The Chicken Jerky Treat Jerkaround
I’ve been watching this story unfold for some time now with much anger and disbelief. I have even posted the stories and news updates on my Facebook page, and on my own personal page, in hopes that by doing so dog owners would know the danger of giving their dogs these treats.
Dog Jerky Deaths With No FDA Recall Prompt Campaign Against Nestle Purina (Huffington Post, March 5, 2012)
3 big brands may be tied to chicken jerky illness in dogs, FDA records show (MSNBC, March 13, 2012)
Consumer Pleas, FDA Warnings Ignored by All Major Retailers (Truth About Pet Food, April 3, 2012)
Consumers desperate for answers clutch at straws to stop jerky treats from poisoning more dogs (Poisoned Pets, February 22, 2012)
Vets discourage use of any pet treats from China (My Fox 31 Online, mysouthwestga.com, February 16, 2012)
It frustrates me that after all the recalls back in 2007 – after so very many dogs died after eating the pet food loaded with melamine from China – that the FDA and the companies that make these chicken jerky treats would continue to allow them to be sold. Have they learned nothing from what happened in 2007? Did dog food companies not lose enough money, enough consumer loyalty, the last time this happened?
Now there is a petition that you can (and I hope will) sign to ask one of the pet food companies mentioned in the MSNBC report, Nestle Purina, to pull their chicken jerky treats. It was created by a woman who lost her dog after he ate Waggin’ Train “Wholesome” Chicken Jerky, made by Nestle Purina.
I can’t say why Nestle Purina (or the other pet food companies linked to these chicken jerky treats) won’t pull their treats, but it does make me wonder…is there something they value more than our beloved furry friends?
If you’re still not moved to sign the petition, then please watch this video. At 1:36 it features pictures of many of the dogs who died or became seriously ill after eating chicken jerky treats. I don’t like to imagine my dog’s faces featured in a video like this. Do you?
When you’re done signing the petition, please share on Facebook, Twitter or in an email. Pet owners need to know the danger that lies ahead if they give their dogs chicken jerky treats.
Welcome to the Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop. I encourage you to check out some of the other awesome pet bloggers out there. Much thanks to our most generous and interesting hosts, Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers, and Confessions of the Plume!
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No Dog About It Blog 
Hey it’s Jet here.
Mom signed petition. She has posted about this too, especially on our rescue group’s fb. We have been really careful about where our treats/food originates. Please be careful, too.
Thanks Jet! So glad your Mom is spreading the word too!
Hey it’s Jet here. Hi Miss Mel. Least we can do for such a vital issue.
Signed.
Great post, it’s good to spread the awareness!!
Thank you. Let’s hope they listen to consumers.
Can anyone tell me if these dog treats say MADE IN CHINA on them? I have some similar treats – but they dont say that – and appear to be made here in the USA by the same compeny
Jodie- it should be in small print on the package. You can also call your vet to see what they say. I’m avoiding all chicken jerky treats unless I make them myself. Kol’s Notes has some great recipes and one is how to make your own chicken jerky.
signed petition, this is a great post. My little Lokie barely lived through the first round in 2007. He was a puppy and I was feeding him puppy nutro. I had pulled him off of it about three weeks prior to them posting the recall. He had all of the symptoms and continued to suffer off and on for the next several years until about a year ago when he had a severe attack, I did more research and yes again it appeared to be the batch of food. He is doing well now, I have him on Solid Gold and he is robust and healthy. THanks for caring.
Thanks Cynthia. I am so sorry your pup and you had to go through this. A pet sitter I know went through the same thing only her dog had to intravenous fluids for the rest of it’s life. It was really sad.
Thank you for caring. Lokie, my little Pom survived the first round of the China recalls in 2007. I was feeding him the puppy nutro that was recalled until about three weeks prior to the recall as he continued to have all of the symptoms…. he was one of the lucky ones but occasionally seemed to have setbacks. The latest one was over a year ago. I researched and found a dogwood that was tested and retested often, is human grade, and he is doing so much better! Thanks for your post, keep up the great work.
If you’re looking for SAFE, Real ‘American Made’ chicken jerky for dogs or cats, we started making our own Chicken Jerky for our 3 dogs after we ran across the FDA warning of 2008 about Chinese chicken treats making dogs sick or killing them. It turned into a cottage “Mom & Pop” business and we now sell our TriPom Chews online and in 20 stores in the New England area. Our products are the only homemade, handmade, ‘Maine Made’, ‘American Made’ Chicken Jerky produced from whole, restaurant-quality chicken breasts containing NO Additives and NO Preservatives. Our 3 Pomeranians (our babies!) taste test every batch for quality.
