PLEASE READ! Warning about a dog food...

I got this off another site... I have no reason to believe that it is not legit and I figure better safe than sorry to post it.

This is a warning about someone who fed their two dogs Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice dog food and they BOTH had very serious seizures.

***my question: we feed Nutro Natural Choice large breed puppy.... do we have anything to worry about?***

PLEASE CROSSPOST

KEEP THIS IN MIND IN CASE YOU FEED YOUR DOG THIS BRAND. ANY ONE WHO HAS A DOG EXPERIENCING SUDDEN SEIZURES CONSIDER WHAT YOU ARE FEEDING THEM. AND IF YOU HEAR OF A DOG SUDDENLY HAVING THIS PROBLEM, PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO THE PERSON WITH THE DOG.
NOT LOOKING TO SMEAR THIS COMPANY, BUT I WOULD RATHER BE SAFE THAN SORRY- BESIDES, THEY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS,IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE FOOD, SO THEY CAN RECALL THE LINE AND PREVENT FURTHER DOG DEATHS!

Subject: Possible Dog food contamination...please read NUTRO!!!

I'm posting this for Sil McCall who lives in Texas. She is still to upset
to be able to post but had sent this to me as I knew her Gunner very well
and understand her pain. I thought it was important that others know and
she gave me permission to cost post.

Sill writes:

Just wanted to share some news that may prevent someone else from going
through this.

Saturday, March 25 I lost my precious boy Gunner and almost lost my
daughter's Mini Schnauzer to what we believe was commercial dog food
poisoning. That night I opened a new bag of food for the evening feeding
(Nutru Natural Choice Lamb & Rice Adult Formula). I've been feeding this
food for 3+ years with no problems until now. Within 3 hours of feeding my
dogs Gunner began to seize. Off to the emergency vet we went in a total
state of panic. The doctor saw him right away and began him on some meds.

After maxing him out on the meds over a 4 hour period he was still not
responding, he was flailing about and paddling horribly. The vet said we
were well past the point of bringing him out of it without substantial brain
damage if he didn't have a heart attack in the mean time, the seizure was
very very bad, nothing like any seizure in a dog I have ever seen before. I
had to have him put down.

We just assumed that this was an unfortunate case
of idiopathic epilepsy and we would never know why.

Then on Monday morning at 5:45 my daughter came screaming into my room
holding her Mini Schnauzer and he was in mid seizure.

Off we went once
again to the vet.

FORTUNATELY, he came around before we left the driveway.

However, he has had 5 seizures since and is going to the vet this afternoon
to be put on medication (phenabarbatol), which he will have to take the rest
of his life. The vet says that once they have a seizure they are prone to
have them again and again. I fear the worst will come soon for him if we
don't use the meds as I know the seizures are hard on his heart and other
internal organs. The downfall to the medication is liver complications. We
are in a catch 22 situation here.

On the way to the vet that Monday morning with the Schnauzer, it dawned on
me that the only common thing these 2 dogs shared was their food. Gunner is
housed in the kennels except for his playtime in the house and they have a
separate yard. My daughter's dog is kept strictly in the house and never
goes into the kennel area, where there is a separate yard and exercise area.

Gunner's body was to be picked up that afternoon from the ER Vet for
cremation but I called and asked them to hold his body for necropsy. I then
transported him to my vet to have his stomach contents sent to MSU for
analysis. When I arrived home, I started making phone calls. I called the
store where I bought the food to alert them, then I called the dog food
manufacturer.

The consumer affairs manager at Nutro took down all the information and
asked me to send him 4 cups of food, 2 cups each would then be sent to 2
independent labs for analysis. To my surprise, not an hour later I got a
phone call from the dog food company's state rep. who wanted to come by and
pick up the samples to be sent off. I said sure, come on out.

When he arrived, he said he had been instructed to take the entire bag and
all the dog food. I told him in no uncertain terms that he could ONLY have
the 4 cups I was told they needed and that he could have a cutting from the
bag to have analyzed and I would make a copy of the SKU# and lot number off
the bag for him. He had a look of bewilderment on his face. I guess he
thought I was an idiot. I may be dumb but I'm not stupid! That bag of dog
food would have been thrown in the first dumpster he came across on his way
out of here! As I dipped up the samples for him to take I reached for
Gunner's picture from the shelf and sat it on the counter for him to see and
said, "This is not about a lawsuit if that's what you are worried about,
this is about my DEAD DOG! AND the fact that if it does turn out to the dog
food, which I have no doubt that it will, I could have lost all my
babies!!!!" I told him I wanted to get to the bottom of this before this
happened to someone else's dog and that I expected all the food with the
same lot number to be pulled from the shelves or I would be outside the
store where I bought it wearing a sign, and it would not be for advertising!

I told him I would be checking the store's inventory the next morning when
they opened. I have also filed a report with AFCO per their recommendation
after speaking with them.

This past friday I was contacted by Nutro and they wanted to offer me
compensation for the vet bills to date - COMPENSATION, are you kidding me!
I told them there was not a price tag to be put on my dog OR what my
daughter's dog is going through and that this was NOT about money. I told
them not to contact me again until we had the test results in on the food OR
they would be hearing from an attorney! I aked him, are you looking for a
lawsuit or trying to prevent one? I was livid to say the least!!!! Absolute
morons!!!!! That's like asking what I would take for my left arm!

Sooo..., I have purchased a commercial grinder and have been feeding RAW for
2 1/2 weeks now. Everyone is doing great on the new diet, no complications
at all. I will never never, EVER feed commercial kibble again!!!

Have a great day and hug your babies tight! Boxer
hugs and kisses,

I also asked for the SKU# and here it is if you are interested: , 40 lb.
bag, SKU# 7910520143, the info under that reads:

"best if used by 05 May 2007"
01:22 2CR5

Sil McCall
Rockytop Boxers, Conroe, Texas
[email protected]
www.rockytopboxers.com