mancombseepgood
Executive Member
John?
You were saying?
You were saying?
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Question of the Day: Which South African brand or product do you wish would make a return?
More Pet Food Problems
- Thread starter BobbyMac
- Start date
That is what I am wondering as well. Had BobbyMac not started this thread, another concerned pet owner would have. Believe it or not, John, but to some people, their pets are their children and deserve the best care we can give them. If there is a threat to said care, we need to be aware of it.
Sonel
New Member
What now?
Pet-food recall 'sickens' owners
April 14 2007 at 12:47PM
By Deepa Seetharaman
Cape Town veterinarians have been inundated by phone calls from confused and angry pet owners after the news that a prominent pet food company had withdrawn a leading brand of dog food after fears of contamination.
Pet food manufacturer Royal Canin SA announced on Thursday that it was testing the Vet's Choice range after 19 dogs in Johannesburg and Cape Town suffered acute kidney failure. The company recommended all vets and vet shops stop selling Vet's Choice.
On Friday the company told vet clinics they were still working on the problem.
The recall has upset city pet owners. Receptionists at Blue Cross Animal Hospital have been so overwhelmed with enquiries that they had to bring in an extra staff member to answer phones.
"People come in and they're worried and they're confused," said veterinarian Steve Kitley, of Riverside Veterinary Clinic. "They want to know if their animals will take to new food."
This latest scare in South Africa comes after a number of pets died from ethylene glycol-contaminated food produced by Malmesbury-based Aquanutro, some of which was marketed by Woolworths.
Some 35 dogs died from eating the toxic food earlier this year.
Hill's Pet Nutrition has recalled a prescription cat food m/d Feline which is fed to cats with diabetes. Eating the food could lead to kidney damage.
Guy Fyvie, a veterinary consultant for Hill's Pet Nutrition, said melamine was found in wheat gluten from China which is used to make the dry food.
He said that any potentially affected batches of the cat food had not yet been distributed to veterinarians in South Africa, where it is sold. None of their other products had been affected.
But some pet owners say they don't know who to trust any more. Theresa Henderson, a dog owner from Vredehoek, said the food was supposed to be designed by vets.
"They're always telling you how scientific they are but when so many foods have been pulled, you start to think maybe it's safer to cook the food yourself."
Just a few hours after Henderson fed her two dogs their Vet's Choice three weeks ago, they showed worrying symptoms: excessive drinking, urination and lethargy. They had been on the brand for eight years.
The scare has placed a financial burden on her. She has spent R1 000 on vet bills and the food she now gives her dogs costs nearly R100 more per bag more than Vet's Choice.
The incident is the latest in a series of recalls from pet food companies around the world with the United States, where the petfood industry is huge, particularly hard hit.
Samples of Vet's Choice have been sent to Germany for laboratory testing, said Barry Hundley, executive director of the Pet Food Industry Association.
So far the problem seems limited, said Leone de Klerk, a vet for Blue Cross. Blue Cross has not seen any sick dogs in the past two days, she said.
Only two of the four dogs tested at Panorama Veterinary Clinic showed signs of food contamination.
At Tygerberg Animal Hospital, only one in four dogs tested had unusual levels of blood urea and creatinine in their blood and urine.
Hundley and Cape Town vets emphasised that there was no connection between previous pet food contamination and this incident.
"Mostly the clients are confused about what they should do and what they shouldn't do," De Klerk said.
For a refund for unused Vet's Choice people should approach their vet or pet shop.
This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Argus on April 14, 2007.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20070414090007786C633910
What now? I think this is the question on everyone's minds now. Will pet owners ever trust Vet's Choice again and shouldn't we be better off with our own SA Pet Food companies, like Nola for instance, instead of buying imported Pet Foods?
Pet-food recall 'sickens' owners
April 14 2007 at 12:47PM
By Deepa Seetharaman
Cape Town veterinarians have been inundated by phone calls from confused and angry pet owners after the news that a prominent pet food company had withdrawn a leading brand of dog food after fears of contamination.
Pet food manufacturer Royal Canin SA announced on Thursday that it was testing the Vet's Choice range after 19 dogs in Johannesburg and Cape Town suffered acute kidney failure. The company recommended all vets and vet shops stop selling Vet's Choice.
