VetLocator.com did a survey of its pet owners and pet professionals on April 14th, 2007 to see what effect the tainted pet food had on both the pet owners and their pets and the mostly veterinarians who treat them. There were a total of 100 responses from pet owners and 98 responses from professionals.

Here we list the questions and full answers we received from pet owners. To see a summary of both surveys we conducted, click here.

Pet Owner Survey Questions

1. Did you find out about the pet food recall in a timely manner? If so, how did you find out about it?
2. Were you feeding you pets any of the foods on the recall list? If yes, what was the brand and then please tell us about your pet. (Type, age, size, etc.)
3. If yes, did they experience any health issues as a result? (if so, what were the problems your pet experienced)
4. Did you take your pet to the veterinarian as a result of the recall? If so, why?
5. As a result of this recall, are you making any changes to yours or your pet's lives?
6. Any other comments you'd like to add?

Question 1: Did you find out about the pet food recall in a timely manner? If so, how did you find out about it?

• Day after it was announced. First from a co-worker and then I went on the website to learn more.
• NO 34
• YES 66
  ----------Source of News----------
  
• TV 40
• INTERNET (Includes search engines, enews, websites - person searched for the info online) 16
• NEWSPAPER 10
• EMAIL LIST (Is subscribed to an email list, discussion group or enewsletter and received an email alerting them to the problem-this includes VetLocator.com alerts)-19
• EMAIL FRIEND (email from a friend) 7
• PHONE CALL 8
• COMBINATION TV INTERNET (Typically, heard about it on the news then went to the internet to research it) 32
• RADIO 5
• OTHER 1
• ----------All Answers----------
• news and internet.
• On the news, followed up by MSNBC.com internet site.
• Yes, from the TV and newspaper.
• TV & Internet
• NO. we should have been notified sooner
• no - found out by a friend sending me an email after his dog was at a vet.
• Petconnection.com
• NO. we should have been notified sooner. I check on line regularly
• No I do not feel that the recall was sent out in a timely manner
• Yes, I first heard it from my cousin in MS. Then, I have seen updates on CNN.com
• Newspaper
• Through my sister on the phone.
• If you mean by timely, when the manufacturers first found out about it in February and started receiving complaints, NO. By the time the public was informed, the problem had been in existence for a few weeks at least. Fortunately, I wasn't feeding any of the initial wet food that was part of the recall.
• It doesn't matter, because I feed my pets the same food I eat.
• TV and then e-mails from "animal" people
• I found out about it when I heard it on the TV news.
• Yes, local news and radio
• Newspaper and TV
• Through the news on television
• I was in Vons wondering why the clerk was piling all the pet food in baskets to take away. It was their store brand and it had been on sale 7 for $1. Hmmmm The next day I heard about the recall on the TV news.
• e-mail from a pet sitter
• I don't know for sure. From the TV news.
• Yes, due to many animal friends I have.
• Yes, via TV news shows
• no- on the news and then the internet- I have 2 cats and a dog- very scary
• Not really…did any of us? I heard about it on the news about 2 weeks into the problem with sick pets.
• Yes, through television news coverage.
• Learned about pet food recall thru television news and then Internet
• The Internet.
• Yes; Newspapers
• Yes. Online and newspapers
• Yes. On line
• I think i found out in a timely manner. I read it on yahoo.
• Yes, we found out from the TV
• Yes, I found out in an e-mail.
• Yes, The internet>
• I found out about the pet food recall on the internet from my Yorkiechat group.
• Yes, on tv.
• ***phone call from a friend whose cat almost died.
• AOL news
• TV
• Yes - TV, newspaper, radio
• Internet
• Yes. Through friends, relatives and the internet.
• Yes, from your emails.
• I heard about it on the news when it first was announced and went on line to check out the brands.
• Not sure about a "timely manner..." Found out about it from the news on television and phone calls from family.
• Internet, TV and Newspaper
• Yes, from the news on internet
• TV News
• Fairly timely. Today Show
• No, I heard about it the next day only by going to a pet food store and looking for the brand I buy and it was nowhere to be found, and I ask the associate and that's when they told me.
• I heard about the pet food recall from the news - about three weeks after it started.
• I found out about the pet food recall from the news...but it wasn't fast enough.>
• TV News
• I assume = I received information about it via email.
• Yes; newspaper
• yes, tv news
• I don't think it was timely as it has come to light that the manufacturer knew about the problem at least a week before it was announced. In any case, I received an email from my dog list people first. From then on it came from various sources including BEST FRIENDS.
• I heard it on the t.v.news.
• no...on TV news
• It was on the internet news
• Found out on t.v. news
• Yes. TV, Newspaper
• Yes, it was on the National News (TV).
• NO. I found out about the pet food recall on the internet and proceeded to broadcast it out to everyone in my address book and to all the group lists I am on.
• Yes I actually got the first article from you on that Friday night before I heard of it from anywhere else.
• Yes, on TV, then sent several emails from breed clubs.
• NO, not soon enough, my cat was eating Special Kitty from Walmart, not any on the recall list though.
• I read all the internet chats, TV, radio, etc. I don't know how timely the information was disseminated, as many animals died.
• from the internet and TV news.
• Yes. TV News
• Yes. both email and on the news
• Yes, in the beginning. But as more and more foods were added, it was less evident what was being recalled

