WASHOUGAL, Wash. (CNN) – It was supposed to be a special New Year’s Eve dinner for a Washington woman’s four pugs but the woman says after eating their treat, her beloved dogs got deathly ill.
Nikki Mael loves her four pugs – Tank, Tito, Tinkerbell, and Talula.
Tito’s still coughing after his close call on New Year’s Eve.
Nikki says she fed all four dog’s Evanger’s Hunk of Beef with Au Jus canned dog food as a treat.
“I fed them one can and within fifteen minutes they were acting drunk, walking around, then they couldn’t walk and were falling over,” Mael said. “I grabbed them all and I took them to the emergency vet and when I got them there they were limp. They weren’t moving or anything.”
All four dogs went into intensive care.
Nikki picked up the last of the survivors Tito Monday morning but Talula died.
The family put Talula’s remains in a cooler for the trip to a necropsy at Oregon State University to figure out what killed her.
Nikki suspects it was something in the dog food.
“Tito, we got to bring him home today. He still suffers from seizures. I don’t know how long, I don’t know if there’s any long-term on the other two, but it’s terrible.”
Evangers Pet Food, the dog food maker, contributed to the full fundraising goal on Nikki’s You Caring fundraising page for vet bills.
The company told KATU News it’s started an investigation.
Nikki says she wants other pet owners to stop using the canned dog food for now.
“I lost my dog and it shouldn’t have to be this way.”
Nikki says she’s not sure how long it will take OSU animal experts to determine what may have killed her dog.
Meanwhile, no recall has been issued but an Evanger’s representative said the company is making arrangements to get unopened cans in the same case to have them tested.
The company will take back any product from customers who have concerns, no questions asked.
