# Diamond in denial



## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

i've fed my 3 labs kirklands chicken and vegetables forever. so, a couple of weeks ago i hear rumblings about contaminated lamb and rice.i call diamond, the producer, and they say "no, not the chicken, only then lamb.
jake, my 9 year old had diarrhea and i took him to the vet. in a day, he lost 4 lbs. stool sample negative, vet gave fluids under the skin and a script for antibiotic. i don't connect anything.
about 3 weeks later, my 3 year old vomits her guts up. stool sample negative.naturally, she doesn't want to eat, which really isn't so natural for a lab. i fast her. i boil rice and ground chicken . more vomit. to the vet. she lost 2 lbs, gets fluid, go home and boil ground lamb, which could make me barf. she eats it and barfs more. call the vet and go back, this time prednisone, 1mg for a week, then .5 for the next week, now weaning off .5 every other day. 
meanwhile,now my 10 year old, has bloody stool. bingo! connect the dots and get him to the vet. stool sample negative, on antibiotics for a week.
i get in touch with diamond who listen, have me hold on for their vet who basically tells me"dogs rarely or never get salmonella".ok, i don't know if they had salmonella, but sure as $hit they had something. meanwhile that bag of food is finished and i had bought a new 40 lb bag. they ask for the product number in the first call, and tell me this bag is ok. i opened it and used it for one meal and it will be returned. the plants are closed, and no diamond products are out for delivery and their vet wants me to believe that my dogs didn't get sick from their food.
i email them, after i get off the computer reading the symptoms of salmonella poisoning: lethargy (vangie) and not wanting to eat.vomiting, diarrhea and bloody stool.
really? you think you're done with me.
i emailed them , using the reference number they gave me, a seething email regarding the info from their vet.
and a copy of the brief email i sent the fda consumer email.
yeah, it wasn't the food.

i did the fast switch with no problems to blue buffalo holistic, a decent kibble.
i wonder when i'm gonna hear something from diamond.
if not today, i will call again, and ask this time to talk to their vet and the supervisor in charge of this mess.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

i agree with them - they probably didn't have salmonella. Dogs don't really get salmonella unless they are sick already.

They probably had something worse, from a mold or unknown substance in the food. I don't understand how Diamond can close their plant down with one hand and tell you your sick dogs didn't get sick from their food with the other hand. 

Everyone is in CYA mode and no one really cares what it does to the animals.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

I'm sorry your dogs are sick. :/ I really do dislike most pet food companies. They just couldn't care less about the animals.

Give them hell.


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## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

i always thought that dogs could pass salmonella through their system when they ate raw but that they were at a higher risk with kibble because it stays in their stomach for too long so it harbors it in their system unnaturally. is this not true? are most salmonella recalls for human safety?


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## dustinshaw98 (Feb 22, 2012)

bett said:


> i've fed my 3 labs kirklands chicken and vegetables forever. so, a couple of weeks ago i hear rumblings about contaminated lamb and rice.i call diamond, the producer, and they say "no, not the chicken, only then lamb.
> jake, my 9 year old had diarrhea and i took him to the vet. in a day, he lost 4 lbs. stool sample negative, vet gave fluids under the skin and a script for antibiotic. i don't connect anything.
> about 3 weeks later, my 3 year old vomits her guts up. stool sample negative.naturally, she doesn't want to eat, which really isn't so natural for a lab. i fast her. i boil rice and ground chicken . more vomit. to the vet. she lost 2 lbs, gets fluid, go home and boil ground lamb, which could make me barf. she eats it and barfs more. call the vet and go back, this time prednisone, 1mg for a week, then .5 for the next week, now weaning off .5 every other day.
> meanwhile,now my 10 year old, has bloody stool. bingo! connect the dots and get him to the vet. stool sample negative, on antibiotics for a week.
> ...




