Comments on: Chicago Woman Sues Over Pet Food Recall

Cat Owner Seeks Class Action Lawsuit Claiming Company Delayed Recall

[cwalkowicz]

I think it's wonderful that we've been able to get such intricate detail on who all the responsible parties are and exactly who and what is being accurately reported. I have a business degree, so I get it. I also get that you have ALL that information on the manufacturers and we still cannot get any medical test results or helpful information on how to treat our pets. The last thing I am thinking about right now is exactly who to blame. I just want my cat to live and that seems like a reasonable request. If the information all the manufacturers is available, why aren't the test results? I did get through to P&G main headquarters and they took my name and phone number, but they are swamped. Does this mean that there is nothing else we can do but wait until our pets die?? I guess it is because they only know that the food is toxic. Perhaps they should make a bigger effort to inform the public given how many people own and love their pets

[susanhelit]

I'm sorry for everyone affected by this - but there's a few falsehoods that are disturbing me, so I'd just like to address those quickly. And - no, I don't work for any of the affected companies, nor does anyone I know at all.

However - just because Iams is affected by this tainted ingredient, and uses a manufacturer also used by cheap food vendors, doesn't mean that Iams food is the same as the cheap stuff. From the sound of it, Menu is a manufacturer - the food company gives the recipe, Menu assembles it - they aren't all the same. And Menu tried a new supplier, who gave them the contaminated stuff. So, that supplier is also one of the villians. Menu is too, for not recalling the food far quicker, letting people know as soon as they did so our pets could get quicker help.

It hurts to lose a pet, or to even think of losing them, of them being hurt. But let's make sure we go after the real villians in this, not lash out at whoever is easiest.

[cwalkowicz]

To anyone with information: The Lawyer's name is great, but I am still trying to save my cat's life and cannot get ANY information anywhere. Not from P&G, Iams, not from Menu. Is there ANYTHING that can be done???? As for proof -- nobody worry. I ordered my Iams Select Bites off the interet I have three cases of it SERIAL NUMBERS MATCHING to the number with the UPS delivery printout, receipt and everything. My vet is registering the case with Iams today. He is appalled by all the claims Iams makes about being the top quality food only to find that they manufacture along with every cheap brand in North America. He cannot even get through to Iams. He thinks there is a good chance it is more than just the ingredients in the food. More like someone at a manufacturing plant washed out a Vat with some sort of toxic chemical and did not sterilze it afterward. The effects of the food are so catastrophic.

AGAIN, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT LAB TESTED THE FOOD??? Can we get any test results that will help with toxicology?

[sugarmice-2009]

to a1phadog please have your family post your obituary on the internet so we can all laugh because - you are just a human and there are over a million of them around... so who cares..
get a life... obviously you have never AND should NEVER own a pet.... and you are not an alphadog... because alphas take care of their group ... you are just another sorry idiot who tries to think but hasn't a brain to do so...

[kpbkpb]

These pets become our family--have a place in our lives. How dare the company know there is a problem and sit on information! Would that happen to humans? Wait a little while; that's how corporate America will react next. Human life will be looked upon no differently than an animal. All they see is the all mighty dollar.

[eltink]

CLASS ACTION SUIT: I just talked to the attorney in New York and he is most interested in pursuing a class action lawsuit against Menu Foods. He gave the okay to post his name and e-mail address. I would ask that ONLY those whose animals' illnesses/deaths REALLY are most likely attributable to the recalled foods (and have some sort of documentation to make that connection -- be it veterinarians' statements, lab work, left-over packages of the food with the correct "identifiers") contact him. His name is Alan Sash; e-mail [e-mail]. Obviously, he will be inundated with e-mails; I would suggest you include your name, address, and telephone numbers and a SHORT synopsis of what happened to you. Also, he told me that there will be a segment on ABC News tonight regarding the whole issue. Again, PLEASE only contact him if you really believe you have a case against Menu Foods.

[nothappyatall]

PETA has given tens of thousands of dollars to convicted arsonists and other violent criminals. This includes a 2001 donation of $1,500 to the North American Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an FBI-certified %u201Cdomestic terrorist%u201D group responsible for dozens of firebombs and death threats. During the 1990s, PETA paid $70,200 to an Animal Liberation Front (ALF) activist convicted of burning down a Michigan State University research laboratory. In his sentencing recommendation, a federal prosecutor implicated PETA president Ingrid Newkirk in that crime. And PETA vegetarian campaign coordinator Bruce Friedrich told an animal rights convention in 2001 that %u201Cblowing stuff up and smashing windows%u201D is %u201Ca great way to bring about animal liberation.%u201D

[a1phadog]

I'm sorry for the loss of any pet, but its a stupid cat (or in one case dog). I could understand if you were 10 but my goodness try not to worry about mere possessions.

[nothappyatall]

Better dead than fed, PETA says
But last week, two PETA employees were charged with 31 felony counts of animal ... The arrest followed a rash of unwelcome discoveries of dead animals ...
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/06/23/EDG11DC9BK1.DTL

More expose on this radical group AND those arrests, be sure to read ALL the links there, it's an eye opener;

www.petakillsanimals.com/Trial_Day1.cfm

And if you want to read about the groups ANTI pet ownership stance- you donate money to these clowns and you are helping them eliminate your pet ownership rights;

"PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk has described her group%u2019s overall goal as %u201Ctotal animal liberation.%u201D This means no meat, no milk, no zoos, no circuses, no wool, no leather, no hunting, no fishing, AND NO PETS (not even seeing-eye dogs). PETA is also against all medical research that requires the use of animals."

