Since launching our Pet Suffocation Awareness and Prevention campaign, we’ve heard from many people who’ve had their heart broken from the devastating loss of a pet due to suffocation. Much like Bonnie Harlan’s story, most of these cases yield little empathy or significant action on the part of the manufacturer who makes the product and packaging that these pets have tragically suffocated in.
Pet Suffocation: What corporate responsibility looks like
One story though has a very different, very encouraging, and very meaningful result in terms of corporate response. We’re sharing it here to demonstrate what true corporate responsibility looks like within the pet industry, we hope that this shining example will spread far and wide and will help to bring about the necessary changes from the folks at Frito-Lay (the company that Bonnie is petitioning to add a warning label to their packaging – see link below) and other snack food manufacturers.
Rhonda and Vince Herschell write (excerpt of email)…
"Cooper was our 7 year old yellow lab. He was loving, goofy and would bow down in front of you for a butt scratch. As with most labs, he was on a strict low calorie diet. 'Pupcorn' treats were a great reward for Cooper. He would prance up and down every time I passed the cookie jar, waiting for a treat.
SAD Day, December 10th, 2013.
After a few months of grieving our loss I sent a notice to Sunshine Mills and they have been great! You can only imagine my surprise when I got the email from Mr. Bostick [Sunshine Mills CEO] in mid February telling me that they were changing the packaging and sending me a photo of the new "Pupcorn" container. I just fell apart and couldn't stop crying. Maybe in a way Cooper's death has spared other families from this tragic loss."
New Story [March 14, 2017]: We received a related, tragic pet suffocation story about a dog that suffered as a result of the shape of a hard, plastic food container. 
Denise returned from the grocery store expecting her dog Jetta to greet her as she always did, but all was quiet. Denise called for Jetta and looked around when she spotted her beloved dog lying still near the fireplace. She called again, but Jetta did not get up. Denise moved closer to investigate and after a moment, she realized Jetta’s head was completely submerged inside a plastic container. She frantically struggled to pull the container off and administer CPR. "I started CPR screaming for help with the deepest grief I have ever felt," Denise shared with us.
When her son-in-law arrived, she enlisted his help, but unfortunately it was too late. “I have lost a very big part of myself when I lost her, for I loved her with all of my heart.”
Many of us would not think twice about a plastic bear container sitting on the counter (that in Denise's case, had been there for weeks with the lid on). She hopes that sharing her story will help prevent other pet owners from suffering a similar experience. Our hearts go out to her and her family.
Beautiful Jetta
Do you have a pet suffocation story? Please tell us about it.
The more stories we collect, the more we can help others.
Tell Product Manufacturers They Can Make a Difference
Let’s all sign Bonnie's petition asking Frito-Lay to show the same corporate character. Rather than the callous disregard they demonstrated in their Time Machine commercial during the 2014 Super Bowl... where they blatantly show a dog eating out of a Doritos bag.
