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A group of California plaintiffs claim certain varieties of Wellness dog food are contaminated with lead and arsenic.
Plaintiffs Daniel Zeiger, Amy Freeborn, and dog-sitting business Danz Doggie Daytrips say the makers of Wellness dog food have failed to alert consumers to their products’ unusually high content of lead and arsenic.
By doing so, the plaintiffs claim, defendants WellPet and its parent company Berwind Corporation have endangered consumers’ pets and failed to deliver the product that purchasers pay for.
According to the plaintiffs, WellPet LLC and Berwind make and market the Wellness brand line of dog food. The plaintiffs take issue with two products in particular: Wellness CORE Adult Dry Ocean Whitefish Herring Meal & Salmon Meal and Wellness Complete Health Adult Dry Whitefish and Sweet Potato.
Arsenic and lead are both toxic, the plaintiffs point out. Arsenic is a known carcinogen and can also contribute to heart disease and diabetes, the lawsuit states. Lead, also a carcinogen, is a cumulative toxin, meaning it builds up in the body during continuous exposure. Lead poisoning is associated with brain damage, kidney damage, and death, among other problems.
The plaintiffs say independent laboratory testing of these varieties of Wellness dog food revealed they contain up to 1,500 parts per billion of arsenic and up to 221 parts per billion of lead. For comparison, the plaintiffs point out that the FDA limits arsenic content in bottled water to 10 parts per billion and lead content to 5 parts per billion.
But despite these “alarming” levels of lead and arsenic in Wellness dog food, the plaintiffs say, defendants advertise these foods as being high in nutrition and beneficial for dogs’ health.
Language quoted from the defendants’ Wellness dog food website promises that “[a]t Wellness, your pet’s health is at the core of all we do. That’s why we have developed an extensive quality assurance program, guaranteeing that all of our products are safe, pure and balanced.”
The plaintiffs say that throughout the website and on Wellness dog food product labels, the defendants repeat over and over these false and misleading assurances. At the same time, they allegedly fail to alert dog owners to the presence of lead and arsenic in Wellness products.
The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class consisting of all U.S. citizens who purchased the allegedly contaminated Wellness dog food from July 1, 2013 through the present.
They are asking for a court order barring WellPet and Berwind from selling the allegedly contaminated Wellness dog food until the excess of lead and arsenic can be removed. They also seek to require the defendants to stop marketing the allegedly contaminated dog food as safe for consumption and to conduct a corrective advertising campaign.
Plaintiffs are also asking for awards of damages, restitution and disgorgement, court costs and attorneys’ fees.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Brian J. Robbins, Kevin A. Seely, Ashley R. Rifkin, and Steven M. McKany of Robbins Arroyo LLP, Robert K. Shelquist and Rebecca A. Peterson of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP, and Daniel E. Gustafson and Karla M. Gluek of Gustafson Gluek PLLC.
The Wellnes Dog Food Contamination Class Action Lawsuit is Daniel Zeiger, et al. v. WellPet LLC and Berwind Corp., Case No. 3:17-cv-04056, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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124 thoughts onWellness Dog Food Contains Undisclosed Arsenic, Class Action Claims
Add me also please and Kim lowans as well. When will these company’s understand we love our dogs so much they become another child to us.
I’ve been feeding my almost 8 year old Pomeranian Shyanne this dog food for 6 months now, I was feeding her the Blue Buffalo dog food. Tell I found out that their was a lawsuit on it & now this one has a lawsuit on it. Wow what & who can we trust any more? What is going to be safe for out little fur-babies now?
I was feeding my Great Dane this food and her kidney’s failed. Sadly I had to put her down and she went down to 75 pounds.
Please add me
I was feeding this to our family dog. Who has been the heart and soul of our family.4 weeks ago, shortly after her nighttime feeding. She started throwing up. She hadn’t been sick before. Just, acting like her normal self. We were getting ready to rush her to the vet, who has taken care of her since she was a puppy. And while wrapping her,in her favorite kiki (blanket).She looked up at us with her big brown. Black Lab.eyes ..as if to say.’ I love you Mom and Dad.’ Words can’t express the heartache we are still feeling. We had the local funeral company come pick her up. And to make matters worst. They wanted their money up front. Of which we had over 300.00..of it..but, because we are a hard working middle class people. We didn’t have the rest of it ..till our next payday. So, we had to wait over a week to pay them before they would release her remains. We, had our Precious cremated..so she can fly free.So..the pain this has caused. Our family is undescribable.The whole time we have been feeding her this ..even if it was expensive for us,we felt she deserved the best. And we have, and are still ,going thru hell. We had been poisoning our beautiful daughter, by feeding this poison for her. To say that I want to see this Company pay..is an understatement. And for all of you who lost a family member too..my heart and hugs ,goes out to you. Add me to this lawsuit..so no other family has to go thru this.
Is there never any trust???
I here this whole time I’ve thought i was doing what was best for my lil girl and find out i could be poisoning her!!!!!
Please add myself & Bindi Jo to this case!!!
Thank you
:(
I bought this for my dog last year because it was highly recommended. My dog has since pasted due to stomach and kidney issues. Please count me in!
where do you go to be part of this class action suit ? I have been feeding my dogs this food for years ! I can not find a form to fill out anywhere .
I’m horrified!! I have fed all five of my dogs Wellness Core dog food, as well as recommending it to new owners of my puppies!!!! I have one dog who is 11 and recently diagnosed with HEART problems, and now I am on a mission to see if this may have been a contributing cause. I am ashamed of this company and angry to have fallen victim!! Are all my other dogs going to have this problem too? They have given my dog 6 months to a year to live – I feel she has been cheated out of FIVE YEARS of life.
SHAME SHAME SHAME WELLNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So disappointed!! I have been feeding my dog Wellness for a very long time. It was a brand I thought I could trust because of its nutritional guarantee. It’s very alarming to find out that my dog could become horribly ill and potentially die from eating dog food formulated for dogs by Wellness. I would like to include Marley and me in this class action law suit. Like others stated, I have Marley’s pantry stocked with Wellness dry Core and Welness wet foods and also the Wellness brand treats varieties. Darn shame I have to throw these expensive items out!!
Bring them all back to the store … I also use Wellness the individual packages … makes me sick was going out to buy more today .. this is a disgrace. Shame on them.