Who put the pentobarbital in Mrs. Murphy's chow?

Rainbow Bridge    (Image by Maris stella)

When a beloved dog named Tabula chowed down on a bowl of Evanger’s, who knew that this would be her last meal?

After Tabula became deathly ill, her owner submitted the leftovers for testing.  Turns out that they contained pentobarbital, a drug commonly used for euthanizing dogs and cats  Further testing revealed that Gravy Train samples also contained it.

Which begs the question:  How did pentobarbital wind up in these products?  This drug is outlawed in “animal meat used for food supply," and therefore "should not show up in any pet or human food.” 

Pentobarbital, however, would show up in the bodies of pets that were “put down” with it.  What might all this say about the sources of certain pet-food ingredients?

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/whats-hot/popular-dog-food-brands-recalled-after-repeatedly-testing-positive-for-euthanasia-drug/ar-BBJhUMx?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=BHEA000

Copyright February 19, 2018 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved