Did grain-free dog food contribute to the Goldendoodle tragedy?

A nurse and dog owner issues an urgent PSA to Goldendoodle owners after grain-free dog food led to the death of her own dog.

In a TikTok with over 658,000 views, content creator Charissa Angel de Luna (@charissa23deluna) describes how her 8-year-old Goldendoodle Mila suddenly became ill and later died, and how Charissa discovered that the illness caused by no-gain dog food was the cause.

“I’m making this video for anyone who has a Goldendoodle or Golden Retriever,” de Luna begins.

A Goldendoodle PSA

She says she first noticed something was wrong with Mila “about a week ago,” when she noticed her dog was lethargic and not moving much. By the evening of the same day, however, Mila was back to normal, de Luna says, eating her food and drinking her water as usual.

“We didn’t think much of it. We thought maybe she had an upset stomach or just wasn’t feeling well. That was it,” she says.

Two days later, however, after a successful morning of running errands, Mila was again lethargic and unmoving in the afternoon. Even more worrying this time, Mila’s breathing was labored and her eyes looked “anxious,” according to de Luna.

“I knew she could die if we didn’t get her to the vet soon. I didn’t know what was going on, but as a nurse, when I saw her breathing, I thought, ‘This isn’t right. Something is very wrong.'”

When de Luna took Mila to the vet, she was told her Goldendoodle was in critical condition. After examining Mila, the vet came back with devastating results.

“(The vet) showed us how big her heart was. It was pressing on everything, her lungs were being compressed, it looked like there was fluid in them, her liver, her kidneys. It was a multi-organ situation.”

The culprit? Dilated cardiomyopathy.

What role does dog food play?

De Luna says the vet then asked what Mila would eat, to which she replied grain-free food. Purina defines grain-free dog food as “any dog ​​food made without wheat, corn, rice, and other grains.” However, because dogs still need carbohydrates for energy, grain-free dog foods use alternative carbohydrate sources like potatoes and pea flour.

Although she fed Mila grain-free dog food for her skin and stomach problems, de Luna was unaware of the connection to DCM.

“(The vet) tells us that grain-free food can actually cause dilated cardiomyopathy. I had no idea,” says de Luna.

What is dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs?

According to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is “a primary disease of the heart muscle that results in the heart’s inability to generate pressure to pump blood through the vascular system.” The exact cause of the disease is not yet known, but nutritional and infectious factors, as well as a genetic predisposition, have been suggested as causes.

Although de Luna was unable to save Mila, it is important to her to inform other dog owners.

“It was really hard to lose her, but I wanted to share this information because we didn’t know,” she says.

In her caption, de Luna writes: “Please hug your doodles from me.”

Viewers express their condolences

In the comments, users expressed their condolences and gratitude for the information and gave their recommendations for safer dog food.

“I’m so sorry. I have a Goldendoodle and we feed him Purina Pro Plan. Sending you so much love!” one user shared.

“My deepest condolences on the loss of your sweet baby. Thank you for sharing this information to help save others’ lives,” said a second viewer.

“I immediately called my vet to confirm and changed my doodle’s food. I am so sorry for your loss but thank you for sharing with us,” read a third comment.

“I have two golden retrievers that are fed grain free… the Lord put this on my FYP I know it. I am sooo sorry I will speak to their vet immediately,” wrote a fourth user.

In a follow-up video, de Luna shares pictures of Mila and calls her “the cutest dog ever.”

The FDA announced in July 2018 that it had investigated reports of dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy eating “grain-free” dog food that contained “high levels of peas, lentils, other legume seeds, and/or potatoes in various forms as primary ingredients.” The agency’s official statement based on the data collected so far is that “the possible association between diet and DCM in dogs is a complex scientific issue that may involve multiple factors.”

@charissa23deluna I’ll leave a comment below about the Royal Canin dog food the vet recommended. Please give your doodle a hug from me ❤️💔#goldendoodle #goldendoodleeducation #dog #dogtok ♬ Original sound – Charissa

The Daily Dot has contacted de Luna via private messages on Instagram and TikTok for more information.

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