latest science indicated that the contaminent, in some cases, had been added after the wheat gluten was imported. They are a long way from determining when the wheat gluten was contaminated.
There are pet foods available that claim to be manufactured solely from human grade ingredients.
posted by holland at 10:16 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
Agreed, Holland. Even without a vet telling me so, I'm staying far away from wheat gluten and I'm not feeling great about any other wheat products, either. Interestingly, some of the contaminated wheat gluten WAS marked as "human grade." You just don't know where ANY of the ingredients come from. I look at our bag of dog food and I wonder, "Where's this turkey from? What about this oatmeal?"
Katie may have the right idea about cooking for your pets. But please if you decide to do this, run the idea and some recipes by your vet. It can be difficult to give your pets all the necessary nutrients through home cooking.
Oh, Katie, thanks for mentioning Sen. Durbin's hearings. They start on Thursday at 2 p.m. EST and will be webcast at http://appropriations.senate.gov/webcasts.cfm.
Also, Rep. Dennis Kucinich has issued a lengthy inquiry to the FDA. He asked some very pointed questions, and he wasn't polite. Kucinich has proved himself an ally to pet owners in the past. I received a very nice letter from his office a year or so ago after I called to urge him to support the Pet Evacuation Transportation Standards (PETS) Act following Hurricane Katrina. (He was on the committee holding hearings on the federal government response to Katrina, which was why I called his office.)
posted by jmleong at 10:56 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 10, 2007 #
Thanks to all. HeyHey, I'm glad your family companion came out alright. I had been feeding my girl soft food so she would take joint meds and she had lost some teeth too. I was cutting it with gr. beans, carrots, rice, and oatmeal because she needed less protein (as per vet). In Dec., she began gagging and spitting up bile, refusing food until she was very hungry. I changed from Iams to Alpo! That's on the list too. She continued to get worse, but just gradually. I think cutting her food with other stuff prolonged her suffering.
The second week in Feb. I took her to the vet. After 1 blood test, he said it was not her kidneys and thought it might be a tumor. She continued to get worse. I couldn't see her suffer, after she kept continually throwing up and lost 1 1/2 pounds in one week (added to the 8 pounds she had already lost). We did not find out about the recall until a week later. I feel like I poisoned her.
Thanks for the links. I feel someone should be responsible for all this.
posted by Pi314C at 05:36 A.M. EST on Wed Apr 11, 2007 #
Sounds like it is time to write a letter of support to Kucinich.
posted by holland at 09:31 A.M. EST on Wed Apr 11, 2007 #
Hmmn...not sure what to think now. As mentioned above, my dog has not consumed any of the foods listed on the recall, and hadn't previously shown any problems.
Of course, just when I thought I was out of the woods...he vomited a couple of times late last night and this morning. Not to be gross, but the vomit had blades of grass in it. Under ordinary circumstances, if he vomited blades of grass a couple of times, I wouldn't even think twice about it. (As long as it didn't continue over an extended period of time.) But with all the news about the recalls, it makes me nervous - is this just an early symptom of something worse?
He has a vet appointment on Friday anyhow (routine vaccination). But I won't be home tonight or most of the day tomorrow due to funeral/visitation for a family member - it makes me nervous to think that I could leave to go to a funeral, and then come home to a very sick dog. Its probably nothing, but I'll be glad when that vet appointment on Friday morning rolls around just in case.
posted by mom2 at 11:09 A.M. EST on Wed Apr 11, 2007 #
What a sad state when you lose confidence in commercially prepared pet food products, or because a food induced illness might strike, feel insecure about leaving your pet home alone. But, that's where we are at folks. We can only hope this will result in competition among pet food manufacturers to bring out better grade feeds with a greater proportion of natural ingredients and fewer chemical additives.
posted by holland at 01:59 P.M. EST on Wed Apr 11, 2007 #
It really pisses me off that pet owners have been told they have little chance at a mass lawsuit due to the fact that pets are seen as 'property'. They are like (or SHOULD be like) family members. I know our dog is. I'm glad we feed him table scraps and dry food. Didn't have to worry about all this. My condolences also to anyone who lost a pet.
And what about the people with pedigreed animals? If you go by the theory of 'property', They've lost a ton of money if they lost an animal, not to mention potential losses in breeding.
posted by Darkseid at 01:25 A.M. EST on Fri Apr 13, 2007 #
One note of caution. It's been mentioned here that some are considering feeding the pets "human food." Talk to your vet first. Feeding your dog table food can cause pancreatitis (especially if the food is high in fat). You'd hate to avoid the contaminated gluten only to give your dog pancreatitis. Ask your vet what to do specifically.
posted by HeyHey at 10:38 P.M. EST on Sat Apr 14, 2007 #
That's right heyhey. We actually had a dog who suffered from this. A beautiful Brittany Spaniel. You cannot feed a dog table food - they need a properly balanced diet and it is far different than a human diet.
I'm reading these last two days that the 'human' food chain is also contaminated with this wheat gluten.
