Hill’s Pet Nutrition is facing a slew of consumer lawsuits linked to their January 2019 excess Vitamin D recalls.
Filed on February 26, 2019 in the Central District of California, pet owners versus Hill’s Pet Nutrition; a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit states they bring this suit against Hill’s for (bold added):
“their negligent, reckless, and/or intentional practice of misrepresenting, failing to test for, and failing to fully disclose the presence of toxic levels of Vitamin D in their Contaminated Dog Foods (defined below) and for selling Contaminated Dog Foods that are adulterated and do not conform to the labels, packaging, advertising, and statements throughout the United States.”
This particular lawsuit asks that Hill’s Pet Nutrition be required to test “all ingredients and final products for such substances” (such as excess Vitamin D) and asks for pet owner financial relief in the same amount Hill’s offered veterinarians in a previous announcement; “offer Plaintiff and the proposed class $500 vouchers for each can of Contaminated Food as they have offered veterinarians and (iv) restoring monies to the members of the proposed Class.”
This lawsuit quotes several claims from the Hill’s website including these two (that the recall proved are not accurate claims):
(g) “We conduct final safety checks daily on every Hill’s pet food
product to help ensure the safety of your pet’s food.”
(h) “Additionally, all finished products are physically inspected and
tested for key nutrients prior to release to help ensure your pet gets a consistent product bag to bag.”
The lawsuit also includes a quote from the FDA alert on the many excess Vitamin D recalls; (bold added for emphasis) “Vitamin D, when consumed at very high levels, can lead to serious health issues in dogs including renal dysfunction.”
Represented (among others) in this lawsuit is the owner of “Taki, a chihuahua mix” who consumed the toxic Hill’s dog food starting in November of 2018. Taki died of renal failure in February 2019.
To read the full lawsuit, Click Here.
To contact this law firm, Click Here.
In another of the seven lawsuits filed against Hill’s – Stella, a dachshund rescue from Florida – consumed just six cans of Hill’s i/d dog food. On January 26, 2019 she was in total kidney failure and had to be euthanized.
Another lawsuit appears to say that Hill’s had a Vitamin D problem much earlier and in their dry dog foods (similar to the excess Vitamin D recalls of other brands previous to Hill’s recall); (bold added) “As a result of online consumer complaints, Hill’s thus knew or should have known of the elevated vitamin D levels in the Specialty Dog Foods by at least February of 2018.”
In the lawsuit quoted above, Duncan – a seizure alert trained service dog – died on January 12, 2019. Taco died on January 24, 2019. Lily died on November 27, 2018.
All of the above heart breaking pet deaths are just a tiny glimpse into the destruction this toxic pet food caused.
To read other lawsuits filed against Hill’s Pet Nutrition (regarding the excess Vitamin D):
The price a pet food manufacturer pays for NOT properly testing ingredients: 7 class action lawsuits.
The price a pet owner pays for a reckless manufacturer that doesn’t properly test ingredients: painful illness and death of their pet.
Nothing has changed since the 2007 pet food recall. In 2007, Hill’s issued 3 recalls for melamine contaminated pet food. No pet food manufacturer in 2007 bothered to test or validate the quality of vegetable protein ingredients (such as wheat gluten) in advance of using those ingredients in their pet foods. Those ingredients were later found to be contaminated with melamine – responsible for killing thousands of dogs and cats. Fast forward 12 years, AGAIN – Hill’s did not test ingredients or validate ingredient quality.
How many pet’s have to die until each and every pet food manufacturer tests and validates the quality of ingredients?
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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Ettore Giarratana III
March 6, 2019 at 4:04 pm
As usual, an excellent post, Susan. Thank-you.
~Pet Owner~
March 6, 2019 at 4:32 pm
Well it would seem like the AVMA would want also want to get involved, right.
