When Huntsville resident Robert Barley switched his dog’s brand of food last week, he did it wanting to give her what he thought would be a healthier meal.

However, soon after he began feeding Beneful dog food to Pearl, a 5-year-old German Shepherd/Labrador mix, she was dead.

“I took her to the vet every year,” Barley said. “I always kept her on her Heartworm medicine and flea medicine.

“She never had anything negative. She was a healthy dog,”

He thought it might have just been a freak, isolated incident until he overheard a co-worker talking about how her dog had died suddenly, too.

Janet Rambeck, also of Huntsville, started feeding her dog from a bag of Beneful she had bought just before Christmas at Wal-Mart.

Rambeck said she had only fed Sooner, a 7-year-old Dachshund, the food on Friday, Jan. 26.

By Sunday morning, he was dead.

Both dog owners had kept their food under normal conditions inside their pantries and said the expiration date on both bags was not until November 2007.

After hearing both their dogs had died after eating the food, Rambeck decided it was more than just coincidence and researching to see if other dogs had died under similar circumstances.

While searching the Internet, Rambeck came across DoggyBling.com, a Web site featuring canine products and found she and Barley aren’t alone.

Ric Eddins, the site’s owner and founder, said he has been notified by at least 20 other people from various parts of the country, informing him of their dogs dying after eating Beneful purchased at Wal-Mart.

Eddins said each owner independently reported they had bought the food at Wal-Mart and described their dogs displaying identical symptoms before death.

Those symptoms include white gums, glazed eyes, trouble standing, acting sluggish or lethargic in nature and loss of appetite.

Eddins has issued a statement asking all dog owners to discontinue feeding their pets Beneful until this has been resolved.

Keith Schopp, spokesperson for Nestle-Purina Pet Care, makers of Beneful, told The Item arrangements have been made for Rambeck to send a sample of the dog food to Purina for inspection and testing.

Also in a statement posted on DoggyBling.com, Purina acknowledged the postings made on the Web site and encouraged all concerned consumers to contact them directly by phone at (888) BENEFUL (236-3385) and that a meeting was being held to discuss the issue.

Wal-Mart representatives were unable to be reached for comment Monday and Wednesday.

In addition to sending samples to Purina for testing, Rambeck had her local veterinarian, Dr. Mickey Moore, send samples of the food to Texas A&M; University for testing.

However, until testing is completed, Moore said it will be very difficult to ascertain the exact cause of death.

“There is only speculation right now,” Moore said. “It is a hard situation until more facts are known.

“Most of these name-brand companies are very careful about their quality control. They tend to be very careful and diligent when it comes to presenting a quality product.

“That doesn’t mean things can’t happen, but they are going to go above and beyond to make sure these kinds of situations don’t arise.”

In addition, Dr. Diane Levitan with the Center for Specialized Veterinary Care in Westbury, N.Y., issued a statement on DoggyBling saying she had found no data to confirm a relationship between the food and the illnesses.

She added there were “millions of pets around the country that eat Beneful and have exhibited no problems.”

In the meantime, all Rambeck can do is mourn the loss of what she considered to be a member of the family.

“It was devastating. It was like losing a child,” Rambeck said. “All of our children are grown so that dog was like a child to us.”