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My 14-month Papillon, Harmony, became very ill in August 2007 with all the symptoms you described. No cause was found. I spent thousands of dollars, and was lucky enough to have her pull through.
She is finally pretty much recovered and almost gained back all her weight (four pounds).
Like you, Barbara, prior to Harmony getting sick, I gave her a half stick of PetSmart's Smoke House Chicken Jerky, nearly every day as a treat. Fortunately, I hadn't given her many since then. My pet sitter had forwarded your story to me. I have thrown out the jerky, and forwarded the message to others, including my vet.
Harmony is getting better every day--her coat, which was always thin, while she was eating the treats, is now getting thicker and fuller. Now we make all our pets' food. They eat fresh meat and vegetables every day.
It has been fun, finding new things for them to eat, and they eat with gusto. I have forwarded the story to every dog owner I know, as well as to the two vets who took care of Harmony when she was so ill.
We have looked at your website, and we hope that it will help to warn others. Harmony has had no more jerky treats, and she continues to do well. Vespa, the Papillon puppy who arrived while Harmony was recovering, has never had the treats, and has never been sick a single day. We continue to make their food, and read the labels on everything we buy. (My turkey vegetable loaf is better than any canned dog food.)
Thanks so much to Barbara for sharing her story and information. I am so sorry for her loss. I wrote this note to her on November 7, 2007. We want Barbara to know that there is good that has come from her loss.
Tricia
California
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I gave the Waggin Train Chicken Jerky sparingly, but I started to suspect that something wasn't right.
I stopped giving these when I read that it was just as I had suspected.
I had one Cavalier, a dear Champion boy of ours, who was having liver and kidney problems when I had his blood work done.
Three of our other Cavalier dogs had infections, and it was all showing up in their blood work.
I put the 3 on antibotics and put them all on Milk Thistle for the liver.
I had done bloodwork on this one boy mentioned above, just 6 months earlier. At that time he had NO problems to either kidney or liver.
I ran a 3rd blood work up in January to check his progress, and at that time it was normal.
He is now doing okay, but I am very concerned about his long-term health and the possible damage done to him that may shorten his lifespan.
He had eaten this horrible treat only a few times over a period of a few weeks.
It is horrible that we do not have better protection from overseas foods for both us and our 4-footed friends.
Jill
Tennessee
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Macy
Sickened November 2008
Macy at the time had just turned 2 years old. She is a yorkshire terrier that is about 13 pounds. I started giving her one smokehouse chicken tender treat a day. She absolutely loved them. It soon became that she wouldn't eat anything but the treats. She had vomitting, diarrhia, weight loss, not eating, etc. It happened relatively quick. The symptoms showed up about 3 weeks in a mild form before they got very severe. I took her to one vet and they didn't really look her over so well and just gave her an antibotic. She became even sicker about 2 days after that. She wouldn't move. She ended up on an IV overnight at the vet with elevated kidney levels. They that she might have something genetic, swallowed something, an infection, etc. They eventually recommended surgery because it was they said something genetically wrong or stuck in her stomach. During the surgery they recovered liver samples and noticed an inflamed stomach lining. After surgery I had to give her daily IV fluids.
Since then she only has about 20% of her kidney function. She is on a daily enzyme to help her digest food along with low blood pressure medicine. She was also on Hill KD diet which is low protien but high in fat. She had an episode this past week in which she was diagnosed with pancreatitis and a bladder infection. They said this was most likely caused by either stress or a high fat diet (KD). Since then she is now on anitibotics and her diet has now switched to Hills GD (low fat and low protein).
Macy is so special to me. She is my best friend. I cannot believe that still the problem with these treats hasnot been identified. I have spent about $7000 in special food and medical bills for her the past year and a half. I am happy for what ever time I have with her. It is a blessing. I am just so saddened that her life is greatly reduced and it has cost me a fortune.
Hopefully they figure out what is making dogs sick in this treat and educate people not to buy this. As Americans we trust that if it is sold in a store it is safe.
Heather
Chicago, IL
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Teddy was fed Kingdom Pets Chicken Jerky as a treat for a few weeks before Christmas. On Christmas Eve day he became very ill, listless, and would not eat or drink. He was seen by a veterinarian, and lab results showed kidney failure. Teddy's littermate was also taken in and had lab work done. His tests showed elevated kidney values, but not nearly as high as Teddy's. Molly was sent home on a kidney diet and close observation with an appointment for recheck lab work in one week. Meanwhile Teddy was hospitalized and received aggresive fluid therapy and medications to try and save him.
After four days his values did not change, and we were told that his kidneys would never function well again.
