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Consumers who have purchased this product are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. For years, pet owners have been complaining that their dogs became ill and, in many cases, died after eating jerky treats from China, many of them containing chicken.
Food and Drug Administration FDA has been investigating but in a recent update, admitted that it has not found a definitive cause. It turns out that Chinese consumers prefer dark meat, which leaves a lot of white chicken meat available for export. By the FDA's count, the amount of pet food imported from China has grown fold in recent years, with nearly 86 million pounds of pet food being imported in The FDA says it has received about 2, reports of pets becoming ill or dying after eating jerky treats; died.
Most of those reports involved dogs, although a few cats have also become ill. ConsumerAffairs receives a constant stream of such reports, like this one from Lucinda of Strasburg, Va I am so upset and broken hearted because my dog is dying! The majority of the cases in dogs report primarily gastrointestinal signs, including vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes with blood or mucus, and can involve severe signs such as pancreatitis or gastrointestinal bleeding.
There does not appear to be a geographic pattern to the case reports, the FDA said. The FDA has issued warnings to pet owners about the potential threat posed by tainted jerky treats from China but hasn't ordered the products off the shelves because it can't prove they are responsible for the reported illnesses.
Why is it so hard to get to the bottom of the mystery? The FDA says its investigation is " complex, multifaceted and includes a wide variety of experts at the FDA including toxicologists, epidemiologists, veterinary researchers, forensic chemists, microbiologists, field investigators and senior agency officials. It seems pretty simple, though, to pet owners whose animals are ill.
Many try to avoid pet treats from China only to learn too late that they did not read all the fine print. In November , the agency issued a warning to pet owners that echoed a similar advisory from If the dog shows any of these signs, stop feeding the chicken jerky product. The agency issued a similar warning just a few days ago. Amidst all the verbiage, the advice boils down to this: But be aware that these can also cause problems in some dogs and be ready to respond if your pet shows signs of illness.
Frustrated with the lack of action, some pet owners have gone to court seeking action. Last July, a class action suit against Nestle Purina charged that the company's Waggin' Train treats had sickened their pets. Most major pet food companies are included in the complaints on file at the FDA. A few of the more familiar brands identified by the agency include: There is, of course, no fool-proof way to avoid contaminated pet food just as there is no absolute protection against contamination in the human food supply.
But sticking to baked snacks, along with carefully monitoring your pet's health and responding quickly to illness, is a good start. Maybe someday, the FDA will find an answer. Or, then again, maybe it will approve chicken from China for human consumption, which will at least put humans and their pets on equal footing. Dog owners have been raising a stink over some of the pet treats produced by Kasel Industries and now the company's West Denver neighbors are getting into the act as well.
The problem is the place stinks, according to more than complaints the city has received in recent years. Said he was 'throwing up'," was a typical complaint recorded last year, according to Westword , a community news site. Pet owners outside the Denver area may not care what the place smells like but many of them are irate about products Kasel has recalled in recent years, products like: The recalls involve possible Salmonella contamination of the treats. This is particularly galling to pet owners who seek out pet food and treats made in the United States, hoping to avoid the dangers associated with products containing ingredients from China.
But as Merri said, fat chance. Kasel is still operating, its products can be found in most pet stores and the neighbors are still beefing, despite the recalls and the efforts of the Food and Drug Administration and the Colorado Department of Agriculture, which have both found Salmonella in some of the company's products.
The city of Denver finally got into the act, responding last year to the neighbor's complaints. He filed an appeal, saying the neighbors were untrustworthy and claiming the wind was blowing the stench the other way on the days the neighbors complained. The hearing officer was not impressed and the appeal was denied. So Kasel did what any respectable pig ear entrepreneur would do. He also sued various city officials and some of the complaining neighbors.
Leaving aside the legal niceties, Kasel appears to be arguing that it's not his fault that dead animals smell bad and that the nature of the neighborhood has changed since he went into business in The West Denver neighborhood -- which for some reason is called RiNo -- was for decades an industrial area.
Kasel's neighbors include a sausage factory, a company that cleans septic tanks and a corned beef plant, according to Westword. Probably none of these folks would say they should be run out of town just because some vacant industrial buildings have been turned into condos occupied by hipsters, artists and others not habituated to barnyard aromas.
As for pet owners looking for red-blooded American dog treats, our advice is to stick with baked snacks. Leave the pig ears out of it. Said he was 'throwing up'," was a typical complaint recorded last year, according to Westword, a community news site. Purina is defending Beneful dog food from consumers' allegations that it made their dogs ill.
But whether consumers accept the explanation remains to be seen. Schopp was responding to complaints posted on ConsumerAffairs and elsewhere by pet owners who say their dogs became ill or died after eating Beneful. While no one has been able to definitively determine whether or not Beneful or any other substance was responsible for the incidents portrayed in the consumer postings, that hasn't stopped pet owners, bloggers, reporters and others from speculating heatedly about the controversy, a process that veterinarians say doesn't accomplish much.
