Dog treat under fire from consumers

When Michael Eastwood and Jennifer Reiff adopted Burt, a black-and-tan miniature dachshund, the New York couple said it was "total love." Three years later, they are grieving Burt's loss and vowing his death won't be in vain.

Burt died last summer after eating a popular dog treat called Greenies. A veterinary surgeon removed 3 ½ feet of small intestine along with a spongy green object that Eastwood and Reiff say was part of a Greenie that expanded in Burt's body and couldn't be passed.

"I never in a million years would have thought it could be a Greenie at fault," Eastwood said. "The packaging says it's 100 percent edible."

Greenies have come under fire from consumers and some veterinarians, many of whom say they have performed surgery on dogs — including some who didn't survive — to remove chunks of the treat from the esophagus and digestive tract.

Eastwood and Reiff have filed a $5 million product-liability lawsuit against Greenie maker S&M NuTec LLC. And the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine is investigating a number of complaints about the product.

Consumers have taken their complaints to the Internet, where postings have proliferated on chat rooms and animal-oriented Web sites. There, pet owners air concerns and stories about dogs becoming sick after being treated to a Greenie, which, in large pieces, doesn't break down easily in the stomach.

S&M NuTec says its product is safe and reminds consumers on its Web site, www.thetruthaboutgreenies.com, that no human or pet food is 100 percent digestible; otherwise no waste would be produced. Greenies, the company says, are completely edible while being 85 percent digestible. And every Greenie ingredient "begins as a human-grade edible ingredient," according to the site.

Company spokeswoman Jody Hanson said the product is so safe that its inventor, Joe Roetheli, eats the chews when visiting one of three manufacturing plants.

Still, in some cases of Greenie-related deaths, S&M NuTec has offered to pay veterinary medical bills and the cost of a new dog, Hanson said, confirming accounts from pet owners. The company also has asked owners to sign agreements requiring that all parties keep the matter confidential and releasing the company from legal liability.

"Oftentimes, we'll do an investigation and find out the owner gave the dog the wrong size or possibly got vet treatment too late," Hanson said. "That's not anything the manufacturer wants to talk about. These are sensitive, private issues, and the manufacturer wants to protect and respect everybody."

Charlie Powell, a spokesman for Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, said he has heard the stories about Greenies, but that the school hasn't seen any problems with the treat.

"First of all, this issue came to light based upon consumer complaints and not based upon any obstructions or any post-mortem exams we've done at the college," Powell said. "We haven't seen any problems with the product in question."

Powell, who is also a spokesman for the state Veterinary Medical Association, said small cats and dogs often behave like toddlers and need to be watched when they eat or play with toys.

"Any veterinarian you talk to with 10 years of experience will have 100 stories about items obstructing bowels of small animals," he said. "The key word here is caution. It's not Greenies."

Developed in the late 1990s, Greenies quickly overtook Kraft Foods' Milk-Bones to become the most popular dog treat in 2003, with about $315 million in annual sales and a total of nearly 600 million sold. Greenies, which get their green color from chlorophyll and are shaped like a toothbrush on one end and a bone on the other, are marketed as a way to clean teeth and freshen breath.

S&M NuTec shares all of the ingredients for Greenies except one: the "natural flavor" that it says is proprietary. The main ingredients include wheat gluten, which provides protein, glycerin, which enables the Greenie to jell into its shape; cellulose fiber, made from powdered plant material; and magnesium stearate, which serves as a lubricant during molding.

Greenies were given the "seal of acceptance" from the Veterinary Oral Health Council, according to the company. It said that independent studies showed that one Greenie a day resulted in a 62 percent reduction in tartar and 33 percent reduction in gingivitis. The VOHC doesn't test products; rather it reviews data from trials conducted according to its protocols.

S&M NuTec was not required to obtain FDA approval before marketing Greenies, but the FDA does review products if safety problems arise. FDA spokesman Jon Scheid said the agency is looking into eight complaints reported over the past year.

If the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine determines a product presents a risk of injury, it can request a product recall. If the center determines a product is unfit to be food, it can initiate a seizure or ask a court to enjoin the company from selling the product.

Seattle Times staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this report.