Years, a premium subscription service offering fresh dog food tailored to an animal's needs, has issued a recall after receiving reports of 57 suspected cases of dry eye in dogs. The company emailed customers on Monday night to say it had identified a potential link between its buckwheat ingredient and the condition.
Recall details and customer impact
Years urged customers to stop feeding its products to their pets or any other animal. As of Sunday, the company had received reports of 57 suspected cases. On its website, Years said: "This follows a small number of reports of dogs having a potential adverse eye reaction to buckwheat, a common and approved ingredient, which we include in our meals. As of 16th August, this has affected 0.1% of our customers."
The company, which advertises gourmet meals including pork shoulder and apple stew, turkey thigh and cranberry fricassee, and steak and kidney hotpot, has paused subscriptions for an initial six-week period while it makes fresh meals using quinoa instead of buckwheat. It apologised for the "worry and disruption" caused and said it will publish the investigation's results.
Dog owner's experience
David Felton, from Edgware, north London, said his dog Cookie developed eye issues in April after eating the food for two-and-a-half years. He estimated he had spent around £1,500 on treatment and vet bills. The PR consultant said his spaniel cross had been in "a lot of pain" and had received several treatments after he and his wife noticed her eyes were "getting really gunky".
A vet initially diagnosed Cookie with a corneal abrasion, but after two weeks with no signs of recovery, she was referred to a specialist who diagnosed bilateral dry eye disease. The six-year-old dog's eyes are being treated twice a day with a steroid paste, over-the-counter drops, and a gel. Mr Felton stopped using Years food immediately after receiving the company's email on Monday.
Asked how he felt about Cookie's illness, he said: "Extremely worried because this sort of came out of nowhere and it's been so unexplained as to the causes of it, and obviously with your pet you don't want to see them suffering and in a way they're like a member of family. You love them to bits just like you would your own child so anything that causes them pain and discomfort is quite upsetting for everyone involved."
He added: "Never did it occur to us that it could be a link to the food because the crazy thing is people buy Years because they want to feed their dog like high quality foods. If I just wanted to buy a cheap, readily available dog food, I would have just like gone to the supermarket and just got a kind of a cheap kibble. It's just incredibly disheartening because obviously people that buy fresh food like Years buy it because they've kind of bought into the idea that feeding their dog a fresh, healthy food made out of fresh, healthy ingredients is going to do them well."
Symptoms and next steps
The 39-year-old described the situation as "mind-blowing", adding: "I think everyone, all of the customers right now, are just reeling from this news." On its website, Years said it began receiving "multiple reports" of dogs experiencing sudden dry eye in both eyes in late July and launched an investigation on August 1.
Years said symptoms could include redness, cloudiness or dullness in the eyes, excessive blinking or squinting, pawing at the eyes, thick discharge, and general discomfort around dogs' eyes. The company urged its 40,000 customers to contact their vet "promptly" and to mention the Years product recall if they spotted any of the symptoms.
