RIP: WOOF WOOF

Pet owners were rechecking their cabinets and threatening legal action after state officials said rat poison was found in pet food blamed for the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs. The Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation into the pet deaths was focused on wheat gluten in the food. The gluten itself would not cause kidney failure, but it could have been contaminated, the FDA said. The substance in the food was identified as aminopterin, a cancer drug that once was used to induce abortions in the United States and is still used to kill rats in some other countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said. The pet deaths led to a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of dog and cat food the company produced and sold throughout North America.
During the French and Indian War, Americans gave Indians blankets that had been infected with diseases such as small pox to kill them. This poisoning was purposely used to kill the Indians, however, and the pets were not purposely poisoned.