Category: News

Dry Dog Food Brands Recalled Due to Dangerous Levels of Vitamin D

Several brands of dry dog food are being recalled because they contain potentially toxic levels of vitamin D, according to a warning this week from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Results of tests performed by the FDA showed that the food contained as much as 70 times (!) the intended amount of vitamin D, which can kill dogs that eat it. Dogs have already been sickened after eating the food, although the FDA says its scientists are still determining whether the illnesses are connected to the dogs’ diets.

Among the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity are vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst and urination, excessive drooling and weight loss. Too much vitamin D can lead to kidney failure and death. If your dog has been eating any of the recalled brands listed below and shows these symptoms, be sure to contact your veterinarian immediately.

All of the recalled dog food was made by the same manufacturer, but it was sold nationwide under various brand names.

The following brands have been recalled as of Dec. 7. This list may grow, according to the FDA. Retailers have been asked to stop selling these products and, if possible, to notify consumers who bought them.

Ahold Delhaize:

Nature’s Promise Chicken & Brown Rice Dog Food
UPC 068826718472 – 14 lb. bag (all lot codes)
UPC 068826718471 – 28 lb. bag (all lot codes)
UPC 068826718473 – 4 lb. bag (all lot codes)

Nature’s Place Real Country Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food
UPC 72543998959 – 5 lb. bag (all lot codes)
UPC 72543998960 – 15 lb. bag (all lot codes)

Kroger:

Abound Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dog Food
UPC 11110-83556 – 4 lb. bag (all lot codes)

King Soopers:

Abound Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dog Food
UPC 11110-83556 – 4 lb. bag (all lot codes)
UPC 11110-83573 – 14 lb. bag (all lot codes)
UPC 11110-89076 – 24 lb. bag (all lot codes)

ELM Pet Foods, Inc.:

ELM Chicken and Chickpea Recipe
UPC 0-70155-22507-8 – 3 lb. bag
Lot codes:
D2 26 FEB 2019
TE1 30 APR 2019
TD1 5 SEP 2019
TD2 5 SEP 2019

UPC 0-70155-22513-9 – 28 lb. bag
Lot codes:
TB3 6 APR 2019
TA1 2 JULY 2019
TI1 2 JULY 2019

ELM K9 Naturals Chicken Recipe
UPC 0-70155-22522-9 – 40 lb. bag
Lot codes:
TB3 14 Sep 2019
TA2 22 Sep 2019
TB2 11 Oct 2019

ANF, Inc.:

ANF Lamb and Rice Dry Dog Food
UPC 9097231622 – 3 kg bag
Best by Nov 23 2019

UPC 9097203300 – 7.5 kg bag
Best by Nov 20 2019

Sunshine Mills, Inc.:

Evolve Chicken & Rice Puppy Dry Dog Food
UPC 0-73657-00862-0 – 14 lb. bag
UPC 0-73657-00863-7 – 28 lb. bag

Sportsman’s Pride Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food
UPC 0-70155-10566-0 – 40 lb. bag
UPC 0-70155-10564-0 – 40 lb. bag

Triumph Chicken & Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food
UPC 0-73657-00873-6 – 3.5 lb. bag
UPC 0-73657-00874-3 – 16 lb. bag
UPC 0-73657-00875-0 – 30 lb. bag

Lidl (Orlando brand):

Orlando Grain-Free Chicken & Chickpea Superfood Recipe Dog Food
Lidl product number 215662
Lot codes:
TI1 3 Mar 2019
TB2 21 Mar 2019
TB3 21 Mar 2019
TA2 19 Apr 2019
TB1 15 May 2019
TB2 15 May 2019

Natural Life Pet Products:

Chicken & Potato Dry Dog Food
UPC 0-12344-08175-1 – 17.5 lb. bag
Best by date range: December 4, 2019 through August 10, 2020

Nutrisca:

Chicken and Chickpea Dry Dog Food
UPC 8-84244-12495-7 – 4 lb. bag
UPC 8-84244-12795-8 – 15 lb. bag
UPC 8-84244-12895-5 – 28 lb. bag
Best by date range: February 25, 2020 through September 13, 2020

Again, if your dog has eaten any of the above products and shows the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, contact your vet right away. It will be helpful to provide your vet with your dog’s full diet history and to take a photo of the pet food label, including the lot number. Contact the company listed on the pet food package for more information or throw the products away in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access them.

You can report your dog’s illness to the FDA online via the Safety Reporting Portal or by calling your state’s FDA consumer complaint coordinator. The FDA says it’s most helpful if you can work with your veterinarian to submit your pet’s medical records as part of your report. For more information about submitting a report, see the FDA’s How to Report a Pet Food Complaint.

How to Help Pets Displaced by Wildfires Burning in California

Devastating wildfires continue to burn in Northern and Southern California, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people and their pets. Hundreds of homes have been lost, and animal shelters are overwhelmed with displaced pets. Here are some of the ways you can help them during this disaster.

Northern California

As of today, the Camp Fire — the deadliest of wildfires in California history — has burned 140,000 acres and is only 40 percent contained. At least 56 people have been killed while nearly 300 are still missing. Over 8,700 residences have been destroyed.

Butte Humane Society:


North Valley Animal Disaster Group: This organization is evacuating animals from wildfire areas and providing them with emergency shelter.

Northwest SPCA:

Caring Choices: Volunteers with this nonprofit are caring for displaced animals and providing them with medical care.

Wags & Whiskers Pet Rescue:

Southern California

The Woolsey fire has currently burned over 98,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. More than 500 structures have been destroyed while thousands are still threatened. The wildfire is 57 percent contained and expected to be fully contained by Nov. 19.