After all this food could only be obtained through a prescription, so Hill’s negligence affects Vets too. Shouldn’t they be responsible for which products they choose to help support a compromised pet? Shouldn’t they be responsible for knowing the quality-control features of a product like this? In response to their obvious defense (well we didn’t know anything) then responsibility needs to be backed up the tree. It should be a “best practice” requirement of Vet Offices selling the product, to be assured of testing practices, to know that the food is not only effective but safe, like d’uuuh! This is why I used the product, assuming that Hills had to be particularly careful, because they wouldn’t want to produce an inferior product for an already compromised pet! Where IS the AVMA on this issue, because if they don’t push for quality and control … really … then how is anything ever going to get fixed. Because obviously nobody listens to a PF consumer!! They ought to be the ones bringing a lawsuit against Hills. Because your Vet’s reputation has been damaged too.
Dianne & Pets
March 6, 2019 at 7:28 pm
Your post inspired me to send a message to the vet college in Ontario asking what they have done to alert clients. They are heavily invested in by Hills’s. First couple of paragraphs in this story highlights the ties. http://ovc.uoguelph.ca/office-of-the-dean/past-deans/elizabeth-stone Maybe people should contact their local vet associations and ask giving the story of their pet if they are personally affected. Although, apparently, if you are in a class action suit, you should check with the lawyer first.
ParisMatch
March 10, 2019 at 7:42 pm
It’s actually not legal to write a prescription for something that has no medical ingredients the hills prescribed food has NO medical medicinal ingredients ( read the tin) it is a marketing ploy for vets to feel superior. If you tried to buy it over the counter at a vets and they won’t sell it to you without it being prescribed it’s illegal as it’s just the same crappy food from the supermarket just more concentrated.
Susan Thixton
March 10, 2019 at 7:54 pm
The FDA provides prescription pet food with a special exclusion to federal law. Here is a link to the FDA Compliance Policy that allows pet foods to be prescribed only by a vet yet follow no other regulation of a product that can cure or treat disease (prescribed by a doctor items). https://www.fda.gov/downloads/iceci/compliancemanuals/compliancepolicyguidancemanual/ucm318761.pdf
Jane Katkus
March 6, 2019 at 5:10 pm
question for you – regarding Hills and pet food recalls…….any reported affects/effects for cats? I ordered Hills prescription a couple times via Amazon and my cats either hate it or it’s just bad…..when they have eaten it – they tend to throw up and generally make messes when ordinarily they don’t or wouldn’t. Can you shed any light on this aspect? I get it about the dog food – but if it’s dogs affected – how about the potential or possibility about cats? Please advise. Thanks much!!
T Allen
March 6, 2019 at 8:20 pm
Since this was a pre-mix vitamin for dogs it’s probably not an issue for cats and there haven’t been any reports of cats dying. That said, I’m very cautious about feeding any commercial food to my cats as well. Cats are very easy to make homemade meals for. I don’t know why you are feeding HIlls to your cats (have you ever read the ingredients on the can? Do you know what those ingredients are?) but most urinary and digestive issues in cats are reversed when they are put on a raw/ part cooked “real food” diet. Check out felinenutrition.org for all the details.
Concerned
March 6, 2019 at 5:29 pm
https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2018/09/20/how-is-colgate-palmolive-likely-to-grow-in-the-next-two-years/#720bd7ba755d
We expect Colgate-Palmolive to generate around 16.2 billion in revenues in 2019 and earnings of around $2.5 billion. Of the total expected revenues in 2019, we forecast $7.4 billion to come from the Colgate’s Oral Care business, nearly $3 billion for the Personal Care business, around $3.5 billion in the Home Care business, and nearly $2.4 billion for Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
So Hills generates over 2 billion dollars a year and they fail to test their products
from Hills Website
https://www.hillspet.com/about-us/quality-and-safety
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
More than 220 veterinarians, food scientists, technicians and Ph.D. nutritionists at Hill’s develop all of Hill’s pet foods to meet the needs of your pets.
Ingredient Supply
We only accept ingredients from suppliers whose facilities meet stringent quality standards and who are approved by Hill’s.
Not only is each ingredient examined to ensure its safety, we also analyze each product’s ingredient profile for essential nutrients to ensure your pet gets the stringent, precise formulation they need.
Product Manufacturing
We conduct annual quality systems audits for all manufacturing facilities to ensure we meet the high standards your pet deserves.
We demand compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and Hill’s high quality standards, so your pet’s food is produced under clean and sanitary conditions.
Finished Product
We conduct final safety checks daily on every Hill’s pet food product to help ensure the safety of your pet’s food.
