What to do with this dog food?

[cintinative]

Amazon delivered a 40 lb bag of dog food but there were ants (sugar ants, as my FL family would call them. We don't have this kind of ant here in Ohio.) in the box and seemingly (when I opened it) in the bag of food. I put the bag inside a large yard trash bag tied tight. 

I did get a new bag of dog food free from Amazon. Do I throw away the old food?  I guess I feel I need reassurance that is what I should do, since there are so many rescues that could use the food. 

Not to gross anyone out but when my FL family's in-laws get ants in their donuts for example, they throw the donuts in the freezer to kill the ants and then eat the donuts.  We don't have a freezer we can fit a 40 lb bag of food in anyway. 

What would you do?

 

Update in last post. Wildlife rehab taking it.  It was not infested with ants--I am sorry I gave that impression, but I understand how that was the thought.  

Edited July 18, 2021 by cintinative

[TrulySusan]

Call your local rescue and see if they could use the food. If they decline because of the ants, you can throw it away without guilt. 😃

[PeterPan]

If freezing was a great solution, you'd feed it to your own dog. Throw it away. 

I threw away chocolate last night that some bugs had gotten into. Now THAT is a loss.  Dog food is not a loss and amazon was stand up and replaced it. Throw it away and move on. You wouldn't want shelter dogs to get sick or be grossed out any more than your own. My little dog won't even touch food that has been anywhere near bugs.

[Pawz4me]

Throw it away.

[zimom]

Do you have a lake nearby?  Catfish love dog food.

[Selkie]

Another vote for throw it away. I don't think any animal shelter is going to want bug-infested food.

I would not try to freeze it and use it, either, because the ant bodies would still be mixed in with the food. Yuck!

Edited July 17, 2021 by Selkie

[City Mouse]

I like the idea of checking with a shelter, but I am guessing that they won’t want it. 
My dog eats way more disgusting things than dead ants, so I could see the freezer trick if you had space. 
Do you have a local Facebook group where people post things they don’t want? Someone might have a use for it.

[itsheresomewhere]

I work with a rescue.  We would tell you thank you but you could throw it away.   We wouldn’t want it.  Throw it away guilt free. 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, ZiMom said:

Do you have a lake nearby?  Catfish love dog food.

so do raccoons.

(and they'll wash their food).  they're not bothered by ants.

Edited July 17, 2021 by gardenmom5

[cintinative]

37 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

so do raccoons.

(and they'll wash their food).  they're not bothered by ants.

I didn't even think of this. I contacted my friend that does wild animal rehabilitation. She is checking around. Apparently the opossums could eat it.  

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

I didn't even think of this. I contacted my friend that does wild animal rehabilitation. She is checking around. Apparently the opossums could eat it.  

If she can use it - I wasn't even making a serious suggestion.  But a wild animal rescue . . . They might also be hesitant, not knowing what else might be in it.

 I get really fed up with people who put out dog food for the local raccoon population. . . . (which can then cause a whole long list of other problems.)

[Shoeless]

Toss it into the woods if you feel bad about wasting it. Something will eat it. A shelter or rescue isn't going to want ant-infested food anymore than you do. 

[cintinative]

Thanks all. If the wildlife rehabber doesn't think the food is okay with a few possible sugar ants (that is all I saw in the bag) then I will toss it. 

 

[Tanaqui]

Throw it away, donate some money to your local rescue so you feel better about throwing it away.

[popmom]

Ok I didn’t read all the replies, but I got the gist of it and I have to say… y’all are soft lol. I grew up with Bassett hounds who wouldn’t touch their food until it was covered in ants. They wanted that extra protein and flavor. Those were some fine and healthy dogs. Just sayin’ I’d feed it to my own dogs if it didn’t mean an ant infestation.

Edited July 18, 2021 by popmom

[popmom]

6 hours ago, Tanaqui said:

Throw it away, donate some money to your local rescue so you feel better about throwing it away.

So contradicting my last comment slightly…My daughters run a non profit dog and cat rescue. Don’t send rescue organizations what you wouldn’t feed your own dogs. Rescues can be pickier than that nowadays. They have donors who send top of the line food. I don’t say this to discourage donations of dog food. They will gladly take inexpensive foods. But it’s kind of insulting to send food that you consider “contaminated”. Most of the dogs my dds rescue takes in have been abused and neglected. They and their donors want to provide the best of the best for them. So if you wouldn’t feed it to your own pet, don’t give it to a rescue. Toss it in your compost instead. Or find a a good ole hound dog/farm dog who appreciates the extra seasoning and protein. 😉

Edited July 18, 2021 by popmom

[katilac]

On 7/17/2021 at 11:00 AM, PeterPan said:

You wouldn't want shelter dogs to get sick or be grossed out any more than your own.  

