Petition to Require Pet Food Companies to be Held Accountable for Damages
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED:
Request that the U.S. Congress enact legislation to require pet food manufacturers and the companies that market those pet food brands to be held financially liable for any medical costs related to or contributing to the illness and/or death of a pet that can be reasonably attributed to the food consumed by the pet. And that all pet foods include the name of the manufacturer, not just the brand under which it is sold.
This petition is in response to the thousands of pet parents and owners who have suffered under the Menu Foods recall and their slow response that started on March 16th, 2007.
Sign after the jump.
Or read about all the latest news surrounding the recall.
In creating this petition, our motive is three-fold:
- First, we want to ease the pain and suffering of those who have lost their pets due to mistakes and negligence of pet food makers. The loss or illness of a pet can be emotionally devastating. On top of it, the financial burden of uninsured veterinary treatment can be a double-whammy, leading pet parents and their families to significant financial damage — often affecting other family members such as kids and the elderly. This legislation will create a venue for settling these cases fairly and out of court, eliminating the need for a lengthy court case, which companies rely on in order to reduce the likelihood of payout.
- Second, create a financial motive for pet food makers and marketers to set higher standards for pet food. We want to let them know that consumers are interested in higher-grade pet food. And that the longer a company waits in issuing warnings or recalls related to their product, the larger the potential financial damage. This new law would hold the manufacturers (often smaller, less financially sound organizations) and also the larger corporations that market the branded foods — who ultimately control what goes in them.
- Third, a clear public disclosure of who actually makes the food. Since the financial liability falls to the brand as well as the manufacturer, the name of the company that actually produced the food should be obvious to the consumer. How much clearer would this recall have been if the food was labeled “Made by Menu Foods”?
Once the final tally of the pet deaths is complete, the petition will be delivered to the head of the congressional committee that controls FDA funding (Dave Obey, D-WI, chairman of House Appropriations Committee).
IMPORTANT!
For your petition to be valid, we require:
- An accurate email address
- Your First and Last name (In the comment field)
- Your Zip code (In the comment field)
Your email will not appear below and will be kept securely by us. Your email will be used ONLY in the purposes of carrying out the petition. It will not be used for spam, sold or marketed to any other company. We hate spam as much as you do. Only your name, Zip code, and any comment you make will appear.
This petition is sponsored by itchmo.com. Please feel free to start your own email campaign to this page. The short link to use is http://www.itchmo.com/petition
March 28th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
08876
March 28th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
08876
JoAnn Pichiarellp
March 28th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Gail Romel, 01843
I just bought a case of Nutro dog food. The pet shop said it was safe to purchase it there. I was looking on the internet the codes of the cans affected. The code on the carton was a different number than on the cans. I’d advise you all to check each can. The cans in the carton were one of the recall codes. So, they are still out there. Beware!!
March 28th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
01843, Gail Romel
Even after the fact, I just purchased A case of Nutru dog food from a local pet shop. They said their food was safe. I got home and looked on the internet at the codes recalled. First, I checked the case code a it was not on the list. Then I took out the cans and looked on them. The codes were different than on the case. They were the ones on the recall list. I feed a few cans to my dogs before I noticed it. So keep checking your cans . Beware!! There still out there.
March 28th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
93268 Sue Eckelberry
March 28th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
59872 Marita McDaniel
March 29th, 2007 at 1:35 am
48214 Yvonne Paschal
As of the morning of 3/17/07 my cat Giles has been in emergency care at her vet’s office in Detroit, MI. She ate packets of these poisoned Menu Foods brands–specifically, Nutro and Iams foil packets–and went into acute, severe renal failure. I called the Menu Foods hotline immediately after her vet diagnosed Giles and that Saturday afternoon of 3/17/07 is unfortunately burned into my mind. The hotline person was insensitive, telling me that I was the first person to call that day to report a sick animal. I lost it and began crying and yelling that mine wouldn’t be the only call she got.
