|
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html & March 21, 2008
ANTIFREEZE KILLS JAKE, JOEY & NARI
THIS WEEK'S ADDITION:
Bravo! Issues Nationwide Recall of Select Poultry Products for Dogs and Cats
Bravo Original Formula Chicken Blend frozen raw food
Other Recent Warnings or General Info:
Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pet
OK, we all know about tylenol, grapes, raisins, chocolate, toxic plants - all the stuff that can be potentially dangerous to our pets. This one just came from a personal friend in CT. Read it and heed it! We would rather waste 10 minutes of your time and have you read
this than have any pet be harmed.
From George Anderson:
On Sunday night John & I had to put down our beloved Chocolate Lab
mix, Tara, as she suddenly for no apparent reason started to have
seizures and then became comatose. It was not until the next
evening during a conversation with our own vet that I mentioned to
her that I found a empty container of Xylitol breath mints in the
back yard which she had chewed into and eaten all the mints, our vet
gasped and said that Xylitol is deadly for animals. Apparently, it
causes their blood sugar level to drop rapidly, they become
hypoglycemic, liver failure and various other symptoms among which
were the ones I just mentioned. She told us that they have been
seeing this over the past year when Xylitol started showing up in our foods,
it was in Europe before this.
It is a sugar substitute: it is in toothpaste, it is used for cooking. One dog died after eating 4 cupcakes that had icing on them containing Xylitol.
COCOA MULCH - Sold by Home Depot, Garden Supply Stores and Target
CAUTION! XYLITOL IN TIC TACS & RESCUE REMEDY
PetSmart is voluntarily recalling seven of its Grreat Choice Dog Biscuit products that contain peanut paste made by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is the focus of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation into potential salmonella contamination of peanut butter and paste made at its Blakely, Georgia facility.
DANGEROUS TOYS AND TREATS
Four Paws Inc, produces. The toy I'm referencing is the pimple ball with bell.
(Item #20227-001, UPC Code 0 4566320227 9)
While chewing on the toy, a vacuum was created and it effectively sucked his tongue into the hole in the ball. From speaking with my vet, this likely occurred because there is not a second hole in the ball preventing the vacuum effect from happening. I became aware of this when Chai approached a friend at my home whimpering wi th the ball in his mouth. She tried to remove the ball, but the tongue had swollen and could not be released.
Real Ham Bone
Made by Dynamic Pet Products of Washington, Missouri,
Purchased at Walmart, Killed My Dog
In Loving Memory of Trace
I hope we can save others from such a senseless death.
The label says it is made with '100% Food Grade Ingredients' and it isn't
made from China. I thought that meant that this would make a good treat
for my dogs. Boy was I wrong.
Trace, my dog, enjoyed chewing on this bone. It did not splinter or
anything, in fact there is quite a large piece of it still left. Then in
the evening she started vomiting. She spent the next day at a
veterinarian's office where she was diagnosed with a blockage of the
colon. That night she endured a 4 hour surgery at Brandon Veterinary
Specialists where the vet picked out small round pellets of the bone, up to the size of about a b-b. The next morning she was moved to Florida
Veterinary Specialist critical care unit Again in the evening she had
another 2 hour surgery, because the blockage had caused poison in her body.
She passed away at 4:30 the next afternoon
Someone gave this toy with treats in it to her 7-month old pup, and after five minutes saw him scrabbling around on the floor. She went to take it from him and found him to have his tongue trapped in the hole by the vacuum it had caused.
His tougue wouldn't come out and was swelling up and causing him to
choke. She couldn't cut it off as the rubber was too thick and, of course, he was panicking as was she. She had to rush him to the emergency vet to have him sedated while the vet cut him free.
He is now home safe but with a very bruised and badly-bitten tongue where
he was biting, trying to free himself.
The actual Kong toys are fine as they have a second hole in the other end
so a vacuum isn't caused inside, but because each end of this Premier
Busy Buddy toy was solid in the middle they aren't safe.
Just a warning to anyone who may have this particular toy or anything similar that can create a vacuum.
FDA Continues To Receive Complaints about Chicken Jerky Products for Dogs and Cautions Consumers
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to caution consumers of a potential association between the development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats. FDA continues to receive complaints of dogs experiencing illness that their owners or veterinarians associate with consumption of chicken jerky products. The chicken jerky products are imported to the U.S. from China. FDA issued a cautionary warning to consumers in September 2007.
Australian news organizations report the University of Sydney is also investigating an association between illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky in Australia. At least one firm in Australia has recalled their chicken jerky product and the recall notification stated the chicken jerky product was manufactured in China.
FDA believes the continued trend of consumer complaints coupled with the information obtained from Australia warrants an additional reminder and animal health notification.
Chicken jerky products should not be substituted for a balanced diet and are intended to be
used occasionally and in small quantities. Owners of small dogs must be especially careful to limit the amount of these products.
FDA, in addition to several veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the U.S, is working to determine why these products are associated with illness in dogs. To date, scientists have not been able to determine a definitive cause for the reported illnesses. FDA has conducted extensive chemical and microbial testing but has not identified any contaminant.
FDA is advising consumers who choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky products to watch their dogs closely for any or all of the following signs which may occur within hours to days of feeding the product: decreased appetite, although some may continue to consume the treats to the exclusion of other foods; decreased activity; vomiting; diarrhea, sometimes with blood; and increased water consumption and/or increased urination. If the dog shows any of these signs, stop feeding the chicken jerky product. Owners should consult their veterinarian if signs are severe or persist for more than 24 hours. Blood tests may indicate kidney failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may indicate Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs appear to recover, some reports to the FDA have involved dogs that have died.
The FDA continues to actively investigate the problem. Many of the illnesses reported may be the result of causes other than eating chicken jerky. Veterinarians and consumers alike should report cases of animal illness associated with pet foods to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html in their state.
Within hours, they were vomiting it, convulsing and going into total body rigidity and shock. We took them to the after hours clinic, they had no idea what it could be and wouldn't listen to me about them vomiting potpourri at home and how I had such concerns about the toxic effects of it. They treated symptoms.
We transferred them to our day vet. He also wouldn't listen to me about the potpourri theory. He said they had "strychnine" poisoning symptoms. I kept telling him that the potpourri was Made In India, sold by a company in California and sold at my local WalMart. My heart told me that it was the culprit of their condition.
They declined rapidly throughout the day and we transferred them back to the after hours clinic for a second night. At midnight, I made the agonizing decision to put them to sleep. Haley was in constant seizures that wouldn't stop, fluid was filling up in her lungs, body temp was dropping on both of them, Zoe was lying almost lifeless on the table, struggling with every breath she took.. Every muscle was completely rigid, you couldn't even move her.
I have devoted the last couple of days (now that I can get out of bed and function) to researching my concerns with the potpourri and have since found out I was right....... .....there is a lab in England that has case studies on toxic potpourri from India!! The toxin....strychnine , which in it's commercial source, comes from a certain tree grown in India . I am completely heart broken over this.
Please be aware of the potential toxins in any and all stuff like this in our homes. I would've never guessed this could happen but when I saw them both "playing" in the potpourri and then after about two hours saw the symptoms of a poisoning, I just put two and two together. Hug your babies, Love them and always take lots of photos along the way...it helps later on, trust me.
Karen Cantner, Heartland Kennels, Evansville , Indiana USA
We hope you find this information helpful
|
