Local veterinarian warns of China-made dog treats

By Andre Senior

CREATED Sep. 12, 2012 - UPDATED: Sep. 12, 2012

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  • Vets tells clients to check the packaging of any dog treat to make sure it is not made in China following complaints to the FDA. Video by fox4now.com

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NAPLES, Fla. - Concern continues to grow among pet owners around the country about chicken jerky pet treats made in China.

"My pets aren't going to eat Chinese chicken jerky treats," said Dr. Randy Eisel, owner of Animalife Veterinary Center in Naples. 
 
The doctor tells his clients to check the packaging of any dog treat to make sure it is not made in China following complaints to a federal organization.
 
Fox 4 has been telling you for months that the Food & Drug Administration has been receiving complaints from pet owners whose dogs have either become severely ill or died after eating chicken jerky made in China. 
 
FDA officials have issued an advisory on its website, but it has not asked for a recall because its scientists cannot figure out why pets are getting sick after eating the China-made product. 
 
In the last few weeks, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) fired off a strongly worded email that requests "an immediate investigation into the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's handling of thousands of complaints about illness and death resulting from jerky treats for dogs," said the email.
 
It goes on to say "If, after five years of investigating, the FDA still has no more clues about the chemical or biological culprit than the original consumer complaints, the competency and/or integrity of the investigation is called into question. I do not make this statement lightly."
 
The congressman points to the 2,000 complaints made to the FDA about the treats over the last five years.
 
FDA officials inspected the factories in China where the treats are made, but only under restrictions such as conducting tests on samples at labs in China. 
 
In the meantime, Dr. Eisel says consider purchasing American-made dog treats to feed your animal until federal investigators get to the bottom of the dog treat scare.