Check the labels. Don't eat anything at all with wheat gluten in it.
posted by katie82640 at 10:26 P.M. EST on Mon Apr 16, 2007 #
Found this today:
Pet Food Recall Expanded on New Finding
Wednesday April 18, 8:44 am ET
By Andrew Bridges, Associated Press Writer
Industrial Chemical That Contaminated Pet Food Is Found in Second Ingredient, Expanding Recall
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An industrial chemical that led to a nationwide recall of more than 100 brands of cat and dog foods has been found to contaminate a second pet food ingredient, expanding the recall further.
posted by katie82640 at 12:53 P.M. EST on Wed Apr 18, 2007 #
I'm furious. I just read the labels of our cat & dog food. You guessed it. Brown rice in both. Plus, I have two dogs who just recently threw very high abnormal liver test numbers. I wondered if there could be a pet food problem. It is highly unusual to have 2 of your 4 dogs with liver diesease of "unknown causes". Damn! I'm going is 60 directions here at once. First direction I would like to go is to thank you katie82640. I think you might have saved the lives of a couple old dogs. I've got tears in my eyes.
posted by holland at 03:20 P.M. EST on Wed Apr 18, 2007 #
My eyes too Holland.
posted by katie82640 at 05:08 P.M. EST on Wed Apr 18, 2007 #
I was terrifed for my furry babies once the recall hit and it seems never ending. Found alot of information that I had no idea existed about dog food. I went to an all natural food and went to www.norecalls.com it had a video that showed what really is in our babies food. Shocking to say the least. Hope this helps.
posted by pricelesspups at 09:11 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 24, 2007 #
For the next two weeks the FDA will be intensively studying the human food supply. I think that's a frightening event.
In Ohio among other states, pigs were fed with feed that contained the original culprit and have identified a second deliberate additive. These things were added to the soy, wheat, corn and other products to boost the protein levels to meet our import requirements.
The FDA says it was deliberate and they think it's in our food too.
posted by katie82640 at 09:24 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 24, 2007 #
Chinese firm dodged inspection of pet food, U.S. says
posted by katie82640 at 03:11 P.M. EST on Thu May 03, 2007 #
That's a great news link, Kate. It shows how the modern form of Capitalism is nothing anyone should promote. In such a form, it considers all government regulation to be obstacles to be avoided. So, 700 tons of (I assume) melamine was marked a "nonfood" product, shipped though a textile company, and (note: these details are lacking) then inserted into the food chain.
All in all, this is a serious issue since contaminated feed DID make it into the food chain in the USA. As we speak here, hogs are being killed as contaminated, thereby sparing us exposure to contaminated pork. But that's just "so far", and the FDA can't yet tell us how far such contamination has extended into our food supply.
Ralph Nader had warned us about the problems associated with meeting the "China Price". Now we're seeing one of the more severe results of corporate greed.
posted by GuestZero at 09:45 P.M. EST on Thu May 03, 2007 #
China really scares me...possibly it's because I grew up (I am 51 years young) as China being a "RED COUNTRY"...with no Freedoms or regard of Human Rights i.e. People learned what the government wanted them to learn...the limit of children a family can have; pictures I have seen of new born baby girls just thrown in the street as the family was allowed one birth and a girl was not going to be it...even today "Yahoo" is limiting research the Chinese can actually search per the Chinese not so nice government's orders!
With all of that and a whole lot more I haven't listed...we're going to trust these people to feed our pets, livestock, thus...US the American people...this with a government NOT willing to let USA FDA aka OUTSIDERS in the country to investigate...
I am hoping this incident makes all of us think really hard about that nickle we may be saving purchasing items "Made in China"...with that...I am hoping our government seizes imports of any sort from the Chinese.
They have NO REGARD for laws...NO REGARD for our environment...their not so nice government owns 50 per cent of each and every business in China...why on earth would the USA want to give that government so much power...
Too much power! Off Subject...I had heard on the news the Chinese fooled around with the clouds and created a snowfall of 2 inches...has anyone else heard this...
China scares me...truly it does!
posted by MARIELORA at 11:12 A.M. EST on Fri May 04, 2007 #
The 2008 Olympics will held in China. Nike will be so proud.
posted by Chris99 at 11:52 A.M. EST on Fri May 04, 2007 #
What they can't tell us is how long this has been going on, how many types of goods were affected - what foods they were used in since those end products would be gone, having been consumed by United States citizens and live stock.
Nader was right.
posted by katie82640 at 01:20 P.M. EST on Fri May 04, 2007 #
I am so sorry to hear about your loss! As pet owners we try so hard to do what is best for our pets. It's a shame we can't trust that manufacturers do the same. You can also get an updated list of recalled food at the FDA's site Recalled Food Also, a book to check out if you decide to make your own foods:
~Tonya
posted by perkypawscafe at 12:56 P.M. EST on Sat May 26, 2007 #
ULTIMATE DIET: NATURAL NUTRITION FOR DOGS AND CATS oops
posted by perkypawscafe at 12:57 P.M. EST on Sat May 26, 2007 #
Chinese say U.S. shares blame in food scandal
And on the same day: China says pet food ingredient chemical-free
(Cut from the story itself) Chinese officials have confirmed that officials working for the factories have been arrested.
posted by katie82640 at 10:03 P.M. EST on Sat May 26, 2007 #
Considering that Chinese companies who get their shipments refused by US Customs for quality issues, often turn around and try to send them back into the US, they have a lot of fucking nerve to make such a complaint.
Considering that a Chinese supplier shipped "99.5% glycerin" to Panama, when in fact the stuff contained a poisonous component of antifreeze, again the Chinese have a lot of fucking nerve.
It doesn't matter what the customer demands. When you ship poison, you're responsible. I don't buy this "the price was too cheap to avoid shipping poison" crap!
posted by GuestZero at 06:20 A.M. EST on Sun May 27, 2007 #
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