Barney Enjoying His Final Christmas

For over 15 years, Barney was a favorite member of my extended family. He loved Hershey’s kisses, confronting dogs twice his size and “singing” Happy Birthday and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. But his life came to an abrupt end February 24.

Unfortunately, Barney was also a fan of Ol’ Roy wet dog food – part of the Menu Foods line of pet brands that has been recently linked to the deaths of at least 16 pets. About a week before he died Barney stopped eating and drinking. He didn’t even perk up when somebody opened up a Hershey’s kiss. A blood test revealed that his kidneys were failing. It was time to put Barney to sleep.

Barney’s untimely death was the result of eating Menu Food’s pet food containing rat poison. Menu Foods, the manufacturer of 95 brands of pet food, had received complaints of pets dying after eating its food but didn’t recall any products until they’d confirmed the deaths were the result of the food. How many pets’ lives could have been spared if their owners would have heard about the potential problem earlier?

So Menu Foods, what’s in your crisis communications plan? So far, you’ve got a nifty little press release dated March 16 on your "enhanced Web site." I don’t claim to be an expert in crisis communications, but I think you could do a bit more. The press release wasn’t even distributed over public US newswires, despite the fact that a large number American pets were obviously affected. I tried calling both hotline numbers provided for worried pet owners to call—neither one worked. The Web site isn’t what I’d consider enhanced either— the most recent information is a press release from March 19, which simply announces the launch of the enhanced Web site and the availability of the defective hotline number.

I hope Menu Foods makes an effort to reach out to the families affected by its tainted products. A press conference is scheduled for later this afternoon—I can’t wait to hear what the spokesperson says. What do you think—will Menu Foods do more than apologize? How should they handle the dozens of lawsuits that are sure to come?