For dog lovers, pets are more like family.
That is certainly true for Trish Labieniec and her two golden retrievers, Sadie and Daisy. Daisy is 3-years-old, while Sadie is 11.
Labieniec said Sadie developed a "distant barking cough" in June of last year.
She took her to the vet after she says Sadie’s bark got "very weak to the point where she could barely bark, and she developed a huge mass on her neck."
Like most moms worried about a sick child, Labieniec demanded answers.
She later found out after an X-ray and an echo-cardiogram that Sadie had developed something called dilated cardiomyopathy. Months later, she found out her other dog, Daisy had developed a milder case of the same condition.
She reported this to the Federal Drug and Food Administration after they released a report back in July of 2018 stating a possible link between dilated cardiomyopathy and a grain-free diet which was what both Labieniec’s dogs were on.
The report from the FDA states they received several reports of dogs developing the heart condition while eating a grain-free diet.
Dilated cardiomyopathy is typically found in larger breeds who are predisposition to the condition.
The FDA opened an official investigation after they reviewed the several reports they had received and realized they were seeing the condition in many smaller breed dogs that were not known to develop dilated cardiomyopathy.
Robert Wenzel is a veterinarian with Eastman Animal Clinic in Midland. He says the condition happens when the four chambers of the heart, especially the ventricle, becomes enlarged and the wall becomes very thin in the heart, which can lead to congenital heart disease.
Symptoms of dilated cardiomyopathy include weakness, fainting spells, difficult breathing, bloated stomach, and coughing.
"The condition may be triggered by the lack of taurine in a dogs diet," Wenzel said.
Taurine is an amino acid found in meat, dairy, and grain. In grain-free dog food, the grain is replaced by lentils, peas, potatoes and other legumes, which are low in taurine.
Wenzel said he’s still not sure this is the sole cause of the problem.
"There’s no proof that a grain-free diet is the culprit," Wenzel said.
He says in the 36 years of his practice he’s only dealt with one dog that had developed dilated cardiomyopathy.
Wenzel said he’s still in favor of a grain-free diet and will continue to recommend it to his patients.
As eager as Labieniec is to find out exactly what made her dogs sick, she doesn’t feel like this is cut and dry.
She says both Sadie and Daisy were treated and are doing well.
Both Labieniec and Wenzel want answers, and are eager to get them as the FDA investigation moves forward.
