Do you read Consumerist on your lunch break? Oops. Here’s a photo of something Richard colorfully calls “maggot stew” lining the bottom of his dog’s food dish, right after Banjo finished a heaping helping of Purina Beneful. Richard says Banjo seems okay so far, but we think it’s interesting that this is the second Beneful maggot story we’ve received in under a week. Read Richard’s full story below.

I read your post Saturday regarding the Purina Beneful dog food. I feed my dog the same brand so I was understandably concerned. I checked the checked the stock we had on hand and was relieved to find no maggots, larvae,or other creatures in my dog’s food.

Later today, 22 Sept., I opened a new bag of the same food and fed Banjo. I usually mix a bit of water in his food to soften it up for him. When he finished eating I grabbed his bowl so I could rinse it out. The junk that was left in the bottom of his bowl was nothing short of maggot stew.

I took a few pictures just in case we would need them and then called Purina customer service. After an automated message stating that Purina was aware of another recall from a competitor’s brand of pet food, I was put in the holding queue with a promise that a service rep world be with as soon as possible. After the wait a pleasant CSR named Megan answered. I told her of my predicament and asked for her advice. She gathered the information from the bottom of my bag and urged me to discard any unused food into an outdoor trashcan. She told me a full replacement coupon was in the mail and apologized profusely. I asked if the bugs would be harmful to my dog and she said that normally they weren’t but if we had to take my dog to the vet as a result of the swarm then we should call back with the reference number and inform the CSR. I hope we can avoid that route but it seems like she was genuinely concerned and apologetic.

I cant imagine bugs would be harmful to him because he eats poop too but that isn’t the point. I paid for a bag of food with an unspoken promise of a bug-free dining experience for my dog. All in all the customer service portion of my ordeal was pleasant and it seemed like they weren’t trying to shirk their responsibility.

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