The American Beagler Forum

I just saw, on the internet, where 76 dogs, in different states have died from liver failure after eating contaminated Diamond dog food. Those who use that brand of food will certainly want to check this out. Go to this website and check it out: http://www.diamondpetrecall.com
I hope that none of those dogs were beagles.

I started feeding Diamond in late spring and stopped feeding it in early fall. I had a female get really sick on me. She was vomiting alot and wouldn't eat or drink anything. I had to take her to the vet and spent $320. Then I heard about the recall. It is a good thing I kept some of the bags I have been feeding because one of the bags was on of the bad ones. I called Diamond and left a message so hopefully I can get my money back for the vet bill from Diamond. My dogs didn't do worth a crap on Diamond. You couldn't keep weight on any of them. I should have quit feeding my dogs Diamond a long time ago maybe this wouldn't have happened. I will never feed Diamond again as long as I have dogs. In my opinion Diamond dog food is junk!

Jeremy

Hey Ranger!

I would suggest that you get a letter from your vet and send copies of vet letter, vet bill and bar code from bag (sales receipt if you have it) to Diamond. You will probably not get a phone response from them with the current situation. You might get money back by documenting your dog's illness.

I would assume someone will start a class action suit at some point. Hope Diamond has insurance for this.

Good luck!

Carolyn

Show dog.

I don't feed Diamond and never have. I just wanted to alert other beaglers, that might be using it. I was not trying to be critical of Diamond in particular. I realize that something like this can happen to any dog food manufacturer. If I am not mistaken, the same thing happened with "Ol Roy" dog food some years ago. I feed Purina to my running dogs and "Ol Roy" puppy food to my pups. If I can't get the "Ol Roy" puppy food I use Purina. I have been doing this for several years and have had very good results with these foods.

i lost a female due to daimond food all the will do is pay your vet bills. but wont replace the cost of your pet. to get your vet bill payed you have to have a vet write a letter saying it was the food and have some of the food you were feeding tested for the toxins if it has toxins diamond will pay for the test if it doesnt you have to pay for the food tested and its 42.00 to have the food tested.

Sorry Ranger- meant message for Jeremy. I see I was on the right track. Carolyn

I remember some years ago, maybe it was Hickory Hills Kennel had some hounds get sick or bitches abort pups because of molded feed.
Was their no look of mold to this diamond feed?
I heard it was something bad in the corn Diamond used, what could be so bad in corn that the toxin level could be great enough to kill a hound, for no more volume of corn that is used in a serving of chow ?
Our hounds eat things found in the field all the time, what kind of toxin was in the corn that was so bad? Was this bad corn created at Diamond storage bins, or was it already bad corn when Diamond got it and could it have been spread to other Manufactures of dog food?

Alot of questions, I know, but it would make me feel better if I knew it was isolated...

Patch, I'm sure a hoping the other companies took time to check their stuff out here!!! I think Diamond said the corn came from the south and I'm betting that the CEO saw dollar signs,, with a load of it cheap from the hurricane affected area,, just my 2 cents here... Wet corn is the key too this mess!!!

Crew Chief

PS got to agree,, I've seen mine eat the most god awfull stuff out there and never get sick or nothing..

FYI

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/tox ... toxin.html

This is cross posted but I know some people feed Chicken Soup here, just be careful with ANY Diamond brand right now, as well as any kibble you are feeding that could possible be contaminated.