Additionally, all finished products are physically inspected and tested for key nutrients prior to release to help ensure your pet gets a consistent product bag to bag.
DEAR HILLS,
SO IF YOU HAVE ALL THIS IN-PLACE HOW DOES THIS DEADLY ISSUE MAKE IT TO THE CUSTOMER LEVEL!
I LOVE THE THAT FINISHED PRODUCT STATEMENT “ENSURE THE SAFETY OF YOUR PET”S FOOD”.
Grateful
March 6, 2019 at 6:52 pm
All lies
ParisMatch
March 10, 2019 at 7:47 pm
Same thing happen 2007 how we forget, hills PR Machine rolled out the same crock as they are doing now in 2019. people dogs don’t need to eat this stuff read the labels it’s akin to feeding your child Macdonald’s for every meal of their entire life.
Popcicle
March 6, 2019 at 5:29 pm
I hope they pay severe penalties as a result of these lawsuits! The problem is that the payouts in these cases is minimal compared to their profits and money cannot return the beloved pets who died from Hills’ horrible manufacturing practices.
Peter
March 8, 2019 at 8:23 am
Generally, legal proceedings are considered an ordinary cost of doing business for these global agribusinesses. Allowances for legal costs and even fines are built into their normal business models.
Jennifer
March 6, 2019 at 6:10 pm
I just lost my cat last week. Kidney failure. He was prescribed hills kd not even a year ago. I noticed that he would get sick and stopped eating when I fed it to him, so I stopped feeding it. The vet said there was nothing wrong with the food. He would get dehydrated and be hospitalized. They fed him hill’s. His health declined slowly at first. I would take him for fluid treatment every other day. He would be better for a while. I did not feed him hill’s, but I guess that when I took him for his treatments, they would feed him hill’s. He wasn’t there for more than a few minutes. Why would they feed him? He lost weight. Down from ten lbs to four lbs. In about six months or less.
I took him for his last treatment on the 25 this month. He came home, and instead of getting better, he got worse. He couldn’t walk, then he couldn’t stand. He couldn’t keep his head up. He was in and out of consciousness. I took him back that afternoon. They said fatal kidney failure. I had to euthanize. I didn’t want him to die alone in the clinic overnight. When they brought him in the room with the iv tube ready to go and with my cat wrapped in a blanket, they were still shoving a bowl full of hill’s in his face! He was barely conscious and couldn’t lift his head, minutes away from euthanasia, and they were still trying to feed him hill’s.
They knew about the recalls. We had several discussions. They kept telling me it was just for the dog food. Then what happened to my cat?
Kim
March 12, 2019 at 12:57 am
Dear Jennifer, I’m so sorry for you and your kitty. It is truly unconscionable that the clinic lacked any compassion for your cat prior to the end of his life. They sound immensely brainwashed by Hills marketing. Most veterinarians cannot think for themselves, it seems. They just follow what they get crammed down their throats in med school.
Kidney failure does often behave in this manner. Better, worse, better worse. Weight loss, and the other symptoms you listed. It is likely he was leaving either way, whether the clinic gave him a little food while he was there or if not. As pet parents, we must research and become aware of everything we place before our pets to eat. They are counting on us to do this. You will know more now for your next baby. Losing our babies is so painful, I know. I hope you never use that clinic again, please. Have you heard of Mercola Healthy Pets–Karen Becker, DVM? She puts out a ton of educational information in newsletters and videos on YouTube. She is courageous in challenging modern veterinary medicine.
Denise
March 14, 2019 at 6:14 pm
I am so sorry for your loss. Unfortunately kidney disease is a given for most cats regardless to what you feed them. My boy is at least 15 (possibly older) and is dying from kidney failure. He has never had science diet food in the 15 years I have had him. It’s a very difficult disease to deal with and very stressful. Cats are carnivores and meat is high in protein and that is hard on kidneys. My vet tried to get me to go with SD but I refused and said it was crap. My boy is currently going through everything you described your cat went through. I am currently syringe feeding him Honest Kitchen just to get him to eat.