Yes, you wouldn't want them to take a break from licking their butts only to be grossed out by some sugar ants 😂

11 hours ago, popmom said:

Ok I didn’t read all the replies, but I got the gist of it and I have to say… y’all are soft lol. I grew up with Bassett hounds who wouldn’t touch their food until it was covered in ants. They wanted that extra protein and flavor. Those were some fine and healthy dogs. Just sayin’ I’d feed it to my own dogs if it didn’t mean an ant infestation.

Yes, a possible infestation is what I would worry about, rather than the dogs eating food with sugar ants in it. 

11 hours ago, popmom said:

So contradicting my last comment slightly…My daughters run a non profit dog and cat rescue. Don’t send rescue organizations what you wouldn’t feed your own dogs. Rescues can be pickier than that nowadays. They have donors who send top of the line food. I don’t say this to discourage donations of dog food. They will gladly take inexpensive foods. But it’s kind of insulting to send food that you consider “contaminated”. Most of the dogs my dds rescue takes in have been abused and neglected. They and their donors want to provide the best of the best for them. So if you wouldn’t feed it to your own pet, don’t give it to a rescue. Toss it in your compost instead. Or find a a good ole hound dog/farm dog who appreciates the extra seasoning and protein. 😉

Dang, you ruined it 😄

I would most definitely ask, because they may have a method for dealing with it that isn't workbable at home (or you simply don't want to do it at home). I most definitely don't think it's insulting to offer. Everyone wants the best for the animals, I'm sure, but sometimes the best is good food that volunteers remove the ants from (you can do it with cornstarch, but it's easier at a bigger place like a shelter rather than a house). 

I'm sure it varies by region, like so many things, but I very much doubt that my local rescues are being provided with high end food by donors on a regular basis, much less the shelter. Many animal organizations around here are small and hanging on by a thread, and their donors don't use high end food themselves. And, I'd also add that a good food with ants removed is better than an inexpensive, junkier food with no ants, so I would always ask. 

To me, it's like people who donate good clothing that has a small rip or is missing a button. They don't want to mess with fixing it, but lots of thrift store shoppers will be thrilled to find a good shirt that just needs a button replaced! It's not insulting to say that I will never fix this, but I bet someone else will. I would never 'fix' a bag of food with ants in it, but it's reasonable to think that a shelter or rescue might want to do so. It's not insulting to ask them. 

Edited July 18, 2021 by katilac

[Pawz4me]

3 minutes ago, katilac said:

 

I'm sure it varies by region, like so many things, but I very much doubt that my local rescues are being provided with high end food by donors on a regular basis, much less the shelter.

Neither of the rescues I volunteer with would accept insect infested food.

Many of the big dog food companies (Purina, Hills, etc.) donate food to shelters and rescues now.

Edited July 18, 2021 by Pawz4me
infested, not invested (sigh)

[katilac]

2 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Neither of the rescues I volunteer with would accept insect infested food.

And that's fine. They can always say no. 

[cintinative]

The wildlife rehab organization is taking it. 

It wasn't "infested." Now that I look back on my first post, I see the confusion. 

There were ants in the box (outside the bag) and when I opened the bag, I saw about three or four, which I removed.  For all I know, they crawled in from the outside. Sugar ants are super tiny. If it was swarming with ants, I would have just thrown it away. But with only a few, I hesitated.  I knew I could get a replacement from Amazon, so I decided to go that route.

Anyway, I am glad that someone can use it.  

[Selkie]

1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

Neither of the rescues I volunteer with would accept insect infested food.

Many of the big dog food companies (Purina, Hills, etc.) donate food to shelters and rescues now.

Yes, Hill's supplies the shelters here with food.

[popmom]

1 hour ago, katilac said:

Yes, you wouldn't want them to take a break from licking their butts only to be grossed out by some sugar ants 😂

Yes, a possible infestation is what I would worry about, rather than the dogs eating food with sugar ants in it. 

Dang, you ruined it 😄

I would most definitely ask, because they may have a method for dealing with it that isn't workbable at home (or you simply don't want to do it at home). I most definitely don't think it's insulting to offer. Everyone wants the best for the animals, I'm sure, but sometimes the best is good food that volunteers remove the ants from (you can do it with cornstarch, but it's easier at a bigger place like a shelter rather than a house). 

I'm sure it varies by region, like so many things, but I very much doubt that my local rescues are being provided with high end food by donors on a regular basis, much less the shelter. Many animal organizations around here are small and hanging on by a thread, and their donors don't use high end food themselves. And, I'd also add that a good food with ants removed is better than an inexpensive, junkier food with no ants, so I would always ask. 

To me, it's like people who donate good clothing that has a small rip or is missing a button. They don't want to mess with fixing it, but lots of thrift store shoppers will be thrilled to find a good shirt that just needs a button replaced! It's not insulting to say that I will never fix this, but I bet someone else will. I would never 'fix' a bag of food with ants in it, but it's reasonable to think that a shelter or rescue might want to do so. It's not insulting to ask them. 

very true about shelters. Especially in rural areas.