Pet food company reveals results after dogs sickened, killed

A pet food company said food blamed for the death of a dog in Washington state tested negative for contamination in its first round of results.

A Washougal woman claims three of her dogs got sick and another died after eating Evanger's Hunk of Beef with au jus wet food New Year's Eve.

KATU reports that Nikki Mael said all four dogs started acting strangely, so she rushed them to an animal hospital.

"They were falling over. So I grabbed them all and took them to the emergency vet. And when they got there, they were just limp. They weren't moving or anything. And so they were in ICU. Tito and Talula ate the most [food] and Talula passed away," Mael told KATU in early January.

Evangers launched an investigation and donated money to Mael's fundraiser with the message:

"We at Evangers are deeply horrified about this. We take the safety and quality of our products as top priority. We need to investigate and act upon this issue immediately and would require the LOT code found on the bottom of the can. Please email or get in contact with us. We also feed our own dog, Lilly, this food."

No recall was issued, but a local Evanger's representative said the company made arrangements to get the remaining unopened cans in the same case from Mael to have them tested.

The company posted the full lab results to its website Tuesday. The final round will be available by the end of the week, the company said.

"We fully expect that the rest of the analysis will be consistent with the preliminary round of testing. At this time, we have been unable to find any connection between the alleged incident and our foods, nor is there any veterinary or medical evidence to support the claims of responsibility," the company wrote in a statement.

"Our hearts go out to the Mael family for this difficult time, as well as because unkind things have been posted on social media that have needlessly been direct at both of our families as a result of these claims. We ask that the public discontinue any and all threats and harsh words to either party, as this has been a hard time for everyone involved."

"We very much appreciate the incredible outreach of support that our company and our family have been getting from our dedicated customers and retail stores who are monitoring the situation, as it has meant so very much to us as is the positive takeaway from what has been a challenging time. With 100% focus on moving forward, communication and transparency, we will continue to share test results with the public as soon as they are received."

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