However, it is rare that their food is responsible for the illness," Ettinger said in an article published by DVM To date there has been no evidence that Beneful has caused any problems when fed to dogs. While Purina and Ettinger seek to assure pet owners and veterinarians that there is no scientific evidence to tie Beneful to pet illnesses, others have gone after the pet owners themselves, accusing them of fabricating the complaints. Some have criticized ConsumerAffairs and other sites for posting the complaints. One blogger even suggested we made up the complaints.
We placed calls to several consumers whose complaints were recently published on our site, to verify that they had submitted the complaint and that they considered them truthful. Korfin, whose dog Max is pictured here, and got her permission to use her last name. Consumer reviews are posted to our site using just the consumer's first name but we collect additional information that is not normally published. Several of the consumers we talked to gave their permission to use their full names.
Some, like Korfin, also supplied photos of their dogs to lend credibility to their postings. Hudson was less complimentary about Purina. She said Purina offered to reimburse her for some of her expenses when she called their corporate office. I wasn't contacting them for money, I was giving them a heads-up," she said. Hudson also filed a report with the FDA and had heard nothing in response when we spoke on Feb. Some who have criticized consumers for posting their complaints on sites like ours have said they should instead file a report with the FDA.
One consumer, Nina of Berrien Springs, Mich. She not only posted to ConsumerAffairs about the problems her dog Kopper had with Beneful, she also decided to file a complaint with the FDA, hoping to get some action beyond just posting her complaint publicly. Then there's Samantha Hyatt of Moore, Okla. Her Westie died after exhibiting many of the symptoms described by others.
Pet owners who bundle up their sick dog and rush to their veterinarian are often dismayed to find that the vet has heard nothing about problems with Beneful. Veterinarians respond that this is because there has been no evidence of problems with Beneful products.
A review by ConsumerAffairs of the alerts sent to veterinarians by the FDA and professional organizations found nothing regarding Beneful. Shannon told us her dog is kept inside except for short periods of time in a fenced yard, leading her to suspect that the food is the culprit.
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It's not surprising the FDA has no information on it, said Steele, who said filing an online complaint with the FDA was nearly impossible because of the level of detail the online form asked for and the inability to save the form and come back to complete it later. Whatever is happening, if anything, it started about a year ago on Feb.
That's when we received the first complaint about Beneful. A total of complaints were sbumitted in In the first 56 days of , were submitted. The geographic distribution of the complaints is not as uniform as one might expect. This chart shows the top 15 states for Beneful complaints to ConsumerAffairs: Not surprisingly, most of the complaints come from the most populous states but there are far fewer complaints from California, New York, New Jersey and other megastates than would typically be the case in a nationally distributed product. With a sample size of fewer than complaints, however, it's not really possible to draw any meaningful conclusions.
He listed these quality control measures that are applied to all Beneful products: What should consumers do if their pet falls ill? The first step is to contact their veterinarian and take the animal in for examination as soon as possible. If food is suspected, save all packaging and keep a sample of the food itself. Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling pet food. The consumer or, preferably, the vet can file a report with the FDA if food or snacks are thought to be responsible. Schopp said consumers should also call the manufacturer of the pet food if a problem is suspected.
We encourage any consumer with a question or comment about one of our products to call and speak with us directly at the toll free number on every package," he said. And, while critics may question the usefulness of consumer sites, filing an online report helps make other consumers aware of issues that may affect them.
Even if it turns out that some consumers may reach the wrong conclusion in their postings, sparking a public discussion helps raise awareness of the importance of monitoring pets' health -- and it's worth noting that there have been cases of contaminated pet food and snacks that have come to light through online postings. A federal judge has refused to dismiss a class action lawsuit that charges Del Monte subsidiary Milo's Kitchen produced chicken jerky treats that poisoned and killed dogs, a claim also leveled in many ConsumerAffairs postings.
Del Monte recalled the "home-style" dog treats in January after the New York State Department of Agriculture found trace amounts of antibiotics in several lots of chicken jerky treats. The lawsuit, however, concerns a more wide-ranging problem -- one that the Food and Drug Administration warned pet owners about back in and on several occasions since then. In February, the FDA said it had received reports of dogs dying and 2, becoming ill after eating jerky treats. Many of the suspect treats are made with chicken from China, which is not approved for human consumption but can be legally fed to pets.
In the lawsuit, Lisa Mazur says that her healthy seven-year-old dog, Riley Rae, suffered kidney failure and had to be euthanized after eating the Milo's Kitchen treats, and she charges that despite the FDA warnings, Del Monte did not recall the treats or put warnings on the packages, Courthouse News Service reported. The company also faces other law suits from pet owners. The company moved to have the case dismissed in September but U. Magistrate Judge Maureen Kelly recommended that the case proceed and U. On another note, we often hear from readers who say that various brands of pet food made their animals sick — with almost every brand on the market generating its share of complaints.
Various sizes and breeds…all fed Pedigree Healthy Digestion canned food for years. Two weeks ago our longhair Dachshund threw up a lot, and then the diarrhea started. All is quiet again. My daughter in another state told me that tonight her boxer has thrown up and had been dealing with diarrhea earlier this week. She was feeding the same Pedigree Healthy Digestion food! I asked her to contact our vet to get on the right track. I know pet food companies alter formulas all the time but all of this coupled with the sheer number of very recent complaints are enough to steer me clear of Pedigree products forever.