Almost two weeks later, Giles is not well enough to come home. I try to remain optimistic and pray for her well-being. I visit Giles daily and try to keep abreast of all news about the pet food recall. I guess I just had to get this off of my chest and comment this way as I am feeling so overwhelmed and sad. I cry most of the time now as Giles–previously in excellent health and spirits for her entire life–fights to live and regain healthy kidney function. I am very grateful for itchmo and other web sites that allow for us human companions to share our concerns and questions and stories; if not for these venues, I might cave in to despair about my cat’s poisoning. Peace and justice for us all.
March 29th, 2007 at 2:00 am
Kim Yepez
91016
March 29th, 2007 at 3:43 am
90245 Sabina Wuertenberger
My 2-1/2 year old indoor cat, Ariel, ate slightly more than 1 pouch of the recalled food and is now in acute renal failure-like so very many others. I am now finally hopeful that she may make it, due to very intense veterinary intervention. Ariel has been in the hospital for four days now and is showing some improvement. I haven’t even asked how much the bill is yet, I’m probably just too scared. I recently found out that due to an oversight she won’t be covered under her pet insurance. My Vet tells me that if Ariel makes it through she will have a lifelong condition, and that she will need to be given sub-cutaneous fluids every 1-3 days of her life. She will need frequent exams with expensive lab tests, and will only be able to eat a prescription diet-nothing bought off the shelf. No one can tell me what her life expectancy will be, only that she is now “impaired”. I so very much want her to live, but I don’t know what the quality of her life will be. My life and lifestyle will also be changed dramatically-not to mention the financial aspect of it all. My husband and I have always tried to keep her safe, and give her the best we can. It was our hope that we could live and love her for 20+ years together-now who knows? I tried to only give Ariel the best foods so that she could be as healthy as possible. I thought I could trust a name like Nutro, but now she’s been poisoned. Why should the trusting consumer be held financially responsible for all the medical and lifelong costs. We all acted in good faith and now have either seriously ill, or deceased pets. For most, if not all of us, these pets are so much more to us than just pets. They are precious members of our families. I can only imagine the uncountable number of tears shed for all these dear animals, knowing how many I myself have cried for my sweet Ariel.
March 29th, 2007 at 8:06 am
My 15 year healthy dachshund suddenly died of kidney failure on Feb. 24, 2007. He ate Old Roy in the foil pouches. He ate at least 2 a day
47001 Janet Buschur
March 29th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Cindy Bourgault 01970
March 29th, 2007 at 8:46 am
I had a yorkie named Zeus that had to be put down due to kidney failure on Feb 15th 2007. He did and was eating Nutro Natural Choice pouches that were on the re-call list. I heard from a company call Crawford Data, and they want me to send them any bills from vets etc that I have. He did not say anything about Menu-foods will to pay for the lost of my Zeus. Zeus was in very good health until he ate that food. No amount of money will bring Zeus back , but I feel that he was taken from me. Zeus was going to be 7yrs. old in May the 28th 2007. He was to young and had many more years left. So if you can tell me if I can be part of a class action against Menu-foods please e-mail me a.s.a.p. Thank you for listening to me I’m still very hurt over the lost of my little boy Zeus.
Susan Newton
March 29th, 2007 at 8:48 am
I had a yorkie named Zeus that had to be put down due to kidney failure on Feb 15th 2007. He did and was eating Nutro Natural Choice pouches that were on the re-call list. I heard from a company call Crawford Data, and they want me to send them any bills from vets etc that I have. He did not say anything about Menu-foods will to pay for the lost of my Zeus. Zeus was in very good health until he ate that food. No amount of money will bring Zeus back , but I feel that he was taken from me. Zeus was going to be 7yrs. old in May the 28th 2007. He was to young and had many more years left. So if you can tell me if I can be part of a class action against Menu-foods please e-mail me a.s.a.p. Thank you for listening to me I’m still very hurt over the lost of my little boy Zeus.
