Like many people, sometimes life is too busy to make homemade treats for the dogs. I'm sure you wouldn't expect that I buy store bought treats, but sometimes I want to reward the dogs with something that I know they will enjoy even if I'm strapped for time. When I do buy homemade treats, I make sure that they are made in the U.S.A. and are primarily meat based.
A few weeks ago I ordered the Smokehouse 100 Percent Natural Munchies made of lamb lung from amazon.com. When the ordered arrived, I opened the package and we celebrated the arrival with a few chunks in the dog's kongs. The package was a full pound which volume-wise was about a gallon. There's no way that we could go through the entire package in a short time so I took out a few handfuls and put into a ziploc bag because we were going on vacation. The bulk of the treats went into an airtight container and remained sealed until last night.
When I went to amazon.com to report the problem and request a refund, what I discovered disturbed me even more. We ordered the product on October 2nd and amazon.com had already received another review of the product complaining of bugs on September 26th, also from a customer in Portland. The reviewer posted better pictures than I did and it's the same bugs. Another customer left a review last night of the same problem. Apparently the incubation period of the bugs is over.
I would have hoped that amazon.com would have pulled the product when the issue was first raised, but I also understand that they sell millions of products and I doubt that every review is read by an amazon.com staffer to notice such issues. In addition, this product is fulfilled by a company called Ozbo, so it's not completely under their control. Today I called amazon.com and asked them to check their inventory and pull the product as well as inform me of the results of their investigation. I fully expect that amazon.com will react appropriately now that they have been advised and will provide an update when I learn more. (Update, just 45 minutes after talking with an amazon.com representative: I just received an e-mail that they are asking their pet food team to investigate and the product will not be available for purchase. Thank you, amazon.)I've also written to http://www.smokehousepet.com and asked them for a recall of their product.
Our dogs have been fed these products for three weeks, and now I worry that they need to go through a round of deworming or if they will suffer any additional problems due to these bugs. Raleigh is already fighting cancer, she doesn't need another health crisis piled on top of it.
When Raleigh was diagnosed with cancer, I made a vow that our dogs would never touch commercial dry food again. I used to believe a half commercial/half homemade diet could be okay, but no longer. With this incident my faith in the oversight of commercial dog food and treats is shaken even further. It only takes me 30 minutes to put together most homemade treats, plus a little extra time for baking and heck, something as simple as a carrot doesn't need any preparation. It may not be as convenient to make homemade treat as it is pulling something from a bag, but at least I know that when I do make treats I can trust the quality.
Feed Your Best Friend Better,
Rick
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