'Check your dog's food': Woman issues warning after moldy kibble kills her two dogs

Feb 09, 2024

KENTUCKY (WWAY) — A woman who recently lost both of her dogs due to moldy kibble is urging everyone to check their dog food.

Alicia Gutierrez says last Tuesday began like any other day, with her letting her dogs outside to use the bathroom.

She says they were both acting normal.

Gutierrez left her dogs in their crate when she left for work, but came home that night to find one of her dogs, Reaper, motionless in his crate.

Immediately, Gutierrez and her boyfriend decided to take Reaper in for a necropsy. She says the dog’s body was stiff, and he and his crate were covered in bloody diarrhea.

After returning from the vet, the couple says the saw the same symptoms in their other dog, Harry, and rushed him to the emergency vet, too.

They couple went home and were told by the vet they would receive a call with any updates, and they decided to dump out the seemingly normal kibble bag they had opened hours prior to the dogs getting sick. After doing that they immediately found chunks of mold. They continued to dig through it and just kept finding more and more.

Later that evening the vet called and informed Gutierrez that Harry’s liver was failing. She made the difficult decision to have him humanely euthanized.

A few hours later, the vet called to tell Gutierrez that Reaper had died from a seizure caused by liver failure, believed to be a result of him eating the toxins in the moldy dog food.

Gutierrez says as hard as the situation is, her biggest comfort is knowing her two dogs are now resting peacefully without pain, saying Harry is most likely playing fetch nonstop and Reaper is definitely swimming in the ocean.

Gutierrez says her hope is other dog owners will take the time to check their pet’s food.

Moldy kibble can kill your dog in a matter of hours. Gutierrez says the kibble her dogs were fed looked perfectly normal, and there was no visible mold until they dumped the bag and more was found once it was searched.

She says taking a few minutes to inspect your dog’s food could literally save your dog’s life.