I don’t understand this company’s reasoning either. It can’t be for the money as it’s a pretty poor marketing strategy to sell treats that everyone knows are toxic. That’s just not good business sense. Even if these are super cheap to make.
I haven’t seen these in stores before and I wonder if they even sell them in Canada. But I will definitely be on the lookout and I will make sure to spread the word. It makes me so angry that this is even legal.
I’m glad that you posted this, especially the link to the petition! I saw these treats on the shelves of my grocery store yesterday, still, and wondered why there was no recall. I’m sure there are plenty of excuses; they’re just not good enough.
I saw them on the shelves yesterday too jen. I have even warned the store manager at a Walgreens before. Still they remain on the shelf.
I signed the petition too.
That is why we make our own treats and sell them.
Our neighbors dog died due to tainted chicken treats from china (back in 2008)
It made is sick thinking, here are friends are thinking they are giving their dog a treat for being good and mean while, they were slowly (not knowing) killing him.
That is why we decided to make and sell our own treats.
You can check out our website if you want to.
It just make us sick the our Govt, STILL allows crap from China to enter our country!
Thanks Alexander. I remember reading your story of your neighbor’s dog on your website. It’s so nice to see folks like you trying to offer a choice for all of us pet owners who are worried about what we feed our pets. I know several people who bough their dog a “special” treat only to discover that the treat was the one that killed their dog or made it sick. Just awful.
I don’t understand why the FDA won’t do anything. How is MSNBC can do what they can’t?
Hi Mel,
I sometimes think the FDA is more interested in making money then regulating food. We pay special fees for each of the 4 different kinds of treats that we sell. Just imagine the companies that have ALOT more.
Its a shame thet they only care about the money instead of the food itself!
I think the FDA may have outlived it’s usefulness Alexander.
It’s ridiculous how much it takes before something is done. The only true power on behalf our dogs are educated ourselves. We’ve been making our own jerky for years now. I have to confidence in commercially produced dog treats.
Amen to that Jasmine. Education is so key when it comes to our dogs. Did you see the story of the sweet potato treats on PoisonedDogs.com? They may have had chemical waste mixed into the treats in China. Why would any US company do business there when their reputation is at stake?
No, missed that one and can’t get the url to work. Well, they do business there cause it’s cheap. It’s crazy. I have such low confidence in dog food products it’s not even funny.
Sorry. PoisonedPets.com. I have a great amount of distrust of most dog products as well.
What really disturbs me is this particular brand (Waggin Tails) is HUGE and all over the stores I shop in. Target, Tom Tumb, PetSmart, Pet Supplies Plus….and ALL of their jerky products are made in China. What gives? My girl got sick in 2009 from something made in China. We got it at Costco and thought the scare was over. I felt aweful and now read every label. I was at Costco today and was thrilled to see more dog treats proudly displaying the “Made in the USA” logo, but alas, placed right next to more jerky made in China. It wont go away until people stop buying it. Kind of like puppy mills. Ugh.
Monica – It disturbs me too. I was just at Walgreens late yesterday afternoon and the bag was still on the shelves. 😦
It seems to me the companies know they will lose money if the products are pulled from the shelves. But if the word gets around their reputation and sales will suffer anyway. Why don’t they just help prevent more dogs from getting sick and pull the products?
Ann Lawson
http://www.creativedoggytreats.com
My question exactly Ann.
This posts hits close to home for my wife and I. After the 07 scare we stopped buying certain treats and products from large retail stores. We have 7 dogs and they came in contact with some of the contaminated food, but thankfully they all recovered. It even inspired us to start making our own treats, and yesturday we launch our website to sale them to other concerned pet owners. I hope more pet owners learn about these dangerous products before anymore pets are hurt. Please keep up the great work spreading the world
Thanks for sharing your experience. I can relate. My last dog, Aspen, had issues with eating and I bought several cans of the Nutro brand that was recalled before I knew about the recall. She ate the first one, but refused to touch it after that. I didn’t know why at the time, but I suspect she sensed something was wrong with it. After that, she went downhill. Although I will never know for certain, I always wonder if I killed my dog because of that tainted dog food. No one should have to go through that.
http://www.mookiesmunchers.com …. that’s us … we use human grade organic and gluten free ingredients. We would love to share our treats with your furry friend.
Awesome! Thank you for sharing. I think a lot of people are looking for companies like yours because they are so tired of not being able to trust the big brands anymore.
Just signed the petition!
I prefer to give my dog homemade treats, I hate the big companies that are only concerned about making money. They don’t care about our pets!
Thanks Nicole!
thank you so much for posting that petition. i didn’t know about it! signed!!
Actually when someone doesn’t know after that its up to other people that
they will help, so here it takes place.