The US Food and Drug Administration said it is continuing to receive thousands of complaints from American pet owners who claim that jerky treats made in China are making their dogs sick.

The FDA said the majority of complaints it has received involve chicken jerky treats - treats, tenders, and strips. Other complaints cited duck, sweet potato and treats with chicken or duck jerky wrapped around dried fruits, sweet potatoes or yams.

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It said it has received 4,800 complaints as of May 1 from pet owners saying that jerky caused their dogs to get sick. The FDA said most of these reports involved jerky products sourced from China. The majority of the complaints involved dogs, but cats have also been affected.

The complaints included reports of illnesses in 5,600 dogs, 24 cats and three people who got sick from eating the pet jerky.

The FDA report noted that more than 1,000 dog deaths have been linked to the Chinese-made treats.

It said it has done more than 1,000 tests on the treats since it first began investigating in 2007. Unfortunately, the FDA still doesn't know what is causing the dogs to get sick and die.

The FDA has enlisted the Centers for Disease Control to do further testing on the Chinese-made jerky.

The mounting backlash against made-in-China jerky has led bereaved and angry dog parents to set up the Facebook page, "Animal Parents against Pet Treats Made in China." The group has 12,000 members so far.

This group is aggressively petitioning pet stores to stop selling the China-made treat. It is also encouraging its members to put up warning stickers at stores and is asking the federal government for stricter quality-control measures on Chinese-made pet products.

The FDA has become aware of an increasing number of illnesses in pets associated with the consumption of jerky pet treats in 2007.

It said 60 percent of the reports were for gastrointestinal illness (with or without elevated liver enzymes) and about 30 percent related to kidney or urinary signs. The remaining 10 percent of cases involve a variety of other signs, including convulsions, tremors, hives and skin irritation.

The FDA said it continues to investigate these illnesses in conjunction with Vet-LIRN laboratories and State partners. It has also worked with colleagues in academia and industry.

The agency said it has met with Chinese regulatory agency responsible for pet food to ensure that they are aware of US requirements for pet food safety and to develop collaboration on sharing information to support FDA's investigation. FDA has also hosted Chinese scientists at its veterinary research facility to advance scientific cooperation.

TagsMeat Jerky, Pet Deaths, Dog treats, Made in China