Dog owners nationwide are calling for a recall of Nestlé Purina’s Beneful line of dog foods, claiming the food has directly resulted in the illness and/or death of hundreds of beloved pets.

Aside from being nutritionally unsound, packed with corn-based fillers and by-products proven to be unhealthy and unnecessary in a dog’s diet, consumers are reporting a wide range of illnesses ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to bacterial infections, liver and kidney failure, and even death after eating the popular kibble.

Instead of addressing the concerns and questions from hundreds of confused, concerned, and often angry consumers through their Beneful Facebook page, the dog food giant has instead beefed up their social media moderation, deleting comments, banning consumers that post complaints or photos of their beloved pets, and posting canned responses claiming the quality and integrity of their products and urging pet parents to feed their pets Beneful with complete confidence.

Nestlé Purina spokesperson Keith Schopp told MSN News that the online postings “contain false and misleading allegations and cause undue concern and confusion among consumers.” He continued, “There are no known product issues with Beneful dog food. Consumers can continue to feed Beneful to their pets with total confidence.”

In response to Facebook comments and posts, moderators are replying with canned responses echoing those of Schopp above.

One devastated pet owner named Jodi wrote to Beneful, “My dog has ate beneful for his whole life of four years and recently diagnosed with chronic kidney failer and I have researched and discovered beneful uses substances found in anti freeze that slowly causes kidney and liver failer due to the toxins I would like to thank you for killing my lil puppy that I loved at the young age of four :(”

Beneful responded, “We’re sorry to learn of your loss, Jodi. We’d like to know more about your situation. Please give our team a call Monday at 800-877-7551. We look forward to speaking with you. Thank you.”

Since Jodi’s post, hundreds more have made similar claims to Beneful, demanding answers, looking for the manufacturer to take some responsibility and investigate the claims made against them. For every one of hundreds of similar consumer comments, Beneful’s response has been the same. A simple copied & pasted canned response that only seems to fuel the fire.

Sound familiar?

For the past 5 years, Nestle Purina was under the same consumer scrutiny for their Canyon Creek Ranch and Waggin’ Train chicken jerky treats imported from China. Until the recall of these products in January, Purina’s customer service team provided consumers with nearly identical responses to those they’re giving Beneful customers now.

Despite continued consumer complaints and Purina’s insisting that their chicken jerky products were safe, the treats were found to contain traces of illegal antibiotic drug residue and were eventually pulled from store shelves.

Will Purina’s Beneful line of products face the same fate?

The Dogington Post reached out the the Food & Drug Administration, with concerns about what appears to be a lack of action or interest in the complaints against Beneful. The FDA admitted that they have received “some” complaints about Beneful and are “looking into the situation.” The FDA is also urging consumers to report any problems associated with the popular dog food by visiting the FDA’s online Safety Reporting Portal. To submit a complaint, click here.

Additionally, If you believe that your dog has been affected by Purina’s Beneful brand dog food – in either a negative or positive way, please join the Facebook group, “Is Beneful Killing or Sickening Dogs” by clicking here. Since the group was created a few months ago, over 1,000 members are already sharing stories, collecting data and veterinary reports, and drawing media attention to their cause. As Beneful continues to ignore consumer questions and concerns, the group continues to grow.

A member of the group told us, “We are mostly refugees from the Purina Beneful Facebook site, banned because we started asking questions. Is it a problem with Aflatoxins from moldy corn? Is it a problem with Organosphosphates? Could this be linked to Monsanto’s GMO grain which is sprayed with Round-up, an Organophosphate? Is it a problem with Pentobarbitol poisoning? Pentobarbitol is found when euthanized animals are used in rendering… a huge problem in Spanish pet food right now. Is it due to the low nutritional quality? The use of synthetic and controversial Vitamin K as menadione? Or maybe there is more than one factor at work here?”

It’s clear that we can’t always rely on the integrity of manufacturers, or on the timeliness of an FDA investigation to keep our furry family out of harm’s way. Find a dog food manufacturer that puts the health and safety of your pets at the forefront of their company mission, provides complete transparency in regards to sourcing, handling, and processing of their foods, and uses species-appropriate ingredients, not cheap fillers, by-products, and chemicals.