Question 2: Were you feeding you pets any of the foods on the recall list? If yes, what was the brand and then please tell us about your pet. (Type, age, size, etc.)

• NO - 62
• YES - 38
• Alpo prime cuts, 2 dogs 70 lbs each
• Yes - sort of. The Alpo in gravy but not the same date as the recall
• Thank Goodness, No. But I changed their food anyway because more and more foods were coming out on supplemental lists.
• I was not. Friends of mine were (one may have lost two dogs. With the new addition of Natural Balance Venison and Pea, another friend may have a cat with renal failure. She goes to the vet tomorrow)
• sophistacat-iams-cats ages 6 up 2 large cats 1 small 1 medium. I bought iams at stop n shop at half off I wonder if they knew early on. The same food I returned they put back on shelf. Not really sure if it was recalled as they could not help much. And when I got the recall lot numbers the next day they couldn't help me with the food returned.
• No I make my own dog food.
• Not at that time. In the past, it has been Science Diet Ocean Fish canned. My cat is 5 years old, a female tuxedo cat.
• I was, but not the specific cans, than goodness. I was using Authority bits in gravy for my cats. My cats are both 18 year old males.
• They did not experience health issues that I know of from that. One has developed an irritable bowel over the last year and one has a continual runny nose and eye.
• I was very lucky and the food I buy wasn't on the recall.
• Alpo Prime Cuts; daschund - male, 9 years old, about 22 lbs.
• No, I was feeding them Friskies wet canned food. I have a 14 year old cat surviving cancer.
• No. I was feeding my dog Purina wet and dry food. I was feeding my cats Friskies wet and dry food. Nevertheless, I have returned to making my pets' food.
• yes, o roy
• Alpo cans, but I never fed it to them, the multi pack stayed in my car for a month, I feel an innate energy prevented me from using them.
• I bought the Walmart brand of cat food in a pouch as a different food treat for my 30 plus kitties. I usually buy just the can cat food from the Walmart brand or Friskies. When I went to buy some more of the pouch cat food it was gone from the shelves. I don't know if there was a problem with that cat food or not they didn't say. I rescue stray or feral cats in my area. I love them very much, buts this was not a steady diet so I haven't seen any ill effects.
• No, thank goodness.
• Luckily, no.
• Our Bombays occasionally are fed Science Diet WET, but none of the recalled cans.
• No my cat was not being fed food on the list but was given food containing WHEAT GLUTEN. My cat is black, shorthair, almost 5 years old, 10 lbs., adopted last May from the Humane Society.
• No - at least as far as I know up until this time. I have 5 Great Danes , a 6 yr old bitch, 3 1/2 yr old bitch, 2 year old dog, 2 - 1 yr old bitches, I recently lost a 10 1/2 yr old dog (not food related). I feed two times a day. Purina Pro Plan Giant Breed and/or Canidae at one feeding with Total-Zymes, Total-Biotics, Apple Cider Vinegar & Omega 3. The other feeding is raw or home prepared.
• No, thank God I was not. I feed my cat Belmont Nutro bagged food, not on the recall list!!!
• No, thank God
