Dawn Wise's 3-year-old Shih Tzu died last week.
Wise says her veterinarian told her Daisy suffered kidney failure, likely caused by the food she was eating.
Daisy's and many other pet foods have been recalled after the company that produced the food received complaints about their foods causing kidney failure in dogs and cats.
A pet food recall was initiated recently by Menu Foods Income Fund, the leading North American private label/contract manufacturer of "wet" pet food products sold by retailers and wholesale outlets.
Menu Foods' recall includes several brands of dog and cat food it manufactured from last December to early March. The recall is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food in cans and pouches.
According to the Menu Foods Web site, www.menufoods.com, the company began a series of tests after receiving the complaints but has yet to identify any issues with its pet food products.
However, Menu Foods has discovered that timing of the production associated with these complaints coincides with the introduction of an ingredient from a new supplier. Menu Foods stopped using the ingredient shortly after receiving the complaints and production since then has used ingredients from another source.
Daisy was picky about the foods she ate, Wise said, so she was fed both Ol' Roy and Kroger's Pet Pride dog foods. Both have been recalled by Menu Foods.
Wise says she heard about the recall on the news but didn't know Daisy's food had been recalled until reading the complete list in a Lexington newspaper.
Wise took Daisy to The Animal Hospital, where she says Dr. Melinda Barber told her that Daisy had kidney problems likely caused by the food. Wise said Daisy had some ulcers in her mouth that Barber told her sometimes indicate kidney failure.
Wise said she has other dogs and cats that have eaten the same food Daisy had. Those animals, she said, haven't yet shown any symptoms of illness.
Dr. Keith Andrew of The Animal Hospital says the recall has created a lot of anxiety in local pet owners.
Andrew said The Animal Hospital staff has seen a couple of animals, including Wise's, that have eaten the recalled food and are now seeing what could be effects of the food. The office has also received dozens of calls about the recall.
According to Taylor County Animal Shelter Director John Harris, the shelter hasn't been affected by the recall. Harris said the shelter feeds its animals Alpo and dry food, which are not on the list of recalled foods.
As of Friday morning, Andrew said, what is causing the renal failure hasn't yet been determined.
"They don't know what's causing it," he said. "We don't know what do about it. It's pretty much a wait-and-see thing."
Andrew said veterinarians can perform tests to see if an animal is suffering from kidney failure. Symptoms of kidney failure, he said, include vomiting, weakness, mouth ulcers, loss of appetite, thirst and urination.
Dr. Clint Durham of Green River Veterinary Services says other symptoms could include acute weight loss and jaundice.
Durham said the number of animals affected by the food is small, but he has examined a few that have eaten the food and may be experiencing renal failure.
Durham said he's heard that wheat gluten containing toxins or rat poison containing a chemical used for cancer treatment may be causing the kidney failure. Wheat gluten, Durham said, is a source of protein. As of Friday morning, he said, the exact toxin hadn't yet been identified.
Other news reports say mold and heavy metal have already been eliminated and investigators are looking at the possibility of a pesticide or chemical having been used on the wheat in Menu Foods' dog and cat foods.
Durham said the toxin could also cause liver problems, and pets exhibiting any of the symptoms of kidney or liver failure should be taken to a veterinarian for blood and other tests.
For now, Andrew suggests that pet owners don't feed their animals any moist food until they're sure the food hasn't been recalled. He said he thinks retailers are accepting returns of the recalled food.
According to representatives from Wal-Mart's and Kroger's corporate offices, both retailers will accept returns of the recalled foods. In fact, according to the Kroger representative, the store's scanners have the ability to lock out certain UPC codes to ensure no recalled items are sold.
If pet owners notice their animals doing something out of the ordinary, Wise says to contact their vet immediately.
"You just don't always think that the strangest symptoms can be something so bad," she said.
"I don't want this to happen to someone else."
For a complete list of the pet foods recalled, see the sidebar to this story, visit Menu Food's Web site at www.menufoods.com/recall or call (866) 895-2708. More information about the recall can also be found on the American Veterinary Medical Association's Web site at www.avma.org.
Menu Foods Income Fund recently announced a precautionary recall of several brands of dog and cat food it manufactured between last December and March 6.
The recall is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food in cans and pouches. For more information, visit www.menufoods.com/recall or call (866) 895-2708.
Brands of food recalled include:
Cat Foods - America's Choice Preferred Pets, Authority, Best Choice, Companion, Compliments, Demoulas Market Basket, Eukanuba, Fine Feline Cat, Food Lion, Foodtown, Giant Companion, Hannaford, Hill Country Fare, Hy-Vee, Iams, Laura Lynn, Li'l Red, Loving Meals, Meijer's Main Choice, Nutriplan, Nutro Max Gourmet Classics, Nutro Natural Choice, Paws, Pet Pride, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority US, Save-A-Lot Special Blend, Schnucks, Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans, Sophistacat, Special Kitty Canada, Special Kitty US, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Stop & Shop Companion, Tops Companion, Wegmans, Weis Total Pet, Western Family US, White Rose and Winn Dixie.
Dog Foods - America's Choice Preferred Pets, Authority, Award, Best Choice, Big Bet, Big Red, Bloom, Cadillac, Companion, Demoulas Market Basket, Eukanuba, Food Lion, Giant Companion, Great Choice, Hannaford, Hill Country Fare, Hy-Vee, Iams, Laura Lynn, Loving Meals, Meijers Main Choice, Mighty Dog Pouch, Mixables, Nutriplan, Nutro Max, Nutro Natural Choice, Nutro Ultra, Nutro, Ol'Roy Canada, Ol'Roy U.S., Paws, Pet Essentials, Pet Pride - Good 'n Meaty, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority Canada, Priority US, Publix, Roche Brothers, Save-A-Lot Choice Morsels, Schnucks, Shep Dog, Springsfield Prize, Sprout, Stater Brothers, Stop & Shop Companion, Tops Companion, Wegmans Bruiser, Weis Total Pet, Western Family US, White Rose, Winn Dixie and Your Pet.