Caledon breeder says bags of dog food were tainted

For most pet owners, animals are like family and their well being is as important as that of any other family member.

That’s certainly the case for Jennifer Romeo, a dog breeder from Caledon, who says the health of her dogs could have been compromised if they’d eaten from bags of Purina Dog Chow that she says are tainted.

Romeo was on vacation when her son who was looking after the dogs discovered a questionable substance in two bags of dog chow.

“I received a text message indicating that my son had opened the dog food and he found particles — what looked to be cobwebs and plastic pieces,” she says.

Romeo was shocked and disgusted upon finding the unknown substance and says she called Purina head offices as soon as it happened. She has not received a response in over a week.

“The fact that they’re not responding to my telephone calls, they’re not responding to my emails — I’m very, very upset,” she says.

CityNews reached out to Nestle Canada, the company that owns Purina Dog Chow.

“We checked the contact information provided and there was a glitch in our consumer services system and see now that the consumer was not called back,” said Catherine O’Brien, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, in a statement. “This is not the level of service we strive to provide and are now in the process of connecting with the consumer and will fully investigate their concerns.”

Romeo says she isn’t satisfied with the response and worries others could be affected.

“Some other people could have some tainted bags of food … how many other consumers are out there that they’re potentially not responding to?” she said.

For her part, Romeo says she’s sworn off Purina Dog Chow.