Wal-Mart pulled 2nd Dog Treat 27 days ago - STILL no announcement

From the Washington Post, we find out that Wal-Mart quietly recalled two brands of dog treats, not just one as posted here last week. (Thanks Therese at petsitusa.com for the heads up)

LITTLE ROCK -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. quietly stopped selling two brands of dog treats in July, after customers voiced concerns that the Chinese products may have caused their pets to fall ill, but no recall has been announced, a company spokeswoman confirmed.

The world's largest retailer started pulling Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading on July 26, spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said late Monday.

Okay, let's count, shall we? 27 days since then that people who bought this product have continued to feed it to their dogs at home. How many sick dogs does that translate to? How many other dead dogs? WHY WHY WHY has this not been announced? 27 days! 27 days in which dogs could have gone to the vet, and received treatment if necessary. 27 days!

And even when the story broke last week, we only knew of the Shanghai Bestro brand, not the Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co brand. (Gee, wonder where these were made?)

Wal-Mart also placed a computerized block on all cash registers to prevent workers from selling the products, Galberth said.

Right, we saw how well this worked during the initial recall back in March, April, May, etc. (If you're new - it didn't work at all. And an FDA investigation into Wal-Mart found numerous stores still selling recalled products months after the recall began.)

"When we took it off shelves at the end of July, we pulled it based on the customer feedback so we could do testing prior to announcing anything publicly," Galberth said. "That's why did not make a public announcement _ it was still going through the testing process."

Unbelievable. And inexcusable. Listen up people - this shows - yet again - their lack of concern for you and your pets. What you do with your money is your concern, but I will never spend a penny in that store, ever.

Wal-Mart's action follows a massive pet food recall in March, when retailers began pulling products made in China that included the chemical melamine _ a contaminant that's a byproduct of several pesticides.

Galberth said she did not know what the specific customer complaints were about the dog treats, nor when the testing would be complete.

Uh huh. Wal-mart offers the woman whose dog died $2,000 for her loss, but yet claims not to know what the complaints were.

Galberth said she did not immediately know if the treats were sold at every Wal-Mart store.

"We are diligently testing this product," she said.

At which lab? How long does it take to get results? I doubt it takes 27 days.

Philadelphia television station WPVI reported last week that a woman claimed her 2-year-old Chihuahua died after eating Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips. The station reported that an autopsy found the dog died of an infection caused by toxic bacteria.

Yeah, I'm pissed. This just infuriates me. It's unbelievable, inexcusable, and it just boggles my mind. And of course it breaks my heart. And it keeps happening. Over and over these companies show their total lack of regard for us and for our pets. Over and over. Yet we still give them the benefit of the doubt. Why? It's time to take that away. Don't trust them. Don't believe them. Don't put your pet's lives in their hands. They don't deserve your trust. Not anymore.

To see the original post/story, click here

Added 4:31pm MT: I just read through some messages on the epinions.com message board. There are multiple reports of problems from 2006 through today.

And Pingyang had other dog treats refused by the FDA back in JUNE due to salmonella, see here .

And they also had numerous products refused in September 2006 due to Salmonella. See the FDA report here

USA Today is now working on this story, see HERE.

Tainted Treats from Walmart Suspected in Dog's Death - NOT Recalled , FDA Unaware

I've got a lot of posts started but not finished, this one can't wait. My heartfelt apologies for not posting much lately - reading thousands of your stories of sick and dying pets finally got to me, and I had to take an unplanned break. Now I'm right back into it, and with this article we see again that it's like it never happened, and it's like nothing has changed.

Thanks to ABC Action News out of Philadelphia for this... as always, the emphasis is mine. The product involved is Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips.

August 15, 2007 - A Delaware County woman says her dog died after eating dog treats made in China.

Wal-Mart has quietly pulled a made in China dog treat from its shelves. However, there has been no public announcement, and there's no telling how many contaminated bags of treats may still be out there.

Kate Collins of Aston still finds it hard to talk about. She loves her Chihuahuas. She has two now, but her youngest is gone. Two-year-old Bella died suddenly last month after eating Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips.

Bella was dead within a week. The other dogs didn't get the same treats and they're fine.

The animal hospital did an autopsy and found that Bella died of an infection caused by toxic bacteria.

Kate bought the treats at the Wal-Mart store in Boothwyn. She said it took her days to find a manager willing to talk to her.

Wal-Mart would not say how many complaints it has gotten, but an Internet search shows similar incidents across the country.

The company has issued a statement saying it cares about people and their pets, and ordered the treats removed from the shelves of all stores. Wal-Mart has since offered to reimburse Collins for up to $2,000, which, she said, doesn't come close to covering her loss. She also said it's not about the money. She just wants to get the word out.

The Food and Drug Administration is apparently unaware of this latest problem with pet food from China. A recall has not been issued. They failed to respond to our inquiries. Wal-Mart said if you have the Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips at home, you can return them for a full refund.

More on this, and other things, soon. Very soon.