A Fife dog owner who feared she may lose her beloved pets has issued a warning about jerky treats linked with potentially fatal kidney disease.
Dawn Adamson believes duck jerky treats she gave to her four-year-old terriers Bonnie and Brillo are to blame for high glucose levels detected in their urine.
She is waiting to hear whether they have suffered any lasting damage.
Similar treats have been linked with around 1,000 pet deaths in the US and one recently in North Tyneside.
Since throwing out the treats, which she bought in her local B&M store, Lakeland terrier Bonnie’s glucose level has fallen but Patterdale terrier Brillo’s remains high.
Dawn, of Glenrothes, realised something was wrong when both dogs began urinating and drinking excessively.
She researched the symptoms and found warnings from the UK-based Animal Health Trust and the US Food and Drug Administration.
She said: “When I read the warnings I was absolutely horrified and I immediately stopped feeding them the treats. I was worried I was going to lose my dogs.”
Dawn took her pets to the vets and since then the animals have been regularly tested to see whether the g lucose is leaving their system.
She said: “It’s now a waiting game.
“If the glucose doesn’t come out of their system it’s probably going to mean they will need treatment but what that is I don’t know.”
Dawn reported the treats to Trading Standards and complained to B&M.
A spokesman for B&M said: “We take the quality and safety of our products very seriously. Our supplier of this pet treat carries full health certificates for all their products.”
According to the Animal Health Trust, vets in the UK have reported an increased number of dogs with kidney problems which may be linked to jerky treats imported from China.
Photo by George McLuskie