Beneful Dog Food is Suspected of Causing Sickness and Deaths

[snopes]

HEALTH ALERT! .....

Discontinue use of Beneful until this is resolved!

Multiple Reports We have received multiple reports of dogs becoming sick
or dying after eating Beneful dog food. The first reports were placed in
our new forum and was overlooked by DoggyBling.com staff until we
received direct emails last week and then another today. After speaking
on the phone with the lady who emailed us today, we feel that there is
sufficient cause for alarm. Dog lovers make a lot of effort to take good
care of their dogs and will want to know if they are feeding them
something that could be harmful. Most of the alerts by email, forum and
phone cited Beneful dog food that was purchased at Wal Mart around
Christmas of 2006.

We spoke with Terri Culp at Beneful this morning and were assured that
they are aware of the situation and are researching the problem. We
assured them that this won't go away and we would be alerting our email
base of the problem and posting a news item on our site. We also told her
that DoggyBling.com visitors and dog lovers everywhere would be
evaluating the way the Purina Corporation (Parent to Beneful) handles the
potential crisis.

Symptoms

The symptoms reported have been very similar. The reported symptoms
include some or all of the following: General weakness or sluggishness,
glazed eyes, not interested in food or water, white gums, lack of control
of bodily functions. Some of the callers reported dogs that have died and
others say they had gotten sick but had recovered. I am inserting the
first forum post about a dog that became sick, but didn't die.

A week before Christmas we bought a bag of Beneful dog food at
Wal-Mart, DeFuniak Springs, FL. On 12/23 I noticed a tan mold like
growth on the dog food. Our 14 year old Dalmatian mix had been getting
weaker by the day and by 12/24 she was near death. Glazed eyes,
couldn't stand, eat, drink or control her functions. Her gums were white.
We had to carry her to the
yard and hold her up so she could go. The only thing she would eat was ham
and turkey scraps. I spoke with a microbiologist and she said the mold
growing in the dog food was toxic. It took a week for Sparky to regain her
strength. I did notify the manufacturer of Beneful, they were very sorry
and are sending coupons. Said it was a rare happening.

Beneful's Website

Notify us if your dog has had symptoms after using Beneful
We are going to stay on top of this situation and would like to know if
your dog has had any of the symptoms listed above after eating Beneful.
If so, please send an email to ric@doggybling. com or give us a call at
904-430-0260. Either way, please pass this email and information to dog
lovers who may be feeding this food to their dog.

UPDATES:

Updates and Beneful's response and precautionary action will be listed in
our news section. We know Purina will take this seriously and will not
want to tarnish their company's positive reputation.

News Item about Beneful

http://www.doggybling.com/newsarticle.php?id=1070

[Horse Chestnut]

I could only find one independent news story on this, (so far): Two owners hope tests reveal cause of dogs’ deaths.

Personally, I regard Beneful as the McDonalds of the dog food world, but this sounds to me more like a problem of storage on Wal-Mart's part, rather than actual contamination such as occurred with the Diamond products last year.

Originally Posted by snopes

I noticed a tan mold like growth on the dog food.

I am just curious if the owner kept using the dog food after they discovered the "growth" on the food? Even I would throw it out if it started growing....

[DawnStorm]

Originally Posted by Doug4.7

I am just curious if the owner kept using the dog food after they discovered the "growth" on the food? Even I would throw it out if it started growing....

I'm wondering the same thing.

[Karmyn]

According to an article in today's Item, the dog food was found not to be toxic, but one of the people has sent food off for further testing.

http://www.itemonline.com/local/loca...045003206.html

[AnglRdr]

I worked at a large (the largest by volume, in fact) producer of dog food when there was an aflatoxin contamination of corn, which then got into the feed. Something like 20 dogs died as a result, and it was a horrible experience all around.

If the feed isn't toxic, though, I wonder what, if anything in common, is causing these dogs to get sick.

[Morrigan]

AnglRdr, if I remember correctly, the dog food you're talking about was Diamond. And, I believe it happened last year.

But it was only in certain types of Diamond, made in a certain location.

Morrigan

[AnglRdr]

Originally Posted by Morrigan

AnglRdr, if I remember correctly, the dog food you're talking about was Diamond. And, I believe it happened last year.

But it was only in certain types of Diamond, made in a certain location.

Morrigan

No, it wasn't Diamond, and it wasn't last year. It was in 1998 or 1999, and it was a private label brand sold at HEB stores in Texas.