They're both almost 5 and I can count on one hand the number of times she has ever been sick. The other one throws up some monster hairballs, but usually every few months at the most. Now, he has been throwing up for a week. On Sunday, he threw up five times; twice with food in it and three times just liquid. After a few good days, I came home tonight, fed them their dinner, and within 20 minutes, he threw it all up. That's been the pattern: They said they had seen animals with pancreatitis, severe intestinal problems, and hair falling out.
I switched my cats and dog over as soon as I heard this. The cats were losing lots of hair and my terrier was constantly gassy and bloated and her hair was so brittle, it was coming out in handfuls. After one week off BB, every animal was back to normal. All I know is something needs to be done about this. We need to be educated consumers when it comes to pet food. Over the past week our cat has started experiencing difficulty urinating and stopped eating. When he began to leave clear spots on the floor, we realized something was terribly wrong.
We rushed him to our local vet and described to her our experiences. The first question she asked was if we were feeding him Blue Buffalo cat food. We said yes, we have been since we adopted him. She informed us that our cat is the second she saw this week with urinary and kidney damage due to Blue Buffalo cat food. Iams, Purina, Beneful, Nutro, 9 Lives and more.
Everyone has a pet theory or two about what is making America's dogs and cats sick after they eat jerky treats but no one has managed to conclusively prove any of those theories. Food and Drug Administration admits it is stumped and is asking for help from pet owners. It already has reports of jerky treat-related illnesses involving 3, dogs and 10 cats in the U. At least of them died. Now the FDA says it would like to hear from any pet owner whose animal became sick or died after eating jerky treats.
Most of the jerky treats implicated in the illnesses have been made in China and the FDA notes that by law, manufacturers of pet foods are not required to state the country of origin for each ingredient in their products. A number of jerky pet treat products were removed from the market in January after a New York State lab reported finding evidence of up to six drugs in certain jerky pet treats made in China. The FDA says the drug levels were very low and claims it's unlikely that they caused the illnesses, but the agency concedes that it noted a decrease in reports of jerky-suspected illnesses after the products were removed from the market.
FDA believes that the number of reports may have declined simply because fewer jerky treats were available. The agency is publishing a fact sheet that it will send to veterinarians, asking them to use it to alert consumers to the problem and to provide instructions on reporting pet illnesses. The fact sheet also points out that the treats are not essential to a balanced diet. Many pet owners bake their own treats. Others use pieces of the pet's regular kibble as a treat. If you do provide jerky treats and your pet becomes sick, stop the treats immediately, consider seeing your veterinarian, and save any remaining treats and the packaging for possible testing.
Be careful handling the treats. Humans are also susceptible to some of the conditions transmitted by pet food. Nina More than 1, jerky pet treat samples have been tested since for a variety of chemical and microbiological contaminants, from antibiotics to metals, pesticides and Salmonella. Inspections of the facilities in China that manufacture jerky products associated with some of the highest numbers of pet illness reports did not identify the cause of illness.
However, they did identify additional paths of investigation, such as the supply chain of some ingredients in the treats. Although FDA inspectors have found no evidence identifying the cause of the spate of illnesses, they did find that one firm used falsified receiving documents for glycerin, a jerky ingredient. Chinese authorities informed FDA that they had seized products at the firm and suspended its exports. To identify the root cause of this problem, FDA is meeting regularly with regulators in China to share findings. The agency also plans to host Chinese scientists at its veterinary research facility to increase scientific cooperation.
Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and have these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian. The recalled Turducken Canine Diet -- 8-oz Patties in a 5-lb.
Production of the product has been suspended while the company and the FDA continue their investigation as to the source of the problem. The product comes in 5 lb. Consumers who have purchased 5-lb. Consumers with questions should contact the company at or gary stevesrealfood. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and ha The Food and Drug Administration, as part of its Food Safety and Modernization Act, has proposed new safety guidelines for animal food.
The FDA itself concedes that it is only now " proposing preventive measures to protect all animal foods from disease-causing bacteria, chemicals and other contaminants. The propsed new rules affect both pet food and the feed that is given to livestock. There is no type of hazard analysis. McChesney notes that human and animal health are intertwined. When such food is handled by pet owners and placed on kitchen surfaces, the bacteria can spread to foods consumed by their family.
And if an animal has eaten feed contaminated with a chemical like dioxin and then enters the food supply, consumers could likewise absorb the chemical, putting their health at risk. By helping to prevent the contamination of animal foods, the proposed rule protects pets and people alike, he says. Earlier this week, we reported that the FDA is asking for pet owners to help them figure out exactly why, since , hundreds of American dogs and cats have died after eating presumably tainted beef jerky treats.
Only last month could we report that the FDA would require pet food labels to list any artificial colorings included among its ingredients. In one of the most infamous examples of pet food contamination, dogs and cats across the country were sickened and killed in when melamine, a chemical used to make plastic, was added to pet food ingredients imported from China. The requirements proposed in both the animal and import rules are designed to help prevent that from happening again, McChesney says.
