The Quahog
Forums Enthusiast
New Recall, Same brand, different plant...
- Thread starter marymrumfelt
- Start date
marymrumfelt
Forums Enthusiast
Well, to be fair, I don't Michelle would agree with this. Hysteria... but she had three sick dogs and a sick husband?
I disagree. Considering two people have discussed their dog, or dogs they know, dying from company errors, I think people have a reason to err on the side of caution.
The Quahog
Forums Enthusiast
As all here I certainly have the deepest sympathies for anyone whose dogs, (or family members) are suffering, and wish them well with every thought.
However, looking at the subject with scientific objectivity, it is hard to explain the strange dichotomy that members on some Forums have a (hugely) inordinate number of pets suffering grievously from such common, benign pet care as standard flea products, getting two vaccinations at once, or eating commercial kibble.
My 4000 or so canine patients seem to handle these sorts of things just fine. And that is not because I fail to look for them - these days seriously affected animals are generally referred to specialists, who are quite good at making such connections.
So, yes, I can not help but think that the constant threads of fear-mongering here cause people to make unwarranted connections, which are at least part of that enigma. -Dr. Mac
However, looking at the subject with scientific objectivity, it is hard to explain the strange dichotomy that members on some Forums have a (hugely) inordinate number of pets suffering grievously from such common, benign pet care as standard flea products, getting two vaccinations at once, or eating commercial kibble.
My 4000 or so canine patients seem to handle these sorts of things just fine. And that is not because I fail to look for them - these days seriously affected animals are generally referred to specialists, who are quite good at making such connections.
So, yes, I can not help but think that the constant threads of fear-mongering here cause people to make unwarranted connections, which are at least part of that enigma. -Dr. Mac
Thank you Mary!
First off lets get one thing out in the open,the 3rd dog sick was Jasper. I was actually on the phone with BarbV on the very day he was sick.
During our conversation,he was so pathetically sick. The vomit would just roll out of his mouth. I think in total he had puked like 7x.
Even while he walked to me,it was rolling out of his mouth. So I had one sick dog. She had asked all kinds of questions. But nothing made sense to us,the only conclusion we had is that is was the food.
Nothing changed in Jasper's routine,other than a new bag of food. He had just returned from Greta's from a 8 day stay,eating TOTW the whole time,But it was a bag bought prior to us taking him there.
Both Earnhardt & him ate from the same bag,and they were pictures of healthy dogs the whole stay.
We get home,and go buy a new bag on a Thursday,and by weekend I have not one...but 3 sick dogs. Earnhardt was horribly ill,Jasper was next. Mia had cannon butt,but no vomiting.
Trapp was recovering from an illness as well. And his diagnosis was "bacterial infection"
It was not "hysteria" on my part. Those of you that know me,I don't panic over to aweful much.Been raising dogs many years. But what bothers me is this....I don't like being refered to as one that goes nutty,hysterical over internet writings or facts.
Actually hated the thought that it could possibly be the food we TRUSTED for almost 3 years,but in the end it was the food.
Now if the shoes were on the other foot,and it was your dogs, you would be thinking differantly..expecially if 2 & 2 = 4.
My evidance was plain and hit me in the face,when I looked at thier activities for the prior week,nothing added up but a new bag of food.
As for Brian,he feeds the dogs pretty much here 98% of the time. A bag with salmonella,and not washing hands afterwards,is only a recipe for contamination.
I appreciate the information I get from this forum,I use it wisely,but I don't go bonkers over alot,unless it pertains to me.
In this case...it did. And I fixed the problem. Albeit nearly 400.00 later in vet bills,meds just for 2 dogs,and a doctor visit for Brian for his sickness....
My trust in this company is nill at the moment.
With no disrespect..
Barb is a pet store owner,that sells these brands. So her thoughts & hypothsis is looking at a retail point of view. Ex..how this affects her overall daily sales,and what money is put into the registers.
I'm sure I may get bopped on the head for this one,but truth is truth. It is her job to think & re-think how something like this will affect her overall buisness.
But if it were her dogs,and she was not a pet store owner,I do think we would be reading about her dogs if they were affected.
If there is one member here on this forum,that has pondered over,read annalysis,changed dog foods becuase it affects her dogs,it is Barb.
