A Washington Department of Agriculture “situation report” discloses that a Petco in Seattle Washington refused to cooperate with regulatory authorities in a serious pet food investigation.
Per multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) acquired documents (requested by myself and also requested by Kohl Harrington, producer of Pet Fooled), we learned that Hill’s Science Diet was linked to “five E. coli O157:H7 human illness cases within WA” in September 2023.
Through the Washington State Department of Health investigation (interviews of four individuals that were sickened), the agency discovered “two food varieties are connected: Food Sensitivities z/d for dogs and Sensitive Skin and Stomach for dogs and cats.”
Documents acquired also stated: “Two of the cases identified Interbay Petco, Seattle, WA for their purchase location.”
After four of the five E. coli cases were interviewed and the potential link was determined to be the Hill’s Science Diet pet food – (we assume out of caution to prevent other illnesses) a Washington State Department of Agriculture staff member called the Petco pet store where two of the human illness victims purchased the pet food and “requested suspected product be temporarily removed from shelves“.
Unfortunately…Petco refused to cooperate; “manager denied request.”
Ultimately, there was no recall issued for Hill’s Science Diet pet food due to E. coli contamination (we are waiting on more FOIA documents, test results of the pet food). But, at the time when Petco was asked to temporarily remove suspect pet foods, regulatory authorities were in the midst of a concerning investigation. Authorities stated the human illnesses “are highly related by WGS” (whole genome sequencing) and four of the five illnesses were linked to two brands of Hill’s Science Diet.
Why wouldn’t this Petco manager cooperate with regulatory authorities?
Click Here to view the FOIA acquired document.
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Holly Farish-Hunt
March 13, 2025 at 2:05 pm
Thank you SO much for your continuing investigatory work that is reflected in the name of your organization. I’ve followed you for years and referred others as all people with furry family members should know what really goes on behind the curtain.
glynda
March 13, 2025 at 2:20 pm
BOYCOTT PETCO and HILLS non-SCIENCE non-Food !!!
It is painfully clear we must stop using corrupt pre fabricated non foods to feed our beloved pets. Home made REAL food will keep our animals not only alive and thriving but away from the vet’s dispensing this inedible health threatening crap they call food!
Alexis
March 13, 2025 at 2:52 pm
Only surprise here? that PetCo actually ANSWERED their phone. PetCo NEVER answers their phone. Former employee who quit in complete disgust of this and other practices by PetCo told me that corporate instructs them not to answer the phone because “it brings people in to the store.” Of course, once inside the store, the items PetCo’s website claims are available at that particular store, are not. With some items, that goes on for YEARS. Best not to shop at PetCo or its corporate rival either – instead, shop at INDEPENDENT pet supply stores where staff are knowledgeable and actually staying on top of things such as pet food contamination issues.
T Allen
March 13, 2025 at 7:51 pm
Wow! Thanks for that info. Another place on the boycott list, permanently.
Kathy
March 13, 2025 at 6:05 pm
When AG says remove a product can they legally refuse that order? At the very least I hope this “manager” is given a pink slip and they put some time and effort into training. An apology to the public would be nice, too but I won’t hold my breath.
T Allen
March 13, 2025 at 7:58 pm
AG “asked” them to remove the food. They said, no. Not very smart but we know how that goes these days. That forces AG to jump through more hoops to seize the food if it feels it is necessary. It also opens the store up to huge liability issues. E. coli O157:H7 can be lethal in humans or cause serious permanent injury like kidney failure.
Terry Durbin
March 13, 2025 at 7:10 pm
Thank you for your work, Susan. Hopefully people will boycott Petco.
Lorraine
March 13, 2025 at 7:54 pm
I do not ever feed any of my dogs Hill’s Science dog food. I would not feed the regular food or the prescription food. I stopped going to PetSmart stores years ago. Petco was the only store I was still going to. But that will stop immediately. I hope the store manager was reported to the home office of the Canadian company that owns Petco.
Bethany
March 14, 2025 at 12:49 pm
I started boycotting Petco and PetSmart years ago because they sell abused and exploited live nonhuman animals. This information only affirms my decision.
Sandy
March 15, 2025 at 11:59 pm
Thank you for sharing this information and all you do for our pets!