Beneful Dog Food Lawsuit Filed Over Risk of Kidney Failure, Bleeding, Death

Irvin Jackson

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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Nestle Purina PetCare, alleging that Beneful dog food products have caused reports of serious illness in thousands of dogs, including kidney failure, internal bleeding and death.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Frank Lucido in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on February 5, alleging that after feeding Beneful dog food to his pets, one of Lucido’s dogs died and two others became ill.

According to allegations raised in the Beneful dog food lawsuit, the product has not been properly tested and contains ingredients like propylene glycol, an ingredient in automotive antifreeze, and mycotoxins, which are toxic byproducts of grain fungus.

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The complaint notes that Nestle Purina PetCare has received more than 3,000 complaints online about dogs getting sick or dying after eating Beneful over the past four years. Lucido indicates that claims of illness and death by dog owners show a pattern of consistent symptoms, such as stomach and gastrointestinal bleeding, liver damage and liver failure, kidney failure, diarrhea, weight loss, dehydration and even seizures.

The company has continued to defend it’s dog food, maintaining that the lawsuit is baseless. This is at least the third Beneful class action filed by angry dog owners, who claim the pet food injured or killed their pets. The other two previous claims were dismissed.

In a press statement issued on February 25, 2015, company officials say that the type of propylene glycol used is a food additive approved for use in human food and animal feed, with the exception of cats, in the U.S., Canada and European Union.

“Like other pet foods, Beneful is occasionally the subject of social media-driven misinformation,” according to the statement. “On-line postings often contain false, unsupported and misleading allegations that cause undue concern and confusion for our Beneful consumers.”

Lucido is seeking $5 million in damages and claims that Nestle Purina knew the dog food was harmful and failed to adequately test it before selling it, and failed to adequately respond to consumer complaints.

Written by: Irvin Jackson

Senior Legal Journalist & Contributing Editor

Irvin Jackson is a senior investigative reporter at AboutLawsuits.com with more than 30 years of experience covering mass tort litigation, environmental policy, and consumer safety. He previously served as Associate Editor at Inside the EPA and contributes original reporting on product liability lawsuits, regulatory failures, and nationwide litigation trends.

Tags: Beneful, Class Action Lawsuit, Nestle, Pet Food, Purina

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5 Comments

Maddy
I was feeding my dog beneful dog food for quite a while. She to deteriorate very quickly and her vet had me put her on special kidney food because she was very ill. I had to give her IV fluids at home. She stopped walking, drinking, and eating. I took her to vet and they explained there was nothing else they would be able to do for her so we had to her to sleep because she was suffering. This was extremely painful for me and my kids.
Michelle
My two chihuahuas was eating the wet dog food , the older one which is 16 has lost her teeth and is going blind only ate a couple of bites and now has kidney problems, my 10 year old ate the remainder of the container, with in 24 hours he was throwing up and pooping clear bloody stool, while i was getting dressed to take him to the emergency vet he went limp in my arms and passed away, The older baby is on medication and the doctor is sending the baneful dog food my baby’s ate to be checked out. Gastro bacterial infections. He prescribed, anti-inflamiyoty, antibiotic, & pain medications, She is not on a baby food only diet due to it also caused her digestive track issues. These two fur baby’s are all i have and i am so heart broken i am having a problem with working, and being engaged in my social life. Something needs to be done so this does not happen to anyone else!!!!!!!! SO HEART BROKEN
Carmen
Re: Pedigree canned F I fed my Dockers & Silkys Pedigree dry. I switched to Pedigree canned 14 years ago. No problems til June, 2016, when my 4 Silkys (only pets now) stools got dark & copy, & appetites changed. They didn’t feel good, lethargic… I took all to the get. Gastro bacterial infections. He prescribed, anti-inflamiyoty, antibiotic, & pain meds. They got better. I had no reason to suspect Pedigree. They got sick again a while later. “It must be the chicken flavor”. I switched to Pedigree canned beef flavor & the vet prescribed the same meds. They all gained “too much weight”, so I fed less. Katie & Prissy lost “fat”, but retained hard stomachs. Both began to get tired…. I took Prissy to the vet for 2 of the bumps. He removed the larger & since it was benign, removal of the other was optional. I could soon seethat KATIE was having a very difficult time urinating, if at all. I took her to an Emergency Veterinary hospital. She was diagnosed with carcinoma of the bladder. Inoperable. She just finished her 6th radiation. It shrunk enough to urinate for now. I’ll start her on chemo soon, to increase her quality of life for 1-300 (hundred) DAYS! She’s the last of her bloodline, which I seriously regret. Next, I took Prissy in to be examined because her problems began at the same time. 6 cancerous tumors. 4 benign. 2 low grade carcinoma, which is so low its normally not treated. Two girls diagnosed with cancer, after getting sick, along with my two males,, all eating Pedigree canned. I am going to collect urine samples of the males to have the test that shows irregularities in their bodies. I can’t let them develops cancer that I could have operated & treated early enough to place them in remission, if they test positive. I really hope not. Anyway, online, many diarrhea problems like mine. Some deaths… CANCER?? Repetitive bacterial infections of all 4!! What did they start putting in the food I give my pets? Does anyone know of a class action on Pedigree re the harmful ingredients?? I’m very hurt. I cannot see their pain & they cannot tell me when or how much they hurt.
Sam
Bear in mind that the antifreezes that are made with propylene glycol are pet safe antifreezes that were developed specifically to protect pets and children. Ethyl glycol is the component in regular antifreeze that kills. I’ve been feeding our dogs Beneful for years and they’ve never had problems. Dogs get sick for lot of reasons and food is not likely to be a reason. I wish it was; a lot of dogs that die of diseases would live longer.
Jimmy
My dog got sick eating Beneful. Didn’t know why took her to the vet. she had high liver enzymes luckily she recovered. Hopefully did not do any permanent damage.

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