Dog foods pulled from shelves nationwide after investigation finds euthanasia drug

WASHINGTON -- Retailers nationwide pulled at least 31 varieties of dog food off the shelves after a months-long investigation found the food contained the euthanasia drug pentobarbital.

Days after lab tests were released, Smucker's, the owner of almost all the brands in question, announced a voluntary withdrawal or products including Gravy Train, Kibbles 'N Bits, Skippy and Ol' Roy lines of canned food.

Retailers, including the nation's largest, Walmart, removed it from all 4,700 stores.

"Consumers, they're tired of their pets dying," said Susan Thixton, who's been researching and writing about the pet food industry for years. "They're tired of being worried and this needs to change."

Thixton said based on current labeling standards, it's impossible for consumers to know what they're really feeding their pets.

Among our tests were 15 cans of Gravy Train, made by Big Heart Brands, owned by Smucker's.

Nine cans, 60 percent of the sample, repeatedly tested positive for pentobarbital.

And while the levels detected were not lethal, under federal law it is not permitted at any level, and never allowed to be used on animals intended for food.

Read the full investigative piece on WJLA website - an ABC11 sister station.