Interested
March 14, 2019 at 8:54 pm
In reply to:
“I am so sorry for your loss. Unfortunately kidney disease is a given for most cats regardless to what you feed them. My boy is at least 15 (possibly older) and is dying from kidney failure. He has never had science diet food in the 15 years I have had him. It’s a very difficult disease to deal with and very stressful. Cats are carnivores and meat is high in protein and that is hard on kidneys. My vet tried to get me to go with SD but I refused and said it was crap. My boy is currently going through everything you described your cat went through. I am currently syringe feeding him Honest Kitchen just to get him to eat.”
I don’t know where the original comment sits in this thread (WordPress is indeed an odd program) however I can’t tell whether the comment above is meant to be a term of support or defeat. And for that reason appears to be a little insensitive. For pet owners it is particularly after a stressful episode with a pet, or the revelation of a particular brand, that readers come here to make some kind of determination. In this case that ability has now been blurred. I too have read that cats need protein, but then how much is necessary, to avoid kidney failure … would seem to be an important followup, right. Anything that is a “given” (said particularly by a non-professional) seems to be a bit of a strong point. Many of my friends have aging (very strong) cats, and those with a few with issues too (including diabetes from too much starch). So should it be suggested then, that including fish and poultry is helpful? Does “Honest Kitchen” have a good alternative? How is their formula designed? And better yet, wouldn’t it be nice for a holistic specialist to weigh in on this “opinionated” conversation?
Whenever there is something negative to be said among these threads, Vets are the first casualties to be run under the bus. Especially when a pet is or has failed. Instead of keeping the focus on the PFI’s intentionally deceptive marketing. As is PF education, balanced nutrition is a lifetime event, as are genetics and environmental factors. I doubt that anyone has done a study on feral cats (for example) eating a natural prey diet, who (may or may not) be outliving household cats, but it would be an interesting counterpoint to this discussion.
I’ve spoken with many, many Vets over the decades, and they are the first people to be celebrated in saving an animal, or blamed for a loss. The ideal would be for them to be experts in nutrition (very true) but that study is also a matter of science and testing, and is nearly a full time job unto itself. Let’s do a little more thinking in the future before making all inclusive statements, and instead, be responsible for managing the decisions that … we make.
Dianne & Pets
March 6, 2019 at 6:56 pm
I sincerely hope that people take this all the way to court instead of settling and signing non-disclosure agreements and then all kinds of people will say there was nothing to this as they were not convicted.
~Pet Owner~
March 6, 2019 at 7:03 pm
I agree. The problem is people run out of money paying their legal fees. Corporations do not. How would you solve this.
Batzion
March 6, 2019 at 8:37 pm
They contact LIDA (Lawyers in Defense of Animals) in New Jersey, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, which operates on a reduced fee or pro bono basis, and ask for referrals in other states (See their FAQ): http://njlida.org/index.asp
OR contact ALDF (Animal Legal Defense Fund) another 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation and ask for their assistance, direction, etc: https://aldf.org/: Scroll down to the items under “How We Work.”
It’s worth a try.
Peter
March 8, 2019 at 8:32 am
In a class action suit, the “lead plaintiff” is generally assigned a guaranteed amount, for serving as lead. The process then begins to certify a “class” and allow other litigants to join as “class members.” Agreements are usually structured so that the attorneys are paid (including costs), with the class members getting paid last (what is left over), which is why the class members get very little, often in the form of coupons to buy more of the very products that the suit is centered on. A settlement may well include aspects of non-disclosure, if the parties agree.
So, the lead plaintiff is not likely to “run out of money,” because the legal team engages itself in the first place based on analysis of likely success and payout. Although the class members themselves tend to get little to “nothing,” (really), the “system” works based on this very nature of financial reward to the legal team.
Costs or “awards” are fairly meaningless to these agribusiness conglomerates, no matter how high they may appear at first, even in the multiple millions$. Such is built into their business model as an ordinary cost.
Sue Meigs
March 6, 2019 at 9:11 pm
Just go on over to the Taurine Deficient Food Related DCM group (or whatever they are calling it today) where they have all of the answers ?
They have gained so much traction preaching their jargon regarding what ultimately amounts to a relatively small percentage of DCM cases in relation to the brand they eat, and that’s ridiculous.
