A consumer on TikTok is looking out each Petco and Purina after a bag of pet food bought at a Petco location allegedly made her canine sick—and, based on her, the shop refused to treatment the scenario.
In a video with over 889,000 views as of Saturday, TikTok consumer Dae Collins (@dae.collins) explains that she bought a bag of Purina Pro Plan pet food. After feeding her canine a single bowl of the meals, the canine reportedly turned sick and defecated in her kennel. The feces additionally allegedly contained blood.
When Collins went to examine the bag of meals, she says she made a stunning discovery: your complete bag was infested with bugs.
“I put my flashlight in her food, and literally seen all these critters running around,” she says.
@dae.collins #dogkibble #petco ♬ On My Mama (Official Sound) – Victoria Monét
Noting this, she says she tried to return the bag to her Grand Prairie, Texas, Petco location.
“The management, all they could tell me was, like, ‘Oh my god, it’s just beetles’—but no. They don’t understand that those ‘just beetles’ caused my dog to literally have blood coming out in her poop…They do not care,” she says.”
It’s unclear from the video what sort of beetle is seen within the kibble. However, there are several types of bugs which can be usually present in dry merchandise like pet food.
Most of those bugs are innocent. That stated, if ingested in excessive sufficient portions, or if one’s canine has a very delicate abdomen, consuming these bugs could cause gastrointestinal distress. Additionally, these bugs breed rapidly—that means that if one finds such bugs of their dry meals, extra are prone to observe.
While infestations like these aren’t remoted to Purina, this isn’t the primary time that the model has come underneath hearth for bugs being present in its merchandise.
In one case, a person from Jacksonville, Florida claimed to have discovered maggots in his Purina pet food. He claims he made this discovery after his canine had consumed half of a bag of the meals. At the time, the model responded to the incident in a press release.
“During production, all ingredients are subjected to high temperatures and pressures, which render them free of pathogens and insects,” the assertion reads. “So in situations like this where infestation has occurred, it likely happened at some point after the products left the factory, possibly during distribution or storage. Unfortunately, insect infestation can occur in any food product in the marketplace.”
In the feedback part of Collins’ TikTok, many customers claimed to have had related experiences buying dry pet food.
“I legit had this happen with Purina,” a consumer stated. “Return it at the store they will give you the money back and call Purina they will cut you a check also!”
“I just returned my diamond naturals,” one other claimed. “It had the same exact bugs.”
“I found a dead rat in mine. And it was my first time opening the bag,” alleged a 3rd.
Others within the feedback stated that the potential of these occurrences has pushed them away from pre-packaged pet meals altogether.
“And this is the EXACT reason why I cook for my dog now. every so often I would get a bag of food and those same symptoms would happen,” said a commenter.
“I stopped using pet food a long time ago now,” a second viewer shared. “I got a list from his vet of human grade meats, veggies and fruits that he can eat. Affordable & better!”
The Daily Dot reached out to Purina and Petco through e mail, and Collins through TikTok direct message.
*First Published: Sep 16, 2023, 8:30 am CDT
Braden Bell
Braden Bjella is a tradition author. His work could be present in Mixmag, Electronic Beats, Schon! journal, and extra.