Dozens of pet owners have posted reports on social media about their dogs and cats falling sick after eating a Purina Pro Plan pet food.
As of January 4, 2024, the public Facebook group, Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time, has received 197 anecdotal reports of sick animals, including 151 dogs and 46 cats.
Fifty-one (51) animals have died.
What pet owners are reporting
The following is a small sampling of stories that have been posted on Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time over the last month.
I have 5 sick dogs on Purina pro plan. Severe diarrhea and dehydration. One dog was hospitalized on Friday and then another today which led me to think it had to be the feed. My 2 dogs who are raw fed are perfectly fine. Purina Pro plan adult.
posted January 2, 2024
We were feeding Purina Pro Plan to our 3 rottweilers. One of which lost an entire litter of puppies and is waiting official diagnosis of PLE. Surgery for biopsies in 2 weeks. Severe diarrhea,vomiting and loss of litter where devastating for us and our girl.
posted January 3, 2024
I want to share my story of Gracie Lou, a 12 year old pit bull boxer mix with the spirit of a 3 year old puppy.
excerpted from a longer story posted December 30, 2023
We were almost out of her food on Christmas Eve so I ran to the local grocery store and grabbed a bag of purina lamb and rice adult. She doesn’t usually eat purina, I actually just grabbed whatever (It was Christmas Eve, there was A LOT going on).
We had fed her a little chicken and brown rice on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with the last of her of her old food.
Christmas Day about 4:30 she had her first bowl of purina. 2-3 hours later she had her first seizure. She has NO health problems except arthritis. She has NEVER had a seizure. She was running around all day, playing with her toys, being her totally normal crazy self she always is. We were naturally terrified and had no clue what was happening. We journaled everything and watched her like a hawk all night and she finally got back to almost normal by early afternoon on 12/26.
On 12/26 around 4:30ish she had another bowl of purina and literally 2-3 hours later had her second seizure. We rushed her to the emergency vet in Annapolis and without having an MRI we won’t know if it’s a brain tumor or not. We cannot afford an MRI right now. We also just took the word of the doctor saying it’s the age and these things happen. The dr said the labs looked fine (I’m not sure what they test for) and that without something else to rule it out they will treat her for epilepsy due to a possible brain tumor and she has to be on medication for the rest of her life. They gave us seizure medication and sent us on our way.
Where there’s smoke?
In at least one instance, Purina has offered to cover the pet owner’s veterinary bills.
So since Trinitys seizure I’ve been in contact with Purina. The only change since her ultrasound & bloodwork in November was a food change I went from Purina Brightminds to Sensitive skin & stomach Salmon Senior.
posted on December 28, 2023
I read a post on here about a couple dogs having seizures also on this food but adult version.
Last week Purina asked me for all information about Trinity, my vets & copies of my vet bills.
Today they called me to verify all information. Told me they are sending a check to cover my vet bills & coupons for food reimbursement. They never said yes there is a problem with that particular food but were super nice & offered all help. They also stated any future vet bills on Trinity I can submit & they will cover.
What is the FDA doing?
FDA is aware of reports of pet illnesses and is in the process of evaluating those reports.
In response to our request for comment, we received the following statement:
“We encourage pet owners or their veterinarians to submit reports of illness or other adverse events associated with pet food directly to FDA by following the instructions on this page: How to Report a Pet Food Complaint.”
FDA spokesperson, January 4, 2024
How to report a pet illness
The FDA relies heavily on reports from pet owners and veterinarians to alert them to safety issues with pet foods.
If your pet is sick or has died, and you suspect the pet food to be the cause, please ask your veterinarian to file an Adverse Event report with the FDA.
Whether or not a veterinarian agrees to file a report, pet owners can file directly with the FDA. Prepare to make your report by assembling as much information about your pet’s symptoms, any lab reports (eg., blood work), and whatever information you have on the specific product(s) you have fed your pet. This includes brand and variety names, lot code, expiration date, and bar code information, all of which can be found on the package.
There are two options for filing, which are explained on the FDA web page, How to Report a Pet Food Complaint
Option 1: Contact the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator for your state by telephone (in the case of California, there are separate coordinators for Northern and Southern California). The list of telephone numbers is available at: Consumer Complaint Coordinators.
Option 2: File on-line using the FDA Safety Reporting Portal. Simply click on the “Report as Guest” button and follow the step-by-step directions.
Share your story
If you would like to share your story with eFoodAlert readers, choose the About menu option to access our email contact information. Alternatively, post your experience in the comments section, below.
“A complete and compelling account of the hidden and not-so-hidden ways the food we give our beloved pets can be contaminated.” – JoNel Aleccia, Health Reporter, Food & Nutrition, The Associated Press.
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