I think this is the same company that released kibble years ago which contained aflatoxin. It killed 76 dogs and caused permanent liver damage in others. I use raw meaty bones for my dogs, because these sort of things sadden me.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

BearMurphy said:


> i always thought that dogs could pass salmonella through their system when they ate raw but that they were at a higher risk with kibble because it stays in their stomach for too long so it harbors it in their system unnaturally. is this not true? are most salmonella recalls for human safety?


As far as I know, the biggest danger is to humans although I'm sure it's possible for dogs to get salmonella. I would be thinking more along the lines of mold or some other contaminant.

Of course, I've been wrong before


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

No matter what it was Betts's dogs all got sick within weeks of each other and after the Diamond coming out with a recall and the shutdown of SC I believe it is the food. It is to coincidental not to be the food IMO. You deserve answers Betty.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

lovemydogsalways said:


> No matter whatit was Betts's dogs all got sick within weeks of each other and after theDiamond coming out with a recall and the shutdown of SC I believe it is thefood. It is to coincidental not to be the food IMO. You deserve answers Betty.


Totally agree. The fact that they deny, deny, deny is not surprising, though.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

i spoke to yet another one of their vets and let her know i was unhappy with the responses from them. i never said my dogs had salmonella, i said they got sick from their food. it seems without a diagnosis of salmonella , they become deaf.
i answered one of their repetitive emails, spouting the same so i did the same and told them as a former teacher , i am used to repeating myself.
and i shot off a form to the fda, informing them of what occurred.
i won't go away so fast.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Good on you Bett. For too long these companies have just put their top line profit above the health of their clients animals. Yet, on the packages they spout crap like how you can trust your best friends health with their food, when the reality is that they really don't give a $hit about your dog's health, it's all about the money, money, money.
Keep giving them hell Bett. They hope people like you just give up and go away. 
I'm glad to hear your pups are feeling better now.
Please keep doing your research on dog foods, I'm quite sure Blue Buffalo have had their share of recalls too - not saying that to be mean or anything, it's just that there are so few companies out there that are trustworthy. I was feeding my puppy one of the foods that was recalled for killing countless pets during the 2007 melamine debacle. That is what led me to this forum, and after extension researching, I now feed my kitten Fromm and Orijen/Acana, who were never part of that recall.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

The saga continues.i sent yet another email, since now it appears that 14 people have gotten salmonella from merely feeding their kibble and probably not washing hands afterward.i actually scoop with a plastic measuring cup, add a bit of water, different supplements and top with a blob of non fat organic plain yogurt or pumpkin. I guess they dont give rat's a$$ that all 3 of my labs got sick, since it wasnt salmonella.jake had diarrhea, stool tested negative, given under the skin fluids and antibiotic for 10 days. Vangie had violent vomiting 4 hours after eating (looked like pea soup), stool negative, given fluid under skin, x ray negative for obstruction(5days of barfing.....no food, boiled rice and chicken then ground lamb), blood test showed high eosinophal(could be chicken allergy or parasite) and still being weaned off prednisone. Then 2 weeks later, when rex had bloody diarrhea, it dawned on me and the vet, that it was the god damn kirkland chicken and rice.rex got an antibiotic for 7 days, seemed ok, but had a bit of blood this morning.
They just finished a small bag of blue buffalo, i ordered some grain free fromm but of course ran out, so till it comes in, giving nature's variety grain free salmon, sweet potato and pumpkin.
Think my vet bills went thru the roof?
Think diamond is gonna fess up?
I'm not done with them.
And i'm in a kibble quandry.kill me.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

That just sucks!! I get why they want to Cover Their A$$. I mean, can you imagine the firestorm they would be under. At the same time however, if this was a human, the news would be all over this. Instead it's "Just a Dog" so let's give them just enough information so hopefully a dog won't get sick. If they do have a problem, they make it so dang difficult to get any answers they are just hoping you will give up and go away!! Ahh Corporate America. I'm with you, don't give up or give in to their incompetence!!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

They just tell you to "prove it" and hope you will go away. Like they are probably doing with thousands of others. 

Thoroughly disgusting.

Have you considered raw?


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