The Humane Society of the United States is applauding the FDA's action, noting the thousands of pets sickened by jerky treats and contaminated dog food in recent years. We're a part of the overall food industry. The proposed new rules will be open for public comment for days.
If put into law, they would apply to all domestic and imported animal feed, as well as the raw ingredients used to make it. The FDA itself concedes that it is only now "proposing preventive measures to protect all animal foods from disease-causing bacteria, chemicals and other contaminants.
For years, angry pet owners have accused jerky treats for causing their dogs' and cats' illness and deaths. Food and Drug Administration FDA has been collecting and studying case reports but says it still hasn't pinned down the exact cause of the problems, although it has confirmed the presence of a prohibited antiviral drug in treats containing chicken from China.
In its latest report , the FDA said it has combed through more than 4, complaints of illness in pets that ate chicken, duck, or sweet potato jerky treats, nearly all of them imported from China. The reports include more than 1, canine deaths and involve a total of more than 5, dogs, 24 cats and three people. Some consumers reported illness in more than one pet. The symptoms reported will sound familiar to anyone who's kept up with the problem: About 15 percent of the kidney or urinary cases also tested positive for Fanconi syndrome, a rare kidney disease that has been associated with this investigation.
Besides reports from consumers, the FDA said it has received "many well-documented case reports" from veterinarians, the result of an October "Dear Veterinarian" letter the agency sent to vets nationwide. Following up on the vets' reports, the FDA conducted 26 examinations of dead dogs. It found that half of them had causes of death that appeared to be related to consumption of jerky treats. While the other 13 did not appear to be directly related, the FDA said " an association with consumption of jerky pet treats could not be ruled out.
Although it normally deals only with human illness, the CDC is assisting with a study of cases involving sick dogs compared with a control group of healthy dogs. The goal is to compared the foods eaten by the sick dogs compared with that eaten by the healthy dogs and to determined whether sick dogs ate more jerky and other pet treats than healthy dogs. Adapting a testing methodology used by New York, the FDA said it has found low levels of the drug amantadine in some jerky samples containing chicken.
Amantadine is an antiviral that is approved for use in humans but is prohibited in chickens. The FDA said it "does not believe that amantadine contributed to the illnesses because the known side effects or adverse events associated with amantadine do not seem to correlate with the symptoms seen in the jerky pet treat-related cases. But the agency said there should be no amantadine in jerky treats and said Chinese officials have "assured us that they will perform additional screening and will follow up with jerky pet treat manufacturers.
What's a pet owner to do? The most obvious is to avoid feeding jerky treats to pets. Animal lovers who want to give their pets an occasional treat or need to use treats for training purposes should talk to their veterinarians about which treats are best for their dog. As in humans, too many treats can lead to obesity and can crowd out healthier foods. FDA is still collecting information. In its latest report, the FDA said it has combed through more than 4, complaints of illness i Walmart quietly pulled China-made treats from its shelves in following the well-publicized death of a two-year-old Chihuahua who died suddenly after eating Bestro chicken jerky strips.
Walmart did not publicly comment on the action and did not commit to keeping Chinese treats off its shelves in the future. While there's no guarantee that pet treats made in the U. The safety and health benefits of food and treats continue to be top concerns for pet owners, according to a recent survey. Walmart did not publicly comment on Smallbatch Pets of Portland, Ore.
The potentially affected lots of 2lbs. Two hundred and eighty-two cases of this product were sold between t Consumers who have purchased the recalled product should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at , Monday — Friday, 8: The recalled product, distributed nationwide in retail stores and through mail orders, comes in a 2-lb, 5-lb and lb, corrugated boxes with plastic liners marked The products contain a quaternary ammonium compound mixture as a processing aid in the manufacturing of rawhide chews.
The compound is an anti-microbial chemical approved for cleaning food processing equipment, but it has not been approved in the U. Merrick Pet Care of Amarillo, Texas, is recalling beef dog treats that may contain elevated levels of a naturally-occurring beef thyroid hormone. Dogs consuming high levels of beef thyroid hormone may exhibit increased thirst and urination, weight loss, increased heart rate and restlessness.
The recalled product was sold from the company's facility in Burlington, Wash.
Customers who purchased the recalled product should stop using it and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund, or dispose of it immediately. Christopher Maynard is a New York-based writer and editor who PetSmart has issued a voluntary recall of one production lot of its Grreat Choice adult canned dog food after a manufacturer informed the company of consumer complaints about metal pieces that could cause a choking hazard to pets. The product is sold nationwide at PetSmart retail stores and online at PetSmart. The dog food was sold between October 10, and Feb.
More information, including the full product name, lot number, and universial product code UPC can be seen below:. Customers who have purchased the recalled food are advised to stop feeding it to their pets and bring any remaining cans to a PetSmart store for a full refund or exchange. PetSmart has stated that no other "Grreat Choice" brands have been affected by the recall and no cases of illness or injury have been reported at this time. For more information, consumers can contact PetSmart customer service at between 7 a. Company officials say that the product may be contaminated with pentobarbital.