Humane Society of Ventura County:


Pasadena Humane Society:

Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation:

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Los Angeles (spcaLA):

Wags and Walks Rescue:

Dogs Without Borders:

Are any other animal shelters or rescues in these areas in need of supplies and cash? Please leave a comment below and I’ll add them. Thanks!

Photo: North Valley Animal Disaster Group/Facebook

Whatever Happened to Milwaukee Brewers Mascot Hank the Dog?

Back in February 2014, a scruffy white dog with a tire mark on his fur wandered into the Milwaukee Brewers spring training camp at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix. The team fell in love with the stray and named him Hank (after Milwaukee baseball great Hank Aaron).

As I wrote for i Love Dogs at the time, when no one came forward to claim Hank after the team posted his picture on social media and local flyers, he became the Brewers’ mascot and an internet sensation. His image was featured on team apparel, and there were Hank stuffed animals and bobbleheads. The hashtag #ballparkpup went viral.

“He could not have wandered into a better situation,” Tyler Barnes, vice president of communications for the Brewers, told TODAY.com. “He’s got a family of more than 50 players and double the number of staff who love him every bit as much as a family could.”

The following January, Hank won the top honor at the World Dog Awards.

“Hank has been working his magic over the past few months, and has touched people in ways you can’t imagine, and other dogs he has single-handedly — single pawedly? — helped find homes for,” Marti Wronski, Hank’s new dog mom and the Brewers’ vice president and general counsel, said in her acceptance speech. “We promise to keep taking good care of him so he can keep everyone smiling. Please remember to keep looking into dog rescue and adoption.”

Nearly four years later, the Milwaukee Brewers have advanced to the National League Championship Series (NLCS), which made me wonder: What’s up with Hank these days?

In 2016 there were rumors that Hank had passed on to the big ballpark in the sky and was replaced by an imposter, but the Brewers proved it was just a hoax.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this month, Hank “isn’t speaking to the press.” Barnes said the pup is excited for the NLCS, but rarely makes appearances nowadays.

However, Hank has not yet officially retired. “He makes rare appearances but he deserves to live the life of a loved pet,” Barnes told the Journal Sentinel. “The success of the team this year has kept the focus and excitement on the field.”

As a lifelong Los Angeles resident and Dodgers fan, I’ll be rooting for my home team during the NLCS. But if the Brewers win the National League title and go on to play in the World Series, I’ll be cheering them on — and hoping for a very special guest appearance by Hank the dog.

Photo: wischumane/Instagram

How the Heck Did 7 Puppies End Up on an Uninhabited Canadian Island?

It’s mystifying and also pretty horrifying to consider how in the world a litter of seven puppies ended up on an uninhabited island in Manitoba, Canada.

The 4-month-old castaways — or, as I prefer to call them, “castawoofs” — were discovered by JR Cook and Leon Colombe as they were fishing near Cook Lake. They first heard them crying late in the afternoon on July 30. It was by then too dark to explore the island, so the two men returned the next day to investigate. It’s a good thing they did.

At first they thought the crying might be coming from wolves, but they discovered it was the seven Labrador-mix puppies. There were no other adult dogs or any people in sight.

Cook and Colombe returned to the mainland and told a volunteer at Norway House Animal Rescue about the puppies. Over the next three days, as arrangements to transport the puppies off the island were being made by the rescue group, the men returned to the island to feed the puppies. The first day, the hungry puppies devoured an entire bag of food, Debra Vandekerkhove, the director of Norway House, told CBC News.

“They went back three times a day to take care of them,” Jessica Boeckler, adoption coordinator for Norway House, told CBS News. She said the rescue group gets frequent calls about abandoned and stray dogs. “We bring them in, get them properly vetted, sometimes other rescues take them in if we’re full,” she said.

The puppies are staying in a foster home until they’re ready to be adopted in a few weeks. Cook and their foster parents have named the four males and three females after characters on — you guessed it — “Gilligan’s Island,” the classic sitcom about people stranded on an island. Boeckler predicts the now-famous castawoofs will all quickly find forever homes.

In an update posted on the Norway House Animal Rescue’s Facebook page last night, their foster parents reported that all the puppies are doing well. “Skipper and Gilligan are best of friends,” they said. Well, of course they are!

Assuming the puppies didn’t somehow escape their yard and swim to the island, here’s hoping that the monster who dumped them there with no food is arrested and charged with animal cruelty. And here’s hoping that at least two of those very lucky pups are adopted by Cook and Colombe, the men who very likely saved their lives.

For information about adopting the puppies and to make a donation to help care for them and other homeless dogs, visit the Norway House Animal Rescue Facebook page.

Photo: Norway House Animal Rescue/Facebook

After 2 Dogs Die, IKEA Recalls Pet Water Dispensers Due to ‘Suffocation Hazard’

After two dogs died when they were drinking from them, IKEA announced today it is recalling 16,700 of its LURVIG Water Dispenser for Pets due to a “suffocation hazard.”

The $7.99 water dispensers were sold online and in 15 markets around the world from October 2017 to June 2018. The article number, printed on a sticker at the bottom of the bowl, is 303.775.72.

Made in China, the recalled water dispenser “has a black plastic base with two water wells. One well holds a clear plastic dome to hold and dispense water for drinking,” according to the recall notice. The dogs died when their heads became stuck inside the dome.

“We are saddened by the events that resulted in two dogs suffocating. We know that pets are important and loved family members for many of our customers,” Petra Axdorff, business area manager at IKEA of Sweden, said in a statement. “At IKEA, safety always comes first and that is why we have decided to recall the LURVIG water dispenser.”

Customers who bought the LURVIG dispensers are urged to immediately stop using them and return them to the store for a full refund, with or without the receipt, or to call IKEA Customer Service toll-free at 800-661-9807.

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