After being recommended to dog owner Laura Freeman by her veterinarian, Hill Pet Nutrition’s Prescription diet resulted in the mysterious death of her four year old dog Mocha. The Texas resident started her dog on this diet after a visit from the vet’s office only to find that Mocha soon became lethargic, began vomiting constantly, and had diarrhea. Unaware of the reason this was happening, Freeman immediately checked her dog into an animal hospital where she expected Mocha to receive treatment that would cure her sickness. However she instead received a call around 1 a.m. with the sad news that her dog had passed due to an unexpected heart attack. The symptoms were later found to be from an excessive amount of Vitamin D in the dog food. Hill Pet Nutrition has since recalled the diet however it is too little too late for Laura Freeman who is now asking for a public apology as well as $3,000 compensated for medical bills.
The significance of this news story lies in the fact that it could have happened to any one of us. Although Hill Pet Nutrition was at fault for the incident, this can serve as a wake up call to pay attention to what we are feeding our pets. This goes to show that even if it is recommended by a professional, additional research can never hurt and maybe even save the lives of our beloved pets.
This article from the Providence Journal does a great job informing the readers of the issues that caused this tragic event. However one thing it did not include that I would have liked to see is the future actions that will be taken as a result of this. While we know that the company has since recalled it’s product and are being asked to compensate for the medical bills, how will they move past this to make sure that their products are safe in the future?
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