Did these puppies die of dog food poisoning?

Netizen Sophie Odulio Lee posted a heartbreaking story of how her family lost two puppies after being given a certain brand of dog food.

The first puppy, named Athena, was born healthy. She was a playful and well-trained German Shepherd who was a good companion to Lee’s son. Athena seemingly got tired of eating the same dog food, which was the Royal Canin brand. The family always bought the food from Hobbies of Asia located on Diosdado Macapagal Blvd., Metro Manila.

Thinking it was probably just a change in preference, Lee and her husband decided to buy a different variety from a different supplier located in 678 Commercial Center, Bacoor, Cavite. This was the first time the family ever tried Companion Pets Classic for puppies in milk flavor. It seemed fishy to Lee, though, when the supplier said “Bago lang ‘to. Kaka-deliver lang boss. [This is a new product, it was just delivered.]” Nonetheless, her husband decided to buy a sealed sack. They assumed it was an okay brand since they had already tried the adult dog variant and there was no problem.

Athena died at around 3 a.m. on the 17th of August. She vomited the dog food and stopped breathing after a few minutes. At first, they thought she died due to a disease or infection like heartworm simply because the dog seemingly had heartworm symptoms .

Their beagle puppy named Mocha who was also given the same dog food as Athena also passed away. At 11 p.m., their caretaker informed the family that Mocha was vomiting something bubbly and brownish in color. Lee desperately called all the 24-hour veterinary clinics she could find both locally and internationally, yet nobody was picking up. Mocha passed away a few minutes after.

Lee posted about her dogs’ tragic deaths from possible dog food poisoning as a warning to all breeders and dog parents. As of this writing, they are planning to consult a lawyer to find out what actions could be taken. The family is considering having toxicology tests done on the dog food. Lee had also spoken to several veterinarians and they suspect the deaths were caused by cyanide poisoning from storage or while being manufactured