Woman says popular pet treat killed her dog

NAPLES, Fla. – A potentially deadly dog bone has been taken off store shelves across the country.

Lori Beaupre had her little dog Charlie for ten years. In March, she gave Charlie a ham bone made by the company Dynamic Pet Products. Beaupre said less than 48 hours later, Charlie was dead. Beaupre said Charlie was lethargic the morning after eating the bone and started to vomit, so she took him to an emergency veterinarian. The vet took X-rays and found pieces of the bone stuck in his little body.

“It had broken in pieces and the doctor referred to them as shards. So they were like little sharp splinters, pieces of bone stuck in his intestines, and one a little higher up but still in his intestines.”

Beaupre said she paid $2,600 so Charlie could have emergency surgery to remove the bone pieces, but unfortunately Charlie did not make it.

“He was having a hard time breathing on his own and he never really survived.”

Beaupre started researching Dynamic Pet Products and called WINK News. In a lawsuit filed against Dynamic Pet Products and its owners, Frick’s Meat Products, it states the companies have “known as early as 2006 that the Real Ham Bone For Dogs is not safe or appropriate for dogs. Over the past nine years, consumer have complained directly to Defendants about the horrific injuries and agony that their pets have endured as a result of the Real Ham Bone For Dogs, all of which Defendants casually ignored.”

In fact, the Better Business Bureau in Missouri, where the company is located, started receiving complaints about the bone. They received so many complaints, the BBB wrote a letter to all U.S. Senators and the FDA asking them to do something about the bones.

“This was a pretty unusual case for us and the reason we felt it was important is because the consumers who were coming to us, really horror stories about what was happening to their animals. These were people we were hearing from a day or two after their pet died or their pet was hospitalized,” Bill Smith with the BBB said.

Smith said they heard back from Senator Claire McCaskill from Missouri and the FDA said they had posted a warning about bones in general.

When Smith contacted the company, “They defended it to us several times saying it was no more danger than for instance buying a skateboard would be for a child or a bicycle.”

In an email to the BBB, Dave Frick with Dyanmic Pet wrote, “Simply put; there is not a safer Natural Pet chew bone than our product.”

WINK News contacted the FDA, who oversees pet treats and asked if they were investigating Dynamic Pets. They would not comment if there was an active investigation, but did say they have worked with the BBB in Missouri and warn against all bones. Walmart, where Beaupre bought the bone has pulled all bones made by Dynamic Pet Products from its shelves. When WINK News contacted Dynamic Pet Products for a comment, they never responded. But you can no longer buy products on their website.

As for Beaupre, who misses Charlie everyday.

“I don’t know how they can sell it and have a conscious,” Beaupre said. “These people have known about it for years, for 10 years, and it’s still there. That’s a shame. I shouldn’t have even been able to pick that up, nobody should…It happened to me and I have to be the voice.”

If you have an issue with a pet treat, you should file a complaint on the FDA’s website.

Veterinarians also suggest that you talk to them first, before giving a dog any type of treat. You can also look for treats that are given the “Veterinary Oral Health Council” approval.