Can I sue a small-pet food company if a dead mouse was found in a bag?

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Can I sue a small-pet food company if a dead mouse was found in a bag?

I recently found a dead, processed, possibly diseased mouse in my hamster food bag. By processed, I mean it was extremely thin (squished if you will) almost as thin as a piece of paper. My hamster has been happily eating from this bag of food for two weeks until I made the grizzly discovery. I do have pictures of the dead mouse as well as the bag it came from, but I returned the bag as well as the mouse to Petsmart and they gave me another company bag for free. I contact the company and they gave me coupons in the mail, not like I want to ever use their products again.

Asked on July 18, 2012 under General Practice, Florida

Answers:

MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

The problem is you returned the evidence and further, your hamster is okay. There is no damage.  It would be expensive for you to sue for damages when it involves a pet...pets are considered chattlle or propety in most states and therefore, this wouldn't rise to the same level of liability as it would if a) this was human food and b) you got sick.


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