COLUMBIA - The FDA and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMA) recently released a dog food recall.
MU Veterinary Toxicologist, Tim Evans, said he has been trying to get the word out to the public.
According to the report, there are 13 recipes that have been recalled for toxicity to dogs.
Evans said the excessive amounts of Vitamin D can result in kidney issues. Symptoms could include the dog using the bathroom more than usual, or in the house when it's house-trained, and other unusual habits when it comes to their eating or drinking. He also said to have the pet checked by a veterinarian to verify the issue.
"The more we can let people know that there are potential problems, then we have a better chance of people of being aware of it and then preventing their pets from being exposed," Evans said.
"The one [recall] that's going on right now is actually related to excessive amounts of vitamin D, which is a normal component of the pet food, but in this particular instance, it seems to be excessive in some particular brands," Evans said.
He is the state's only board-certified veterinary toxicologist. That means people call him to address issues when it comes to possible toxins in animal products.
"Pets give love unconditionally and you can talk to them and most of the time they're not going to talk back to you, they're great listeners," Evans said. "We have to listen to pets. We have to be in tune, are they feeling well or are they not feeling well," he said.
Nicholas Appleton brings his dog, Roxy, to the vet at MU's small animal hospital. Roxy is on a strict diet after health issues. Appleton said Roxy is very important to him and his wife, so it's even more important for them to know about food recalls.
"We don't have any children, so our animals, our pets, are our babies," Appleton said.
He said his vet notified him of a recall on a specific line of the dog food he buys, so they make sure to keep on any recalls.
"It's just like driving a car, you know, you have recalls on your car so I kind of equate the same thing. We want everybody to be safe and I want my animals to obviously be safe," Appleton said.
Kyle Schlosser, co-owner of Lizzi and Rocco's Natural Pet Market, said just looking at ingredients won't protect you from a certain recipe or lot number of food that was manufactured.
Schlosser said he and his wife, Jessica, keep up with the FDA recalls as much as they can, but usually they find out from the food companies before a report is out. Their market does not sell any of the foods on the current recall.
"You're not able to tell whether or not a recalled food is still on the shelf based on ingredients," Schlosser said. "That all has to do with looking at lot codes and looking at manufacturers."
Schlosser suggested looking at dog food brands' safety history to see if it was just an over abundance of a vitamin, or if it the history shows something more serious.
Appleton said keeping up with recalls for dogs are just as important as for humans.
"If you're going to own a pet, it would be like having a child. So you need to be aware of recalls. It's really important to treat your animals properly, humanely," Appleton said.
FDA's Recall List (additional recalls may be announced)
Ahold Delhaize
- Nature’s Promise Chicken & Brown Rice Dog Food
- Nature’s Place Real Country Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food
Kroger
- Abound Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dog Food
King Sooper's
- Abound Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dog Food
ELM Pet Foods, Inc
- ELM Chicken and Chickpea Recipe
- ELM K9 Naturals Chicken Recipe
ANF, Inc
- ANF Lamb and Rice Dry Dog Food
Sunshine Mills, Inc
- Evolve Chicken & Rice Puppy Dry Dog Food
- Sportsman’s Pride Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food
- Triumph Chicken & Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food
Lidl (Orlando brand)
- Orlando Grain-Free Chicken & Chickpea Superfood Recipe Dog Food
Natural Life Pet Products
- Chicken & Potato Dry Dog Food
Nutrisca
- Chicken and Chickpea Dry Dog Food