• Not sure - we had some cans of Alpo that we fed our dog, but we don't know if they were on the recall list because we didn't have the cans anymore. Our dog refused to eat her food two or three times when we mixed a can in with the dry food, but we don't know if those particular lot numbers were on the recall list. The cans that we had when the recall hit the news were not. Our dog is a lab mix, female, spayed, 9 years old, and weighs about 100 lbs.
• Evo cat food was not on the recall list.
• Yes, Iams wet food varieties-cat-domestic short hair, yellow, 12 lbs
• Hill's Science Diet dog food, canned, and sometimes Nutro, and I think another one was Natural something
• No, I feed human grade pet foods (Innova, etc.)
• No I wasn't thank goodness.
• Unfortunately I had just changed food brands on 3/10/07 as my usual brand "Pedigree" was out of stock in the supermarket. I bought Mighty Dog pouches in it's place - the pouch # is on this list. Our dog, a Chihuahua/Corgi mix was 19 years old. and ~ 7 lbs. He had started eating soft food in 2006 at his Kennel. They used Iams so he may have had the tainted food in December.
• Yes - Ol' Roy dog food, Special Kitty cat food. (4) Dogs are: 1) 12 year old male Lemon Walker - large dog, about 80 pounds in weight, 2) 11 year old female Dalmation, about 70 pounds in weight, 3) 14(?) year old male Dachshund mix, about 45 pounds in weight, 4) female AKC Cocker Spaniel - not sure of age (but very old! She's blind and hard of hearing), about 35 pounds in weight. Cats: 1) 14 year old female 2) 5 year old gray male.
• Yes, all my pets were strictly on Nutro. Not anymore ever!!! I have two cats brother and sister both 8 years old, and one dog one year old. The dog is a large breed.
• I was feeding my cat, Dude, some of the recalled Nutro Max foods. He died of renal failure on Jan. 30, '07...he was a beautiful Russian Blue, 17+ years old. Was Nutro responsible? I think so, but we had him cremated. He'll always be our baby-boy. I have another cat, Squeekie, who will only eat Nutro Gourmet Classics, but her favorites weren't on the recall list. She won't eat any other brands of food, or I'd have yanked Nutro out of our lives forever. I still have five cans, that are all on the recall list...it's left over from what Dude was eating.
• No, I wasn't feeding our little Yorkie any of it because he is on prescription dog food; however, my brother did feed his older cat some and she abruptly died right before the "recall" came out which was too late!
• yes, but dry food which was ok
• no (science diet.fancy feast can that does have wheat glutin but Purina not on recall)
• It was Nutro Ultra in the cans - puppy and senior and then I switched to the adult.I have a Beagle (10 years old) and a Boston Terrier (1year)
• No, I feed my three cats Iams Weight Control
• NO, luckily she prefers salmon instead of the gravy cuts!!!
• No, I give my dogs Innova Evo Red Meat
• No. We prepare our own food for the dog, from Dr. Pitcairn's book. He is a miniature schnauzer, five years old and 'large' for a mini. He is all white and has NO physical problems, such as allergies or skin problems.
• not at first, but as more were added yes.
• No, however, we are a rescue and two of our adopted dogs, both senior Yorkies, DIED from eating IAMS

Question 3: If yes, did they experience any health issues as a result? (if so, what were the problems your pet experienced)

