I’m going to warn all readers in advance, this is a very graphic post and if you can not handle canine bodily fluids – this is not the post for you to read.

I’ve been flustered for so much of the past week that I honestly didn’t even notice it was Saturday until I looked at my phone this afternoon. I’ve been stuck in the world of “WOW, What the hell am I going to do now?”.

Last Saturday (7/27) I noticed Bella had a little hint if diarrhea after vomiting. Since this only happened in a small amount, and it’s not uncommon for her to have the occasional diarrhea, I honestly didn’t think anything of it. Within a few hours she appeared to be feeling just fine and was jumping and playing all over the house.  She was playing and enjoying life on Sunday and even Monday too. You can imagine my surprise when on Tuesday she went downhill, and fast.  The poor thing was dealing with excessive vomiting, and by excessive I mean she was throwing up every 10 to 15 minutes for a solid 3 hours before I could actually get her into the vets office.  By then, she was so weak that she didn’t even care where she was.  Normally, at the vet she’s very quick to want to jump off of the exam table and run out the door.  She couldn’t even hold her little body up to do that.

After telling the tech what had been going on, and providing her with a list of everything she eaten in the past 72 hours they brought her into the back room to run blood work.  After that, the vet came back in and asked if anything like this had every happened to her before, I confirmed that it hadn’t because, for the most part, she’s a healthy dog.  She requested that we do an X-Ray on her to be sure that she doesn’t have anything stuck in her system that could be causing this. I did note that the first instance of vomiting included a non-digested piece of a new treat that we were trying out. She noted that the food consumed over the past 72 hours wasn’t really cause for concern, but then noted that the addition of new treats (MILO’S KITCHEN – GRILLED STEAK) to her diet have her worried.  She wound up having to do a third X-Ray on Bella as her blood work came back and something just didn’t seem right.

She came back into the room, said that they see no blockage but Bella would need to stay overnight based on what they found with blood work and X-Rays. Her liver was three times larger than it was supposed to be. Size wise it was the equivalent of what they would see on a 250-pound Mastiff, not a 20-pound Lhasa Apso.  Her blood work showed that her Enzyme levels were dangerously high as well. She believed this to be due to the excessive vomiting.  She also noticed that her intestines were two times larger than they were supposed to be. There was a lot of liquid in her intestines with gas pockets. It was not a healthy-looking situation.

I told them to do whatever they needed to do to keep her alive, and I shit you not I was 100% convinced I would never be seeing my dog again based on how horribly ill she was at that point. She’d thrown up a few times during the exam, and the final ‘vomit’ smelled like Bile. It wasn’t the stomach-acid type of throw up, it literally seemed as though she was pooping out of her mouth.  She was rushed into the back room so she could be placed on an IV, she was dehydrating fast and they wanted to make sure there were enough fluids in her for the chance that she could make it through the night.

The doctor came back in the room and noted that she’d seen something like this recently. When we’d mentioned “Milo’s Kitchen” to her, she knew things would need to be rushed moving forward. She’d had a dog in that past weekend who was unfortunately in full renal failure and did not survive the night. The only thing that stuck out in the very healthy dogs diet was the “Milo’s Kitchen”.  The vet knew of a previous recall on the Chicken Jerky, but this dog consumed one of the “Sausage” treats that actually lead to the death of the animal.

Since there was nothing that I could physically do, I left Bella in their hands.  I called the office around 11pm, they’re a 24-hour facility so I knew someone would be there, and I – at that point – was a complete and total worry wort. This is my baby after-all.  The overnight vet noted that she is now dealing with excessive amounts of diarrhea and they’ve increased the fluids to keep her hydrated.  She was also given quite a few ‘butt baths’ so she wasn’t sitting in her own fecal matter.  She messed the cage a few times, and was taken outside quite a few times as well. The vet repeated, that this is a very, very sick dog.

I had a lot of trouble falling asleep, all I wanted to do was rush over there and hold her but based on how ill she was I knew that wasn’t a possibility.  I wanted her to just get better, she separation anxiety would have to be on hold for another day. The office called around 12:30PM, they noted that she’s doing much better and said that if I could bring in some light food for her, that I could bring her home so she had the ability to heal the rest of the way.  I wasn’t comfortable with this statement, not after the day before.

I did head over to the office a little later that afternoon with boiled chicken and rice in a bowl for her to try to get her to eat. Prior to going in there I did speak with the vet, she noted that that mornings X-Ray showed that her intestines had gone down to normal size, and that her liver had also gone down in size as well. We weren’t in the clear, her liver was still very enlarged.  The doctor and I agreed that she was to have a cat-scan prior to my even attempting to bring her home just to confirm that there were no stones or anything blocking her digestive track that could have been causing this. We were both 100% on the fact that it was related to “Milo’s Kitchen” but wanted to make sure either way.

I went into the back room, she was super excited to see me and crying excessively.  She was on her second IV bag of the day to keep her hydrated and she had absolutely no interest in any of the food I was trying to give her, she wanted out more than anything. After trying for about 10 minutes the vet said that the two bites of food should be enough for us to know if something is going to come back up and from there they whisked her away to the cat-scan. That scan confirmed there was nothing blocking any of her digestive track that could have caused this, it also confirmed that the treats were 100% of the cause being as her normal-diet could NOT have had this effect on her.