Pentobarbital is a barbiturate that can cause several side effects for dogs who consume it, including drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, nausea nystagmus wherein the eyes move back and forth in a jerky manner , inability to stand, and coma. The product was manufactured and distributed in and has an expiration date of December, These figures can be found on the back of the product label.
There have been no complaints reported to Against the Grain about the product at this time. However, consumers in possession of recalled cans are urged not to feed it to the food to pets. Pentobarbital is a barbiturate that can cause several side effects for dogs who consume it, including drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, nausea nystagmus wherein the eyes move back and forth in a jerky manner , inability to stand, and coma The product affected by this recall is identified below and has the following "Best Before" dates: Product and product lots that do not appear on the list above are not subject to this recall.
Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is a risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.
Healthy people exposed to Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. The recall notification is being issued based on a single manufacturing batch wherein a sample with the "Best Before" dates of August 28, 29 and 30, had a positive result for salmonella.
Salmonella testing was conducted by Silliker, Inc. Recalled products were distributed to retailers and distributors in California, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, Virginia and Washington. The recall involves 2 lb.
Chicken Blend frozen raw diet tubes chubs made on June 14, only; no other products or sizes are involved. The recalled product should not be sold or fed to pets. This batch tested negative by a third party independent laboratory prior to release for distribution to consumers, however routine testing by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture of product collected from a single retail location tested positive for presence of salmonella. While the testing discrepancy is unclear, Bravo said that it was issuing the recall "in an abundance of caution.
The company has received no reports of illness in either people or animals associated with this product. The recalled product is distributed nationwide to distributors, retail stores, internet retailers and directly to consumers, and can be identified by the batch ID code 6 14 12 located on the white hang tag attached to the bottom of the plastic film tube.
Pet owners should return unopened frozen tubes of food to the store where purchased for a full refund. Pet owners should dispose of opened tubes of product in a safe manner example, a securely covered trash receptacle and return the washed plastic batch ID tag to the store where purchased for a full refund. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.
The products, which were sold in Georgia, may be contaminated with Salmonella. To date, no illnesses have been reported. The earlier recall was for packages of chicken treats in various sizes marked with lot number and expiration date Feb. The puppy under the tree with a huge bow around its neck makes for a great Christmas card but it might not be such a good idea in reality. Taking on a pet requires some careful thought that should be removed from the emotion of the holiday season, experts caution.
Karen Becker, writing in her Healthy Pets blog , say she isn't a big fan of giving pets as holiday gifts. People often don't think about the future — at least not the extended future -- when they think about bringing home a pet. The idea that the animal will be with them for years doesn't sink in until later. Before making such a long term decision, there are a number of questions that should be posed and answered honestly.
For example, how much time each day can you and other family members commit to your pet? There are work and school schedules to consider and the needs of some animals are greater than others. With ample food, water and a clean litter box, a cat can be quite self-sufficient for occasional lengthy periods of time. A dog, on the other hand, is going to need regular outdoor time. Some dogs are going to need more attention than others, so you have to know something about the breed you are taking on as a companion.
Large energetic breeds are going to need at least a couple of walks each day. Even if you feel you can't make that kind of commitment, remember that small dogs and cats are still going to require plenty of attention. Then there is the age consideration. Puppies are cute but are similar to bringing home a baby, but a baby that runs through the house without a diaper, chewing on everything.
Puppies have to be house-broken but in the best of circumstances, accidents are going to happen in the process. Families often consider their finances before deciding when to have children and doing the same for pets may be viewed as advisable, because having a dog or cat brings with it financial responsibilities. In addition to upfront costs like adoption fees, there are other factors that raise the cost of a pet. Large dogs consume large quantities of food.
Some breeds will need professional grooming services more often. And for particularly spirited puppies and kittens, obedience training might be needed. Before bringing home a pet, be sure to look into all the costs associated with that pet, including costs that could come later in the animals life.
If the pet is for a child, how do you know the child is really that interested? Is the child old enough and willing to take on responsibility? If not, an adult in the household will need to step in and do it. Giving a pet to an adult friend as a gift is even dicier. You may know your own children and are there to provide back up. Not so with the case of a friend living in another household. And while you may think you know your friend very well, the choice of a pet is a very personal decision, best left to the individual themselves. If you have children who want a dog, cat or other pet for Christmas, a better gift might be a collar, leash, scratching post or other pet paraphernalia, in anticipation of selecting a pet after the holidays.
And when selecting a pet, it goes without saying that choosing an animal from a shelter makes the gift much more special, both for the recipient and the animal who gets a new home. Karen Becker, writing in her Healthy Pets blog, say she isn't a big fan of giving pets as holiday gifts. File photo We've all heard of investors who "flip" houses.
Schneiderman has tightened the leash on two individuals who bought puppies online, treated them shabbily, then posed as breeders and resold them online. In another, the office obtained a court order against an individual in Buffalo who posed as a puppy breeder, when in fact the puppies she sold were purchased online, malnourished, and sold to consumers who reported fleas, filth, and near-death health conditions among the pets.