• N/A-77
• No-6
• YES-17
  --------------------Answers--------------------------
  
• Two dogs died
• We noticed he was drinking a huge amount of water and having to go out much more frequently and urgently.
• $376. in vet bills, my dog was very ill. The vet said he swallowed something very toxic or caustic (this was 2 weeks before recall was announced)
• I'd recently bought a new bag of Hills Prescription Feline i/d because one of my cats still likes it. She almost never throws up except in the springtime from hairballs. She started throwing up all her food (usually in the afternoon) in one big chunk and every morning going to the cat grass first thing; eating that and throwing that all up as well. She gets "treats" of Beechnut baby food (chicken w/chicken broth). She stopped eating the baby food completely (which she used to just love) and I took away the i/d and forced her to eat 100% Nature's Valley Prairie kibble. She has stopped throwing up, but I'm not sure how much she is really eating. Don't think she has lost any weight; but we're going to the vet this Sat for a checkup. She is 8 years old, spayed, Siamese/calico mix with an excellent immune system (luckily). She was exposed to FeLV as a kitten and never tested positive. Also, last year she had two abscesses on her head, refused to take the antibiotics but recovered excellently without them.
• no, but I only used 1/4 can mixed with their dry.
• My cat became sick during this recall time - vomiting during night and again next day.
• Our dog has a health problem that occurred after the recall. At this time it seems unrelated, but it bothers us that it happened after the recall. Huntress appears to have a urinary tract infection. She has blood in her urine and she squats for a long time after she's finished urinating. She is on antibiotics for about a month now, but they haven't cleared up the problem yet. She is on her third different type of antibiotic. She's begun to urinate in the house now, which she's never done before.
• Fortunately, no.
• No, I don't think there was any poison in my supply. My dogs are fine.
• When he had the first pouch he seemed to eat it all up and my husband and I were very pleased that he liked it. Then he started drinking an unusual amount of water which was not normal for him and he would not eat any more of the pouches even with our prodding him.
• No problems were experienced by the cats, as of this writing. However, all 4 dogs have recently had bouts with diarrhea - none taken to the vet; all treated at home with Nupro Custom Electrolyte Formula and K-P Antidiarrhea liquid. So far, results have been favorable so we're not sure that the diarrhea can be attributed to the Ol' Roy dog food. The larger dogs were given the Ol' Roy dog food sporadically; the female Cocker Spaniel was given more of the "special cuts" made by Ol' Roy and she was the first to show any symptoms. Luckily, we also supplemented our dogs' food regimen with Pro Plan Senior - which we gave them more of then the Ol' Roy. So far, the only symptom experienced by our dogs is diarrhea - and nothing more. We have been fortunate... I think we caught it early enough and the dogs didn't ingest enough to kill them! After the pet food recall was televised, we watched our dogs closely...and took back the Ol' Roy immediately to our local Walmart!
• No, or at least undetermined at this time, one of my cats had a UTI BEFORE the recall, and at that time as well was NOT on wet food of any kind. She was cured, but the UTI did reoccur about a month later, this 2nd occurrence did happen after I switched her to wet food: she is elderly and could not eat dry anymore. But the day I found out about the recall I through out all (dog and cat) food and completely switched brands, and both cats are back to dry, and she is to date, thank god, ok.
• my cat was sick in march, he was vomiting and had diarrhea for more than a week, i had to take him to the veterinarian and the doctor gave me a medicine which stopped the diarrhea as a result of what happened now I'm scared to feed him with that kind of food instead I'm thinking of preparing his food at home, but I have no idea which food I can give him and how to prepare the food, I would like to have help in how to prepare home food for my cat.
• Dude died of renal failure on Jan. 30, '07...he was a beautiful Russian Blue, 17+ years old. He was acting funny, like he was constipated, but he wasn't...his body was dying, and it made him feel constipated.
• My brother didn't take Chitty because she died immediately.
• Yes - The beagle was drinking and urinating excessively and going blind - we thought it was old age - the Boston was throwing up and listless at one point

Question 4: Did you take your pet to the veterinarian as a result of the recall? If so, why?