She feeds what she feels is best for her dogs. And it is not a Diamond product.
My guess if it was...and she had sick dogs~ she would have switched asap.
I say what I feel is truth,it is what it is. This affects not only her as an owner but thousands of pet store owners...
I do know one thing,it has greatly affected what is on the shleves at our Tractor Supply. It looks as if 90% of what they sold came out of this Gaston SC plant,and that includes thier brand - 4 Health.
marymrumfelt
Forums Enthusiast
I guess we will have to agree to disagree on the hysteria part. Unless you've been personally affected by an instance such as bad food, bad reaction to flea/vaccines, maybe you won't really be able to relate. It's much easier to lump someone into the hysteria category when you've never had any dealings with it. . I do think it's somewhat offensive to say people are being acting hysteric, when someone out there has two dead cats... or someone's loved one is in the hospital. It's selfish to say well 4,000 animals weren't affected, three were, so no biggie. How many is enough to become hysteric? Cause in my opinion, one is! I don't care if 4,000000 are fine if even one is sick due to their company breaking the rules, that's too many.
In the end, hysteria or not, Diamond clearly is lying about testing their food and have cross contamination issues and use ingredients they claim not to... People will take that into account and make up their own mind.... I highly doubt the 20 or so people who talk on this forum really are creating all the "hype."
I think Dr. Shelli (spelling?!) said it best in that there are a few things we are solely in control of when it comes to our pets. So why risk it when there are many other brands out there who have good reputations?
In the end, hysteria or not, Diamond clearly is lying about testing their food and have cross contamination issues and use ingredients they claim not to... People will take that into account and make up their own mind.... I highly doubt the 20 or so people who talk on this forum really are creating all the "hype."
I think Dr. Shelli (spelling?!) said it best in that there are a few things we are solely in control of when it comes to our pets. So why risk it when there are many other brands out there who have good reputations?
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Danny's mommy
Forums Enthusiast
I got my notifications about the dog food recall from dog food advisor not sheltie nation and I don't think they were being hysterical. Just stating facts. The facts in and of themselves were alarming. Of course those feeding their pets any of these foods will be more emotionally involved but they are responding to facts not assumptions or experiencing firsthand their dog/dogs getting sick. I think there may be more dogs sick but haven't been taken to the vet. This I am assuming though. Personally, I won't be buying a Diamond produced dog food again.
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
You might consider that in your customer relations, Barb. The retailer is not exempt from blame when selling foods that are tainted, IMO.
That's it for my soapbox today!
Ann....I want to state most emphatically, that as a retailer we took this MOST seriously! We offered to take back food even without a receipt - they could have bought it anywhere....I lost thousands of dollars in profit over this period.
So please don't lecture me about customer relations. That's unfair.
And I also want to state that I'm looking at this as more than a pet store owner. I've been all over the internet and all over my head office trying to get an accurate handle on this recall and what really happened. I want to understand it so that I understand more about the pet manufacturing process and how it COULD affect my dogs and yes, my customer's dogs and cats.
And yes, if I was feeding my dogs this food, of course, I would be concerned. But frankly, I'm concerned about ANY recall, simply because it could be MY brand that is next.
I know that some on the forum are saying that Diamond was delinquent in announcing the recall. Frankly, I don't that it's true, but I would have to go back and analyze the timelines. If your pet food supplier was slow in informing you that's not Diamond's fault. For my store, as soon as we had word, we were pulling product.
I don't know what venues besides the internet Diamond used to advertise the recall. If they relied solely on the internet and retailers, then I would definitely criticize them for that, as many pet owners are not active on pet websites and only go to their pet store once per month, so may not have been aware.
I will be asking for some definitive numbers on the reported illnesses from this recall to see how they jive to the numbers reported here. If I hear anything different, then I'll let you know.
And one added thought.....there are reported cases of salmonella all the time - whether related to dog food or people food. It's awfully easy to take a case of salmonella in a person and blame it on the dog food. I mean, how can you really know for sure where it came from? I'm not saying that it didn't come from Diamond, but perhaps there were other factors to be considered.
Otherwise, I've really got nothing more to say on this subject. I don't like the fact that my opinions on the subject are being discounted because I'm "in the business", so I'm just going to bow out of the discussion unless I get any earth-shattering news.
Thanks forum!
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