Both pet flippers have been permanently barred from selling animals or becoming licensed pet dealers. Those who flip dogs not only purchase the dogs, but also flip dogs they have received at no cost. Current pet owners should be aware of this when considering giving up their pet, and should always go through an authorized facility, such as a local SPCA or shelter. Puppy flipper Stephanie Arcara bought puppies advertised on Craigslist and then sold them to unsuspecting customers in the Buffalo area. Arcara, who was not a licensed pet dealer, kept the puppies in her home, where they were poorly cared for.
According to one consumer, the puppy she purchased from Arcara was covered in feces and urine, had patches of hair missing on its body and was very thin. Another reported that a puppy he purchased from Arcara was dehydrated and suffered from constant seizures, while others reported that puppies sold by Arcara had worms, fleas and bladder infections. One puppy even died shortly after Arcara sold it. Arcara illegally sold dozens of puppies to unsuspecting consumers, usually by advertising on Craigslist.
She misrepresented herself to consumers as a breeder of the puppies when, in fact, she had purchased them on Craigslist. Arcara also misrepresented the breed of the puppies she sold, sometimes claiming they were purebreds when they were not, and told consumers that the puppies had been dewormed and were current on their shots, which was also not the case.
Carissa Seaman, of Cleveland, NY, bought animals, or obtained them for free, from Craigslist and the trading post of a local radio station. She would then re-sell the dogs to other consumers for more money than she paid for them — flipping the dogs and pocketing the difference.
In just one year, Seaman sold over two dozen dogs. Seaman, who is not a licensed pet dealer, kept the dogs in her home, but cared for them poorly. None of the dogs sold by Seaman received veterinarian care. In July of , she offered to sell a five week old St. Bernard puppy that had fleas and flea feces on its skin to two undercover AG investigators. Another seven month old fawn pug for sale had two patches of fur missing from his back revealing raw and irritated skin. We've all heard of investors who "flip" houses. Inadequate vitamin and trace mineral levels can result in health problems, including mortality, in poultry.
The recalled products were packaged in typical brand-specific feed bags. Lot numbers are printed on the sewing strip of each bag. Lot numbers are interpreted as follows:. Retailers have been contacted and instructed to immediately withdraw from sale the recalled product and notify customers who purchased the product. Customers should discontinue feeding the product immediately. Customers who purchased this product should return remaining bags to their retailer.
Consumers may contact Purina customer service at , Monday through Friday 7: Bravo is recalling select lots and product s of Bravo Pet Food. The company has received a limited number of reports of dogs experiencing nausea and diarrhea that may be associated with these specific products. The recalled product was distributed nationwide to distributors, retail stores, internet retailers and directly to consumers. The product can be identified by the batch ID code best used by date printed on the side of the plastic tube or on a label on the box.
Pet owners who have the affected product should dispose of this product in a safe manner example, a securely covered trash receptacle. They can return to the store where purchased and submit the Product Recall Claim Form available on the Bravo website www.
The recalled product was distributed nationwide to distributors, retail stores, internet retailers and directly Food and Drug Administration FDA recently estimated that more than 1, dogs have died in circumstances that involved pet treats from China. But the agency said it still hadn't pinned down the exact cause of the deaths and illnesses.
Brown has repeatedly urged the FDA to take quick action to protect consumers and pet owners following an increase in tainted pet treats from China connected to animal deaths and illnesses. Recently, major pet stores have announced that they would stop selling dog and cat treats made in China following the animal deaths linked to Chinese food products.
Food safety advocates have expressed alarm at new rules that could allow chickens raised in the United States to be shipped to China for processing before being returned to and sold in the U. Researchers are also exploring the connection between the domestic outbreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus in China.
There's also the question of whether current labels are adequate in helping American consumers tell when food products contains ingredients from China. The Commission was created by Congress in October with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China. The company has not received any reports of injury or illness associated with the affected product.
The recalled bags, which were sold between August 18 and August 25 in 12 Dollar General stores in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana, may contain small metal fragments, which could have entered the packages during the production process. Consumers who have purchased affected product to discard the food or return it to the retailer for a full refund or exchange. We have not received any reports of injury or illness associated with the affected product. The lot codes indicated below should not be consumed.
Only pound bags of the product with the production code shown below are included in this recall. The recalled bags, which were sold between August 18 and August 25 in 12 Dollar General stores in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana, may contain small metal fragments, which could have entered the packages during the production The initial recall, which affected 22 bags shipped to Dollar General in four states, has been expanded to include pound bags of the product sold in Sam's Club in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Some of the affected production lot was originally said to be held in inventory but was instead released to consumers.
The company says it has received no reports of injury or illness associated with the affected product. Natura Pet Products is recalling certain lots of dry cat and dry ferret food produced in its Fremont, Nebraska facility. Due to a formulation error, the products contain insufficient levels of vitamins and excess minerals.
The recalled products were were distributed through independent retailers in California, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont and Canada, as well as online. No other Natura products are affected. Consumers who purchased the product should discontinue feeding the product immediately and discard as normal household waste. Consumers may contact Natura consumer relations at , Monday through Friday 9: The recalled products were were distributed through independent retailers in California, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermon Conifer, and Lakewood in Colorado.