• NO-80
• Yes-20
• You betcha! I was scared of potential future foods that may come out. My vet gave my pets a quick checkup and provided me with a home cooked diet to feed. One of my pets has special health needs due to heart problems. She formulated the diet especially for him, but it's healthy for the other dogs as well. In the interim when I don't have time to cook, she suggested an all natural commercial food product to buy. "Wellness" dog food. They absolutely adore it. It is made with only natural products that even humans can eat.
• We were going to take him because of his change in habits and then heard about the Alpo - which came out later than the original brands.
• Just happened to have an appointment with my vet who showed me a list of food recalled.
• I took the cat to the Vet - Thursday, April 5th - the Vet ordered a blood test, gave her antibiotic and steroid shots. Also told me NOT to give her any food containing wheat gluten
• Yes - for the urinary tract infection. It just seems strange that it won't clear up. Ultrasound showed no tumors or stones that could be responsible for the bleeding. The next step was to get a sample of urine by inserting a needle into the bladder and to culture it to see what kind of bacteria we're dealing with. Unfortunately, a fairly full bladder is needed for this procedure, and Huntress urinated as soon as she got into the vet's office the day it was scheduled!
• Yes, for a blood test. Compared blood test with physical exam he had in October. All went well.
• I happened to have an appt for annual vaccinations that week, so I told my vet that I wanted to feed my dogs homemade dog food, and she gave me some recipes, which I've been using ever since. And multi vitamins that she recommended.
• No I didn't have to thank goodness - I'd be so so sad and upset if that happened to my cats I love them.
• We did take him to the vet to have him checked because of the unusual amount of water drinking. The vet did a blood test which confirmed his kidney levels were well above the normal range. The vet concluded that his kidneys are in failure and it wouldn't be long - that he would not show pain and due to his age we should take him home and keep him comfortable as long as possible. Nine days later we made the decision as he was failing and was too week to continue comfortably. He was the only dog we ever had so there is a huge absence in our home.
• No, but had just taken then for a routine visit and had their BUN and blood work done three days before the outbreak of recalls!
• No - not yet
• We took him to the vet, but it was too late.
• Yes - because the Beagle was running a fever and the throwing up started - the Beagle had pancreatitis but both of their kidney and liver functions were normal - but one puzzling thing was both of their calcium levels were up and the vet commented that several of her other pet patients had shown that on testing. My beagle's amylase was off the charts (beyond what their machine was capable of reading)
• yes, I took her in 4 a check up even though she didnt eat any recalled food, because she was eating Special Kitty . She is fine.
• No, though I have thought about it. If so, why? Because he doesn't eat all his food each day, and he always has.

Question 5: As a result of this recall, are you making any changes to yours or your pet's lives?