On Friday the company told vet clinics they were still working on the problem.
The recall has upset city pet owners. Receptionists at Blue Cross Animal Hospital have been so overwhelmed with enquiries that they had to bring in an extra staff member to answer phones.
"People come in and they're worried and they're confused," said veterinarian Steve Kitley, of Riverside Veterinary Clinic. "They want to know if their animals will take to new food."
This latest scare in South Africa comes after a number of pets died from ethylene glycol-contaminated food produced by Malmesbury-based Aquanutro, some of which was marketed by Woolworths.
Some 35 dogs died from eating the toxic food earlier this year.
Hill's Pet Nutrition has recalled a prescription cat food m/d Feline which is fed to cats with diabetes. Eating the food could lead to kidney damage.
Guy Fyvie, a veterinary consultant for Hill's Pet Nutrition, said melamine was found in wheat gluten from China which is used to make the dry food.
He said that any potentially affected batches of the cat food had not yet been distributed to veterinarians in South Africa, where it is sold. None of their other products had been affected.
But some pet owners say they don't know who to trust any more. Theresa Henderson, a dog owner from Vredehoek, said the food was supposed to be designed by vets.
"They're always telling you how scientific they are but when so many foods have been pulled, you start to think maybe it's safer to cook the food yourself."
Just a few hours after Henderson fed her two dogs their Vet's Choice three weeks ago, they showed worrying symptoms: excessive drinking, urination and lethargy. They had been on the brand for eight years.
The scare has placed a financial burden on her. She has spent R1 000 on vet bills and the food she now gives her dogs costs nearly R100 more per bag more than Vet's Choice.
The incident is the latest in a series of recalls from pet food companies around the world with the United States, where the petfood industry is huge, particularly hard hit.
Samples of Vet's Choice have been sent to Germany for laboratory testing, said Barry Hundley, executive director of the Pet Food Industry Association.
So far the problem seems limited, said Leone de Klerk, a vet for Blue Cross. Blue Cross has not seen any sick dogs in the past two days, she said.
Only two of the four dogs tested at Panorama Veterinary Clinic showed signs of food contamination.
At Tygerberg Animal Hospital, only one in four dogs tested had unusual levels of blood urea and creatinine in their blood and urine.
Hundley and Cape Town vets emphasised that there was no connection between previous pet food contamination and this incident.
"Mostly the clients are confused about what they should do and what they shouldn't do," De Klerk said.
For a refund for unused Vet's Choice people should approach their vet or pet shop.
This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Argus on April 14, 2007.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20070414090007786C633910
What now? I think this is the question on everyone's minds now. Will pet owners ever trust Vet's Choice again and shouldn't we be better off with our own SA Pet Food companies, like Nola for instance, instead of buying imported Pet Foods?
love56k
Expert Member
Natas
Expert Member
Hills and Vets Choice test on animals... but then again you might be a believer of the Ali G argument, ie, thats its okay to test products FOR animals on animals.. ie like lipstick for dogs, etc ,etc
love56k
Expert Member
What I found concerning is that I heard on the radio this morning that pet owners cannot sue Royal Canin for emotional damages, since pets are viewed as property. Rather sad
hopefully they can, and do, sue for vets fees, etc.
love56k, I think they may be able to sue for fees and stuff, but as I said, they cannot claim for emotional damages. I'm not 100% sure. Guess we'll have to keep checking what the media tell us is happening.
chiskop
Executive Member
ziglet, how your dogs?
Luke7777
Executive Member
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Our vet has recommended Ultradog , which we've used in the past as well.Okay the time has come to get some more dog food
Could anyone recommend a good brand that hasn't been caught up in this mess?
rwenzori
Honorary Master
My dogs are on Purina Olympic, which is fine, according to reports.
Anyone know where we can find this product? Rivonia/Sandton/Rosebank area
love56k
Expert Member
Pet-food deaths: Owners to receive compensation
Pet owners will be compensated for animals that died from eating contaminated pet food, Royal Canin pet-food manufacturers said on Thursday
read more... http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=305241&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
Pet owners will be compensated for animals that died from eating contaminated pet food, Royal Canin pet-food manufacturers said on Thursday
read more... http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=305241&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
Mornings, Can't agree more! I just posted a new thread regarding an incident where the SPCA also took a very negligent, not that serious approach - a dog ended up dying a HORRIBLE death.
