Caring for a pet is a huge responsibility, even though many people don’t do it the right way. You need to ensure that they are well-fed, get exercise, and have a nice place to live – much like raising a child actually. But when it comes to their food, you have a lot less control and most people just grab whatever is the cheapest.
Your dog’s food could be far more dangerous than you ever thought though, after a recent influx of dog deaths blamed solely on one thing – poison in their food. It’s not just one dog food brand either, so you are definitely going to want to check your pantry and get rid of any of the brands that you will see listed below.
“Nobody should have to go through what we went through,” Nikki Mael told CBS 12.
Mael fed her five dogs some food from a can of Evanger’s dog food, but soon one named Talula fell very ill. Talula sadly never got better and passed away soon after.
“Not fair. I mean, I would give anything to see Talula again. They were falling over. They were running into the walls. They were convulsing,” she continued.
She immediately sent the dog food to a lab to investigate what exactly killed her dog. The results were stunning. CBS 12 ran the tests and found that the sample contained pentobarbital, typically used to euthanize pets rather than feed them.
They went to the source and tested Gravy Train, also produced by Big Heart Pet Foods. The company is owned by J.M. Smucker’s along with Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Kibbles’nBits, Natural Balance, 9 Lives, Nature’s Recipe, Pup-Peroni, Canine Carry Outs, Alley Cat, Jerky Treats, Meaty Bone, Pounce, Milo’s Kitchen and Snausages.
Once the Gravy Train also tested positive for the deadly ingredient, CBS 12 knew that they had to get the word out immediately about these grave concerns. The FDA has also issued a warning about pet food containing pentobarbital, describing the symptoms as, “drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, nausea, nystagmus, and inability to stand. Consuming high levels of pentobarbital can cause coma and death.”
J.M. Smucker has now recalled shipments of Gravy Train, Kibbles ‘N Bits, Ol’ Roy and Skippy canned dog food. They also released a statement, claiming the “root cause to be a single supplier and a single, minor ingredient, used at one manufacturing facility.” Unfortunately, those pet owners don’t consider the lives of their beloved animals to be, “minor.”
“Above all, we are a company that loves pets and understand the responsibility we have in providing high-quality food for the pets our consumers love,” the statement continued.
The only way to counter this terrible company’s mistakes is to stop buying their pet food. If you have a pet, please check your cabinets for any of these products and dispose of them immediately before they suffer the same fate as poor Talula.
The FDA is alerted to this issue, so the most important thing you can do is share this warning with any pet owners that are close to your heart. These loving creatures deserve to eat safe and healthy foods!