Woman Alleges Young Dog Died After Switching to Hill’s Prescription Diet

A dog owner is alerting others that Hill’s Prescription Diet canned dog food has been linked to her dog’s unexpected death.

Laura F. told the Washington Post that her dog Mocha, who was only four years old, became ill with gastroenteritis in October 2018 after eating Hill’s dog food. Laura says her veterinarian prescribed antibiotics and other drugs that didn’t appear to alleviate the dog’s symptoms.

Mocha’s blood work and other tests identified no underlying problems or illnesses, Laura says, but continued to lack an appetite and refused to eat.

Laura says the vet thought Hill’s Pet Nutrition Prescription Diet i/d Canine canned food would improve Mocha’s health because Hill’s i/d line was created for dogs suffering from digestive problems.

After just a few days on the Hill’s pet nutrition, however, Mocha’ s condition went downhill fast, Laura says. She says that Mocha became lethargic. The dog allegedly started to drool nonstop, had diarrhea and vomited bile.

Laura says Mocha spent an entire night at the vet and then was admitted to a veterinary hospital for extensive tests. It was at that animal hospital that Mocha died from a heart attack, Laura says. Even after running those tests, the veterinarian allegedly couldn’t pinpoint a reason the young dog had become so ill and died.

Laura says she eventually found out the Hill’s dog food her doctor had prescribed was subject to a voluntary recall due to high levels of vitamin D. She told The Washington Post that Hill’s dog food is “supposed to be food for your dog. It was expensive, but I was willing to pay it because I wanted my dog to get better.”

Laura says she wants an apology from Hill’s and reimbursement for upwards of $3,000 she spent on Mocha’s medical care after she placed the dog on Hill’s pet food.

Hill’s Prescription Diet Recall

Hill’s announced a recall on Jan. 31 of some of its canned food products after reports that dogs were becoming very ill and some dogs even died after consuming excessive amounts of vitamin D.

According to Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s recall announcement, “While vitamin D is an essential nutrient for dogs, ingestion of elevated levels can lead to potential health issues depending on the level of vitamin D and the length of exposure, and dogs may exhibit symptoms such as vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling, and weight loss.”

The announcement goes on to indicate that “in most cases” dogs should experience a full recovery after they stop eating the affected products.

Hill’s Prescription Diet and Hill’s Science Diet canned dog food subject to the recall were shipped to retail pet stores and veterinary clinics throughout the United States. More than 20 different varieties of Hill’s canned food are affected by the recall, which Hill has declared a “supplier error.”

Hill’s Pet Nutrition has promised to put new testing and quality control measures in place to ensure any type of similar error does not reach the consumer marketplace.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition was founded in 1948 and is a subsidiary of the Colgate-Palmolive Company. It is not the first dog food company to be hit with legal action over alleged toxins in their products. Champion Pet Food was recently hit with a class action lawsuit over allegedly toxic dog food.

Join a Free Hill’s Pet Nutrition Dog Food Recall Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased Hill’s Science Diet or Prescription Diet canned dog food, you may qualify to join this Hill’s dog food recall class action lawsuit investigation.

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