I'm very dissapointed in the SPCA's stance ...
My vet also gave me ULTRA DOG, doggies seems to be happy. My problem is I have Great Dane's and I am now struggling to get food for large breeds - anyone with suggestions?
Have a fab Friday!
Wow Syndyre, that statement is actually mind blowing.
The thing that they overlook is that pet owners who were feeding there dogs, Vets Choice, etc...
Are the ones who really care for their pets and are able to afford that little bit extra, so we are not going to just go silently into the night.
Updates on Royal canin: We have spoken to them on the phone and they said they will pay for both dogs blood tests and vet fees. But our female dog seems to have pulled through ok but may need to stay on the special kidney diet which is quite a price shocker.
We then queried Royal Canin whether they will then pay for the new special diets of our pets and they said this would be done on a case by case basis depending on the severity of the kidney problems.
Our larger male dog is actually doing a lot better, well he has his days. We have managed to find a kidney dietary product which he seems to enjoy. Though he is not eating his normal amount, it is still great just to get food down.
The kidney diet is able to trap the toxins in the body before they reach the kidney thus putting less strain on it. Our vet, and my uncle a vet in the UK both say the best that people can do is get their dogs to eat this kidney diet ASAP, drink water with bicarb(spelling) in.
We took the male for more blood tests yesterday, though the vet says he will be happy if the results havent gone up too much, we are praying that they will come down. Though seeing as the kidney damage is irreparable, chances are slim.
The female has around 60-75% kidney damage which the male has 75% upwards, this shown by their symptoms and blood tests.
There have been several other dogs in the area affected as well. A 2 year of Alsatian unfortunately went straight onto the Saline drip as the owners had not heard of the Vets choice recall and had been feeding him up till now. There is also a german shepard puppy and others.
We have called in on Carte Blanche for them to investigate into the matter as we feel, Royal Canin took an extremely long time to disclose what was in their product as it became unsafe from the March the 8th and was only pulled off the shelves on April 11th. Its shocking that some of the other companies still do not know what contaminated their products and how!
Think these pet food companies don't realise that, people willing to pay the extra price for the more expensive products, really care for their pets, want the extra quality they pay for AND WILL NOT GO SILENTLY INTO THE NIGHT!
The thing that they overlook is that pet owners who were feeding there dogs, Vets Choice, etc...
Are the ones who really care for their pets and are able to afford that little bit extra, so we are not going to just go silently into the night.
Updates on Royal canin: We have spoken to them on the phone and they said they will pay for both dogs blood tests and vet fees. But our female dog seems to have pulled through ok but may need to stay on the special kidney diet which is quite a price shocker.
We then queried Royal Canin whether they will then pay for the new special diets of our pets and they said this would be done on a case by case basis depending on the severity of the kidney problems.
Our larger male dog is actually doing a lot better, well he has his days. We have managed to find a kidney dietary product which he seems to enjoy. Though he is not eating his normal amount, it is still great just to get food down.
The kidney diet is able to trap the toxins in the body before they reach the kidney thus putting less strain on it. Our vet, and my uncle a vet in the UK both say the best that people can do is get their dogs to eat this kidney diet ASAP, drink water with bicarb(spelling) in.
We took the male for more blood tests yesterday, though the vet says he will be happy if the results havent gone up too much, we are praying that they will come down. Though seeing as the kidney damage is irreparable, chances are slim.
The female has around 60-75% kidney damage which the male has 75% upwards, this shown by their symptoms and blood tests.
There have been several other dogs in the area affected as well. A 2 year of Alsatian unfortunately went straight onto the Saline drip as the owners had not heard of the Vets choice recall and had been feeding him up till now. There is also a german shepard puppy and others.
We have called in on Carte Blanche for them to investigate into the matter as we feel, Royal Canin took an extremely long time to disclose what was in their product as it became unsafe from the March the 8th and was only pulled off the shelves on April 11th. Its shocking that some of the other companies still do not know what contaminated their products and how!
Think these pet food companies don't realise that, people willing to pay the extra price for the more expensive products, really care for their pets, want the extra quality they pay for AND WILL NOT GO SILENTLY INTO THE NIGHT!