HOUSTON — A popular brand of dog food has been recalled but some grieving pet owners say it’s too little, too late. They say their dogs died after eating canned food from Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
Hill’s voluntarily recalled 25 Prescription Diet and Science Diet products on Jan. 31 because of dangerous levels of vitamin D.
Dogs that eat too much vitamin D can experience vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, frequent urination, excessive drooling, weight loss and kidney failure.
Since Hill’s announced the recall, several dog owners have posted heartbreaking stories about the deaths of their pets on the company’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
“At the time it made no sense. Now I know it was you. I spent thousands in vet bills, pureed her food, gave her subcutaneous fluids … She didn’t deserve this. You stole my best friend from me,” Leilalover tweeted.
“This is my dog Olaf, he died from acute Kidney failure. He was eating your hard and soft dog food. For four weeks I have been torturing myself trying to understand why. I guess now I have some peace,” said another customer.
Laura Freeman of Texas shared a photo of her 4-year-old dog Mocha, along with this post.
“My 4 year old dog was eating this for a week before she died. She had normal blood tests on Friday. She ate your food on Saturday. Wed her liver was failing, thurs kidneys failed, Friday died of a heart attack. She had just had upset stomach. It killed her.”
Freeman told the Washington Post her veterinarian recommended Hill’s canned food to help increase Mocha’s appetite.
“It was expensive, but I was willing to pay it because I wanted my dog to get better,” Freeman told the Post.
A few days later, Mocha was dead.
Now, Freeman and other pet owners think Hill’s should reimburse them for the thousands of dollars in vet bills.
“As pet parents ourselves, we understand the gravity of health issues with our pets,” the company said Thursday in a news release. “We have extended our call center hours and tripled the number of people on our phones, so we can take time with every pet parent.” The company is asking affected consumers to call 800-445-5777, email or Facebook.
Here is a list of the recalled cans.
Hill’s insists all products not on the list are safe.
The company blames a supplier for the vitamin D issue.
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