With great sadness, we are sharing the news of the passing of one of our past pups - Ollie (HT Duke Henry the Red) died on 07/03/2019 of what is most-likely diet-related heart failure, or DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy). Ollie appears to have been the 5th reported whippet in the US to have diet-related DCM.
For those not already aware, the United States is having an ALARMING increase of this tragic disease, related mostly to grain-free kibble dog foods. The FDA is researching the problem (which is NOT occurring in Europe, even with grain free diets). The FDA has released another recent report, and a list of foods with the highest connections to the problem. You can find the report and the list here: https://www.fda.gov/…/fda-investigation-potential-link-betw…
If you are currently feeding a grain-free, or even a grain-inclusive food from a small "boutique" company, we are strongly recommending that you switch to a grain-inclusive food that is not on the list above.
As much as we hate to support the 'big companies/big money', many vets are recommending Purina ProPlan grain inclusive formulas. The one good thing about the bigger companies is that they DO have a lot of laboratory testing to back up their foods, whereas the small companies may not.
Additionally, we at HT whippets have actually abandoned ALL processed dog foods in favor of feeding a raw, natural diet to the whippet here. If you are interested in more info. on that, just let us know.
Our hearts are heavy for Ollie's family and all of those who've lost a dog to diet-related DCM. Our hope is that the pet food industry of the US gets their act together soon. 
RIP, sweet Ollie.
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