WHEELING, IL — A dog food company announced the recall of a popular food line after a drug commonly used in euthanasia was found in a batch of the product.
Evanger's Dog & Cat Food — based in Wheeling, Illinois — announced it would recall its "Hunk of Beef Au Jus" food after the drug Pentobarbital was found in one lot of the food after production.
The food was distributed to stores in states including Washington, California, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, but also was sold online.
Evanger's said the batch the company is recalling was produced on June 6 through June 13 and has product codes starting with 1816E03HB, 1816E04HB, 1816E06HB, 1816E07HB and 1816E13HB.
Pentobarbital can cause a host of side effects in dogs, including death, as it is used to put animals as large as horses to sleep in higher concentrations. According to Evanger's, five dogs have become ill, with one dying from ingesting the product.
The fatality is attributed to food from the lot number 1816E06HB13.
Evanger's said it is the first time the company has had to issue a recall in 82 years of manufacturing.
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