>Diamond Pet Food Recall
>1/4/06 11:53am ET - Update From AnimalHelp:
>
>Despite claims that the brands below are the only brands affected, We have
>received feedback from pet owners who have recently fed both Cosco
>"Kirkland" brand pet foods and Chicken Soup Brand Dog Food, whose pets
>have exhibited the same symptoms as noted with Diamond Brands and the
>aflatoxin contamination.
>
>
>**Please be aware that while these animals had all the same symptoms of
>aflatoxin illness the test results have not been completed yet, and it
>will be a short time before we know for sure whether their deaths were
>caused by the food. There are other illnesses and diseases that cause
>liver failure and may be to blame. But because the foods these animals
>were eating are all made by Diamond, and the symptoms are the same, we
>want to warn you to be on the lookout for similar illness in your
>animals until we know for sure.
>
>Sadly, a 2 year old Skye Terrier died Monday January 2nd, 2006. He
>was eating Chicken Soup brand food and displayed the symptoms of
>aflatoxin illness before he died. The other dogs in this household are
>also sick. Liver profiles, toxicology screenings and pathology results
>are pending.
>
>Also, a cat death has occured on Tuesday January 3rd, 2006 in upstate
>SC. This cat was eating Cosco brand cat food and displayed the symptoms
>of aflatoxin illness. Pathology results are pending on this cat. We
>know of one other cat who almost died from the same symptoms of
>aflatoxin illness and also was being fed Cosco brand cat food.
>
>Cosco's Kirkland Brand pet foods are made by Schell &Kampeter , who
>also make the Diamond Products. Chicken Soup is considered one of their
>super premium food, and they also make Nutra Nuggets. Cosco Kirkland is
>made at one or more of the Diamond plants.
>
>If you feed your pet Cosco brands - or ANY other pet food brands (it is
>possible that other store brands are made at Diamond plants) - and see
>illness and symptoms as mentioned here, we urge you to get your pet to
>your veterinarian immediately for a liver profile.
>
>We expect the Chicken Soup brands and the Cosco brands will be added to
>the official recall very soon if the test results from these two recent
>deaths provide proof that cause of death resulted from ingestion of
>aflatoxin in the food. We will keep you up to date if any changes are
>announced.
>
>Because of testing conducted by officials in North Carolina, Diamond
>Pet Foods has added Diamond Professional for Adult Dogs to the list of
>recalled products manufactured in our Gaston, S.C. facility and
>distributed in the eastern U.S.
>
>The product, Diamond Professional for Adult Dogs, contains a "Best By"
>date of January 29, 2007.
>
>Testing performed by the North Carolina agriculture department showed a
>single bag of the product contained high levels of aflatoxin. The
>product was discontinued in August of this year.
>
>According to Mark Brinkmann, chief operations officer for Diamond Pet
>Foods, the company will continue working closely with state officials
>and will not hesitate to take action if testing warrants.
>
>Customers should return any unused product to their retailers and
>should consult their veterinarian if pets show any signs of illness.
>Complete information can be found at http://www.diamondpet.com, or by calling
>the Diamond Pet Foods Customer Information Center toll-free at
>1-866-214-6945.

Patch,
About 15 years ago my wife lost two ponies to bad corn feed. They died 2 days apart. The tests showed molded corn as the cause of death. We had never heard of aflotoxin. Makes you wonder about deer corn carried over from last season.
Anthony Kerr

Ok, we're talking about "corn" here. I've seen corn in all stages of decay, we turn cows out in picked fields and they clean up the spillage and knockdown. None sick...
What is this toxin that's so bad? vers- how much corn is actually in a 2 cup measure of diamond dog food?
I guess my problem is, it's hard to believe corn is the problem. We've had hounds eat spillage from the silage pile that was wet and molded and never died or got sick...
Are we sure corn is the problem? Again, how much corn is actually in a bag of food/per scoop? how much to kill a hound/what concentration?

Patch.....Here is an article I read about this, maybe it will help in understanding it a little more. Sounds like temperature and humidity plays into the spores surviving and thriving.

http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1563.htm

take care,
Randy

The reason that cows are not as severly affected by mycotoxins are because they are Ruminants. Horses and dogs are monogastrics. They have different gastrointestinal tracts and modes of digestion.
Aflatoxin can be found in many different grains, not just corn. It just so happens that in this particular case it's the corn that is affected. Aflatoxin is toxic to the liver and doesn't take much to sicken an animal (based on weight, age, health conditions, etc).

Silage is a fermented product of mostly green material and some grains, but the fermentation process is not conducive to certain fungus growths.

Hey guys I hope I can get my money back. Do you have to have some food for them to test. This happened in September. How in the world would anyone still have any dog food left over. I guess that is what Diamond wants so they can slide by and get out of paying any vet bills. It's a long shot but it is worth a try.

Jeremy

I was told the supplier knew the corn was contaiminated and was paying someone at Diamond to look the other way when the corn was received by Diamond. Last week the place I get food said the Diamond rep was in and the rep said the food had not caused any deaths. I have heard people say they will continue feeding Diamond because they will now have the best quality control. I wonder if that would be their answer if they had dogs die from it. The news from 2 nights ago said over 100 dogs had died from the food.