DOG AND CATASTROPHE TAINTED WET FOOD DAMAGES KIDNEYS.Byline: BRAD A. GREENBERG Staff Writer SHERMAN OAKS -- Ten days ago, Pebbles seemed healthy. She ate breakfast and went for a walk with her owner, Jeff Kerner. But when they returned to the apartment, Pebbles threw up. The 7-year-old Yorkshire terrier Yorkshire terrier, breed of small, spirited toy dog originated and developed in Yorkshire, England, in the mid-19th cent. It stands about 9 in. (22.8 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 4 to 7 lb (1.8–3.2 kg). continued over the next few days until her stomach was dry. She became lethargic, depressed. By Friday, Pebbles was in the hospital with renal failure renal failure n. Acute or chronic malfunction of the kidneys resulting from any of a number of causes, including infection, trauma, toxins, hemodynamic abnormalities, and autoimmune disease, and often resulting in systemic symptoms, especially edema, , the apparent victim of tainted dog food, one of an unknown number of pets nationwide sickened by bad dog and cat chow. Ten have died. "Last Saturday, I was thinking my dog will be here another eight to 10 years," said Kerner, 48, of Sherman Oaks. "Now, I'm worrying about whether she will make it through the weekend." Menu Foods, the Canadian maker of the food, announced Friday that it was recalling 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food sold throughout North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . It affects 91 brands, including Food Lion Food Lion LLC is an American grocery store company headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina that operates approximately 1,300 supermarkets in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states under the Food Lion, Harveys, Bloom, Bottom Dollar, and Reid's nameplates. , Iams and Nutro, sold under store and brand labels at Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other retailers. Testing by Menu Foods since the first complaints of kidney failure kidney failure or renal failure Partial or complete loss of kidney function. Acute failure causes reduced urine output and blood chemical imbalance, including uremia. Most patients recover within six weeks. were reported Feb. 20 also found that of 40 to 50 dogs and cats fed the affected "cuts and gravy" style, seven died. Other companies -- Hill's Pet Nutrition Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc is a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive Company. They are a large scale provider of dog and cat foods. History Hill's Pet Nutrition was a division of Hill Packing company, founded in 1907 by Burton Hill in Topeka, Kansas. , Nestle Purina PetCare and Procter & Gamble -- voluntarily have recalled products made by Menu Foods. "If your pet has been on one of the foods, it is worth going to your veterinarian veterinarian /vet·er·i·nar·i·an/ (vet?er-i-nar´e-an) a person trained and authorized to practice veterinary medicine and surgery; a doctor of veterinary medicine. vet·er·i·nar·i·an n. and having blood work and a urine test done to see if your pet is having a problem with kidney function," said Dr. Amy Worell, owner of All Pets Medical Center in West Hills. "The quicker you jump on it, the better the outcome will be." By noon, Worell and officials at other San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. veterinary centers said phones had been ringing all morning. "People are pretty worried about the recall," said Worell, who ran blood tests on two dogs Sunday. "We've had lots of calls today. We've not had anybody call with clinical signs related to the pet foods -- just plain worried." The recall covers wet-style food sold in cans and pouches between Dec. 3 and March 6. Menu Foods' stock has fallen 45 percent. The company established two toll-free phone numbers for concerned pet owners, and both were consistently busy Monday. The Food and Drug Administration is focusing on wheat gluten Noun 1. wheat gluten - gluten prepared from wheat gluten - a protein substance that remains when starch is removed from cereal grains; gives cohesiveness to dough as a likely source of the contamination. Menu Foods said it had recently switched suppliers of wheat gluten, a source of protein, but has since dropped that provider. Wheat gluten alone wouldn't cause kidney failure but it could if it were contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. by other substances, such as heavy metals heavy metals, n.pl metallic compounds, such as aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and nickel. Exposure to these metals has been linked to immune, kidney, and neurotic disorders. or fungal toxins. Two years ago, a corn fungus contamination sparked a dog-food recall. When Kerner heard about the recall, Pebbles had already been admitted to Collett Veterinary Clinic in Sylmar. After futilely trying to reach Menu Foods by phone, he went to the Web site and looked at the affected dates and serial numbers. "The three pouches I have left," he said, "matched number for number." Pebbles remained at the Sylmar clinic Monday, receiving nutrition intravenously and running up an unknown medical bill. "I used to work as a demonstrator for Nutro years ago, and I know it is a great product," Kerner said. "You spend extra money for the more expensive food because you think you are doing the right thing. But then something like this happens." The Associated Press contributed to this report. brad.greenberg(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3634 How to reach Menu Foods Menu Foods created a Web site and two toll-free numbers for concerned pet owners -- www.menufoods.com/recall and (866) 895-2708 and (866) 463-6738. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Pebbles is suffering from kidney failure. Her owner blames the pet food she eats, which last week was recalled because of its connection with the deaths of dogs and cats from kidney failure. This photograph was altered to protect the privacy of Pebbles' owner. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News Box: How to reach Menu Foods (see text) |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion