Hundreds of dogs are dying and no one knows exactly what killed them!
Federal animal health officials just announced that jerky pet treats made in China have caused a mysterious illness outbreak in more than 3,600 dogs (and ten cats) and the death of about 600 pets. The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine has run more than 1,200 tests, visited pet treat manufacturing plants in China and worked with researchers, state labs and foreign governments but hasn’t determined the exactly what it is in the jerky that is making the animals sick. So now the FDA is reaching out to owners and veterinarians to help it find the poison behind it all.
The offending items are jerky treats made of chicken, duck or sweet potato that were made in China then distributed under differing brand labels. The FDA has gotten complaints from pet owners and veterinarians in every state regarding cases of kidney failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, and a rare kidney disorder in dogs that have eaten jerky treats from China.
The jerky mystery is the worst case of tainted pet food from China since 2007 when there was a nationwide recall of food made by Menu Foods that caused the deaths of 2,200 dogs and 1,950 cats. Kidney failure caused all of those pet deaths and the poison was found to be tainted melamine from plastic packaging in the wheat gluten. About 150 brands of dog and cat food were recalled and included some of the biggest names in pet food.
No specific brands have been identified and no one even knows how many treats a pet has to eat before it starts getting sick. So give the label a good hard look before before you give your pet anything that can be ingested. Play it safe. Just don’t give your pets any products that come from China.
Also — please pay it forward and share this with everyone you know.