Here’s the difference between pet food companies…customer service. True story from one of my best friends. This ‘difference’ is with Mulligan Stew pet food.
Susan M. and I have been friends since our kids were little (I’m not saying how many years that might be). Her little 12 year old poodle Ruby has for the past month been having some tummy troubles. Susan took Ruby off her regular diet (Mulligan Stew) and fed her just chicken and rice, but recently tried to introduce Ruby back to her Mulligan Stew again – a few kibbles at a time.
Ruby’s tummy didn’t agree. Within one meal of adding Mulligan Stew back into Ruby’s diet (and only a partial serving), Ruby was sick again.
Susan called Mulligan Stew – spoke to Diane Peterson. Susan asked if anything had changed with the food, shared with the pet food company what has been going on with Ruby. And here’s what the did…
Diane Peterson asked for Susan to scan and email Ruby’s urinalysis and bloodwork. She also shared that a member of the Mulligan Stew team is a natuapath and he would look at the test results for any subtleties. Maybe they could help determine what is causing Ruby tummy problems.
That’s the difference! The difference between a pet food company that cares and one that doesn’t. When there is a problem, they are willing to do whatever it takes to help the customer (and the customer’s pet). Susan (or I) don’t believe the problems Ruby is having is in any way related to Mulligan Stew, she called them just to see if perhaps an ingredient change was disagreeing with Ruby. But look at how they responded! There was none of the typical defense mode, there was a genuine interest and offer of assistance; very rare in the pet food industry. And by the way, Mulligan Stew didn’t know Susan M. was a close friend of mine (of course they do now) – so they did not respond this way knowing Susan M would tell me. They acted this way because that’s how some (few) pet food companies do things – they care.
Hat’s Off to Mulligan Stew! Thank you for caring about each and every customer.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Sandy
November 14, 2012 at 3:41 pm
I love this story! I hope Ruby feels better soon.
Molly
November 14, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Did they figure out what was causing Ruby’s tummy troubles?
Susan Thixton
November 14, 2012 at 3:51 pm
No – they haven’t determined what is causing Ruby’s troubles – I’m confident it is not the pet food. Bloodwork is not back yet. I just wanted everyone to know not every pet food company treats you poorly when you call about a sick pet. Some really care.
Susan
November 14, 2012 at 4:15 pm
I hope Ruby is well by now! Let us know what Mulligan Stew tells you. Anyone can appear to be concerned. Let’s hope they really are!
Have you heard of Dr. Andrew Jones, DVM? He’s found at http://www.theonlinevet.com. He offers a nutrional supplement for dogs and another for cats. The Canine Formula works wonderfully and has taken care of at least 90% of my dog’s allergy problems (after 2.5 years of antigen shots). You will want to add him to your list of “good guys”.
Thanks for all you do to help all the pets/animals!
ira
November 15, 2012 at 1:51 pm
I’m glad the supplements helped your dog, but there is a lot of controversey regarding this dr. Not sure what is correct just advise anyone to do a google search and come up with their own conclusion
joan
November 14, 2012 at 9:28 pm
I like a company who cares! Do they have cat food? I went to their site and couldn’t find any.
Susan McFadden
November 14, 2012 at 11:31 pm
Just wanted to let you all know that Ruby seems to be doing better. She has had 2 doses of metronidazole for possible bacteria which could cause an ulcer and explain why she’d be sick right after eating. The bloodwork will be back tomorrow and that may help us confirm the issue. Mulligan’s Stew has gotten back to me already to confirm that they are waiting on the bloodwork. I can’t tell you how wonderful it felt when I called them from my vets office today and they wanted to help! Makes all the difference in the world to know your not alone. I just hope that Ruby doesn’t end up with a sensitivity to an ingredient, because I’ll use their food forever if I can.
Shirley Keaough Peterson
November 15, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Diane Peterson has always bent over more than backwards to provide world class customer service and to demonstrate a genuine interest in the health and welfare of our pets.
We have an aging dog with arthritis, and Diane is working closely with us to see to it that we do whatever we can dietarily to help this dog maintain maximum comfort and function as far into her “golden years” as is possible.
(It’s a mystery to me why more people are not feeding this really wonderful food. People comment on our dogs’ coats, in a breed where shiny is not uncommon.)
Yes, Joan, Mulligan Stew has cat food!
Morgana
November 15, 2012 at 1:33 pm
It sounds like little Ruby may have pancreatitis. It will be intereasting to see what her BW tells us. Metronidazole is a great all-round antibiotic when you are shooting in the dark.
Mulligan’s Stew: I wish EVERY dog food co. cared half as much as you do. Alas, many of the companies that WERE relatively small and reputable have sold out to the bigbadwolf such as Taste of the Wild, Solid GOld, etc.
Susan McFadden
November 16, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Ruby is doing great! We are going to feed her a limited ingredient recipe that I a going to make myself for a few months and then go from there. The bloodwork was fine from the vets point of view. The naturopath at Mulligan’s Stew thought the lipase was a little on the high side and may indicate pancreatitis issues. They also suggest a limited ingredient diet. They also though are sending me a bottle of their Cell Reserve to help with detoxification!! All gratis, they just want Ruby to feel better. They emailed me 3 times yesterday and called once, just to check on her and the bloodwork.
Amazing!
Lonnie
November 16, 2012 at 6:04 pm
This is an example of outstanding customer service. Its always nice to hear a “good guy” story, especially in pet food. Most of all Im glad to hear Ruby is doing better.
This was far and above what most would expect from any company. They have raised the bar on customer expectations..(maybe too high?) Anything less will now be seen as a fault.
Although, many kudos to Mulligans.
(this is just my opinion) We could not exist by eating a single food for 10 years, we might survive..but there would be potential consequences to our health. Why would anybody think its ok to feed ONE food to any animal for its entire life?…and then wonder why they suffer health problems. Dogs & cats were NEVER meant to eat ONE single food for thier entire life…thats not what mother nature intended for them…sorry for mini rant.
Peter
November 17, 2012 at 7:22 am
Yes, that is a “difference” worth noting.
My cat was poisoned by a Wellness canned food. There was more than one point where I thought he had died. I had expected the company to step up and help pay the bill. They would not acknowledge accountability, despite veterinary records indicating insult to his liver, clearly caused by the food (he had nothing other than the Wellness canned food… no treats, human food, etc.). Wellness turned what could have been a good story of a business stepping up into a story of conceit and abandonment of the consumer.
Carol
November 17, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Has Mulligan Stew sent their info to TAPF for the PLEDGE? If not, I wonder why? I would love to try Stew but I wont until I see their pledge here. I contacted them a few times with questions and never got a response.
joan
November 18, 2012 at 2:12 pm
I email them to see if they had a cat food line. They responded almost immediately. They used to, but don’t anymore.
They said, “The interesting thing about our can recipes is that our dog canned recipe line is the exact same product as the cat canned recipes were”.
Very nice people. Try emailing again.
Laurie Matson
December 7, 2012 at 12:00 am
Where can I get Mulligans canned dog food? I live in Minnesota and have never heard of it, but would like to try it!! 🙂
Shirley
December 7, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Laurie, you can get it through Amazon, or you can get it directly from Mulligan Stew, either by joining the Stew Club or by calling them. (website http://www.mulliganstewpetfood.com Hope it’s okay to say so.) 🙂