This is an article from the Examiner at www.examiner.com
For those of us with pets, often they are members of the family. Their care and health are important to us and when something goes wrong it can be devastating. If you care about your canine pet, this is a must read.
Quite recently, my dog became very ill on more than one occasion. After the second time, I began researching the food because that was the only thing he had eaten.
Beneful dog food is a popular brand. Unfortunately over the last two to three months, pet owners have seen their dogs become ill after eating this food, based on reports on the Consumer Affairs website. Some pets are more sensitive than others, and their symptoms can include any of the following, sometimes more than one:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Excessive water drinking
- Lethargy
- Weight loss
- Seizures
- Bloat (this is life threatening to a dog)
- Kidney failure
- Liver failure
- Death
Although Beneful comes in several types of food from puppy, to active and healthy weight, it appears the problem is broader than one type of food. Reports have included Beneful's Healthy Radiance, Healthy Weight, and Playful Life, while other reports did not indicate what type of Beneful was fed.
Some owners said immediately upon feeding for the first time, the dog became sick. Other owners said that overtime the dog became sicker. Some people just switched to Beneful for the first time because it is a softer kibble and noticed an immediate problem. Either way, one common thread in the reports was the anguish for having bought this food that injured or killed their beloved pets.
Veterinarians have reported bacterial infections, liver and kidney failure and high toxins in pets that have been brought in related to Beneful dog food illnesses.
This problem is not in a single region but across the country. The number of reported cases, mainly from October 2012 through January 2013, has been increasing and currently there are 220 incidents listed on the consumer affairs site alone. With pets dying after eating this food, the following questions must be asked.
Is Purina turning a blind eye to what their Beneful product is doing?
Why has there been no recall or statement issued by the FDA?
How many injuries and deaths must there be before someone takes some action?
The FDA has three levels of recall.
- The recall is made by the firm’s own initiative.
- The FDA makes a request to recall.
- The FDA orders a recall under statutory authority.
The FDA website was updated as of December 31, 2012, and with just about every other pet food available listed on the site, there is blatantly no mention of either Purina or Beneful.
In 2007, Purina dog food was identified for dog fatalities after an autopsy revealed aflatoxins in the food and the ASPCA became involved. Aflatoxins are known to be found in moldy grains, like the corn that would be in the dog food. At that time, there was a large recall. In 2005 100 dogs died for the same reason prompting another recall of a different brand of food.
At this time, there has been no indication that the ASPCA is investigating these 220 incidents. It is apparently up to us, the pet owners to take some action so that other pet owners, who may be unaware of this crime, don’t have to go through this devastating experience.
Here is how you can help. You can post this news article or even a note to the following social networking sites:
Push the agencies that can do something to get involved by contacting the following organizations:
At minimum, inform your friends and fellow pet owners to be very careful on what they feed and check the recall lists.
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