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It's sad that there have been so many problems with dog/pet food safety. We order or dog food from Nature's Select and have it delivered (Paul's Pet Food) to avoid those problems. Nothing is full proof, but we feel safer using this product.
I would be interested to know if others use this brand or are familiar with it? If you are, I would love to know what you think about the food and other products. They have distributers all over the country.
I'm pretty upset about the Petco thing. I live out in the boonies. Petco is the only place I can get my dog's allergy food, and my state is one of those that gets it from the distribution center raided by the FDA. It's a 93 mile round trip drive to Petco. It's near my dog's vet, so it's convenient when we go to the vet, but I had to make that drive last week just to return the unopened bag I had left here. Cost me about half of what the food cost, just in gas to return this. Then I had to find the food online, and the "handling" charges added to shipping were a bit outrageous. I expect to pay shipping and a couple of bucks "handling", but some of these online companies charge up to $10 just for handling on top of the shipping. Between the gas to return the first bag and the handling charges, I could have bought another bag of food.
When I returned it, the cashier couldn't understand why I would want to return it. She hardly knew anything about the problem. She said she had "heard" about "something" at the distribution center, but didn't know any details.
What I don't understand is, if the FDA is saying that the unsanitary conditions can affect the quality of the food in the bag, why are the stores still allowed to sell their current stock? This Petco hadn't pulled any foods off the shelves. If they seized what was in the distribution center, they should have seized what's on the shelves too, as it came from the same place and would have the same problems.
I buy expensive premium food for my dog. I do a lot of research on pet foods before I decide on a brand. It makes me so mad that no matter how well we research foods, things like this still happen, and it's pure carelessness on Petco's end. They knew there was a problem a long time ago, but they couldn't be bothered with fixing it.
I've tried making home cooked food for my dog, but he can't even handle the blandest home cooked diet. It goes right through him. The vet and I tried home cooked for several months with different foods to see if there was anything he could tolerate, and none of the human foods in pure form agreed with him. Raw didn't agree with him either. He does better on dry kibble than anything else. Kibble digests slower than the pure form of the foods, and that seems to have something to do with it. Strange.
I would think that IF the bags were Unopened they would be fine...except for washing off the outside of the bag. Mice & Rats most likely got into a spilled bag. They carry the Lepto Virus which is Highly contagous and Deatly to both dogs & Humans Its in their pee. This article does not give much information. If you buy form Petco why not call the co that makes the food & see where else it is sold in your area. Or have them ship Directly to you. Most likely with cutting out the middleman you would save money. By not having to do all that driving you would save even more.
I would think that IF the bags were Unopened they would be fine...except for washing off the outside of the bag.
I called the FDA and they said that the quality inside the unopened bags can be affected too, because the bags are permeable packages. So I'm not taking any chances.
What also makes me mad is the extra work this would create if I followed the FDA suggestions that you're supposed to wash everything the bags touched. The bags have been all over the house, because I'm painting and moving stuff around, so I'd have to shampoo the whole carpet. They were on the seat of the car, so I'd have to shampoo the upholstry in the car. I had a bag of potatoes sitting next to them, not much I can do about that since the potatoes are long eaten. The cans were put in the pantry next to bags of treats and human foods, which would mean having to clean everything the cans touched. I'm not going to go through all that, as I've had several bags here before this latest one, so we've already been exposed to whatever may have been brought in on the bags, so it's too late to do much about it.
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why not call the co that makes the food & see where else it is sold in your area. Or have them ship Directly to you.
Already did that, which is how I found out that there is nowhere else I can get it. There are a few stores in the same area as Petco that carry the brand, but not the same formula. The company that makes it won't ship directly either. They said I had to order it from one of their online vendors. I figured out the total cost for each online store that carries it, and it still turns out cheaper to buy gas to drive the 93 miles to get it at Petco, than ordering it online, and much more convenient if I buy it when my dog has his appointments near there. But until that Petco distributor cleans up its act, I'll have to keep ordering it online. I sure wish Petsmart would carry these better brands of food. Petsmart is only about 40 miles round trip, and I'm in that area often.
Well thats a bummer! Wish I had another idea ..but I dont. sigh
Thanks anyway.
I would think Petco shouldn't take too long to fix the problem. They're too big of an organization to let something they can control like this ruin them. I'm just going to wait at least a couple of months for the old supplies currently in the stores to run out and then check back with the FDA and see if the distribution center problems have been fixed.
Great idea SWB. When Southern States in my area stopped selling No Corn Horse feed...They bagged 2 a month just for me for the last 5 yrs of my girls life...no extra charge.
Thanks for the idea. I'll see if they can special order it for me, if it's cheaper than ordering online.
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