An Illinois pet owner made what she calls a disgusting discovery when she recently opened a can of Pedigree dog food. Inside the can of chicken with gravy food Dianne T. says she found a dead frog.
It was the most disgusting thing, she told ConsumerAffairs.com. I almost hurled and I have a strong stomach.
Dianne says she often splits a can of wet food between her four dogs two Blue Merle Collies, an Old English Sheepdog, and her ailing moms Shih Tzu.
When I opened up this can on Thursday night I saw a brown clump in the food, the Frankfort, Illinois, pet owner says. I was like what is that? I flipped it over and it was a dead frog.
I walked over to the kitchen sink because I thought I was going to throw up, she adds. It was gross. I had to call my son and he said, Oh my God its a frog, its a frog.
Dianne called the company that makes the food, Mars Petcare US, to report the dead frog food.
And what got me mad is they offered me coupons for more dog food. I told them I dont want your coupons. Why would I want to give my dogs more of this food? I will never buy or feed Pedigree canned food again, Dianne adds. I wont even donate what I have left to a shelter.
The frog-tainted can was part of a case of Pedigree Choice Cuts in gravy food that Dianne purchased in early August from Sams Club. It has a best by date of 4/25/12 and the manufacturers number is 017c1kkcf.
Half the cans were chicken and half were beef, Dianne says. And my dogs have been eating other cans from this same case.
Dianne is now worried that her dogs -- or someone elses -- could become sick from any Pedigree food made at the same time as the can with the dead amphibian.
My big concern is whats going into this food, she says. Whats going into this food that people are feeding their pets? Obviously, its not chicken. Theres a frog in that food a whole dead frog. And if theres a frog in there, what else is in the food?
Dianne says she doesnt know what type of frog is in the food or if its poisonous.
Are there toxins in that frog? she asks. Everything I read about poisonous frogs said they keep their toxins in them after they after die. Does that mean the toxins were spread through Lord knows how many cans when the food was processed? What else could the frog have contaminated?
Mild symptoms
Dianne immediately contacted her veterinarian after she discovered the dead frog in her dogs food.
I asked him what could happen if the dogs ate from a can that contained a dead frog, she says. And he said they could have diarrhea, vomiting, and neurological problems.
In the past few days, Dianne says her healthy, active dogs have experienced some mild signs of those problems.
My dogs have had some loose bowels, says Dianne, who is now feeding them cooked rice and chicken. And my older collie suddenly turned up lame on Tuesday. She didnt want to get up and was holding up her back paw. My vet couldnt find anything wrong, but said to bring her back on Saturday. It may be a pinched nerve and she is getting better.
Mars customer service representative, however, told Dianne the dead frog did not pose any health risks to her dogs.
She said they cant get any diseases from this because the food is cooked in the can so its sterile. But what kind of quality control is going on when a dead frog is in the food? That frog had to be in the food when they prepared it.
ConsumerAffairs.com contacted Mars about the frog-tainted dog food and the company told us its investigating Diannes unlikely claim.
At Mars Petcare US, quality and food safety is our top priority, the company said in a statement ConsumerAffairs.com received Friday evening. While its highly improbable that this could occur, were taking it very seriously and launching a full-scale investigation into this consumers claim.
Mars added: We are sending a third-party to the consumers home today to collect the frog and deliver it directly to an independent lab for testing. Its important to note that canned pet food is cooked at high temperatures and processed on high speed equipment, making it very unlikely that a frog could become enclosed in a can.
Dianne told us on Saturday that no one with Mars or an independent lab came to her home on Friday to pick up the dead frog.
Asked about the companys doubts concerning her claim, Dianne said: We figured theyd say that, but theres a cooked frog in this can of food. Its legs are curled. I think theyre side-stepping this situation.
Dianne also has a message to anyone else who doesnt believe she found a dead frog in her dogs can of Pedigree food.
Why would I put a dead frog in my dogs food? asks Dianne, a self-proclaimed dog lover who volunteers for Collie Rescue of Greater Illinois, Inc. I treat my dogs like people. I dont eat that stuff and dont expect my animals or anyone elses animals to do that, either.
I also have no desire to sue Mars. Thats the last thing on my mind.
Dianne, however, does expect Mars to take two specific actions.
What I want Mars to do is clean up their facility, she says. Frogs belong outside. They belong in a pond not in my dogs food. I also expect Mars to take care of my vet bills if my dogs get sick, but only it pertains to the dead frog.
To protect other dogs from eating food that might contain dead frogs, Dianne also reported her incident with Pedigrees food to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
And theyve now opened a complaint about this, she says. I dont want anyone feeding their dogs something that is unhealthy.
