We’ve all seen the load of BS that streams out into the world from social media. From ice bucket challenges that purport to raise money for charity to ridiculously dangerous things like tide pod eating and the choking game, these quick hits spread through our pop culture like wildfire through an unswept forest floor.

A current fire spreading mostly from one facebook group is about pets dying due to eating Purina brand foods. 

The admin for a Facebook group for pet owners, called Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time, claims that she has received nearly a thousand reports of agonizing deaths related to the major brand. For their part, Purina has issued numerous statements saying they have no indication that their foods have any issues or are at fault for any pet deaths. Despite the pushback from Purina, more people are jumping in on TikTok with lots of anecdotal evidence, reposts from FB, and friend of a friend reports about sickened dogs. 

It would be a lot easier to ignore the rumors if Purina didn’t have a history of hiding evidence of dangerous dog food, from the potentially rat-poison laced Alpo debacle of 2007 to more recent data uncovered in a 2015 suit which claims the company uses unsafe ingredients. 

For now, it is simple internet rumor and unfounded claims, but it reminds us to be cognizant of what we feed our dogs. I don’t want to get into a huge discussion about which food is good or bad, or whether raw is dangerous or healthy, but I will state that no animal is meant to eat a 100% processed diet of the same thing every day or their life. 

We feed a combination of various kibbles for breakfast and Darwin’s raw food in the evening. We also mix it up with homemade mixes of raw meat and veggies from time to time. We also throw in different ways to feed them- slow feeders, Kongs, West Paw Topples. Feeding time is often the highlight of many dogs’ days so make it worthwhile to the poor pups. Don’t just dump something in a dish and call it good. 

Read reviews, decide what is right for you and your dog, make the best choice you can both financially and for the health of your pooch.