• NO 32
• YES 68
• We feed and are now recommending Life's Abundance food to all of our adopters.
• yes. I give them fresh fruits for treats (pears, apples, bananas and dried apricots). I cook their meals and when I can't I buy the dog food my vet suggested I'm checking the list regularly.
• Now I make brown rice in broth and use that to add in the dry.
• Changed Alpo to without gravy
• Yes. I changed the food they eat to Paul Newman's organic
• Yes. Although my dog was not affected, I am being more careful of what I am buying and feeding to him.
• We have always included homemade as part of their diet. But we always added some kibble---we will be more watchful of the kibble but we have always used Innova
• Yes, cutting back on canned food and when giving canned, only Organic canned from Whole Foods.
• No, because they've always eaten human food. Some is leftovers of the family's food and some is prepared just for the pets.
• Yes. I'm using different food now, both canned and dry.
• We already feed them organic people quality food and the dry food is Royal Kanin
• I was fortunate to not have food on the recall list. I feed my cats mostly dry food like Meow Mix and Nutro Max Cat and on very limited occasion canned friskies cat food.
• We got rid of the tainted food but otherwise, no
• Yes. I am trying to feed him more natural foods but he won't eat the food from the health food stores.
• Yes, I am returning to making my pets' food.
• I cook "people food" for them
• I have started buying chicken thighs (boneless), livers and other meats, to mix up in their dry food.
• Yes, I am feeding them more table food. Chicken, Pasta w/ veggies, eggs.
• I have always tried to feed high quality natural foods and this made me firm in my decision to continue to do so.
• being very careful with what I buy- my animals had been on dry food only but during this time, one of my cats decided not to eat dry food anymore- Had to switch to canned and pouch food just to get him to eat- not much to pick from and had to watch him very carefully. He is now eating his dry food again.
• Absolutely. We now only feed them dry food…no wet or packets which unfortunately they love and are really missing.
• No, only to carefully check recall numbers before feeding them anything
• I now feed her only Purina Advanced Nutrition Hairball Formula and Fancy Feast Gourmet Chicken Feast as these do not contain wheat gluten. She only likes chicken but will not eat the Hills or Science Diet canned food
• I will not be so trusting of the pet food companies anymore
• Seriously considering cooking for my dog.
• Yes, checking food products against recall list, not buying generic food products
• Not because of the recall. Fortunately, the only food that we fed our dog that was on the recall list were one type of Alpo canned food.
• Increasing awareness
• Aware of brands to stay away from. Eliminated Iams completely.
• Paying more attention to the fine print!
• Not really. I have used Tri-pet (canned tripe) in the past. I will be watching canned products in the future.
• No, but I will not feed him any wet food. Belmont doesn't like it anyways!
• feeding homemade dog food.
• I made major changes in feeding my pets 1 year before this terrible pet food recall. I am so greatful that I did as some of the recalled food , ie Natural Balance Venison, was what I was feeding
• No. Just grateful for my decision to feed quality pet foods these last three years.
• I'll make sure I don't use those foods.
• YES, I have done my homework and I now homefeed my dogs. (3 Shih-Tzu's, 1 Pek, and 1 Choc. Cocker)
• Yes! All Ol' Roy products have been removed and we have subsequently put our dogs on "Grammy's Pot Pie" oranic dry dog food and Pedigree wet dog food. We continue to supplement (in water) with Nupro - just in case!
• Never will any of my pets eat any commercial pet food, nor any food you can buy at a grocery store or pet store. Nothing with wheat gluten, and only the top of the top tier food.
• I feed more raw foods now than before the recall, but I was in the process of switching the cats over to a natural diet anyway.
• I'd love to feed Squeekie anything but Nutro products, but it's the only brand of food she likes...and yes, I've spent hundreds of dollars on other brands, but refuses to eat them. She still eats kitten food, too, and she's 3 and a half, but she only tolerates the adult food occasionally...we're trying, but she likes what she likes.
• Just check everything I feed them to make sure that not only I didn't have the brands first mentioned but that none contained the poisoned wheat.
• I definitely keep up with which foods have been recalled.
• did not use any of the brands, so no
• They are eating another brand of dog food - holistic with no wheat gluten
• Carefully checking ingredients
• I questioned my own pet food company in depth and am confident that it is as safe as possible...did consider home-cooking...
• No need. We were already ahead of the curve.
• Yes, I recommend brands that have no perservatives, additives, wheat, corn or other products that affect dogs health. I recommend premium quality brands such as Solid Gold, Innova, Nature's Variety, raw or kibble.
• YES, I went and bought cat food that is WHEAT-FREE and it nearly cost an arm & a leg too!!!!!!!!!!!
• No, I never feed my dogs according to how cheaply I could buy their food. My dogs are valued members of our family and we wouldn't think of price over quality. We always read labels...even for our furry family members.
• Definitely will continue preparing our dog's food for him and stay away from store products.
• Only checking the food recall list often.

Question 6: Any other comments you'd like to add?

