A dog owner in the Chicago area has filed a class action lawsuit alleging that his 9-year-old Pomeranian died as a result of eating Nestlé Purina’s Waggin’ Train Yam Good dog treats. The fatality and resulting lawsuit are the most recent in a series of events illustrating the public’s growing anxieties over an apparent connection between chicken jerky treats from China and a surge of unexplained illness in dogs.
According to the lawsuit, filed on April 18 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by Dennis Adkins of Orland Park, Ill., the dog became ill and died of kidney failure less than two weeks after consuming the treats in March. Adkins says he gave one of the treats to his dog daily for two days and that no other changes were made to the dog’s diet. His other Pomeranian was not fed the treats and did not become ill. The suit names as defendants Waggin’ Train LLC, the manufacturer of the product; Nestlé Purina Petcare Co., the corporation that owns Waggin’ Train LLC; and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the distributor.
The lawsuit states that although Nestlé Purina and Waggin’ Train had received complaints of more than 500 incidents in which dog treats containing chicken jerky imported from China caused dogs to become sick or die, they continued to market their product as being “wholesome” and placed no warnings concerning the product on the packaging. Additionally, it states that Nestlé Purina and Waggin’ Train knew there was a substantial risk of death or harm associated with its dog treats and intentionally concealed known facts concerning the safety of the dog treats in order to increase or maintain sales.
