Mindy
Died June 2008

Mindy became ill in April 2008. We took her to the emergency animal hospital when we noticed her leaking urine, and she began to cry. The vet initially thought she had a bladder infection, because she was only 20 months old. Mindy was leaking very dilute urine that contained glucose in it. The vet thought that nothing big could be affecting her. After a few blood and urine samples it turned out she had kidney failure. To let you know how bad she was...the vet said she only sees those types of results after a pet has gotten into antifreeze.

She asked if we had fed Mindy any of the recalled food. We had not. We were feeding her organic food and kept track of the food recall updates. My husband and I were thinking about what we had been feeding her. It turns out it was chicken jerky we had bought at Costco, a treat that lists 'chicken' as it's only ingredient. We researched the web and found out that there are oodles of people out there whose dogs got ill and were diagnosed with kidney failure after feeding them the same treats.

So why did I feed my dogs these?

THEY WERE NEVER RECALLED! The FDA never recalled them even though they had hundreds of complaints. A study done by Banfield hospital also showed an association with chicken treats from China and dogs suffering kidney failure.

We took Mindy to a holistic vet who put her on kidney flushing drugs. We also monitored her glucose urine levels at home. We were taking her in every week to see the vet.

We thought she was going to make it. Unfortunately, in her last week she seemed to hit a wall. She went downhill very fast. We took her to the emergency hospital again and found there was nothing else we could do.

We had to put her down on June 11, 2008. She was only 20 months old.

We contacted the vice president of food and safety at Costco. We have not heard from them since. They have also been telling other people who have had similar situations with the treats that they were going to pay for our vet bills. And still, we have not heard from them.

We also contacted the FDA and filed a claim. They told us they are receiving more and more complaints. We are just wondering when the treats will be pulled off the shelf so other dogs and owners do not have to suffer as we did.

Anna, Tuscon, AZ

Cindy Lou
Died September 2007

Cindy was my Christmas gift from my husband and son in 2006. She was 12 weeks old. We had searched long and hard for a Chorkie, (part Yorkie and part Chihuahua) before finding Cindy and Max in Oklahoma.

She went everywhere I went, the movies, the store, the bathroom...everywhere!

The breeder we got Cindy from introduced me to the Chicken Jerky treats, and I gave them to her, thinking they were just healthy chicken. What a huge mistake!

Cindy was the greatest dog of my life. Most people told me I was crazy because they thought she was ugly. Her personality was unlike a regular dog.

I lost my 11 month-old Chorkie in Sept. 2007, after feeding her Waggin Train. Chicken Jerky Treats.

I was one of the first to file complaints to the FDA, news media, etc. It so consumed my life that I had to stop before it killed me too. But the pain has never stopped. I still miss my little Cindy Lou every day.

I have let the tears flow again while I have relived the last days of her short life.

This picture was taken at the lake just before she became too ill. She had already been to the vet once with symptoms from the treats and had started losing weight. Cindy would have been two years old on Sept 18th.

My son's girlfriend has her brother Max, and it is a joy for me to see him thriving so well. He did get the treats a couple of times when he came to the house to play with Cindy, It made him sick every time. He would go home and throw up and have diarrhea, but we never put it together until after Cindy died. I also had tests run on my other two dogs, Rylie, an Aussie mix 8 yrs old and Louie, a Min Pin 13 yrs old. They got the treats occasionally. Both had elevated kidney readings, and Louie was having regular seizures. The seizures stopped immediately after we stopped feeding the treats. Both of those dogs recovered.

Annette

Nikita
Sickened August 2008

Nikita's photo was in early spring. She has lost 10 pounds since then due to the illness.

My Siberian Husky had fallen ill on August 25, 2008 after eating the Waggin Train chicken jerky treats sold at Costco. I threw the bag out in disgust when I saw that it was made in China.

This began with diarrhea and anorexia. She is drinking a lot of water. The vet diagnosed liver dysfunction and pancreatitis. The X-ray showed her liver and pancreas enlarged. Her temperature is 105. She is too weak to urinate, and hasn't eaten for a week. She is on antibiotics and other medicines. She had convulsions one night. We had to pack her in ice blocks. It was frightening.

On the web, I found that other dog owners were having these problems with the jerky treats. But I can't prove that it was only the treats because she had eaten part of a bird.

Now in October, Nikita is doing great compared to where we were in August. I cook for her, and buy her treats at a dog bakery. She is not getting her usual winter coat yet, but that may be due to the stress she had. She can climb stairs now, but she sleeps a lot. She will be 14 on December 6. I am telling everyone with a dog not to feed these jerky treats.

Thanks, Trish

Bella
Died January 2008

My one-year-old Yorkie was put down in January 2008 from kidney failure. We had been giving her those chicken strips for about two months. She loved them. Now we see how the pieces of the puzzle fit.

Bella was the most perfect puppy in terms of temperament that I have ever seen. I could go on all day as to her virtues but it suffices to say, she brought so much pure joy into my life and into Hill's life.

I was in Guatemala for 3 weeks when Hill (my best friend) stayed at my house to babysit Bella, my Cavaliers—Louie, Annie, Brandy, and Buddy—and my Pomeranian-Rat Terrier mix, Leila.

At that time he discovered the lethal treats that made the dogs so happy. We gave them these treats because all the dogs absolutely loved them!

After less than 3 months of getting these treats, Bella was dead.

The other dogs never had the symptoms Bella had, probably because they were older and larger. If we had continued the treats, I feel they would have all died.

My previous Yorkie lived to be seventeen years old. Bella died two days short of her first birthday. This caused total emotional devastation for me, and for Hill, who loved her as much as I did.

Pumpernickel, New Jersey
Sickened February 2008

In February, 2008, our dog, Pumpernickel, a 10-year-old dachshund, had eaten (over a two-week period) almost an entire bag of Smokehouse Chicken Breast Tenders treats. Pumpy usually got a snack a day (or sometimes two).

We had been giving our dog a variety of snacks. It took us awhile to figure out that it was the one-time purchase of the Smokehouse Chicken Breast Tenders treats causing the symptoms. We usually gave him Merrick treats as snacks, and hadn't had any problems, so we didn't realize it could be the new treats causing problems, until I read about pet food and recalls on the Internet.

His first symptoms were in March 2008. We realized that it was this product making our little guy sick. He is alive, but continues to have problems. At our vet's suggestion, I have kept a log of his symptoms and and the countless expensive tests that we did to try to figure out what is wrong.

Recently, we brought him to the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The diagnosis included: tentative inflammatory bowel disease, confirmed intermittent large bowel diarrhea/hematochezia, vomiting, and decreased appetite. He continues to have loss of appetitite, bloody diarrhea, lethargy, bloody vomiting, loud gurgling noises in the stomach, and excessive drinking.

Under their guidance, we are doing a food and medicine trial. He can have applesauce or Old Mother Hubbard treats. He will be evaluated. He may need an endoscopy and colonscopy with biopsies. We thought he had improved, but he had a relapse recently.

We are watching him suffer. I pray this treatment works. We wonder if the treats caused permanent damage to his intestinal tract.