• There were a lot of brands on the list but unusual or uncommon brands. I don't know anyone who was feeding their pet one of the brands on the list.
• I heard that not all the store chains are pulling the products off the shelves. Don't think that because it is on the shelf, that it is a safe batch.
• The way this was handled was a disgrace. Companies were not forthcoming and information just trickled out. Numbers of animals lost was way under counted. I was on the internet EVERY day just trying to find out what was going on and other foods that were constantly being added. Lucky for me the food we were feeding our kitten and dog were not recalled. Will take me long time to trust animal food industry again!!!!!
• I have home cooked for my dog for several years.
• I don't think enough was done as to issuing recalls.
• We had many pets get sick on Diamond Brand Dog food last year. 4 of our family's dogs got severe diaherea and respiratory problems. One of the dogs nearly died. We will NEVER feed Diamond Brand again and are willing to pay more for quality brand dog food. My family (includes my parents and my sister) have all switched to Iams since and this food agrees with all of our dogs. My cousin in Mississippi has a Boston Terrier Rescue and has switched to making all of the food for her dogs because she is so scared of all the recalls.
• I hope some changes are made to pet food overall-this whole thing is very disturbing
• What a shame that so many deaths took place. New food on recall should have been on e-mail alerts rather than getting the useless junk e-mail everyday, somehow, menufoods should have bought e-mail lists to inform quicker.
• Scary!!!
• I appreciate your newsletters immensely, they are very great reading, and I'm glad you're doing this survey. I wish the Government would develop stricter standards for imported products to be eaten by our pets. I read on a news service this a.m. that melamine was added ON PURPOSE to the gluten to give it a higher protein content. All for profit. My heart goes out to the pets that were lost.
• We already feed them organic people quality food and the dry food is Royal Kanin
• I appreciate your interest.
• We should go back to feeding our pets human food.
• I just wonder how much of this stuff got into human food or how many people who regularly eat pet food have become ill as a result.
• I have three big outside puppies, and an inside teacup Chihuahua, this incident has frightened me very much and I'm afraid to feed them the food that should give them a well rounded, healthy diet. I'd like to know if there is a way I can tell store bought food is safe.
• Yes, WHY did this happen! I can believe that this was an accident. I can't understand how someone could do this and think that nothing would happen. I hope this will help to regulate new rules on food for our pets.
• They sure would have acted faster if people had been dying!! Legal ramifications for these companies need to be made stronger -- on a par with companies that make human food. I had to stop watching the news for awhile because I couldn't watch the stories with sick pets -- reminded me too much of when my other Siamese, Jack, had 2 bouts of pancreatitis. I knew exactly what those people were going through.
• The recall keeps continuing- when will this stop!
• Just that I think this is terrible and I feel so horrible for the families and pets affected by this atrocity. Again, our government at work. Makes me sick actually. 9
• This whole ordeal has been horrendous!
• We definitely need closer control over any ingredients put in our pet's food and not a crisis caused by deaths of beloved pets. Being retired and on a small income, this also hurt me financially as I had a big Vet bill and had to throw out all food on hand that contained the wheat gluten. But fortunately I got "Twinkle" to the Vet in time and still have my loving pet
• I just thank God that none of our pets were harmed. They are family to us and to our 7 grandchildren. I can't imagine dealing with all 7 of them if something had happened, as they are all very, very involved with their pets and love them very much.
• There are so many garbage additives in most commercial pet foods out there. Maybe now that will change.
• It just seems strange that our dog's urinary tract infection came about after this recall. Probably coincidence, but still bothersome.
• disappointed in Science Diet, Iams and other brands for trying to save money by utilizing Menu Foods
• It is surprising - we think there are all these different brands/types of dog food, to learn they are all using the same "stuff" and aren't really that different at all.
• I have not fed Kibble for years. I feed raw to 3 dogs and home cooked to my dog with seizures. My seizure dog was turned in to our rescue with reports of seizures monthly and was on Purina. Once i started home cooking for her, the frequency in seizures decreased to every 3 or 4 months (just from home cooking - we are not doing any drugs).
• We feed our dogs a raw diet made by Natural Varieties
• No, just that I hope no cats or dogs died as a result of this...
• So so terrible that so many of our beloved pets had to die needlessly.
• I believe this might be a wake-up call for the commercial pet food industry? And brings the industry as a whole to people's attention.
• Why aren't there more strict laws on pet food ingredients??
• I only wish Menu Foods had made the announcement earlier when they first learned that there may be a problem - I would have never switched to Mighty Dog. Our dog had a very full happy life, it's unfortunate that this is what caused him to leave this world.
