June 23, 2008
A series of mysterious illness and death dogs Nutro pet food. Scores of pet owners report their animals became ill while eating Nutro products, then recovered when they were switched to another brand.
At least six dogs have died in the past two months, according to an analysis of complaints to ConsumerAffairs.com. The company discounts the reports, saying they are isolated and unconfirmed; at least one Nutro employee, sickened by the company's response, told us she resigned.
In related developments, ConsumerAffairs.com has learned:
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently investigated the April deaths of two dogs in Indiana. The FDA tested samples of the Nutro food those dogs ate, but did not find any toxins. No one, however, has tested the Nutro food the other dogs ate before they died;
• A pet nutrition specialist for Nutro confirmed she's heard complaints about the company's food making dogs and cats sick. She reported those concerns to her supervisor, but said they were ignored. She recently resigned;
• There is a shortage of some varieties of Nutro dog food. The company says this is a supply problem – not a safety or quality issue;
• Some consumers have sent their pets' food to Nutro for testing. They have not received any results. Other pet owners plan to hire private labs to test their food and report their concerns to the FDA and the Animal Poison Control Center run by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
The six dogs that recently died include two Italian Greyhounds in Indiana, a Beagle/Whippet mix in Pennsylvania, two German Shepherd puppies in North Carolina, and a Doberman Pinscher in Texas.
The dogs' owners all say their pets were in good health and they're convinced that Nutro's food is somehow connected to their animals' deaths. Those concerns are echoed by pet owners whose dogs and cats have recently become sick after eating the company's food.
Nutro, however, defends its products and says the food is 100 percent safe.
But scores of pet owners across the country -- including longtime Nutro customers -- no longer feel safe feeding this brand of food to their dogs and cats
Read the full article here
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...recalls98.html