They also are able to defend/minimize this Hill’s food problem and point the finger at Susan Thixton, among others, for “getting us into this (DCM) mess” in the first place. I have been paying attention because I sell pet food and certainly don’t want to find that my beliefs and convictions have been wrong all this time… but it really annoys me that people are being convinced that the very people trying to protect pet owners are the bad guys. (How do you deal with reading that stuff Susan?) ?
Susan Thixton
March 6, 2019 at 9:20 pm
The Facebook DCM groups kicked me out even though I never once violated any of their rules. Perhaps to prevent me from seeing their comments about me. How do we all deal with reading information we know is false – worse yet, much of it put out by veterinarians? I constantly remind myself we didn’t get into this pet food mess overnight, and we won’t get out of it overnight. But…our numbers are steadily growing, theirs are steadily declining. One pet owner at a time.
Dianne & Pets
March 6, 2019 at 10:30 pm
I joined another group where your name is not to be mentioned along with Dr. Becker and something else. You are allowed to give your experience with a food, but cannot criticize. How saying you had a bad experience is not criticism, is beyond me. There is a group where you are always discussed in a positive light. It is Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time.
craig reddick
March 8, 2019 at 5:44 pm
I was giving my 10 yr old Golden A Taste of the Wild (3 cups per day) her weight went up so my Vet put her on Hill’s prescription diet metabolic 2 cups a day. What do I do now ? I can’t trust anyone !!!! I need a name of a good trusted dry dog food. HELP.
~Pet Owner~
March 8, 2019 at 6:34 pm
If I had to give a kibble again, I would try Sport Dog Food (and sent away for a sample size for an emergency backup). https://sportdogfood.com/ But you need to figure out how many calories your Vet wants your dog to eat to lose weight, and then talk to the Sport Dog people to find out how much of their food should be fed per your dog’s weight/energy requirement. The food is formulated for high performance, so (I believe) less of it is required than average food. They also have a recipe that does NOT use peas/legumes (stay away from those ingredients!). I would also feed real, red (human edible grade) meat occasionally. (Don’t forget to transition carefully!!)
* I am not connected with, nor sell any PF supplies.
ParisMatch
March 10, 2019 at 7:50 pm
Ziwipeak or raw 80-10-10 rule
Kim
March 12, 2019 at 1:10 am
Hi Craig–You can trust yourself! Are you willing to cook for your beloved dog? You will need to get a book with recipes or some source for the recipes to make sure to use the correct amounts of meat, supplements, etc. Or purchase pre-made “homemade” type foods. Try small pet stores that sell raw meat and higher quality pre-made foods (canned, dry). Dry food is not the best option for our dogs and cats. It is basically the equivalent to human junk food. It keeps them alive. There is a new brand, Just Food For Dogs. Petco carries it. The food is expensive, but they also sell supplements to add to different types of meats. They provide the recipe, you buy the food and add their supplement. Feeding like this will result in more energy, luxurious fur with less shedding, less body odor, less poop, weight management, acting younger (if any of those are an issue with your doggie). And maybe use a different vet that isn’t brainwashed into pushing junky Hills or Royal Kanin. The quality of ingredients in those two brands is so poor, yet they charge so much. They are using the status of veterinarians to sell the products. A real crime.
Dianne & Pets
March 12, 2019 at 10:54 pm
Try BalanceIT, you may feel the most comfort with it, and you can get recipes for different health conditions.
Thomas Lang
March 9, 2019 at 7:19 pm
Vets do not make a lot of money, and getting a practice started, or buying into one, requires more debt as well as those pesky student loans. So it’s understandable the average practice seeks to sell food and other items to support its expenses, a real easy mark for persuasive corporate efforts.
I would always prefer to buy from smaller pet food producers, and when Rx cat or dog food is in the mix, I agree pets usually reject it. After many years with many dogs and cats, I have never yet found an Rx food of any value, and would rather prepare home-cooked meals for any animal with “an issue,” (this evening treating a week-long GI issue with my 8 year old rescue).
Very disappointing to know that Hills is (like most larger companies) is entirely about profits, spending more on ads & promo to “look good” to consumers than on doing the quality control.
Gloria
May 27, 2019 at 4:51 pm
My 11 year old Yorkie, Striker…three cans of K/D