Susan Newton zip code 15644
March 29th, 2007 at 9:07 am
60466
Linda Whitehead
Our cats and dogs are not just “animals”, they are our loved ones and part of our family. Money cannot bring back our fur babies, but it sure can relieve us of the financial burden of careless manufactureres. My cats did not eat any of the recalled food, but I grieve for all of those who have a lost a loved one.
March 29th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Norman Guido Sr,21228
March 29th, 2007 at 9:47 am
75287
Ann Jackson
March 29th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Helen Moyer
90815
hvinsonhaler@yahoo.com
March 29th, 2007 at 10:30 am
17025 - Tami Carlson
March 29th, 2007 at 10:31 am
17025
Tami Carlson
March 29th, 2007 at 10:31 am
17025
Jon Blosser
March 29th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Nichole Bartos
44035
March 29th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Please hold these companies accountable for their actions. I did not lose any pets, but my heart goes out to those who did. I would like to see greater regulation of the pet food industry to prevent further loss.
Beth Ann Gallagher
94703
March 29th, 2007 at 11:45 am
75061
LK Byers
March 29th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Karie Willis
27511
March 29th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
27511
Karie Willis
March 29th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
99003
Regina Walter
March 29th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
as a vet tech i’ve seen far too many ill pets both professionally and privately as a result of the food recall.
kara haytas
44070
March 29th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Cindy English
31525
This recall was too little too late!
-I have lost two cats, both victims of Special Kitty and Nutro foil packs.
-My mom’s cat has also died as a result of eating Special Kitty and now, her registered Springer Spaniel is also dying due to eating Ol’Roy foil pouches!!!
I posted an article on my site about this!
http://www.cheatingways.com/wh.....ds-recall/
I have to wonder if there is rat poison in the wheat…what else has been made with that wheat and who has consumed it???
Scary!
March 29th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
76273
Tom Sferlazza
March 29th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
44039
Miriam Reyes
March 29th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Beverly Wells
07052
March 29th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
91977
Heidi Lucas
I lost my dog to this food a few weeks before the recall was announced. My dog and my family should have suffered. The FDA has handled my case well, but I have not gotten a single call back from Menu Foods.
March 29th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Pet food companies and manufacturers must be held accountable for the production and distribution of their products. There must also be change in Federal legislation regarding the pet food industry. I lost my baby last week to acute kidney failure because I trusted the pet food industry and gave her PetPride dog food.
85379
Joi Gault
March 29th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
85020
Allisandt Brown
March 29th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
80234 - Antonette DiGennaro
March 29th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Marti DeRosa
85086
March 29th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Sara Roberts 85396
March 29th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Pets are like children with fur coats. They need to be protected!
March 29th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
85086 - Marti DeRosa
March 29th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Dawn Radtke
85338
Pets are children with fur coats. We protect our children and need to protect our pets as well.
March 29th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Dar Janke 85308
March 29th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Lynda Ficarra
85283
March 29th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
We lost our cat a week before the news came out and he was only 2 years old and died of renal failure. The vets were stumped and didn’t know how this could happen to such a young healthy cat. One day he was fine, 2 days later he was lathargic and then died. I believe that the cat food is to blame and I look forward to these companies taking responsibility for damages.
March 29th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Lynda Ficarra
85283
My cat Junior died from renal failure a week before this news came out. The vets were stumped as to why a perfectly healthy cat, who was only 2 years old, could die so quickly and we believe it has something to do with the food. I look forward to Menu Foods taking accountablity for the damage they have done to so many families.
March 29th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
damien & elaine levon 98264
March 29th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
85226 Steven Gation
March 29th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Lynda DeFazio
48362
The pet food industry needs to change. They need to be held accountable for this. They are multi million dollar industries with no conscience.
March 29th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Karen Manning
89410
March 29th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Karen Manning
89410
Our dog just passed away Monday from eating Menu Foods dog food. They need to be held accountable for their negligence so no other animals have to suffer!
March 29th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Paula Carter-Cooper
97702