My dog is going BLIND and may need her eyeballs removed after eating pet food recalled across UK – it’s ruined our lives

A DOG owner has been left devastated as her cockapoo is going blind after eating a popular dog food. The owner claims the food has been blinding her pet in a “months long” ordeal as the company issues a voluntary recall on its meals. Kiki was a “fun loving” and “happy” pup prior to her ordeal, now her owner claims she can’t do half the things she used to Credit: Carolyn Groombridge Kiki’s eyes are almost permanently shut, with her owner reporting that she can “barely see” Credit: Carolyn Groombridge Carolyn Groombridge, from Hertfordshire, claims her dog has been suffering from increasingly severe eye problems – and is even going blind – after being fed Years premium dog food for more than a year. Kiki, the five-year-old mini schnoodle, began showing symptoms of what Carolyn initially believed was an infection, after noticing “gunk” and “discharge” coming from her eyes. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Following weeks of unsuccessful antibiotic and steroid treatments, vets urged Carolyn to take her pet in for a specialist diagnosis at The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in Hertfordshire, where they told her that “Kiki was at risk of losing both her eyes”. Carolyn said: “The vets even said she could have her eyes removed, but I couldn’t do that to her.” Kiki’s owners having to pry her eyes open in order to administer her drops Credit: Carolyn Groombridge The website displays a message to customers to stop feeding the affected products to their pets Credit: Years.com After diagnosing Kiki with absolute keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye) in both eyes and stromal ulcers (open sores) in her left eye, Carolyn claims the ordeal has “ruined our lives”. “She’s a member of our family and it’s just horrible seeing her suffer like this.” But despite vets spending months investigating what could cause the pup’s tear ducts to stop functioning entirely, it was only this week that the pieces fell into place. “On Monday night, at 10:30pm, I received an email from Years saying ‘do not feed your dog this food anymore’,” Carolyn said. Most read in The Sun The five-year-old pet needs drops every two hours to stop her corneas developing more ulcers Credit: Carolyn Groombridge The poor pup has been in a cone since the start of her symptoms to stop her from scratching or damaging her eyes even more Credit: Carolyn Groombridge Years – a premium subscription-based company specialising in fresh dog food, notified its 40,000 customers earlier this week that it would be voluntarily recalling all Years Fresh Meals (excluding the Chef’s Collection). This was after its buckwheat-based meals were found to be linked with potentially causing eye problems in dogs. A day later (August 18), a Years spokesperson confirmed to The Sun that 192 customers in total reported potential, as yet unverified, eye issues in their pets. The brand added that it has now launched a formal investigation into its signature meals, in collaboration with customers and veterinary professionals, and is reformulating products to remove buckwheat. The news, Carolyn said, was devastating. “I’ve been feeding her this everyday, effectively continuing to poison her while I’ve been giving her medication.” “I spent so much time researching a decent food and ensuring Kiki gets all the right nutrients, only to find out that it’s actually the food that has been causing her problems.” The family tried contacting the dog food brand as soon as Carolyn received the email, but said they have yet to receive a reply. Vets at the RVC told Carolyn they had never seen a case “so bad” before, and had ruled out a genetic condition as it would take years to develop to this level of severity. Instead, the practitioners believe Kiki’s problems may be the result of an immune response which has attacked her tear glands – rendering them completely dry. Now, more than two and a half months after Kiki first experienced symptoms, Carolyn fears the condition is “irreversible”. Despite giving her medication which requires drops every two hours, day and night, to stop her from getting ulcers that might damage her eyes even more, the family has seen no improvement. “She looks worse than ever; her eyes don’t even open anymore and if you try to peel them open, they’re swollen and red.” “She’s normally such a happy fun-loving dog, everyone who sees her loves her.” With Kiki’s sight damaged from scarring on her corneas, her family wants compensation from the company to help put towards the pet’s £200 medication and rising vet costs. “The heartbreaking thing is that Kiki loved their food before all this, their customer service had always been great,” explains Carolyn. Years previously told The Sun that “several findings” had led it to investigate buckwheat as a potential contributing factor, including timing, with all confirmed cases emerging after buckwheat was introduced into the recipe. It also noted there could be potential supply contamination, with possible contamination identified in supplier product during its investigation. The brand added that buckwheat was a common approved ingredient used across many pet foods, and had gone through a “thorough process” before being introduced in its meals. A Years spokesperson told The Sun: “Years exists for one reason: to give people more time with their dogs, and the reports we have received are deeply upsetting to everyone here. “As a result of the reports, we took the step to voluntarily recall our fresh meals because, while the evidence is still developing, we are not prepared to take chances with the dogs people trust us to feed. “Our investigation is currently focused on potential contamination within a portion of buckwheat supply, rather than buckwheat itself, although a definitive cause has not yet been established. “Independent laboratory testing is underway, alongside our wider investigation, to understand exactly what has happened. We want to give customers clear, evidence-based answers rather than speculate while that work continues, and we will communicate the findings as soon as the investigation is complete.” Comment now