If you have this product, use gloves and put it in a double bag and throw it away as soon as possible. Anyone having these products should verify the following:. No illnesses have been reported to date. We are still warning consumers that if any of the above information is on the package you have, do not feed it to any animals at all. It may be hazardous and should be disposed of immediately. The Pet International Inc. Consumers with any questions about the recall product may contact the company at by phone at Monday through Friday 9: Customers who purchased the recalled products should return them to the place of purchase for a refund.
Consumers with questions may contact the company Monday — Friday from 9: Pat's Cat Turkey comes in 1-lb. The Ground Lamb comes in a 2-lb. The Lot number codes are listed on the bottom right corner o No pet or human illnesses caused by consumption of or exposure to the recalled products have been reported to date. The following products, which were shipped to distributors in the U. When consumed at very high levels, Vitamin D can lead to serious health issues in dogs including renal dysfunction. The following products, with a Best By Date code of February 25, , through September 13, , on the back or bottom of the bag, are being recalled:.
The following product, with a Best By Date code of December 4, , through August 10, , on the back or bottom of each bag, is being recalled:. The products may contain elevated levels of Vitamin D which, when consumed at very high levels, can lead to serious health issues in dogs including renal dysfunction. Symptoms include vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling, and weight loss. The product may contain elevated levels of Vitamin D which, when consumed at very high levels, can lead to serious health issues in dogs including renal dysfunction.
Symptoms include vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling and weight loss. Jonathan Hood is a New York City attorney who practices A Florida woman is blaming Friskies cat food for the death of her beloved Smokey. When Herget took him to the vet, he was diagnosed with acute kidney failure and put to sleep. Herget had switched to Friskies from a different cat food. Her vet was unable to determine whether the food had caused Smokey's illness, and the cat was so sick that he couldn't draw enough blood to run additional tests.
A medical chart prepared by the vet said the only difference before and after the kidney failure was the cat's change in diet.
Friskies was the subject of a class-action lawsuit several years ago. While Herget says she was aware of the suit, she assumed that the litigation had spurred parent company Purina to fix any remaining problems with the food. But Herget started looking around on the Internet and soon found accounts of similar experiences from other cat owners. Many of those accounts included a switch to Friskies followed by throwing up, hair loss, and, in some cases, death -- all symptoms that Herget says Smokey experienced.
While the cause of Smokey's death is still unclear -- and probably will remain so -- it raises old questions about the safety of pet food in general. Many of the brands were found to be infected with rodent poisoning, a revelation that then-CEO Paul Henderson was unable to explain. A number of lawsuits concerning that recall, which were eventually consolidated in a New Jersey federal court, were settled in late A separate lawsuit targeted Canidae, after a number of consumers said their pets became sick after eating that brand of food.
Canidae dismissed a lab report from showing that the food contained acetaminophen, a type of painkiller. Herget's experience also highlights the need for thorough research before making the decision to switch your cat or dog food. Consumer websites like ConsumerAffairs. None of this is much comfort to Herget, who told WTSP that she cries herself to sleep on a regular basis. Her vet was unable to determine whether the food had caused Smokey's illnes The affected products were manufactured between Jan.
No illnesses have been reported in association with these products to date, and no other Advanced Animal Nutrition pet food products are involved in this recall. The recall only applies to the above products with the following Packaging Date Codes lot numbers: The affected dry dog food products were distributed in the following states — Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Retailers have already been instructed to remove the affected brands and products from store shelves. Consumers are urged to return affected products — whether in opened or unopened packages — to their place of purchase for a full refund.
For more information, contact Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring mold byproduct. Pets that have consumed any of the above recalled products and exhibit symptoms of illness including sluggishness or lethargy combined with a reluctance to eat, vomiting, yellowish tint to the eyes or gums, or diarrhea should be seen by a veterinarian. This is being done as a precautionary measure, as the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
Only the following products with both the "Best By" date and production codes shown are included in this voluntary recall: The bags of dry cat food in this recall were distributed in error in February, to a small number of customers in Colorado, Idaho and Oregon, which may have further distributed the product to other Western states. There have been no consumer complaints and no reports of illness. No additional Purina cat or dog products are involved. Only products which match the "Best By" date and production codes above are involved. Consumers who have purchased any of these dry cat food products with these "Best By" Dates and Production Codes should discard it.
Salmonella can affect animals eating the product and there is a risk to humans from handling contaminated products. People handling contaminated dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella , especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for the following symptoms: Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms. Pets with Salmonella infections may exhibit decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.
For further information or to obtain a product refund, please call NPPC toll-free at weekdays 7 a. Central Time, or visit www. You don't want Spike getting salmonella from his dog food -- and you most certainly don't want to get it yourself. Yet the Food and Drug Administration FDA says it's increasingly concerned about humans getting sick from exposure to contaminated pet food.
The agency says it is increasing its inspections of dry pet food and pet treats from distributors, wholesalers and retailers. There've been numerous recalls of pet food tainted by salmonella and other contaminants in recent years. While humans usually get salmonella poisoning by eating contaminated food, it's also possible to pick up the disease by handling contaminated pet food.
