As Horst Von Bloes’ longtime companion, Rusty, was losing weight
and growing more lethargic daily, he had no idea he was part of the
story about to burst onto the national scene, a tale of tainted pet
food.
Morgan Hill – As Horst Von Bloes’ longtime companion, Rusty, was losing weight and growing more lethargic daily, he had no idea he was part of the story about to burst onto the national scene, a tale of tainted pet food.
Von Bloes, 70, who moved to Morgan Hill a year ago, was already feeling remorse that he had had to have Rusty euthanized March 15 when he heard the news that a slew of cat and dog foods made by Menu Foods were possibly contaminated.
“I always cooked fresh food for him, I never fed him canned, except when we traveled,” he said. “I read somewhere a long time ago that you should always feed them natural food as much as possible because you never know what’s in those cans.”
Cans and pouches of wet food manufactured by Menu Foods, which is sold under nearly 100 different brands of cat and dog food – including Iams and Nutro – were recalled March 16 following a nationwide outbreak of kidney failure in household pets that had eaten Menu Foods products.
The Food and Drug Administration has been investigating the Menu Foods products, and believes the illness may be linked to wheat gluten found in the food, although the exact reason for the kidney failure is unknown at this time. Rat poison has been mentioned as a possible contaminate, but the story is still unfolding.
Von Bloes believes Rusty ate the bad food on a trip to Idaho he and his wife took in December. They started their trip on Dec. 20, spending a couple of days on the road. On Dec. 24, concerned because Rusty was becoming increasingly lethargic and was refusing to eat, Von Bloes took him to an emergency veterinary hospital.
Rusty was kept overnight on an intravenous feeding tube, he said, and tests showed kidney and intestinal problems. Rusty was put on antibiotics, and his condition improved.
Then Von Bloes started their trip home after the beginning of the new year, and Rusty once again ate the canned food. Back home in Morgan Hill, Rusty again became lethargic and was vomiting and having diarrhea. Rusty’s regular vet in Santa Cruz ran tests and found problems with the mixed breed’s kidneys.
For the next few months, Rusty’s conditioned worsened, and he lost more than 20 pounds. Von Bloes finally had to make the decision to euthanize him.
“I know people tell me it’s not my fault, but I can’t help but feel guilty, because I gave him more,” he said. “He went everywhere with me, even to work. I bought this car (an black spacious SUV) because it was big enough for Rusty to be comfortable in.”
When he took him to the vet to be euthanized, Von Bloes said, he didn’t want Rusty to have to get out of the vehicle because he was so weak, and he was comfortable on the seat with his blanket, so the vet came out to the vehicle to euthanize him.
Morgan Hill veterinarians John Quick and Daniel Gregg said their offices have received many calls from concerned pet owners, especially when the news was first released WHEN.
Quick said his office was receiving two to three calls a day initially, while Gregg said he knew of at least 15 calls to his office, but there may have been more.
Pet owners throughout the area are concerned.
Michelle Gutierrez, a 22-year-old Hollister resident, first heard about the nationwide recall of numerous brands of dog and cat food, she said she worried for the safety of her pet, a Shih Tzu named Gypsy.
“I saw all the list of names (of dog foods) and I saw the kind I use, and I freaked out,” Gutierrez said. “She’s like my baby.”
Although Gypsy was fine, Gutierrez is one of many South County pet owners who became concerned after hearing about the recall of 60 million containers of potentially deadly pet food.
“Everybody who has a pet, I definitely would check their food to see if it’s affected so they can rest easy,” said Mel White, a Hollister veterinarian. White said he has had calls from more than a dozen patients asking about the recall.
At least one dog in Hollister has been taken to the veterinarian in the past week with kidney failure. Veterinarian Jerry Leroux said the dog had been brought in Monday showing symptoms of kidney failure. The dog’s owner had seen TV news reports about the recalled pet foods and realized her dog could have been affected.
“It was acute renal failure,” Leroux said. “The owner did know the food she was feeding it was on the list. There’s no way to prove it (was the food), but it just might be.”
The dog is safe now and back home with its owners.
Gregg said that kidney failure is commonly associated with aging in dogs and cats, particularly cats.
“Moldy wheat in the food could cause both liver and kidney disease,” he added, saying that rat poison would not likely cause kidney problems. “This is a concerning situation. It sounds like they got something in the food.”
Von Bloes said he has been contacted by a woman in San Diego whose dog also died, apparently from the corrupted food.
“She wanted to talk about a class action lawsuit, but I told her I wasn’t sure,” he said. “I’ve spent between $3,500-3,600 on vet bills, but I don’t think that’s what I’m interested in. I would rather have some sort of thing to prevent this happening in the future.”
What he’d like to see happen, he said, is to for the FDA or other agency to impose stricter controls on pet food manufacturers similar to those in place for manufacturers of food for human consumption.
“I have always heard that the controls are not as stringent, and I’d like to see that change so this doesn’t happen,” he said.
RECALLED PET FOOD
- See complete list of recalled pet food products at the Menu Foods Web site:
www.menufoods.com/recall
or call (866) 463-6738 or (866) 895-2708