I agreed to take her home based on their findings, and was also provided with more medications than I had ever seen before in my life. Hell, when Karen was on Chemo she didn’t need this many pills. Anti-Diarrheal, Anti-Nausea, Anti-Biotic, Pain Killer and ear drops. The drops are there because, on top of everything, Bella also now had an ear infection.

As soon as we got home she peed like she hadn’t gone in months and went right to sleep. She was still woozy from all of the medications she’d received that day, and had absolutely no interest in eating ANYTHING. Her diet now consists of boiled chicken and ground beef. I can use either rice or potatoes to pair up with it.

I began reading through the ingredients on the packaging for her treats.  I don’t keep a ‘stock’ of them, she goes through one bag at a time. Usually she’s on Beggin’ Strips, but since she’s shown no interest in them I figured it was time to change it up – this is why she was switched to “Milo’s Kitchen” because it looked semi-natural and claimed it was made in America.  I picked up the Grilled Steak and the Sausage w/ Rice treats for her from the supermarket. These are the “items” that were in her system prior to it almost completely shutting down.

I’m 100% taking Bella off of any store-bought pet foot (wet & dry) as well as treats.  She’ll be eating only homemade dog food AND treats for the rest of her life. Why? Because every single dog treat on the shelves contains one (or both) of these ingredients.

#1 – Propylene Glycol – Commonly found on the ingredients list as a way to preserve moisture content in dog foods (hard and soft) as well as treats. It’s actual use? It’s the key component in newer automotive ANTIFREEZE.

#2 – Glycerin – Commonly found in dry food, wet food and dog treats. Until recently it was a byproduct of soap making. Today, however, it’s a byproduct of biofuels.

These two ingredients were found in her system on the blood test, to further confirm that it was the treats that did it for her.  The food she was eating prior to any of this starting was (for the most part) people food. If I can’t pronounce what’s on the packaging, why would I feed it to her? This dog has survived the past 9 years on pasta, chicken, beef, rice, potatoes and veggies. If all of these ingredients are supposedly IN her dog food, why shouldn’t I give her exactly what the packaging claims it will be?

The chemical mark-up for dog treats is disgusting, point blank.  These items are not found in cat treats/food because the FDA smartened up and regulated it after so many cats had passed away after consuming it.  At this point, however, no regulation is being made on the dog food. With this, Bella will never be eating dog food OR treats again. Anything by the parent company of “Del Monte” is the first thing to go. There have been so many recalls for every single one of their brands (including “Milo’s Kitchen”) that I wish I would have known something about it sooner.

So how do I fix this? Well, being as her time at the vet completely wiped out my checking account for over $1,200 it’s a little hard to bring money together right now to make proper dog food for her but I am utilizing what I have in my freezer to insure that she’s only eating food that humans eat. Why? Because if I’m not getting sick off of it – I know she won’t either.  When I get paid on Monday, however, I’ll be taking some money and purchasing a food dehydrator. From now on I’ll be making my own dog treats and there will be absolutely no way in hell that she will ever be touching one of the ‘fancy’ ones that you see in the supermarkets.

How should you fix this? Avoid the same things that I am, this should insure that your dog is living a much happier life.

Avoid anything manufactured by “Del Monte” foods. They clearly do not care about the health of your animal, why continue to fill their pockets with money?

Avoid anything treats that were made in China, Brazil, Chile, South-America in general. This includes Raw Hide!

If you’re keen on raw-hide, make sure you’re also avoiding that “Made in China” label. It’s posted on 100% of the bones you find in your local super market. As long as you see that notice, it’s time to put down the treat and walk away.

The company I’m 100% supporting right now is Wholesome Hide, they’re made in a America, they actually look like a proper raw-hide, and they do not contain the bits of random animal shavings in the middle. It’s a solid roll of hide and 100% natural. There’s no funky food coloring, there’s no rope-like material holding it together. Wholesome Hide is a company you know that you can trust, there have also been 0 (yes ZERO) recalls on their products.  What does that tell you about how much they care about your animal? Lord knows Del Monte doesn’t, look at their track record!

Del Monte Foods –  These are a list of what to completely avoid.

• Kibbles & Bits
• Milkbone
• Pup-Peroni
• Meaty Bone
• Milo’s Kitchen
• Gravy Train
• Canine Carry Outs
• Jerky Treats
• Snausages
• Nature’s Recipe

And, by default of course, I will no longer be eating ANYTHING they make. Not that their ‘human’ food was any better, but I’m officially boycotting the entire fucking company.

So yea, that’s been my week.

All I can say to sum it up, make sure you’re reading every single label for your dog the same way that you do for yourself. If you can not pronounce the chemical in the food, you’re better off not allowing them to have any access to it either. It’s better for their health in the long run. Yes, there may be brands out there that are 100% safe for your dog to consume (food wise), but make sure you’ve done your research too. Even Beneful, a “trusted brand” for pet-health has had numerous recalls and pet-deaths attached to their names.

Be careful.