In January , at least 70 people were sickened by selmonella-tainted pet food from a Pennsylvania plant. Purchase products canned or bagged with no visible signs of damage to the packaging, such as dents, tears, or discolorations.
There've been numerous recalls of pet food tainted by salmonella and other contam In another development, Menu Foods said it is phasing out ingredients from China until it is assured they're safe. Chinese ingredients have been blamed for the wave of pet poisonings across the country. I cannot even begin to describe the hell our pets have gone through, Cynthia H. This has been weeks of vomiting and diarrhea and illness -- skin infections, bladder infections, not eating, lethargy -- basically, they were poisoned by this bad food.
Cynthia says shed just started feeding her dogs Nutro Maxs Senior Dry food around the first of this month, and chose that brand because it wasnt included in the nationwide recall of more than 60 million containers of pet foods. Thats the irony of the whole thing. This food was something new that I started feeding them because of the pet food recall.
I was being very careful not to give things on that recall list. Since March, 18 companies have recalled more than 5, pet food products. That action came after the Food and Drug Administration FDA confirmed two ingredients used to make the products -- wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate -- were tainted with melamine and melamine-related compounds. Melamine is a chemical used to make plastic and fertilizers. The FDA also discovered the Chinese companies that exported those ingredients to the United States intentionally spiked the products with melamine to increase the protein content.
Thousands of dogs and cats that have eaten the contaminated pet food have suffered kidney problems or died. In Cynthias case, her dogs became sick shortly after they started eating Nutro Maxs dry food. And their symptoms mirror those in pets that have eaten the tainted -- and recalled -- foods. Juliet got sick first, Cynthia says, adding she bought the Nutro Max dry food in April, but didnt start feeding it to her dogs until May.
And she has been very ill for nearly three weeks. Shes had bloody diarrhea, repeated vomiting, and her system also started shutting down, resulting in a bad bladder infection. She has also been on two different types of medications. He has vomited and had severe diarrhea for more than a week. His system started to shut down, and he ended up with a serious skin infection. Hes still on antibiotics and is not yet well. I was down at the vets office with both of them and I didnt think theyd come back. Theyve been through hell. My dogs have been incredibly healthy dogs.
Theyre indoors dogs and only go outside with me supervising them. Theres nothing else they could have gotten into; theres nothing else that could have done this to them. To protect other dogs from getting sick, Cynthia contacted the FDA and Nutro Products with her concerns about the dry food. I filed a compliant with the FDA, but theyre being very unresponsive. Orange Countys FDA office wanted samples of the food and they were going to send someone over to my house to pick it up, she adds. But they havent called me in three weeks. I thought there should be some urgency because this stuff is still on the shelves.
My concerns fell on deaf ears, Cynthia says. And the police are on his tail. If he's captured, Stick Dog may never see his friends again. If he escapes, it's ice cream for everyone. Stick Dog and his team of strays are off on another outrageous canine caper. To snatch some breakfast treats for his hungry pals, Stick Dog will need to stop a moving truck, outfox a man on a telephone pole, and calm down a very caffeinated Karen. But that's not all. He'll also need to manage the greatest confrontation in history when his good friend Poo-Poo comes face-to-face with the ultimate enemy — a squirrel.
With Stick Dog's smarts, daring, loyalty — and patience — he just might lead his buddies to the best breakfast ever. Stick Dog and his gang of hungry hounds want to play tug-of-war. Their search for rope leads to something even better—spaghetti! Once they get a taste, they must get some more. Dangerous humans—a strange-talking girl, a huge chef, and a penguin-man—lurk around every corner. Stick Dog has caught the scent of something even more scrumptious than spaghetti.
There are witches, astronauts and ghosts. But just a taste will never satisfy this band of hungry hounds. They need more candy - and they need it now. To reach the ultimate sweet reward, Stick Dog will need to stalk two witches, outfox an old woman and escape from a locked enclosure. The night is dark and full of strange creatures and sugary treats. And Stick Dog is ready to go. Stick Dog and his hungry pals have found plenty of tasty treats at Picasso Park before. But it's never looked like it does on this dark, dark night.
Strings of white lights, colorful fireworks, and an endless buffet of amazing food have transformed the park into a food-snatching wonderland. But how will they do it? It will take a top-notch strategy, some good luck, and a little help from two charming cats to complete their mission. It's another smart, hilarious romp for Stick Dog and his team of strays. Did you know that the Stick Dog series is also available in the UK?
The book covers look a little different than the covers in the U. If you want to buy the British version of the books, click on the covers below and you'll be taken to their listings on Amazon UK. Tom created them for his kids when they were younger. You can download any or all of these for free right from this website. Or you can print it out and read it that way. Filled with colorful paper-cut illustrations, Tom is happy to share these stories with anyone who wants to read them.
When Cows Fly involves cows, umm, pooping on a mean guy. A monster at the bottom of a hill eats all the garbage generated by the town on top of the hill. This provides two important benefits: The monster is happy with plenty to eat and the town stays nice and clean. Unfortunately, as the town grows, so does the amount of garbage the monster must consume. He gets bigger - and he starts burping. This is, as you can probably guess, a bit unsightly and stinky.