Samples of another brand of dog food have tested positive for melamine and caused kidney problems in at least four dogs in California.
The dry dog food is Nutra Nuggets, manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods of Meta, Missouri.
Dr. Matt Humason of the Lone Oak Veterinary Clinic in Visalia, California, became suspicious of the pet food after four of his clients healthy dogs suddenly went into renal failure.
I saw the first two dogs around the beginning of May, Dr. Humason told ConsumerAffairs.com today. These were normal, healthy dogs and they both had become lethargic, one was vomiting, they werent eating, and they were drinking lots of water.
Dr. Humason ran blood tests on the dogs and discovered they were both in renal failure.
At first I thought maybe somebody threw something over the fence and thats what made these dogs sick, he says. The pet food recall didnt cross my mind because these dogs were both eating dry food and their food wasnt on the recall list.
A few days later, however, Dr. Humason saw another dog with the same symptoms.
This was a younger Lab who was also a healthy dog, but now was sick and vomiting, and in renal failure. The owners happened to bring in their other Lab, who is older, and wanted that dog tested, too. That dog didnt have any symptoms, but test shows its kidney values were elevated, too.
Using his own detective skills, Dr. Humason uncovered the following clues that helped him solve the mystery of these ailing dogs:
• All four dogs -- who are Labs and Lab-mixes -- ate Nutra Nuggets dry food;
• The dogs owners had purchased the food from the same Costco store in Visalia, California;
• The dogs owners made those purchases within days of each other -- in Mid-April.
To confirm his suspicions, Dr. Humason decided to have the food tested.
Positive for Melamine
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Melamine is a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers. It is not approved for use in human or pet food.
The FDA, however, discovered melamine and melamine-related compounds in the wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate imported from China used to make many brands of pet food.
That finding triggered one of the largest pet food recalls in U.S. history. Since March, 18 companies have recalled more than 5,600 pet food products.
Thousands of dogs and cats that have eaten tainted foods have suffered kidney problems or died.
Dr. Humason says the four dogs hes treated for renal failure are improving.
The first two are going home (probably today) and their owner is going to give them fluids under their skin. This will keep them hydrated; what were trying to do is flush out the kidneys. Theyve been here for about a week on IV fluids. Theyre still not quite back to normal, but theyre happy and eating again.
He adds: The second two dogs are still here and have been on IV fluids since May 10th. Theyre having a little harder time, but theyre doing much better and they may go home by the end of the week.
Dr. Humason says hes only treated a few cats for kidney problems since Menu Foods announced its massive recall of 60 million containers of wet pet food in March.
I was actually starting to think this was getting more overkill until this happened, he says. But now Im looking for this all the time.
In fact, I saw two other dogs yesterday that were showing the same signs (of renal failure), he adds. I tested them, but their blood work came back normal as far as their kidneys were concerned. But I sent their food for testing because they were eating that same Nutra Nuggets as the other dogs and their owners had purchased it about the same time.
Dr. Humason says hes not sure if the food is from the same lot, though.
The first two owners dont have the bags of food anymore. And there are some questions about the lot numbers on those bags.
That could present problems for Diamond Pet Foods and its distributors. And also to pet owners who feed their dogs this brand of food.
Without the lot number, it might be difficult to know where the tainted bags were distributed. And if any are still on the market or in pet owners homes.
Costco Concerned
Were in a real quandary here, Craig Wilson, with Costcos Food Safety Department, told ConsumerAffairs.com today. Were not the only ones who were selling this product. This was not a Costco brand; this went to many other sellers of this item. What were trying to do is get the batch (lot) number.
He adds: This happened so long ago sometime in April. The turnaround time in Costco for these items in less than in a week in other words, they dont sit on our shelves for more than a week. Id be more concerned about stores where theres not that much turnaround.
A spokeswoman for Diamond Pet Foods called this an isolated incident. When asked if the tainted bags are still on store shelves, however, she said she wasnt sure.
Spokeswoman Becky Johnson also said Diamond Pet Foods is running its own tests on the Nutra Nuggets.
Were not disputing those finding (of melamine), she told ConsumerAffairs.com. Were just waiting for our own results. We anticipate well have those back late Wednesday or Thursday.
More Concerns about Diamond
Meanwhile, an Indiana pet owner contacted ConsumerAffairs.com on Sunday with concerns about another brand of Diamond Pet Foods.
Sharen C. of La Fontaine, Indiana, says her two dogs became sick after eating Diamonds Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul.
I normally cook for my dogs, but I wanted to supplement them with this brand, Sharen says, adding her dogs, Cassie and Star, are Lab-mixes. When I tried it, though, my dogs became sick. They were lethargic and had diarrhea. And this lasted for a couple days.
Sharen immediately stopped feeding the food to her dogs.
When their conditions improved about a week later she tried giving them the food again.
But they got sick again and had the same symptoms, she says. So this wasnt a coincidence. It made them sick -- twice. Sharen contacted Diamond Pet Foods, but says the company downplayed her concerns.
The response I got from the company were simply suggestions on how to feed my dogs.
But shortly after her call, Diamond recalled its Chicken Soup for Puppy Lovers Soul and Chicken Soup For Kitten Lovers Soul. The company, however, didnt recall the brand that made Sharens dogs sick Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul.
And I have no idea why they didnt recall that brand, she says. It definitely made my dogs sick.
Sharen says Cassie and Star havent eaten that brand of food in weeks. And theyre now doing fine.
Will she ever feed them another brand of commercial dog food?
No, Im just not comfortable using commercial pet food, Sharen says. I cook for my dogs and my advice would be that everyone should cook for their dogs.
Diamond Pet Foods in April recalled its Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lovers Soul and Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul after the FDA confirmed the products contained melamine-tainted rice protein concentrate.
Diamond said those products were not formulated or labeled to contain rice proteinand that ingredient was added to the products as a manufacturing deviation by American Nutrition.
Diamond also said no other Chicken Soup brands of canned or dry pet food were included in the recall and none of the companys dry food contain rice protein or wheat gluten.
Regarding the concerns Sharen raised about Diamonds Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, spokeswoman Becky Johnson said her company takes all customers calls seriously. And she promised to have someone with the company contact Sharen.
Johnson also said customers with concerns about any Diamond products should contact the company at 1-866-214-6945.
More about the Pet Food Recall ...