The whole family gathered to say good bye to this sweet, sunny, and special boy. He is greatly missed by all of us, and especially by Molly. Eight years should have been the prime of his life.
We are still following Molly closely and hoping that she will continue to hang in there. She may be on a kidney diet for life, but that's OK, as long as we can enjoy her presence.
As soon as we can get ourselves functioning better we will be going to Costco with the remaining Jerky treats, and asking why they are still on the shelves after sickening dogs. And we will be filing a complaint with the FDA. We just need a few more days before we can do anything more than grieve and care for Molly.
I have been in basenjis for about 30 years, and have had three litters of puppies. The first one was from my girl, Kiwi, a 3/4 African dog. AKC accepted a small number of dogs from Africa to help us broaden the gene pool for health issues. I have done screening and testing on my dogs to produce healthy dogs with good temperaments. I did not want to ever produce puppies with health problems. I go to the national shows and draw blood from all the dogs to help with the Genetic Fanconi DNA research, and submit tests for the dogs. Before the testing was perfected, pedigree research was the only tool.
I hope that the genetic type of this disorder will decline with the tests available.
Molly and Teddy are basenjis who come from a very healthy line. All have tested clear for genetic markers for Fanconi Syndrome. Since Teddy became ill, we have run blood and urine test on all the littermates, mother, father, and grandmother.
The grandfather died last year from cancer at age 16.
Except for Molly, who also ate some treats from China, everyone else has normal blood and urine results. So we know that any fanconi symptoms had to be acquired fanconi, caused by heavy metal poisoning. I made a color copy of the Kingdom pets chicken jerky bag showing the lot number, and will take that to Costco along with the vet records.
I work at a special veterinary practice. We have treated many individuals for tainted food, and for genetic fanconi, using the treatment protocols. I hope that Molly will be a success story for us.
Chris
Seaside, California
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My dog was diagnosed with acquired Fanconi syndrome because of sugar in her urine. It started in Feb/March 2008. Our vet had another case of Fanconi, from chicken jerky treats, in his practice--a little Chinese crested puppy who is also being maintained by subcutaneous fluids daily.
I had contacted the FDA (Mr. Dill), many months ago , and he told me that someone from the FDA would come by my house, get the rest of the jerky treats, and any empty bags I had. I didn't hear from him, so I emailed and asked when someone would come.
He said the FDA had concluded that small dogs could not handle the high amount of protein in the treats, and they they didn't think there was anything wrong with them. I emailed him a few more times, with attachments from AVMA, but he never contacted me again.
(There was no warning on the package, that small dogs should not eat
these.)
Sake's main vet, (now retired), believed that the treats must have been treated with something. He said that if the levels are below a certain per cent, the companies can use the all natural label. Also, he said he had heard of the problems with the China treats, and he would not recommend feeding them to animals.
Because of her recent tests, we are back to doing fluids every day again, until the end of the year, when we will check again. I also treat her with Azodyl, and I believe that has helped tremendously. I read about it on another Fanconi site, and her vet has been using it for her about three months now.
I had written to some internet websites with Sake's news. There were several sites dealing with the chicken breast jerky issues causing Fanconi Syndrome with dogs sent by people who were treating their dogs for this disease.
Recently I wrote that she was getting better, but she has to take the subq and other meds. With having daily injections, she is doing okay. I was hoping we could decrease them, and then stop, because the scar tissue on her back is getting harder to deal with, and I hate doing this to her. It is so sad that a 3.8 pound dog has to get stuck with a big needle every day of her life.
I hate the fact that every time I walk down the pet aisle I see those awful jerky treats, and I know that there are going to be other dogs like my Sake--if they are lucky enough to catch it in time.
Sake turned one year old on Aug 29 2008. I am so thankful that she is alive, but I wish she didn't have to get these painful shots every day.
Debbie
Florida
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Little Ava is a miniature dachshund, weighing 12.4 pounds according to her vet today. We began feeding her Mellow Mutt treats at least 6 months ago, and gradually, she began to refuse to eat anything else. I have several bags of dog food which remain untouched--she quickly seemed to get to a point where she wouldn't eat anything else but her treats. Mud Bay is an "animal health food store" in this area and I am a careful label reader. I am quite sure the labels originally said "product of U.S.A." but somewhere along the line, I guess that changed. I looked online last Monday to find homemade chicken jerky recipes and found the FDA warning. Anyway, Ava has become progressively ill, and is quivering in my arms now. Whether it is withdrawls or something else, I don't know. The vet is running tests. She is 20 months old now--will be 2 years in April. I am hoping she will be ok!
Cindy
Maple Valley, WA
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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
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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 |
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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
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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.
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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.
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