[nothappyatall]

Oh YEAH catjunction, we all TRUST PeTA these days, those radical nuts, the ones who support convicted terrorists like Rod Coronado who was convicted of ARSON for burning down animal related facilities- PeTA paid his legal bills and bail out of the very same monies YOU donated for animals LOL.
Better do a little research on this group, here's a start;

Press Release | PETA Employees Face 31 Felony Animal-Cruelty
When Ahoskie police arrested PETA employees Andrew Cook and Adria Hinkle last night, they found 18 dead dogs in a nearby shopping-center dumpster (including ...
www.consumerfreedom.com/pressRelease_detail.cfm/release/109

Additionally, the PETA employees promised an Ahoskie veterinarian they would ... Police staking out the dumpster arrested Cook and Hinkle when 18 animals ...
www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/dec05/051201e.asp

[nothappyatall]

"Just like making non-toxic pet food is what Menu Foods was supposed to do. And yes, it will undoubtedly put the company out of business."

No, their company liability INSURANCE as well as the way corporations are set up shielding individual employees from personal liability will cover the suits.

Or they can just go bankrupt on paper, "sell out" to a dummy corporation, rename and start anew.

Being this is a Canadian company there may be some issues with trying to sue and actually collect from a company that is not within the US borders.

[lovemydogs2]

i have grown up with the best dog breeder, and lover of all animals. my 83yr mum has always taught me to NEVER BUY PET FOOD IN STORES, and we have always cooked our own dog food. this certainly is the safest way to protect our animals from these very 'suspect" companies who claim to have nutritious and safe pet food.
i suggest to all pet owners, stop buying all pet food from stores, go to your vet for advice on safe alternatives, or cook your own pet food.
the best way to send a message to ALL BRANDS AND COMPANIES THAT MAKE PET FOOD IS STOP SUPPORTING THEIR INDUSTRY, BAN THEIR PRODUCTS ALL TOGETHER.
THAT IS THE ONE AND ONLY WAY TO SEND THEM A CLEAR MESSAGE. IF EVERYONE DID THIS, BELIEVE YOU ME, THEY WOULD SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE.

good luck to all, and love your pets
Leslie

[eltink]

They may BE scum; however, they are doing what they do to make money. And they're not killing anyone in the process (usually). Again, just like the pet food company SHOULD have been doing what IT was supposed to do for money. The point is, ANYONE can make a mistake, even one that kills. But to cover up that mistake for nearly a month is inexcusable. And why did they do THAT? FOR THE MONEY they'd make during that time period. And you think ATTORNEYS are scum????

[galaxiana]

I am absolutely INCREDULOUS that 9 of their own cats died from eating this tainted food, TWO WEEKS before they even made an announcement!

For those unfamiliar with "usability testing," and "Quality Assurance" (QA), companies do these things BEFORE shipping the product, because shipping and marketing expenses are often higher than the cost of making the product itself.

This company could have stopped most, if not all of the customers' pets' illnesses and deaths if they'd IMMEDIATELY put a stop to the tainted shipments. It's likely that at the point their own cats died, they could pinpoint EXACTLY which batches were tainted, and have saved themselves a "total recall" expense as well as everything that is following.

This company and its executives deserve everything they get in this case. I hope lots of their heads roll, competitors step into their (seemingly practically monopolized) space, and most of all I hope that the lawyers for the affected pet owners eat this company alive!

I'll be checking for those PETA images someone else mentioned, too. A company that makes its livelihood from PET FOOD, of all things, should have the utmost respect for animals they use in "usability" testing!

[yoopermom]

If this was her "kids" first vet visit in nine years, doesn't sound like she was a responsible parent.

[rohink-2009]

As for the "$2.50" the plaintiffs may or may not get, and making the "lawyers rich" ... it's not about the money. It's punitive. If a law firm makes millions, good for them. It's what they do.

If it's not "about the money" why do the lawyers take the money over and over again? They prey on peoples grief. They are scum.

[eltink]

I have contacted an attorney in New York; I'm in California; if I find out he has started or will start a class action suit on behalf of the pet owners whose cats/dogs have died and/or suffered kidney failure or damage due to this, I will let you all know ... and I'm certain the news media will also be alerted, so everyone affected can join. As for the "$2.50" the plaintiffs may or may not get, and making the "lawyers rich" ... it's not about the money. It's punitive. If a law firm makes millions, good for them. It's what they do. Just like making non-toxic pet food is what Menu Foods was supposed to do. And yes, it will undoubtedly put the company out of business. GOOD. We'll be sending a message that you don't MESS with our kids, our pets, or our friends' lives, or you WILL pay. Perhaps the next huge corporation churning out pet food will be a little more cautious, and a little more forthcoming with information the consumer SHOULD have had almost a full MONTH earlier!

[420greg]

The reason for the delay in the announcement was purely financial. I am sure it was the private brands that did not want the fact to come out that the food they sell for 3.95 is the same food wal-mart sells for 87 cents. The private labels were more than happy to let these pets die, then to let their little secret out.

[420greg]

The reason for the delay in the announcement was purely financial. I am sure it was the private brands that did not want the fact to come out that they food they sell for 3.95 is the same food wal-mart sells for 87 cents. The private labels were more than happy to let these pets die then to let their little secret out.

[maxium6]

I matters not, what the company loses. They shall expect the consumer to foot the bill. Stick with dry food. I never have trusted anything in a pouch, and that includes people viddles. One pin hole can cause spoilage.