• YES..........This should be a lesson to all the vets that have brain washed us that we cannot home feed our pets, instead they should give us the choice and help us with healthy alternatives if we so choose!
• Right now, we're not sure what pet food can be trusted! We are keeping a close eye on our dogs, as right now, they are the only ones showing any "possible" signs of food contamination. And I'm not sure we'll ever completely trust any of the pet food companies listed on the pet food recall! Animals are NOT just property! They are a part of our family! Kudos to those who filed the class action lawsuit! I hope they win! I just hope and pray we don't have to join them...
• I switched to Solid Gold and Wellness. If you ever hear of anything 'bad' about them notify me immediately. I am a lawyer.
• I feed my dog organic timber wolf or dick pattens duck potato with added organic chicken and bison that i cook with veggies. i would never buy any of those other brands because i am well informed. i am so heartbroken for the people who are not educated to the crime. They lost their beloved best friends because some one is cheap and greedy. I never buy anything from China a sure recipe for disaster. I hope some good comes out of all of this.
• Do I have anything else to add, Adam? Yeah, but I can't write it here...but I will say, that they should govern pet food, as closely as they do human food. Just because they walk on four legs, doesn't mean that they don't matter. I can't have children, because of severe nerve damage, when I broke my spine 19+ years ago...I went sterile. My cats are my children, and my son died this past Jan. 30th. Did Nutro's food kill him? We'll never know...but he WAS eating contaminated food, and I will NEVER forgive the idiots at Nutro Max, or in our great government, that let that poisoned wheat get into our food supply. Thanks Adam, and Vet Locator.
• At the moment I have one and possibly two cats that have kidney failure. They were not eating the food on the recall. Which scares me. Either they are just old, 11 and 14, or the food they were getting is also bad and just hasn't been discovered as yet!!!
• There is no value you can put on a life (human/pet), but I would try to own the companies if it had happened to mine! Whoever is responsible for this SHOULD PAY dearly!!!
• I'm glad the public was notified
• Menu foods should be responsible for the loss of FAMILY members that have been lost
• The vet put my beagle on antibiotics but I also am going thru a holistic vet to use homeopathics and natural products to help strengthen and detoxify both my dogs because you don't know what the long term effects of these chemicals are - I am very cautious of them - always was and even more so now - I am considering baking my own treats as well - all this just makes you appreciate them all that much more.
• I found out about the pet food recall on the internet and proceeded to broadcast it out to everyone in my address book and to all the group lists I am on. I make my own cat and dog foods, so I was not concerned about my crew, but I was really saddened by the slowness of the recall, the fact that the company thought the notice on the internet would reach everyone, and the false information which we received. Even the vets did not receive notification. It came out as rat poison that was not allowed in the U.S., then it came out that it is the plastic. The FDA did the worst job of getting this situation out to the public. I think this situation and the lack of notification was a travesty here in the United States. Also many of the stores have not removed the tainted product from their shelves. What type of protection do the functionally illiterate people have? None!!! This was so far from being taken as seriously as it should with all the pets in the United States. My pets are my family, and I don't know if I could have controlled myself if anything had happened to any one of them.
• The rate at which the products have slowly trickled out and the way Mend Foods has handled the entire thing has made it 100 times worse than it had to be. Not only did they kill their own lab animals in a
• taste test
• knowing full-well that there were serious complaints, they waited and waited and waited....and put thousands of animals in danger before doing anything. I am not confident in buying anything made by that company on the recall list or not (and I know that encompasses a lot of food). I work in a pet store and have heard the same reaction from many customers.
• This was a very topical issue added value to our Pet 1st Aid class held last week. We are one of few Red Cross Chapters offering this training on a regular basis, and we use it to reach out to individuals and groups/organizations.
• This incident made the consumer more aware of what they are feeding their pets and pet food manufacturers should realize our animals are more than JUST PETS, they are our companions and friends. Animal's food sources should be human grade, not scum off the processing floor.
• I also have a dog too and she wasn't eating anything but Natural Balance because of her skin so I was not AS worried about her as I was my fat cat. However I have started cooking for them both and only add a little of the Ultra-Premium pet food for vitamins and minerals.
• This is a wake-up call for all animal companions to beware of labels and content before making the purchase. It's a bigger wake-up call for the manufactures of animal foods to be more stringent in the quality and responsible for what they offer for sale to unknowing or novice animal companions.
• You're doing a great job. Even though my pet has not been sick, thanks anyway!