DENVER — For years, neighbors have complained about the smell coming from the Purina pet food plant near Interstate 70 and York. Now, a new lawsuit has been filed claiming that stench is harming families and making it impossible for them to enjoy their homes.
On Thursday, Denver7 met with Rile Walters and Hayley Douglas, who moved into a duplex across the highway from the factory in 2022.
"We toured it, I think twice, and both times it didn't really smell, so we just decided to move in," Walters said.
On a good day, neighbors say the smell of dog food moves in with the wind. On a bad day, it's something they describe as unbearable.
"It's like a rotting carcass or human sewage smell. It's much worse," Walters described.
It's so bad that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Purina, claiming the smell is making people nauseous and they can't even enjoy their own home.
A similar lawsuit was filed against Purina last year by the same attorneys as the newest suit but was dismissed. The attorneys say they cannot comment on why it was dismissed but do feel confident in this latest legal action.
Denver7 reached out to Purina for a comment and they sent us the same statement as in 2024, saying they can't comment on pending litigation and "Purina is a proud member of the Denver community, and we’ve operated our York Street factory since 1930. Throughout this time, we have remained committed to being the best neighbor we can be, and that won’t change."
Denver7's Danielle Kreutter followed up again, asking specifically what the company does to mitigate the smell from the factory and what the factory does to be a good neighbor. As of this story's publication, we have not heard back.
The lawsuit also claims that Purina is failing to filter the air coming from its production and has not used adequate odor prevention technology that is available.
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Meanwhile neighbors are pouring money into filtering their own home's air.
"We bought an air purifier just for inside the house. Even with the windows [closed], you can smell it," Douglas said.
"It's $60 filters. We bought the good filter. I have to change them every month," Walters added.
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For many families living near the plant, moving is much easier said than done.
"It's just a thing that a whole bunch of poor people have been dealing with for decades now, and we just kind of fell into it with our kids because we needed an affordable home," Walters said.
While the couple is not currently part of the class action suit, the thought that change could be coming gives them hope.
"Hearing about it pleases me because we were trying to figure out — do we need to round all the neighbors up and get a petition signed? What do we need to take the steps to do?" Douglas asked.
