Lawsuit Filed Against Purina Claims Food Sickens, Kills Dogs

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A dog owner has filed a lawsuit against a pet food company alleging that thousands of dogs have been sickened or died from eating the company's dry dog food.

Pet owner Frank Lucido filed the suit on Feb. 5, in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California against Nestle Purina PetCare Company.

Lucido claims he fed his three dogs Beneful, and in a month, two were sick and one was dead.

The suit alleges the food contains an animal toxin used in automobile antifreeze.

In the suit, Lucido alleges that in the past four years, 3,000 consumers have complained online about dogs becoming ill or dying after eating Beneful, having shown "consistent symptoms," including stomach and related internal bleeding, liver malfunction or failure, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, seizures and kidney failure.

Purina's website says it uses "an FDA-approved food additive" that is also in human foods. Purina issued a statement saying "there are no quality issues with Beneful."

The suit asks that Purina pay Lucido and others in the class action lawsuit unspecified damages and restitution.

In recent years, Beneful has faced two class action lawsuits that were dismissed by the courts.

However, in a lawsuit settled in May, Purina and Waggin' Train LLC agreed to create a $6.5 million fund to compensate pet owners who claimed their pets were sickened after eating China-made jerky treats.

At the time, Food and Drug Administration officials said the pet treats were linked more than 1,000 deaths in dogs and more than 4,800 complaints of animal illness. Three humans were sickened after eating the treats.

Lucidio is seeking compensation for himself and other pet owners who bought Beneful in the past four years and "incurred any out of pocket costs due to illness, injury or death of their dog resulting from the ingestion of Beneful."

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